Travel Photography

[bircher]

I am an amateur photographer from Southern California who mainly focuses on travel photography.

You can view my sites at:

http://www.pbase.com/bircher
http://www.picturetrail.com/bircher

[ellette]

Love the colours of the picture! I always get nostalgic when I see piers like that. I spent my summers growing up in Balboa, CA but we don't really have many piers like that here in Oregon, so every time I see one I flash back to Balboa.

Sara

[bircher]

Sara,

Did you grow up on Balboa Island in Orange County? I use to live in Newport Beach and would go there on many Sundays just to stroll and relax and dream of owning one of those million dollar yachts.

Sam

[ellette]

Not on the island, on the peninsula. My grandparents had a beach house there, a block and a half from the bay and about 4 from the ocean. We used to just go there and spend about a month every summer (my sister and I were the only grandkids for a LONG time). We'd get the whole place to ourselves because my grandparents lived in San Jose and then moved up to their cabin outside of Arnold. It is amazing how a place like my grandparent's place (where my aunt now lives) is worth over a million dollars. There is around 800 square feet in the house, and it is in horrible condition because my aunt has been "renting" without paying rent and without caring about fixing up the place for 10 years now. The price isn't for the house, it is for the teeny tiny little bit of property and the fact that someone would buy it, tear down the house and then put in a huge one that left absolutely no yard (not that there really is one now, there is a yard in front about 5 feet deep and the back yard is a small patio...nothing else) and upped the price of the place to 4 million. It is a situation where "location location location" is taken overboard to the ridiculous!

Oh, and I've tried making frozen bananas at home, it just isn't the same as when you get them there.

Did you ever take the cruise around the bay where they point out Shirley Temple's old house and things like that?

Originally Posted by bircher

Sara,

Did you grow up on Balboa Island in Orange County? I use to live in Newport Beach and would go there on many Sundays just to stroll and relax and dream of owning one of those million dollar yachts.

[bircher]

Whenever I had guests from out of town I would take them on the car ferry

which they always got a kick out of it and then to the bay cruise. I have done it so many times, I have almost committed the facts to memory.

[Michele]

Beautiful photos.. I love the pier shot.. Lovely lighting and colors. Excellent work..

Where was the second one taken at? I don't recognize the location? I live in So. California and do a lot of coastal area shots.

[ellette]

Oh, the ferry, I love the ferry.* It doesn't seem as exciting when I go on it now a it did when I was little, but I love it.* We usually just walk on.* I think the hundreds and hundreds of times I've been on it I have only been in a car maybe 4 times.*

I pretty much learned to swim in the bay.* When I was there waaay back in '91 I think it was I was so depressed at the condition of the bay.* Something must have happened to it recently because the sand was almost black and there was nasty looking stuff growing in the sand.* The last time I was there was in '02 (it has been far too long) and it was much cleaner looking but since seeing it in '91 I'm just not sure I would trust the water to have my kids swim there.

BTW...my S key seems to be sticking so if there are words that should have one, I just missed it (had to go back and add 4 of them in that sentence alone!).

Thank you for sharing that picture.* You did a wonderful job capturing the things that are important in memories...the pavillion, the ferry dock, and the ferris wheel.

Sara

Originally Posted by bircher

Whenever I had guests from out of town I would take them on the car ferry

which they always got a kick out of it and then to the bay cruise. I have done it so many times, I have almost committed the facts to memory.

Modified because I left the ferry picture in the quote...don't need to take up that much space.* *

[bircher]

Originally Posted by Michele

Beautiful photos.. I love the pier shot.. Lovely lighting and colors. Excellent work..

Where was the second one taken at? I don't recognize the location? I live in So. California and do a lot of coastal area shots.*

The Balboa Auto Ferry on Balboa Island in Newport Beach. From the 405 Freeway you can exit Jamboree and take that west until it ends into Balboa Island.

[Patzt]

Such a wonderful photo of the pier, Sam. Love the blues and splashes of orange. I'd love to go out on that pier.