Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Standing Stone



Saturday morning dawned, so we headed off early to Muir Woods to begin the photo-workshop. I've not been there before so was interested to see what was in store for us.
Getting there early when the park opened (8 am) turned out to be a good move. The place was absolutely packed by the time we left a few hours later with cars parked all along the access roads into the woods. Not sure if this is usual or down to some sort of event but regardless the message is clear: get there early on the weekend!

We spent close to four hours working our way around the paths and trying different views. The above was taken on the first bridge overlooking a small stream. Yeah, it's a little overdone, and I'll take another go at it at some point, but at least it gives you an idea of the whole slow exposure/moving water thing (an effect that's overused these days, usually to try and add something of interest to an otherwise uninteresting scene.) Overall, though, it was a diverse mix of old and new growth forest, was easy to walk around (boardwalks or paths the whole way) and interesting enough to offer-up many different photographic challenges, not the least of which was avoiding the "too wide/too busy" view of trees and shrubs!

Lunch was a sandwich at the visitor's center (really quite reasonable) and then off to the next stop: Point Bonita lighthouse. Alas, the grey morning had by now developed in to a grey, rainy morning with evidence of a stiffening breeze. Far from promising, in short, especially given where we were heading.

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