Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida Towing in the Boat, Valencia Beach, 1916 – Giclee Print
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Price: 34.99

A routine exchange …
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For 15 years, Manhattan Beach City Manager Geoff Dolan ruled City Hall, as powerful and unquestioned as Bell’s infamous former city manager, Robert Rizzo. Tall, thin …
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Kent Predators build up Indoor Football League roster
It didn’t take long for Keith Evans to start tracking down several of his former players after the Kent Predators hired him this month as coach. Evans has signed at least four players who played under him last year in Wenatchee to join Kent’s Indoor Football League team, which is now in its second year. The Predators open the 2011 season Feb. 25 at the ShoWare Center.
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Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 27
IN-N-OUT: Money exchanges hands at the drive-thru lot of an Orange County In-N-Out, California’s quintessential burger joint. Hunter Kerhart took the photo on Wednesday evening. Every day of 2011, we’re featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Visit the Southern…
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Inside prep sports: Ex-Wolverine QB finds home in Kentucky
College football’s signing date isn’t until Wednesday, but Spencer Phillips is already at his new home. Now he just needs to do some shopping. Phillips was lightly recruited as a quarterback out of Willamette High School when he graduated in 2009, but after a couple of seasons at West Los …
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With the coxswain tucked in the stern of t…
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Santa Monica Beach


Image by szeke
A lazy afternoon in Santa Monica beach. I was standing on the pier waiting for the sunset when I saw the reflection of the buildings on the ocean.

Processing:

Photomatix of -2, 0, +2 to produce the image used for the beach and above. The ocean is the 0 exposure belnded on the Photomatix HDR. Photomatix cannot really deal with all the movement on the breaking waves and produces tiny patches of no tonality. Looks pretty bad 1:1.

Imagenomic for noise reduction, strong reduction on the Photomatix part.

Tried to produce a more natural looking image than my usual impulse to produce very high contrast and saturation.
- Blue filter on the sky.
- Gradient on the sky to reduce brightness.
- Contrast enhancement by producing a tonality mask so that curve adjustments affect the darker tones more. Used this mask on a curves layer where I pulled the curves down (page 203 of Eismann Duggan Creative Digital Darkroom)
- Added layer with Soft Light blending mode at low opacity.
- Some dodging on the beach and water.
- Smart sharpen filter on the beach and buildings.

The Photomatix image had a nice warm colored reflection on the water, which I lost when I blended in the 0 image of the water. I could not recreate the nice warm tones in PS.

Santa Monica Pier


Image by Brian Auer
Entry to the Santa Monica Pier, greeted by a directory and map.

Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel


Image by hienst3r
Santa Monica, California
TTV

Santa Monica Beach


Image by szeke
This is another shot from my outing to the Santa Monica Pier. I shot for HDR with -3, -1, 1 because the reflections are way too bright. My only attempt at merging in Photomatix failed miserably. My guess is that the light on the wheel changes way too fast. In the end, this is pretty much straight from the camera. I only reduced the brightness of the red reflection.

It is interesting that the reflection on the wet sand is red even though the lights on the wheel are yellow. In fact, I have many other shots where the colors of the reflections don’t match. Strange, the sand must absorb some colors.

Bike ride from Venice to Santa Monica


Image by tarabrown
About 50 people ooohed and awwwed as we rode the bike path from Venice to Santa Monica and back. Some yelled out "OMG look at that dog" or "He has swim goggles on" or "He has sunglasses" or "Doggles!!" for the educated. It was crazy how many responses we got!!

West Los Angeles encompasses the most well-known areas of Los Angeles, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Marina del Rey, and Playa del Rey, Malibu, Bel Air, Hollywood and many other neighborhood no many to mention.

Beverly Hills is the most upscale community in West Los Angeles, home to many celebrities and otherwise wealthy individuals. It is a beautiful tree-lined residential community covering under 6 square miles, with enough amenities to supply anyone’s desires. Restaurants and shopping centers are plentiful, with the Golden Triangle (including famous Rodeo Drive) supplying the trendiest, most chic fashion available anywhere.

Santa Monica is one the country’s most famous beach cities, with Santa Monica Pier housing a beachside carnival, giving the area a classic boardwalk setting. Santa Monica has a very active nightlife, with an assortment of bars and theaters to keep the night alive. The community is also well-known for having one of the finest school districts in all of Los Angeles.

Venice Beach is considered one of the funkiest areas in the entire nation, with its beachside artists and street performers, musicians, and other unique attractions. Activity is endless here, as the entire community is a virtual carnival. Combined with all of the ocean-side activities of the many beaches, no Venice Beach resident ever needs to look far for a good time.

Marina del Rey just minutes from LAX – and just as close to L.A.’s action and attractions; the Marina’s a relaxing, breezy home base for a perfect SoCal stay. Watch busy boating, stroll to famous restaurants and world class panoramas.