Saturday, September 13, 2008

Purple Haze

The automatic settings on my little camera don't cut it when it's dark. Woe is me! I've had to actually read the manual! Last night I went shooting in the dusk.

You're seeing the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the background; this part of the mountains is part of the Angeles National Forest. The foreground is the low-lying parts of Hahamongna Watershed Park. At dusk that's coyote domain. Boz's hillbilly cousins start heckling him from out where he can't see them.

The twinkly part in the middle is NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.Who do you suppose was working late on a Friday night? They think up all sorts of things over there. The mind boggles.

32 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the mountains in the early morning and in the evening when they look like that. Various shapes in shades of purple against a solid background. They seem almost two dimensional without detail, but very beautiful!

John Sandel said...

I know what are those lights: they're candling eggheads!

ben wideman said...

Awesome shot Petrea! Love it.

Anonymous said...

Someone needs to do a cliff notes for these camera manuals. Angeles often has a purple cast to it, which you caught so well.

Katie said...

What a wonderful photo - love all the subtle colors and the twinkling lights. The color of the sky is a perfect purply-pink. And I think I can almost hear the howls coming from the dark area too!

Anonymous said...

I think it's a nice nite pic, P!
See - it pays to read.

I have some photog cliff notes, but I may put them up on Ebay 1st: "Pro shutterbugging in 1 hour." But, 4 sum reason I can't find it now. (I think maybe that So Pasa Laurie got her hands on it sumhow.)

Unknown said...

Nice photo, the kind of thing I'm after to paint at the moment, the colors are very interesting.

John Sandel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christie said...

I love the purple!! It's just beautiful! Nice shot!

USelaine said...

Well, the words "Mazola party" perked me up a bit. Thanks for the thought.

USelaine said...

You know Bernie, living with you must be the adventure of a lifetime. Do you have any cats?

John Sandel said...

I'm sorry—don't want to hijack Petrea's blog. No mas.

Anonymous said...

I want to know if that tiny light in the hill directly behind JPL is a house or part of JPL?. Not the houses on the ridge but the little light in the hill itself. Pretty purple pink.

Boz has a ton of cousins hanging out in Griffith Park. They practically escort you back to your car when the park closes.

Fashion Schlub said...

I love that light...I've never been anywhere else with light like that.

Petrea Burchard said...

Almost like those cartoon backgrounds, eh Keith?

Bernie, I love a joke that sends me to the dictionary. I didn't know candle could be a verb. So it took me a while to get to this, but: hee hee!

Thanks, Ben, Altadenahiker and Katie.

L.O.: too late for me, I'm reading now. I may not catch up with tech-queen Laurie, though.

Stéphane, do you take a photo in order to paint such colors? The light is so fleeting.

Thank you, Christie.

Elaine, I'm sorry Bernie deleted his comment. It renders your comments a little out of the blue. Bernie, I thought it was funny.

Folks, feel free to rant here as long as you're interesting and you aren't nasty or mean. I'll delete you if you're nasty or mean or just plain weird, but if you want to be creative, have at it.

PA: the one in the center or the one to the right above the houses? The center one is probably part of JPL. They have quite a few big dish antennae in the hills. The one on the right is probably a home. Those on the left I'd guess are homes also.

Islipian, the early filmmakers came here for light (and to avoid Thomas Edison's monopoly). Every place has its own light, and I do love ours.

USelaine said...

Kinda left me holding the Mazola bottle here... *blush*

Unknown said...

No I do it on site, I don't like painting at home from a photo, I love the feel of being there, and the spontaneity of it. I do all my sketches and painting on site.That's why I love the Iphone app at the moment, it gives me the opportunity to paint a sunset in 5 minutes, very fast. That's the beauty of it. If you want to use traditional medium to paint a sunset, you need to do it at home from a photo as the light is changing so quickly, by the time you get ready, the light is gone.
I'm planning on doing like 100+ iphone paintings.

Laurie Allee said...

I'm laughing that anyone would call me a tech queen. I guess thousands of dollars thrown into the coffers of my old film school weren't completely in vain!

P, this is BEAUTIFUL! Read that manual, girl. You really did capture the purple haze of our city. This picture is just yummy.

Rosie said...

Petrea
This is a particularly nice photo.
You live in an amazing place...

Dina said...

What a lovely photo. Maybe I should read the manual too. You mean there are setttings other than automatic?!

Hilda said...

Beautiful scenery, but right now all I can think is that I'd love to tour the Jet Propulsion Lab!

Petrea Burchard said...

Speaking of which, Miss Havisham, your visits are a blessing.

Stephane, the iphone paint program is versatile in your hands. Everyone, I recommend you check out "Stef's Sketches" blog.

Laurie, thank you. I got a lecture from a pro photographer friend, and John's helping. I'm finally enjoying the manual settings. You know stuff about equipment and settings that I don't, though, so I think film school helped!

Speaking of amazing places, Rose, I think I'll visit Canterbury today.

hee hee, Dina!

Hilda, I think they have tours a couple of times a year. I've never been on one but I'd like to go. It looks so mysterious out there!

marley said...

I like! Excellent colours.

John Sandel said...

Okay, now that it doesn't matter any more, here's what I posted earlier:

DIGICAM XYZ
Loser's Manual
(the Cliff Notes)

Introduction:

Congratulations on your purchase of the XYZ 2008® from Monolithic Industries, Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), LLC, Q.E.D.

We're confident you'll enjoy your new XYZ for the next fifteen minutes. After that, we'll debut the XYZ 2009®, with new Vitamin Enriched Firmware™, and you will once again live in shame. Thanks!

Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1—Quick Setup
2. Chapter 2—Parts of the XYZ 2008®
3. Chapter 3—Troubleshooting
4. Chapter 4—Frustrated?
5. Chapter 5—Technical Specifications

Warrranty Information
Index

1. QUICK SETUP

Please note: The XYZ 2008® Region 1 Retail Consumer Kit Loser’s Guide contains no Quick Setup mode. Please refer to the laminated Easy Start card which our Pacific Rim subcontractor was supposed to have included in this Kit. Thanks!

2. Parts of the XYZ 2008

Please refer to the diagram to identify the mysterious buttons, sliders and unlabeled doodads on your new XYZ 2008®. We're confident you'll be shooting in no time once your find your reading glasses (minimum diopter 2.5 recommended for best results).

If the Tagalog labels stump you, please refer to the camera menu: Start > Function > Left Turn > Stand On Your Head > Help > Language > Choose. You may find it convenient to purchase our new GPS-Assisted Instruction-Translating Module, which automatically locates your new XYZ 2008®, identifies the likely language group of your location and offers translations of the instructional manual for a nominal fee.

Some import duty restrictions may apply. Thanks!

3. Troubleshooting

Confused? Please refer to the Troubleshooting page at our website:

www.Monlithic.com/troubleshooting/404notfound

There, you will find all answers to your puny, ignorant questions. Complaints should be directed to our corporate headquarters:

Monolithic Industries, GmbH, LLC, Q.E.D.
Customer Relations Dept., Offshore
PO Box 2108 Majuro
Marshall Islands, MH 96959

Thanks!

4. Chapter 4—Frustrated?

For frustration issues, access the Digital Consumer Expectations submenu in your camera's menu function menu:

Home > Function > Right Turn > User Experience > Nunc Vero Cum Sit Unus > Qui Non Modo Eorum Nunc Sunt > Sucker

We know how you feel, but we're Monolithic and have very little reason to care. We're confident you'll enjoy the attractive design, light weight and easy portability of your new XYZ 2008®. It's ready whatever the situation: birthday party, beach party, Mazola party, ethnic pogrom or corporate event. Thanks!

5. Chapter 5—Technical Specifications

Warranty Information

[card missing]

If your card is missing, please direct any correspondence to our corporate headquarters (Chapter 4 of this Loser’s Guide). We will attempt to sympathize with you via Telex (access code AH6-000048) at an hour most inconvenient to you. Should you require warranty service, we recommend you upgrade to our new model XYZ 2009®, debuting at Photokina soon. Thanks!

Index

Please refer to this manual's Table of Contents for a complete index of what is standard in most camera manuals, if not this one.

© 2008 Monolithic GmbH, LLC, Q.E.D.
All terms and design subject too change without notice.

Please stop reading NOW.

Petrea Burchard said...

So. Back to Elaine's question: do you have any cats?

John Sandel said...

Do iguanas count?

Dina said...

See? Bernie proves it. That's why I never bother to open the camera manual.

Petrea Burchard said...

Dina, you have a point.

Yes, iguanas count. Two for one, I'd say.

Ms M said...

I like the mood this photo evokes. Hope you try more night photography!

Ms M said...

Love Bernie K's Loser's Manual...

John Sandel said...

"Two for one"

Yeah? Which way?

Petrea Burchard said...

Over at the 1881, Ms. M.