Point Lobos in July (next week)

[craig_gillette]

I'm not terribly sensitive to poison oak, but like local snakes, it's easy to avoid. If you don't know what it looks like, ask, it's not that hard to recognize. I looked at a couple of pages from a google search and the pictures weren''t that good. Not befitting a nature photography site :) so just ask the gate ranger (if not too busy) or any of the rangers or docents. Once you've been introduced, it's pretty easy to spot. Unless you drag yourself or your gear through it, I don't think I'd worry about it. Some clean-up and careful handling of gear/clothing that gets into it is a good idea however. Again, just be a little careful.

[chuck_bancroft]

One of our volunteers, Joe Hearst. passed this site on to me. I'm a ranger at Point Lobos who also enjoys photography, wild mushrooms, and being a caretaker of the reserve for the past 20 years.

 

I really appreciate the responses on this site and wanted to say thankyou to all who understand the need to preseve and protect areas like this. I know some of the rules seem restrictive but as somone has already said...we are here to protect the reserve and its wildlife "first"!

 

We have been short-staffed for awhile with no technical service people here on a regular basis. We do try to keep the posion oak cut back from the trails, but it is a never ending process. Ticks are easy to find when you go off trail as well as rare and endangered plant species. So its very important to stay on the designated trails. Please do not go over the wires to get that photo. I do write citations when you get caught. The bail is now $275 for being off trail. The newer peace officers are even more protective and write more citations for a variety of resource violations. And what if you fell over a cliff, stepped on a rare plant, lost your camera to an accident? What about other visotrs or younger people who see you and try the same and they get in trouble?

 

Several snakes do livethe reserve...gopher, garter, and striped racer..I once saw a rattlesnake about a mile away and inland up on the mountain. King snakes up there too, but not in the reserve.

 

I developed the Point Lobos website, but never have enough time to put all I want on there. I'll try to add more photos of the flora and fauna as time goes on. (like poison oak)

 

I'm on duty everyday except Friday and Saturday so feel free to pick my brain when you visit. My email is rangers@mbay.net.

 

Til next time<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Dave...there is poison oak growing right by the entrance station, so ask if you don't know what it is. Don't get paranoid about it.

 

Chuck...it's wonderful to see that rangers and docents from Point Lobos use photo.net. You may have been the one I talked with when I made reservations for my school (Hacienda Science Magnet in San Jose...we've been bringing classes there for well over 15 years). Usually we just came on down with a simple phone call, but this year we needed to use the website to make it formal. We'll get on it right away next year. The rules should be followed, but I rarely see rangers on the roads or trails. I wish more were out. Many problems do happen from time to time.

[hearst]

You are much more likely to see a docent than a ranger on the trails, both because rangers have lots of other things to do and because there are about 10 times as many docents. So watch for us - we're there to help.<div></div>

[dave_terry1]

What a wealth of information! Thanks, everyone. I'll definitely ask for Chuck when I get there, at least to say Hi.

 

All these enthusiastic answers have gotten me a lot more excited about this trip than I was before. I've been wanting to go take photos of the whole area from Carmel through Big Sur for a few years. Now I'll be surprised if I go anywhere but Point Lobos to shoot.

[todd frederick]

Please let us know what happens. I think I may go down there Friday...I need a photo "tonic!"

[chuck_bancroft]

Just a couple of other items for your info...

 

Trail brochures are available at the entrance station for $1.00.

 

The people working the kiosk are seasonal park aides generalists. If you have any really pressing questions its best to ask for the ranger.

 

Joe Hearst is a great example of our talented volunteers. Talk to the volunteers when ever you can. They are the extra eyes and ears for the short-staffed rangers. Yes, we get involved in too much sometimes and can't be our on the trails 24-7, I wish I could be out there with my camera all the time...oh well.

 

Back in the 30's and 40's when Ansel and Edward were here things were much different. With so many visitors today we do have to protect you and the reserve. Sorry about all the restrictions...hope you understand.

 

The trees are dying from the pitch canker fungus..but not all are affected. Some younger trees (less than 7 years)are showing some tolerance to the fungus. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

We have a great resource team working to remove the non-native species. Another endless and thankless job. We do try to keep the poison oak cut back but getting the crews in to do the work is tough during fire season. We try to do major cutting in the fall and spring to keep the trails clean.

 

Here's another of my images...Weston Beach looking south toward the Bird Islands.

[chuck_bancroft]

Eeegads! The image I uploaded is huge!! Here's a smaller one of Weston Beach.

[todd frederick]

$1.00! That's an inflation rate of 100%!!!

 

It's a good guide with a fine map, worth at least $1.15!

 

I think we're going to get into a Point Lobos "photo war." Beautiful photo, Chuck...no bald sky either!

 

My favorite times at Point Lobos are early Spring, late Fall, and during a good storm! Lots of fine clouds and soft light.

[chuck_bancroft]

Fog cover lifted, the ocean is choppy from the wind, but still beautiful, light is pretty contrasty, but these images of the poison oak in both red and green stages illustrate their beauty.

 

Rounded or lobed edges, leaves of three, sometimes shiny, smooth reddish brown to brown stems, and YES it is the most prolific plant in the park!

[chuck_bancroft]

Here's the red

[arden_howell]

You've probably gotten enough of the where to go advice which seems right on. Since you are only there for the one day my best advice is to go prepared for any weather conditions from warm weather and super bright sun to bone chilling dripping fog and 25 yd. visibility. Consider your film choices carefully. Take the right gear for yourself and your equipment and you will have a fabulous day and images to match. Enjoy this special place!

[dave_terry1]

Well, my trip was great. Sorry it�s taken a while to post anything about it.

 

I got to the reserve about 1:30 Tuesday, July 24. The sun came out just as I got there, making the ocean a magnificent blue, and making for high-contrast compositions of course. I decided to just explore first, but I took my Nikon kit with me in case there was anything too good to pass up, and shot 3 rolls in 4 hours.

 

I went to Allan Cypress grove first, and let me tell you, it was windy! Once you get out on the point, the wind is constant. There was so much poison oak all over the place, I wasn�t even tempted to go off trail.

 

The other spots I scouted (and shot) were Sea Lion Cove (you can hear them barking all over the north end), Weston Beach, China Cove, and Bird Island.

 

I decided to begin the next morning at Weston Beach, due to the low tide. I went walking all over the exposed rocks, looking at the tide pools. Be warned, some types of rock there are very slippery. I had on hiking boots, changed into sneakers, and neither was any good for traction. Reef shoes might be better, because your foot can mold around the rocks a little, but I can�t say for sure. I shot more with the Nikon, because I didn�t think the footing was good enough to be carrying around a big 6X7 kit and a tripod. I shot here for a couple of hours.

 

Next, I went to cypress grove again, even though it was still overcast. I got some nice compositions with the 6X7 this time, and tried to keep the gray skies to a minimum. Allan Cypress Grove is really not a good place to shoot when overcast, because you can�t go off trail anywhere in that part of the reserve.

 

As far as going off trail goes, there are only a couple of other areas where you are that restricted. I went climbing all over the place at Weston beach, and basically all down the south end from Seal Rock. The trail goes right along this rocky shoreline, and very little of it is marked with wire to keep you on the trail. You don�t feel like you�re being �dictated to� at all.

 

As to the weather, it was sunny when I got there Tueaday, and overcast all day Wednesday. The sun came out for about 5 minutes total. As others have mentioned, the fog bank sits off-shore even on clear days, and precludes any sunset photography during the summer.

 

I shot Velvia and T-Max with the 6X7 (Bronica GS-1), Provia F100, Hp5+, and Agfa HDC+ with the Nikon. I have not seen the B&W from either camera yet, but I have seen the color prints and chromes. Amazingly, the chromes handled the sunny weather better than the HDC prints. But I had the color neg film processed at the Longs Drugs in Carmel, when I saw they had a Fuji Frontier print machine. I think the prints are a little on the light side, the highlights blow out and the colors are not as rich as I got from the chromes. On the chromes, the exposure seems for the most part to be right where I wanted it, so I�m wondering if the printer could have burned in the colors a bit more and given detail to the highlights with the HDC prints. I would post samples here, but I don�t have a scanner :-(

 

Sorry to go on so long, but I wanted as much info as possible in the archives.

 

Todd, did you go as planned? Let us know.

[todd frederick]

Dave,

 

I wish we could see some smaples. Thanks for the info on the Carmel Fuji Frontier lab...that's convenient. I notice that many of my negative prints come out a bit too light as well even from my lab. I sometimes need to request a darker, more saturated print. Take a few negs and prints to a lab and show them what you want. I think the labs tend to err on the light side to avoid complaints about the prints being too dark.

 

I did not get there Friday. I'm going to wait until my summer school teaching is out at the end of next week and go down on a weekday. I just bought an old minty Voightlander Bessa II (for making miniature B/W contact prints...6x9cm) and I want to wait until that arrives.

 

We forgot to mention the wind...sorry!!! Also, it is a bit dangerous walking on the rocks at the tidepool...mainly due to the type of kelp there. I'm not sure what kind of shoes would help. I just try to take each step very carefully, and sometimes just don't go where I can't get good traction. I'm more interested in the rock formations near the shore anyway. I seldom go way out at low tide.

[todd frederick]

Dave,

 

Regarding scanners. You have much money invested in your cameras, you ought to think about getting a scanner. I'm not deeply into playing with computers "toys" so I really don't get much into "high end" equipment: you can buy a decent print scanner for under a $100 (maybe $200) that will give you acceptable quality for e-mail and posting uses. Some have negative and transapency attachments as well.

 

I'm attaching a photo I did a few years ago with an old Kodak Monitor folding camera...it is a 6x9cm contact print. This is what I plan to do with the Bessa II. It's not great art, but provides me with something a bit different to do with my photos...therapy?

[todd frederick]

Oops...forgot to attach the photo!<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Speaking of tidepools at Weston Beach, for me, the most interesting part is discovering the patterns in the rocks. They seem to be constantly changing. I photographed the attached pattern in the 1980's on XP-1 film, and though I've looked and looked, I could not find this pattern again. I am also going to post the same image, below this, but turned vertically...to show how much we can see things differently. Hours can be spent there looking for these patterns.<div></div>

[todd frederick]

Vertical of same rock formation.<div></div>

[dave_terry1]

Todd-

 

Just to make sure we�re on the same page- the Longs drug store is in the shopping center right on Highway 1, on the right as you go north from the reserve. It�s not in Carmel itself. I asked if the could do medium format, and they said no.

 

Something else I forgot to mention is that I drove home Thursday starting around noon, and I went to find Asilomar, which you mentioned. I�d never heard of it before. I spent a couple hours on the rocks there at the beach, experimenting with wave shots breaking over the rocks. But I was shooting B&W, and I still haven�t gotten the film processed. But thanks very much for mentioning that beach. I�m looking forward to seeing the results.

 

I liked Weston Beach more for the rock patterns as well. I shot some pebble shots through the shallow water, using my polarizer to cut out the reflections, but most of what I shot there was more along the lines of what you posted. I especially like the vertical you posted, BTW. It reminds me of something by Picasso. Good shot.

 

I think you�re right about getting a scanner. I keep thinking about it, but then I think about having to get Photoshop as well, which would mean increasing the RAM on my PC, etc, etc.

 

This sure is an expensive hobby!

[phil_goble]

Dave,

 

It's probably too late for this warning, but beware the poison oak and ivy at the park. I got the worst case of poison oak in my life there. The next day in San Francisco, a doctor I saw there indicated this is not uncommon, and it is one of the worst places on the west coast. Nonetheless, it is beautiful and worth a visit. I would recommend that you travel down to Garrapata for sunset, as it is only about fifteen minutes from the entrance to the park.

[dennismk]

I just ran across this thread by seaching for something else and had to add my story to it. Back in 1964/65 while still in High School in San Francisco I belonged to a Diving Club called the Golden Gate Divers and it was at this time I was turned on to photography by a local dive shop owner George Delseco(?) of Aqua Gear. Anyway we would often dive at Mission beach which is right next to Point Lobos and sometimes would dive in the one part of the park where we were allowed to. A number of the members were into photography and we enjoyed shooting in the park. Here uploaded is a shot that has become a classic that I took in l964 or 65. My old dive log might give me the date if I can find it around here. The shot has been taken many times but for me at that age I had not ever seen one of them yet, until some months later I remember an Image of the same rock maybe taken by Adams or Millina in Life mag or some other large mag with lots of large images. Just a bit trivia I thought this thread might enjoy<div></div>