Sherman Library & Gardens, Corona Del Mar, California

I’d like to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. Last year, I took my mom and grandma to the Almansor Court Champagne Brunch in San Gabriel which was great, but I wanted to do something different this year. To celebrate Mother’s Day this year, I took them to Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona Del Mar. Both of them enjoy visiting gardens and looking at flowers so I figured that Sherman Gardens would be pretty and yet compact enough for my grandma to get around easily. None of us had visited Sherman Gardens before but I had driven past it a number of times while heading to other locations in Orange County so I had always been curious to see what it was like inside. It’s a great place! It’s very pretty. I’d recommend visiting if you are into gardens and in the area.

See more of my garden pictures.

Happy Mother’s Day is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Digital Outdoor Photography: 101 Top Tips by Heather Angel

Sterling Publishing recently sent me a copy of Heather Angel’s latest book, Digital Outdoor Photography: 101 Top Tips. Heather Angel is British nature photographer that has been been authoring nature photography books for many years. I had read some of her books when I was first starting off my photography career so I was somewhat familiar with her work prior to receiving the book for review.

The book is geared toward aspiring nature photographers. The format is a bit different than most other photo books in the how-to genre in that the content is presented as a series of essential tips for nature photographers. The tips are concise and well-illustrated, which I believe is designed to help photographers remember the material easier. Topics from light and shadow, to shooting in the rain, to blending into surroundings is covered. There are a few tips about the basics of camera operation such as metering, but the majority of the book is specific to nature photography. This is a good thing because let’s be honest, there are already a million books out there that tell you how to install your camera batteries, how to do spot metering, etc…

I think the people that can best benefit from this book are probably photographers that know the basic fundamentals of how to make an exposure, and understand the difference between f2, f5.6 and f16. But perhaps don’t have significant experience with outdoor photography. If you’re a photographer that falls into this category, you would probably get a lot of ideas for what can be done in nature photography. The book is not going to make you the next Frans Lanting or Heather Angel, no book can, but it can be a launching point for you to try some things you may not have considered before.

For more info, see the publisher’s website or Amazon.com if you’re interested in purchasing the book.

Book Review: Digital Outdoor Photography: 101 Top Tips is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Romantic Couple Walking Toward Water Fountains at Department of Water and Power with Downtown Skyrises and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Background, Los Angeles, California

The trick to photographing scenes with people in there is to shoot it like you mean it. That’s the main difference between a successful photo with people in there compared to a photo where “those damn people walked into my frame”. People within a scene can add another dimension to the image by perhaps telling a visual story that wouldn’t be there otherwise, or perhaps add a sense of scale to the scene therefore making the photo more impactful as a result. Photography is really the art of simplification. It’s about making order out of a chaotic world. The hardest thing about photographing live scenes with people in there is that you have no control over their actions and it’s hard to predict the end results of the photo.

What I like about incorporating people within my photography is that it’s a hybrid style of shooting that combines the methodical compositional techniques of traditional landscape photography with “the decisive moment” spontaneity of street photography. If the timing and anticipation is off, then you would have been better off not including people in the scene, and if the composition isn’t quite there then it’s just a bad scenic photo. In the rare moments when both come to together then you have a rare photo.

In the case of this photo of downtown Los Angeles, the couple within the photo had walked past me and I knew they were headed down the path to the water fountains so I got my basic composition in order and waited until they walked into the frame while hoping the woman would keep her arm around her man until I got a few frames off at least. I got one frame of this, and the other frame right after was of them arm-in-arm. With anticipation, timing, and a bit of luck I got my photo.

My entire thought process was centered around the actions of the couple within this scene. Yet they are the smallest element within the frame surrounded by tall skyscrapers, a beautiful water fountain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It’s easy to get caught up in all the obvious stuff when out shooting but I like paying attention to the details because that is the aspect that will make or break a photo.

See more of my Los Angeles pictures.

Photographing Scenes with People is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

2012 Gardens Calendar Cover

My Butchart Gardens photo of the Sunken Garden is on the front of the Gardens 2012 Calendar. There are about a million of these out there so maybe you might have seen one or maybe not, but it’s always fun to see your own photography published in print. This is actually my 2nd photo from this scene to make it onto a front cover. The other version was published as a front and back cover wraparound on a Japanese magazine but I don’t have a copy of that one unfortunately.

Butchart Gardens is one of my favorite places in the world and a definite must-see if visiting Canada or the Pacific Northwest. When my mom and I visited in 2009, we spent nearly 10 hours there, getting there at opening time when this image was made, then leaving mid-day and came back after dinner to shoot until closing time at night. We had a great time.

Garden Calendar Cover Photo is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Pfeiffer Falls, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California

The last Big Sur waterfall I photographed made it onto the cover of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine so I figured I’d try my luck on another one this time. While not as dramatic as McWay Falls, Pfeiffer Falls is beautiful in its’ own right. To get to Pfeiffer Falls, we had to hike up the Valley View Trail above the world’s southernmost redwood forest then back down into the canyon to access Pfeiffer Falls since the main waterfall trail was closed due to damage. There wasn’t a heavy water flow probably due to the lack of rain this winter but it’s a rather tall waterfall with several tiers. The forest was beautiful as well with a variety of wildflowers in bloom all along the trail.

See more of my California Central Coast photos.

Pfeiffer Falls is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Bixby Creek Bridge Overlook, Big Sur, California

Bixby Creek Bridge Overlook is one of the most famous postcard scenes in the world and for good reason. I can’t imagine driving down Big Sur and not stopping here. I’ve always wanted to photograph a sunset here and tried to on this trip but the horizon was blocked up by clouds at sunset so it went dark early on this day. I do wonder if it would really make for a better photo at sunset or not because the beautiful turquoise blue water would be rendered black in the photo without direct overhead lighting. The intense blue water is what I notice most on clear days along the California Central Coast, as it’s not something you really see in Southern California.

Bixby Creek Bridge is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Spring Flowers in Bloom Along Ocean View Blvd., Pacific Grove, California

Pacific Grove is one of the most scenic towns on the California coast. Though I had been there a number of times in my life, I had never visited during the spring months until now. The entire coastline was lined with these purple flowers and carpeted with bright pink flowers. I definitely want to go back next spring for a longer trip and spend some time photographing the flowers in different types of light.

See more of my Monterey photos.

Pacific Grove is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Samantha Looking at School of Mackerel at Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California

Visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium has always been one of my favorite things to do in Monterey. I find the open seas exhibits to be of particular interest because it’s so mysterious. While visiting the aquarium recently, I started thinking about how there always seems to be an odd fish or two that strays from the school going counter-clockwise and how much in common they have with most creative-types within our own species.

Convention in the open seas would say that staying with the school of fish would ensure odds of survival by numbers. Convention within our own society would say that you should go to school, become a doctor or a lawyer, work 9 to 5, get married, have two kids and you will be “successful”. And yet many of our great innovators in history went against the grain. Following common thought may lead you to a certain degree of success, but there is a ceiling to it. You are just a number following someone else’s path to success. Those who choose their own path may fall flat on their face more often, and yet the ceiling is also greater because there is the degree of unknown. You are yourself.

What type of fish are you?

See more of my Monterey pictures.

What Type of Fish Are You? is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Urasenke Tea House at The Huntington's Japanese Garden

Here are two new scenes from the renovated Japanese Garden at The Huntington. The Japanese Garden re-opened a few days ago in time for the 100th anniversary. The ad slogan for the re-opening is, “Return of an Icon”.

Scene from New Japanese Garden at The Huntington

See more of my Huntington Gardens photos.

Return of an Icon is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Group of People Watching Moonset at Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

I have photographed a lot of different things but one thing I’ve never photographed nor watched before was a full moon set. It was every bit as exciting as shooting a sunset.

If this tree looks familiar to you, it’s because I photographed it during my last visit to Carmel.

See more of my Monterey Bay photos.

Carmel Beach Moonset is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Point Lobos Seascape

I have a confession: I do not own a smartphone anymore. I work in front of a computer enough as is, both out of necessity to earn a living but also for fun.  The side effect of this is that it makes me value my real life even more so I don’t want to waste anymore of my life on the internet and computer than I already do. Plus there is nothing more annoying than talking to someone who has their face buried in their phone all day.

For three days I left the digital world behind entirely for fun-filled days of photography and travel on the California Central Coast with my girlfriend. I didn’t bring a laptop on this trip as I find that when I travel with a laptop it makes my photography suffer because I ultimately end up spending too much time on it, such as how I lost most of my last day in Nevada this past fall due to having to deal with my website being hacked. Though it sucks to have your site hacked and taken down for two days, in hindsight I wish I could have that last day back and dealt with the problem back at home.

I didn’t miss the internet at all during this trip to Monterey and I think I’m going to try traveling digital-free again when I go to Canada. It felt so liberating to be able to focus solely on the things that are important to me. The problem I find in today’s world is that there are so many distractions that it just results in a loss of productivity. No one wants to admit that but it’s true.

Try unplugging for a few days, or longer if you’re traveling. Leave the devices at home and focus on you. If you need intellectual stimulation, try having a real conversation with the people you’re with rather than IM’g each other while in the same room, go for a hike, go to a museum or read the books on your shelf that you haven’t gotten around to yet. You’ll probably come back a happier person and healthier.

See more of my Monterey Bay pictures.

Unplug Your Life is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

James Dean Memorial, Cholame, California

I’ve always thought that James Dean was a cool dude so I had been looking for his memorial for several years. I knew it was somewhere along highway 46 near Cholame but kept passing it apparently without seeing it. This time, I saw a sign at the intersection of highways 46 and 41, that referred to the area as James Dean Memorial Intersection, so I knew it had to be there somewhere. Despite that I almost passed it again because it’s just a metal sculpture underneath a big tree. Kind of hard to spot as it just sneaks up on you unexpectedly. I slowed, and couldn’t make out the words on it, still not sure this was the James Dean Memorial, so it wasn’t until I walked up to it to read it that I knew this was indeed the spot.

For those who don’t know, James Dean, was a young actor who died in a car crash (while street racing) at this intersection in 1955. His most famous movie was Rebel Without a Cause, which ironically has him surviving a car racing incident that killed his rival. I don’t mean to make light of his death, but I think the way he died just adds to his legend. What better way to go out than by not giving a fuck about what anyone else thinks and doing what you love most?

See more of my California Central Valley photos.

Rebel Without a Cause is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Seeing the Unseen: How to Photograph Landscapes at Night by Alister Benn

Alister Benn‘s eBook, Seeing the Unseen: How to Photography Landscapes at Night, is a lesson in long exposures, photographing star trails and understanding the conditions needed to achieve the photos that he does. Night photography is perhaps the most technically challenging type of landscape photography that there is because it pushes your camera sensor to the limit so I was glad that Benn decided to make this book. There is a lot of useful advice in here about how to calculate long exposures and how the different stages of moonlight affect the landscape. I think that there is something for everyone in this book because he shows single exposure examples and also multiple exposure examples.

I have no complaints whatsoever about Seeing the Unseen and will keep it short by saying that if you are interested in landscape photography then I would recommend this eBook.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of the eBook from the author.

Seeing the Unseen: How to Photograph Landscapes at Night – eBook Review is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Hikers Looking at Scenery, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Riverside County, California

The best hikes are the ones that offer the most solitude. I had been to the Santa Rosa Plateau once before to photograph the Vernal Pools, but that trail is so popular that it was more of a zoo-like environment there. This time (a week ago) since there was no water at the Vernal Pools I asked the ranger at the visitor center about which trail had the least amount of people so he pointed out a trail that we could take. We hiked about five miles in a loop and encountered three people during that entire time, with two of them returning to their car near the trailhead so we basically had the place to ourselves.

See more of my Inland Empire pictures.

The Best Hikes is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Lily Pad and Reflections in North Vista Fountain Water at The Huntington Botanical Gardens

“…you may get it in half a roll; you may use five rolls and never get it. What I don’t understand is five rolls showing the same damn thing.” – William Albert Allard

I’ve been photographing the Huntington on a regular basis for nearly an entire year now. My goal through this has always been to push beyond the obvious and interpret the Huntington in a different way. Bill Allard’s quote rings so true to me because I see so many photographers that shoot the same stuff, the same way for years. Don’t they ever get bored? I do. I always want to evolve.

The reason why I think artists become stagnant is because once you reach a certain level of commercial success or critical acclaim it can be hard to resist that pressure to keep churning out the same work that got you to the dance. It’s like being an undefeated fighter. No one notices you at first when you are hungry then eventually people start to notice then eventually the pressure builds to a point where you stop learning and start fighting to not lose, rather than to progress.

See more of my Huntington Gardens photos.

Showing the Same Damn Thing is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Sunset, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California

I typically like to spend my New Years Eve doing landscape photography. That was the plan for this past NYE as well so it began with a hike to Solstice Canyon Falls but things were not going according to plan almost from the beginning. It began with me realizing that I had forgotten my backpack that I usually use to carry my camera gear when out in the field. I was not about to leave my camera gear in the car at a trailhead nor carry a 20 pound camera backpack around the hike so I took one of the Walmart cloth bags that Samantha had in her car and stuffed my gear into that and wore it like a backpack. That was about as uncomfortable as I had ever felt on a hike before since the straps were not meant to be worn on the shoulders. As for the actual photography, I think I took a total of two pictures on the hike because the light was way too harsh. Not really a big deal as I just wanted to do the hike to see what the area was like.

Then the plan was spend the rest of the day between El Matador State Beach and Leo Carrillo State Beach depending on which offered the best conditions at sunset. That was the plan but naturally the fog never burned off. El Matador SB was completely socked in and Leo Carrillo was partly clear but very hazy. We ended up leaving about 30 minutes before sunset because I just wasn’t feeling it, more of the same old been there, done that feeling, so we wanted to get a head start on dinner.

Almost as soon as we left PCH, the air quality magically cleared up. As we headed further up over the Santa Monica Mountains I saw these lenticular clouds in the distance and how they were starting to warm as the sun dipped so we decided to stop and look for the most interesting scene I could find along the road to match it with. The clouds had spread further apart by the time the sun had set losing some of the initial shape that attracted me to this scene but I thought it was cool that the only serious photos I had taken on this day were at some place that I just happened to be driving past.

So often do we as photographers have preconceived notions of what we want to photograph and a certain way of doing it so we try imposing ourselves into a photo rather than letting the moment speak to us. If I had taken the former approach and fight against the sub-par conditions down at the beach, I’d probably have a bunch of run-of-the-mill beach sunset photos at Leo Carrillo SB that looks like other stuff I’ve done, but instead I came away with pictures of a place that I had never seen before.

Photography is Like Jazz is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

I don’t care who you are, whether you are Kobe Bryant or a 25 year old just starting off your photography career, when something costs $3,500 you should carefully consider what benefits you would be getting for that kind of money. If you already own a 5D Mark II for instance, will you gain an additional $3,500+ in value above what you would get from continuing to use the Mark II? Will that additional clarity in long night exposures help you to sell an additional $3,500 in prints above what you would from the Mark II? That’s just breaking even. Does this camera help you make images you couldn’t with the Mark II? Will anyone care about the difference? If the answer is no, then you just wasted $3,500.

If you own a Canon Rebel XTI, will you gain an additional $3,500 in value by purchasing the Mark III over what you could make off of the Rebel? If you are an aspiring professional photographer, then perhaps in this case. Maybe the Mark III makes you seem more professional so you can pick up more jobs or the ability to sell more images though to be honest, publishers almost never ask what camera you photograph with. Stock agencies do but any DSLR made over the past six years will generally make the cut, including some high-end compact cameras.

I’m not bashing the 5D Mark III as I’m sure it’s a fine camera but I’m using it as an example to question why people feel the need to upgrade every time a new camera comes out. If you look at this from a practical financial standpoint, there is a lot of opportunity cost to purchasing cameras. If the Mark III doesn’t make you more than $3,500 above what you could with your existing cameras over the lifetime of the camera, then consider what you could have done with the $3,500 instead.

• $3,500 can get you three week trip to Alaska or just about anywhere else in this world.
• $3,500 can pay for two Mountain Light Photography workshops and then some.
• $3,500 invested in Fidelity Low-Priced Stock mutual funds today will be worth nearly $25,000 within 20 years. If you have kids or are planning to have kids, that can fund a California State University education for four years.
• Now take into account how many times you have purchased DSLR’s in the past five years. If it’s three cameras at a value of $3,500, you know how much that mutual fund would be worth in 20 years? That is $85,000 in opportunity cost. That same amount of spending on cameras over 20 years comes out to $178,000 in opportunity cost.

My calculations above don’t even consider the computer and software upgrades necessary to process the files. Generally when a new DSLR comes out, it forces us to upgrade to the latest version of Lightroom and/or Photoshop if you want to process RAW files. For some people, they need an entirely new computer to handle the files. I get it though. Cameras are sexy and photographers get emotionally attached to their craft so the rational side of the brain gets shut off.

What photographers should spend more energy on is honing their vision and on the educational process. That is the hard part of photography and the most rewarding. Your photography should be in a constant state of evolution over a lifetime, and I don’t see how owning every latest and greatest camera model helps you to achieve that. Hand me a 1985 Nikon and a roll of Fuji Provia, and my scenic photos would look similar to what I’m currently doing with my modern DSLR.

The True Cost of Upgrading Cameras is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Cherry Tree Blossom at The Huntington Botanical Gardens

I noticed several cherry tree blossoms in my neighborhood so I figured that perhaps The Huntington might have some trees in bloom too.

See more of my Huntington Gardens pictures.

Blooming Trees at The Huntington is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Griffith Park Sunset, Los Angeles, California

As I’m photographing the sunset outside of the Griffith Observatory, this guy comes up to tell me that photography is allowed but I cannot use my tripod to take pictures because I needed a permit to use it and that the park ranger will give me a ticket if he sees me. I responded with, “Are you serious?!?”. Not so much a question on my part, but more like disbelief that this guy would have the nerve to tell me what I can and can’t do in a publicly-owned park that is paid for with my taxpayer money. I can understand this policy applying to inside of the observatory due to safety reasons but I was outdoors in a corner by myself minding my own business. The guy proceeded to point out another photographer that was told to put it away as well.

Now this is not the first time I’ve had someone try to tell me what to do in a public place so I wasn’t buying it. Was the park ranger going to ticket me for exercising my 1st amendment rights? Give me a break; this is the United States of America, not North Korea. After responding with silence, he left and I continued going about my business. About twenty minutes later he comes back yelling at me, “Sir. You can’t use your tripod! I’m not going to tell you again!” Before I could turn around and offer a response, he had already walked off.

Though he had no right to force me to do something against my will, I ended up going to the other side of the complex because I was in no mood for bullshit and just wanted to pursue my photography in peace. I doubt I will be going back there for photography because it’s just not worth the headache, not even counting the 30 minute hike up the road that I had to do in order to get there. People should really mind their own business and focus on more important things than harassing others. The problem is that people assume that because you have a tripod that it means commercial photography (which does require a permit). No. Tripods are necessary to take good pictures when it’s dark outside!

Since we’re on the topic of photographer’s rights, here is a cool video that the ACLU recently produced on the topic.

Tripod Harassment at Griffith Park is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.

Cathedral Rocks Reflection at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona

This is the local Sedona icon trophy photo. In my three visits, I’ve never been blessed with good light so I just make do with what’s available. Though the Cathedral Rocks are featured on every postcard rack in Arizona I still was surprised by how many photographers were out here even in the dreary late afternoon weather. One guy was shooting too close to the creek and fell in apparently because I saw him laying all his gear out to dry on a rock including his photo backpack and jacket. Even then he went back to shooting away soaking wet head to toe in cold weather as if he were in a race for time against some magical light about to fade. It’s interesting to see how other photographers work.

I got pretty close to some cascading water on the edge of the creek too but I went home dry at least.

Sedona Scenic Landscape is a post from: Richard Wong Photography. View our latest photos.