Playing with the 20D - Palo Alto Duck Pond

Hidden away along the shores of the SF Bay is the Palo Alto Duck Pond, which also serves as a bird sanctuary. The strange thing is that the Palo Alto Municipal airport is just a few hundred yards away.. I guess just a natural hazard the pilots have to account for? Got to shoot some action shots with the 20D and it continues to impress me.




Not sure if the white bird in the picture is a crane or egret, but it is some water bird. There also seemed to be a large contigent of geese at the pond as well.

Playing with the 20D - Shots along 280

I have driven countless times to San Francisco along Interstate 280 and I have always wondered about a couple of places along the freeway. There are both Vista Points. One of them has a statue of Father Junipero perched above one of the hills overlooking the freeway. For those of you who do not know who Father Junipero Serra was, he established a chain of missions in California, starting with San Francisco and ending in San Diego. Interstate 280 along the peninsula is named after him. I wonder what he is pointing to?

I got to experiment with a wide angle lens, which I used on the good father. Something to think about when purchasing lenses for your collection.

Playing with a Canon 20D

So all along my company had purchased a Canon 20D to shoot corporate events. Since I am pondering purchasing a 20D, it would be great to borrow it and experience it hands on. I managed to volunteer to shoot some pics at a company event and get my hands on it. What a nice camera with no shutter lag and infinite possiblities. Although auto shooting mode produces great pictures, it is always tempting to fiddle with all the manual controls. I took some random shots and happened to get the the photo you see above with a dollar bill and shadowing effects. Wow... makes me want to get a 20D even more.

Shadowbrook Restaurant - Capitola

So for my birthday, my girlfriend Theresa treated me to a great dinner at Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola, which is near Santa Cruz. Very nice atmosphere and great little place, especially for a date. Situated next to a brook and set on a hillside, the restaurant is tiered and multi-leveled. In fact you have to descend some pretty steep stairs in order to get to the entrance. For those not able or not willing to trek up and down, there is a tram decorated as a trolley car that can fit 6 people. I did not take any pics of the inside, as I think some of the diners would get annoyed at me for snapping away in there. I will definitely make it a point to go back one day