Griffith Observatory Panorama

This picture is pretty much similar to the previous one and it is not this kind of photographs I usually do. But sometimes you have to look over the fence and try other things. This is a panorama shot taken at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. I made 7 pictures with a Tamron 11-18mm lens at 18mm and stitched them afterwards.

 

You can see the whole Los Angeles Basin from Downtown L.A. on the left till Century City and Santa Monica behind on the right as well as the Pacific Ocean. Also note the Hollywood sign on the far right. A city of an unbelievable size (and I thought Mexico City was big).

 

I did these photographs a few weeks after Apple has released iOS 6 which brought a panorama function to the iPhone 4S and newer and even it was a few weeks out, you could here this remarkable “beep” of the iPhone’s panorama function everywhere around the observatory. Other phones have a similar function, but when I was there it seemed like everyone was using an iPhone.

 

So what did I do? I just took the iPhone as well and made panorama photo by using the new function. If you want to see the comparision between a panorama of 7 raw shots where an iMac Core Duo needed several minutes to stitch it and a panorama, taken on a mobile device and ready to use immediately after releasing the shutter – then click here…
(iPhone on top)

Laguna Beach

The Pacific Ocean seen from the top of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park near Laguna Beach, CA. I found this spot in Google Earth and decided to visit it right after work. Unfortunately the weather conditions were not perfect and there was this cloud layer on the ocean. Anyway, a nice place to be with a fantastic view over the pacific coast line.

Crystal Cove Beach

Similar to the previously posted photo this one was taken on the same day. But this was some hours earlier. The view is in southern direction and in the far end the Highway No. 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) is visible. I came down this way and the view when coming out of Laguna Beach is stunning. Only a road, the cliffs and the endless Ocean. I really like the orange coloured beach and the reflection of the cliffs in the wide area of wet sand. This entry is also a test of the wordpress App. The post was written and published on the iPad.

Sunset Jogging

Another photo taken on the Pacific coastline in February this year. I took the picture on the last evening I was in California. I finished all my work in the afternoon and took the opportunity to spend the rest of the day in the Crystal Cove State Park near Laguna Beach. I don’t know exactly how many photos I did – but my whole hard disk is full with sunset pictures taken there. Anyway, sitting in the sand at 25°C (especially in a week with -25°C in central Europe) and staring mesmerised when this big orange ball disappeared in the ocean was breathtaking.
And on this particular photo I really like the jogger crossing the frame. This adds a special note to the picture.