2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (11:00 p.m.)

Here is the last photo of my yearlong photography challenge. I've had an amazing time doing this alongside my photography partners-in-crime Cyrena & Sarah. This has been a fun experience and I look forward to seeing what we decide on doing in 2015. Stay tuned for more on that. In the meantime, read up about what happened last Saturday...

At 11:00 a.m., way back in the beginning of June, I found myself on top of the Santa Monica Ferris wheel. Because I thought ahead to the end of this challenge and thought finishing this riding on top of the Ferris wheel on a Saturday night in December would be a very fun way to cap this off.

Even though my event planning mind had thought this through and verified that, weather permitting, the Ferris wheel would be open until 12:00 a.m., I didn't call to verify the hours (as suggested). I had a few things going on (like hosting the 9th annual Mac off earlier that evening for 45 freaking people!) and just went for it. Unfortunately once we got there, we discovered that they wanted to shut the ride down at 11:00 p.m., which meant they needed the ride cleared of passengers by then.

It was a pretty big bummer and I was disappointed that I had dragged Katie and our friend Mark along for this photo excursion, only to be turned away. But. I realized I could run into the same problem this upcoming week and decided to just take a photo of the same view but from the Pier level as opposed to from the top of the Ferris Wheel. So you'll notice that the photos don't exactly line up (like at all), but it's the same general view. And that just has to be enough for my Type-A personality.

Here's what 11:00 p.m. looked like in Santa Monica last Saturday night:

The pier itself was actually kinda busy still. And it was a cold night, for Santa Monica. (Remember, I've now lived in California for 14 years. My ability to live in and survive a New Hampshire winter is long gone. And I'm okay with that). But that didn't prevent people from playing out on the sand and looking at the waves (out of the frame of this photo). 

Here's the side by side a.m./p.m. comparison (remember to click on the image to make it bigger):

Five things I noticed between the two photos:

1. Because of the different vantage point in the p.m. photo, the one lifeguard tower is way more prominent as opposed to the a.m. photo where they're dotted in a cool line along the coast.
2. I like how the lights along the hill in the p.m. photo makes that geography more prominent. The haze in the a.m. photo makes it so you don't really know that there's a whole neighborhood beyond the tall white buildings. 
3. PCH is more prominently displayed in the p.m. photo due to all the lights lining that famous road. 
4. The ocean plays a nice part in the a.m. photo and you can't even see it in the p.m. photo.
5. More people (and visible trash cans and lifeguard towers) in the a.m. photo. 

Check back for Cyrena's 11:00 p.m. photo

Sarah's photo:

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (10:00 p.m.)

At 8:00 p.m., I pretty much had a meltdown. At 9:00 p.m., I did a little bit better with a borrowed tripod (thanks sistah!). But at 10:00 p.m., is when I fell in love! Cue the Disney music with "A Whole New World" and let the unicorns dance through the sky. Am I being dramatic? Yes.

Honestly though, my 10:00 p.m. photo is also the moment in time in which I fell in love with my tripod. I knew I had to get one and I'm so, so glad that I did. There's just no way I ever would have been able to take a photo with such sharpness and clarity otherwise. And it actually made me look forward to taking photos last night.

Here's what 10:00 p.m. on the south side of the Santa Monica pier looked like:

With the anticipation of rain coming today, I decided to capture my photo one night earlier. I drove as close to the pier as I could and then got there early enough to fool around with setting up my tripod and getting my photo aligned just so. I was so happy with how the photos were turning out that it made this photo one of my most enjoyable photos to take. This photo challenge has made me a better photographer and this photo is living proof of that!

Now here's the side by side a.m./p.m. comparison (remember to click on the image to make it bigger):

Five things I noticed between the two photos:

1. No one is on the beach at night! Obviously. Although it's not like there were a ton of people on the beach at 10:00 a.m. either. 
2. You can tell it's the holiday season evident by the green and red colors of the Ferris wheel. (What you can't see out of the frame is to the right of the Ferris wheel is a Christmas tree. Check out the outtake below).
3. I love the line of lines at the base of the pier. 
4. The restaurant at the very end of the pier really shines brightly in this photo. And the reflection of it in the water adds so much.
5. The tides are different between the a.m. and p.m. photo with much more of the sand being visible at 10:00 a.m. 

Here's my outtake from last night's photo: 

It's crazy to think we only have one more hour left to document in this series. I'm really hoping the Ferris wheel is open at 11:00 p.m. like it's advertised as. Otherwise I'll have to go somewhere else!

Here is Cyrena photo:

and Sarah's:

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (9:00 p.m.)

I'm happy to say that my attitude and my photo improved greatly since posting my 8:00 p.m. photo. The difference? A freaking tripod!

I knew that I needed a tripod for photos at night, but apparently I needed to have a few frustrating experiences before I actually took action. I borrowed a tripod from Katie (thank you!) and it really made a world of difference. I still need a lot of work on nighttime photography, but you can see for yourself that this is a much better photo than the last few I've posted.

Here's what 9:00 p.m. looked like in Santa Monica last night:

Steve and Clancy came with me and acted as my photography assistants. I had another hard time setting up the photo exactly like it was at 9:00 a.m., so it's not as perfectly lined up as I would prefer. But I'm learning to let go of that perfection and embrace the imperfection that comes with learning- and living in the moment. If I ever do anything like this again, I'll be sure to take better notes of my equipment and exact location.

Here's 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (click to enlarge):

Five things I noticed between the two photos:

1. Another photo where you wouldn't know there was an ocean, not to mention the Santa Monica Mountains off in the distance. 
2. I love the addition of the cars driving down the California incline at 9:00 p.m. and how there's only one lone biker at 9:00 a.m. (when I thought there would be a lot of traffic)!
3. The palm trees are such a focal point of the a.m. photo, but really don't do that much for the p.m. photo. 
4. The bush that you can't even see in the a.m. photo has grown considerably since I first photographed this at 9:00 a.m. back in May!
5. Lights everywhere at 9:00 p.m.- lining the walkway in Palisades Park and up the ramp to the Idaho and Montana, on the cars headed down the California incline and all the lights in the distance. 

I'm definitely going to fool around more with the tripod (and actually get my own) and taking photos at night. I've got more work to do before I feel like I can say I'm even halfway decent at nighttime photography. But I'm up for trying!

Here are a couple of outtakes from this moment in time. The first one was taken from Steve's cell phone since he was looking at my photo on the camera and comparing it to my 9:00 a.m. photo viewed on my iPhone. It was too good of a moment to pass up. And the second photo is experimenting with a super slow shutter speed. Thanks to Cyrena for helping me figure out what settings I needed for this effect that I've always wanted to try, but never knew enough to actually go for it!

Cyrena's photo

And here is Sarah's

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (8:00 p.m.)

I'm thinking that 7:00 - 11:00 p.m. is only going to prove that I'm not a fan of night photography. So far 7:00 p.m. frustrated me and 8:00 p.m. wasn't any better. Given that this is a challenge, after all, I'm trying to remain focused on the learning opportunity that this is presenting and not continue to get frustrated by my very evident lack of nighttime photography skills. Finding that patience and understanding with myself is also proving to be challenging.

I was supposed to take this photo on Friday, but ended up taking a very late and long nap that had me up at 7:54 p.m. and there was no way I was gonna make it to my destination for this photo. And then birthday and weekend activities made it impossible for me to sneak away until tonight.

It was a quiet night in Santa Monica and I had just barely enough time to park and get to my photo location before 8:00 p.m. Once I was all set up, I started to take some photos and realized right off the bat that it was going to be more difficult than I anticipated for a few reasons:

• As already mentioned, I'm not a very good nighttime photographer. 
• I still don't have a tripod and even though I didn't think I needed it for this photo since I had a built in fence to lean on, I think it would have made a difference. 
• Because it was so dark out, I couldn't properly line up the photo because I didn't have the same visual points to focus on.

Once I got over all my annoyance and frustration, I just tried my best to take a halfway decent photo that lined up as closely as I could get it to its a.m. counterpart. And this is what I settled on:

Because my photos were such slim pickins, I couldn't even obsess over getting the a.m. and p.m. versions lined up just so. Not having daylight at all made it nearly impossible to do anyway!

Here is 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (click to enlarge):

Five things I noticed between the two photos:

1. The Ferris wheel continues to be the focal point of each photo, day or night!
2. The lack of color at night makes that photo pretty uninteresting if you ask me. 
3. The lights that are so prominent in the p.m. photo are totally hidden and overshadowed by all the color in the a.m. photo. So much so that I didn't even notice there were so many lights on the Pier until just now.
4. Once again, you can't even tell there's a great big ocean in the p.m. photo. And not to mention all that sand too!
5. The lights that line the actual pier (where all the cars/vans/service vehicles are parked in the a.m. photo) is my favorite part of the p.m. photo. 

Check out Cyrena and Sarah's photos which are so unique and fun:

Cyrena- I especially love the texture of her photo, so click
on the link to  visit her blog and view a full-size version:

Sarah- A fantastic capture of a typical family moment. The kind that makes
you wish you were invited to the celebration and part of the family: 

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (7:00 p.m.)

I have to admit that this is probably my least favorite photo that I've taken in this series yet. Although it's a good reminder for me that while I may have a good "eye" for photography, my technical skills are lacking. For this photo in particular, it was the first time that the light really bugged me and I realized how much more work I need to do in terms of learning how to take photos in less than ideal lighting/settings. I worked hard for this photo and did some studying in order to get it, but in the end, I still didn't love how it came out. I needed a tripod for this photo and wasn't able to find it in time for the assignment.

Here's what I do love about this photo. I am truly blessed to live somewhere I love. A place that most times feels like vacation. In fact, my sisters and I were talking about how coming back from vacation isn't as harsh of a reality because this is my backyard. To take this photo, I walked out of my home and walked for maybe a minute before I ended up here. Talk about lucky!

See for yourself:

This was also probably one of the more challenging photos to line up the a.m. and p.m. photos. My type-A personality was having major issues with not being able to set the photo exactly how I did at 7:00 a.m.. But in the end and with a little bit of manipulation, it all came together nicely!

Here is 7:00 a.m. vs. 7:00 p.m. (click to enlarge): 

Five things I noticed between the two photos:

1. The palm tree leaves have grown!
2. The tree next to the palm tree has also grown and has crowded the p.m. photo considreable. 
3. No clouds at 7:00 p.m., although I really like how much the clouds added to the 7:00 a.m. photo. 
4. My focal point for the photos are slightly different. I was either standing closer at 7:00 a.m., or I was more zoomed in with my lens. I tried like hell to have this be exact, but in the end, I couldn't replicate it. 
5. The flash on the p.m. photo makes the tree trunk look washed out and nowhere near as sharp during the a.m. photo. Which again, to me, highlights my need to learn more!

Cyrena and Sarah posted beautiful photos. Check them out below and see for yourself how fun it is to realize just how different all three of our surroundings were at 7:00 p.m.

Cyrena's photo

Sarah's photo

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (6:00 p.m.)

Due to a crazy busy schedule, I ended up taking my photo one day later than Cyrena and Sarah. But, I really loved the contrast of the a.m. and p.m. photos for this particular set. I was set up above the Pacific Coast Highway, accessible only a few minutes away from my home in Santa Monica, watching the cars drive by. When I was there at 6:00 a.m., I knew that I was going to love seeing this with much more traffic on the street. Here's what it looked like at 6:00 p.m.:

I've learned to get myself to my photo location with at least five minutes to spare so I can line up the photo just so (hello Type A personality). And I was really happy with the accuracy of the photo. I also really love how the time of day lent itself to the many different lines and shadows you see here.

And here is 6:00 a.m. alongside 6:00 p.m. (click to enlarge)

Five things I noticed between the two photos (which is sometimes my favorite part because it's my own personal game of Photo Hunt!):

• Far fewer cars on the PCH at 6:00 a.m.
• I love the lights lining Palisades Park at 6:00 a.m. and how you can't even tell that there are light posts at 6:00 p.m.
• Not a single cloud in the sky at 6:00 p.m.
• I must have taken the 6:00 a.m. photo on trash day because there are a handful of trash cans that aren't anywhere at 6:00 p.m.
• And finally, the California Incline is way more visible at 6:00 p.m. At 6:00 a.m., you could miss that it's even there unless you know to look for it.

Check out Cyrena's photo and read the funny story that goes along with capturing it:

And here is Sarah's photo:

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (5:00 p.m.)

I was in such a groove with work that leaving to bike to Venice and back seemed like a gigantic pain in the ass. But I'm so glad that I did. Because it was beautiful and there were so many characters out and about that I got to see. It also left me wondering, "When the heck to the tourists go home?" Which I think is a clear sign that I'm getting older. But seriously. Venice and Santa Monica are still crawling with tourists and they certainly added to my 5:00 p.m. photo (and the outtakes).

After finding a safe place to lock up my bike, I got to the scene about 10 minutes early so I could try as best as I could to line up the p.m. photo as closely as the a.m. photo. This is proving to be challenging for the second half of the series for lots of reasons. Like I didn't write down where I took the photo from, so it's always a lot of trial and error when I get there. Like I don't always know the exact camera settings (lens type and set-up) I used. Like I was freaking tired and zombie-like during the a.m. hour. But it's all part of the fun and it's helping me be a better photographer by having patience and paying super close to details.

With that in mind, here's what 5:00 p.m. looks like along the Venice Boardwalk:

And here is the 5:00 a.m. and p.m. side by side (click to enlarge):

5 things I noticed between the two photos:

• I love that you can't even see the palm trees in the a.m. photo
• The amount of stuff (read: crap) you can buy at the Venice Boardwalk is astounding
• After a certain time, you'll always find someone walking around in a bikini in Venice (in the summer)
• In the a.m. photo, the lights create a leading line and in the p.m. photo, the palm trees do that. 
• Morning or night, the Sidewalk Cafe is easy to spot with its striped facade

Cyrena's photo

Sarah's photo from her amazing birthday celebration in Portugal

And a few outtakes:

 I love this tattoo shop and stop to take a photo of the colorful  & interesting people whenever I'm biking by

 There's something I love about watching tourists purchase sunglasses in Venice Beach

And this was the view behind me from where I took my 5:00 p.m. photo

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (4:00 p.m.)

Okay. Remember how sometimes throughout this challenge I've feared for my life (like from 2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.)? Well. 4:00 p.m. presented a whole new life-threatening challenge in order for my photo to be lined up almost exactly like the one I took at 4:00 a.m.- cars and buses!

At 4:00 a.m., I didn't have to worry about competing with anyone in the street because, well, no one was out and about. I should have thought about my 4:00 p.m. self when taking this photo, because my biggest challenge was running out in traffic (literally) to take my photo as best I could.

For my p.m. excursions I need to study my a.m. photos to try and match them up perfectly (hello Type A!). I now know this requires me to get to my photo location a little early so I can try to set the stage. Luckily I think this will be as dangerous as it gets. I don't think any more photos require me to play in traffic.

I did the very best I could to snap this p.m. photo as closely to the a.m. photo, but at a certain point I realized I valued my life more than the accuracy of the two photos. Even still, you'll see from the side by side photo that I did a pretty good job.

As usual, it's busy and filled with lots of interesting characters in Venice at this time of the day and year.

And here is the 4:00 a.m. and p.m. side by side (click to enlarge):

5 things I noticed between the two photos:

• While not as many cars driving at 4:00 a.m., there are nearly as many cars parked at 4:00 p.m. as there were at 4:00 p.m.
• The VENICE sign looks better all lit up at night! 
• There seemed to be more beach activity going on at 4:00 a.m. than at 4:00 p.m.. I can't remember what exactly was set up at 4:00 a.m., but it looks more fun compared to 4:00 p.m.
• There are lots of flags flying around this part of Venice that you never saw at 4:00 a.m.
• And finally, the addition of people, in this photo at least, brings the photo to life more than what I experienced at 4:00 a.m.

Cyrena's photo

Sarah's photo

And a few outtakes from my bike ride back to Santa Monica from Venice. It was a beautiful day!

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (3:00 p.m.)

For this photo, I hopped on my bike and traveled the very busy bike path from Santa Monica to Venice to capture my 3:00 p.m. photo. What a difference from when I was there at 3:00 a.m.. I remember at 3:00 a.m. questioning whether it was a safe decision to wander alone in Venice. Apparently I couldn't have been too concerned since I returned to a different, equally unsafe and questionable area of Venice at 4:00 a.m.

At any rate, it really was like a completely different scene and I knew this would be a place where the contrast between a.m. and p.m. would really come alive. There were several photos to choose from that I snapped immediately at 3:00 p.m., but I went with this one because it was the least chaotic of the three to choose from. (Although scroll to the bottom to see the two I didn't choose).

Here are the two photos side by side (remember to click on the photo to see it bigger):

5 things I noticed between the two photos:

• Similar to 2:00 a.m., at 3:00 a.m., if you weren't from around here, you may not know there's an ocean out there!
• The sign from 3:00 a.m. is nowhere to be found several months and 12 hours later at 3:00 p.m.
• The Venice Pier at 3:00 a.m. is actually closed off, but at 3:00 p.m., you can walk all the way to the end (1,310 ft. in length)
• The fog is so dense you can't even tell that there is a lifeguard tower or lights lining the length of the Pier
• Like my own personal game of Photo Hunt, the trash cans have been placed closer to the entrance of the Pier at 3:00 p.m.

Sarah's photo (thanks for the shout out)!

Cyrena's photo 

My 3:00 p.m. outtakes which paint a perfect picture of the complete chaos of a sunny summer afternoon in Venice. Tourists. Surfers. Tourists. Segway Tours. Strollers. Bikers. Tourists:

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (2:00 p.m.)

After being spoiled by having Sarah & Cyrena along for the 1:00 p.m. photo excursion nearly two weeks ago, this one almost felt a little lonely. I say almost because I headed to the top of the Santa Monica Pier to see how it compared to 2:00 a.m. and since it's full-on summer in Santa Monica, there are people here, there and everywhere. Taking in the sites, capturing photos on their iPad (major pet peeve) and just generally having a good time enjoying their summer afternoons, you can't possibly feel lonely surrounded by so many strangers! 

I smartened up and studied my 2:00 a.m. photo a little better this time around and knew where I needed to stand and what I needed to look for to ensure the photo was better aligned.

Here's what 2:00 p.m. looking down the Santa Monica Pier looks like on a beautiful and hot summer afternoon:

And now here are the two photos side by side (click on the actual photo to make it bigger):

5 things I noticed between the two photos:

• If you weren't from here (and had no sense of direction) you could go on believing there wasn't an ocean at the end of the Pier
• I love how much more prominent the Ferris wheel is during daytime hours
• Whatever construction they were doing in January (notice the crane) isn't happening anymore- good planning!
• The lighting makes it look like there's pavement in January and wood in July- but it's just an illusion between night vs. day
• The people and umbrellas add so much energy and color to the photo.

Sarah's photo (and sweet photo)

And Cyrena's

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2014 Photography Challenge- A Moment in Time (1:00 p.m.)

Not long after I took my 2:00 a.m. photo, I thought about how empty the streets of Santa Monica were and how different my photos looked because they were void of people and notable activity. As we crept into some more acceptable hours, I thought about how different these places would look at night all lit up and populated with people. So it was about that time, I decided to get creative with where I was actually taking my photos because I dreamed up a twist to this photography challenge. From 2:00 a.m. on, I knew that I was going to go back and photograph the same places in the p.m. hour. 

This is the first photo in which I could do this. It was also the first (and only) photo during this challenge that would find me, Cyrena, Sarah in the same place. So on Friday after being released from work a titch early (thanks Ali!), we set off with our cameras and went down to Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade where I was at 1:00 a.m.

Cyrena and Sarah had to endure two hours of traffic to get back to Pasadena just to be together to photograph our 1:00 p.m. moments and I'm so grateful they were willing to put themselves through Friday afternoon Los Angeles traffic hell, because it was super fun for the three of us to be together.

I found it challenging to try and line up the photo just so. My type-A personality made it hard to photograph freely, and it wasn't until I reviewed my photos on the computer today that I noticed the manhole cover, which would have made things much easier on Friday. Even so, I'm happy with how the photo came out. And it's showing exactly what I wanted- that the same place photographed at two totally different times can look like two different places.

And now here are the two photos side by side:

5 things I noticed between the two photos:

• The trees have grown a lot since January!
• There's a lot of people on the promenade at 1:00 p.m. (says Captain Obvious)
• I like the addition of the red umbrellas in front of the restaurant/news stand in the distance
• I appreciate how clean the promenade is day or night!
• I miss the lights

Sarah's photo

Cyrena's photo

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