Catalina

  1. Purple Sunset at Two Harbors

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    This is a photo of the beach landscape of Two Harbors Catalina during the purple hour just after sunset. Two Harbors is a really awesome place to camp and enjoy the scenery, but the only draw back is the sun sets behind some mountains. So when there aren't that many clouds in the sky like this photo, you have to rely on the rocks and ocean for all the drama in your photos. Which can still be very cool. The small pebbles give the image a lot of detail and the textures of the rocks are very unique. 

    Catalina Two Harbors Beach Rocks Clear Ocean Purple Hour

  2. Catalina Safari Bus

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    From the Catalina airport to Two Harbors or Little Harbors, this is the bus you'll ride. I never thought these old buses could drive so well on the mountainous dirt roads of Catalina Island, but they can. It's a dusty, noisy and bumpy ride. When I was out there I learned that there are about 400 people that live in Two Harbors and the children of those residents have to take this bus 2 hours every day to school. Not a fun ride, but at least they get to see buffalo. 

    Catalina Safari Bus to Two Harbors

  3. Two Harbors Gas Station For Boats

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    On the dock at Two Harbors Catalina I found this cool little gas station just for boats. Never seen one this well kept and clean. When I was on the dock I got a chance to talk to a few boats owners. Found out some cool things. One guy had a sail boat. He said it takes him 5 hours to get from the main land to Catalina. Another guy in a big fishing boat said it takes him an hour. I guess the sale boats go really slow. Imagine sailing around the world in one. 

    I at first tried doing some HDR but there were just to many things moving around me. The dock was moving, boats in the background were moving, the water was moving. It just created a ghostly mess. So this shot is just a one shot Raw.

    To achieve this look I processed the photo using several tricks. I first used Lightroom 4 to adjusted general brightness contrast to get the range of colors I wanted. Tonemapped it using photomatix. I duplicated it then converted the photo to black and white and did several more color adjustments. I then brought the black and white photo and the colored duplicate into Photoshop. On the colored photo I used the selective color tool on the red which made a selection of only the red. Used that mask to copy only the red parts and pasted it over my black and white photo. Then used a curve and blending layers to get it looking right. I brought the new photo back into Lightroom where I did my final adjustments. 

    Two Harbors Catalina Gas Station for Boats

  4. Beneath the Avalon Pier

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    Avalon City of the Catalina Island is probably one of the most unique places in all of Southern California. It's like a little paradise just outside of L.A. When driving around, the mountains have all the look and feel of California but the ocean is very clear and beautiful. 

    Pier shots like this one are always interesting. There is so much texture involved with the old wood and all the oxidized metal that holds it in place. It's not the prettiest looking thing, but certainly some nice colors and geometry. 

    Avalon Catalina Pier California HDR

  5. The Rocks of Two Harbors

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    While camping at Two Harbors Catalina I was able to get a lot of really nice beach and ocean photos. I got a few new wide angle lenses I was playing around with including the Samyang 14mm f2.8 that I took this photo with and really love so far. Shooting beaches can be challenging and fun. You have to be really willing to get your feet wet and get a little dirty. There is just no way around it. For a lot of my shots from Two Harbors I was literally standing in the water with my tripod legs in the water. It was actually really fun and a nice break from my daily work.

    This is a three shot HDR processed in Lightroom and Photomatix. 

    The Beach Rocks of Two Harbors Catalina

  6. The Milky Way View from Catalina

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    Last weekend I went camping in Two Harbors Catalina. Usually in Los Angeles you don't really get to see the stars. There is to much light pollution. However, in Catalina especially on the north side, there is almost no light pollution. You can actually see all the light from Los Angeles glowing on the horizon. It's pretty cool. 

    This was a thirty second exposure from behind my tent. I was trying to capture some of the meteor shower but I never got any bright enough to expose my cameras sensor. Most were just too dim. One day, I'll photo an awesome shooting star. I actually saw one driving home from work the other day that was like a fireball just falling from the sky. It was so bright and lasted so long. 

    Milky Way Galaxy Starry Night

    This photo was taking on my Samyang 14mm f2.8. A thirty second exposure at an ISO of 800.

    -Alik

  7. The Pebbly Beach of Two Harbors Catalina

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    Pebbly Beach from Two Harbors Catalina. I don't know the name of this beach so I called it the Pebbly Beach. There is not much sand on this island. It's mostly these small little pebbles everywhere. This is probably why the water is so clear. For someone visiting Catalina I think the northern part of the is much more exotic than Avalon, which to me just feels like a mini version of Laguna Beach or La Jolla. The only down side to Two Harbors is it takes a couple hours of driving an old bus on washboard dirt roads to get there. Not the most pleasant experience. It is possible to see Buffalo on the way though, which can make it worth while.

    This is a single Raw taken with the Samyang 14mm f2.8 Ultra Wide Lens. Only some simple color grading done in post. 

    Catalina Two Harbors Beach Rocks Clear Ocean

  8. Avalon Harbor of Catalina Island

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    This is a shot of Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island. The boat you see is one of the fliers that transports passenger from the Mainland to the Island. The time it takes is usually about an hour depending on what city you leave from. This time to the island I left from Newport Beach. The water of Catalina is not like the water of the mainland. It's much clear and slightly warmer. It's also heavily populated with Garibaldi which are a bright orange fish. You can see them everywhere when you look down into the water. 

    HDR photo of Avalon Harbor of Catalina, California

    This photo is an HDR photo using the Samyang 14mm f2.8 Ultra Wide lens. 

  9. Two Harbors Catalina - First Photo

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    For the last two days I have been camping in Two Harbors Catalina. I got a couple new lenses that I shot a lot with. The 14mm Samyang f2.8 and the Canon 16-35mm f2.8L II. I also shot a lot with the Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens. 

    Here is the first photo I processed real quick. I'll have more as soon as I get more time to go through them and pick out the best. It takes awhile since I shot a lot of HDR. I also shot this photo on my new Canon 16-35mm f2.8L. So far I like this lens. A lot of chromatic aberrations in the corners when there is a lot of contrast. It's pretty sharp, not crazy sharp, but decently sharp and the barrel distortion is minor. 

    It's funny the small everyday things we take for granted that suddenly become big things when we are camping. Like going to the bathroom. 

    Two Harbors Catalina Night HDR Photo