Category Travel

Check out the latest photos…

Mike Hope Leave a comment

 

Playing around on the beach this weekend with the Sony A7Rii and an old Canon 28mm FD f/2.8 manual focus. It really takes some nice shots, very clear if you get the focus right…

Hermosa Under Pier B&W 2 by Mike Hope

Hermosa Surfer under Pier by Mike-Hope

 

Hope you like it.

Hi all,

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving… We were up in Sonoma for the weekend and I had a chance to get out and about with the new Sony A7Rii . I got a couple of shots in the Benziger Winery in Glen Ellen with an old Canon 24-70mm 2.8 L series and they came out quite well… I’ll post some more soon and thanks for taking a look!

Benziger-winery-web-by-Mike-Hope

Mike-Hope

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The Bridge to Autumn…

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,
Thought you might like to take a look at an autumn photo I took in the UK. The bridge across the river “By Brook” to the Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe UK on the edge of the Cotswolds. A magical “Harry Potter” village. The whole area is a wonderful place to visit and I would recommend it to anyone!!

The Bridge to Autumn by Mike-Hope

Thanks for taking a look,

Michael-Hope

Petworth House Under Grey Sky

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,

This is a photograph I thought you might like that I took of Petworth house approaching from an old cart track towards an old giant tree. There are two figures in the distance approaching the house. It is late afternoon and the clouds were beginning to gather. It just had that moody effect and classic english country side feel. It reminds me of famous painting but I’m still trying to find it. The grounds were designed by Capability Brown. J. W Turner and Anthony Van Dyck used to hang out there, amongst others, so I am sure one of them painted a similar scene… Let me know if you have any ideas!

Petworth House Grey Sky by Mike Hope

 Petworth House by Mike Hope

I got a really nice reply from Gustavo Moniz Ferreira who saw my photo on 500px and did a little research on a painting I shot displayed at the above  Petworth House. He found out that the painting of the table (below) is called “Gulliver Presented to the Queen of Brobdignag” and the author is Charles Robert Leslie. The picture was painted in 1834/35 and has the dimensions of 100 x 123 cm.

“Gulliver Presented to the Queen of Brobdignag” painted by Charles Robert Leslie. Photo by Mike-Hope

 

Thanks again for taking a look,

Mike Hope

Kincaids On the Pier

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,

This was one of the Kincaids Restaurant on Redondo Beach Pier that I shot with a Tokina 16 – 28mm lens on test. It worked well but couldn’t match the Canon 16-35mm f1.4 IS. Great fun trying them out and a gorgeous day in Redondo!

Redondo Kinkaids by Mike-Hope

Redondo Kincaids by Mike Hope

Thanks you again for checking it out and hope you like the photos on 500px…

Mike Hope

Santa Monica Parking

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi all,

Hope you are having fun this weekend!! We went over to the Brit Week on Third Street Promanade in Santa Monica on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, then Third Street is always a lot of fun, with the activity and street performers, you can’t help having a good time! I shot a few photos and hopefully will upload some more soon. This one I shot on the way back to the car and just thought it was pretty funky!! What do you think?

Santa Monica Parking by Mike Hope

Santa Monica Parking by Mike Hope

Hope you like it!!

Mike Hope

Sun-up at the Grand Canyon Revisited

Mike Hope 1 Comment

Hi all,

I know I posted the sun up photo in October last year but since then I just revisited some of the shots I took and found three shots in sequence with different shutter speeds from a slightly different angle than the first photo. I put them into Lightroom and used LR/Enfuse to blend them together. Then did a little work in Photoshop to bring out the depth. I have placed some small pictures of the individual shots before I processed them and you can see the difference with the final output. Thought you might like to take a look at how it came out!!

Bye the way, I was using my old Canon 60D and a rental Canon 24-105MM F/4 lens. I rented the Lens from LensRentals.com a great place to try before you by and get the lowdown on all the equipment! One thing I really needed was a sturdy tripod and to remember to use mirror lock-up.

 

Grand Canyon Fx by Mike-Hope

Grand Canyon Sunrise by Mike-Hope

 

IMG_8871

IMG_8873

These are the shots with different exposures

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again for taking a look and I appreciate the feedback!

Mike Hope

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Barrow by Mike-Hope

Mike Hope Leave a comment

Hi All,

Since spring is officially here I thought I’d take a walk around the South Bay Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes and check out the wonderful botanical offerings that are on display. What a superb place to spend a leisurely afternoon. The dedicated volunteers and regular staff put so much effort into what is a virtual paradise in amongst the hustle and bustle…

Spring Barrow Mike-Hope

Spring Barrow by Mike-Hope

…just a few hundred yards away.  You actually feel you’re way out in the country with a mixture of exotic plants from palms to pines and flowers and shrubs galore. I’d highly recommend you give it a visit if you are in the area. I spotted another photographer taking a shot of this wheel barrow and commented on what a great shot it would make. I came back later at the end of my walk and grabbed this shot. I really like it!  I hope you do too, it’s a real spring reminder.

Thanks for taking a look,

Mike Hope

 

Photos from Calico Ghost Town

Mike Hope 1 Comment

Hi All,

I was passing by Calico Ghost Town the other week on the way back from Vegas and decided to stop by. It was just around five in the afternoon and the sun was getting low. Most people had left for the day and we just managed to slip in. It was great, quiet and a just a little creepy!! This is an old silver mining town in the Californian Mojave desert off Interstate 15. A great place to get some photos of a bit of western history!! I have posted some up on my 500PX site  and on fine art site too.

Fire - Bucket Mike-Hope

Take a look and let me know what you think…

Here’s a bit from Wikapedia on Calico:

Calico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert region of Southern California, it was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, and today has been converted into a county park. Located off Interstate 15, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) from Barstow and 3 miles from Yermo. Giant lettersspelling CALICO can be seen on the Calico Peaks behind the ghost town from the freeway. Walter Knott purchased Calico in 1950s, architecturally restoring all but the five remaining original buildings to look as they did in 1880s. Calico received California Historical Landmark #782

Check Guns Mike-Hope

All Guns Check At Saddle Shop by Mike Hope

Thanks for stopping by,

Mike Hope

Slant on the Pier Mike-Hope

Mike Hope Leave a comment
Slant on the Pier Mike-Hope by Mike-Hope
Slant on the Pier Mike-Hope, a photo by Mike-Hope on Flickr.

Hi All,

Took this by the Manhattan Beach Pier last weekend. I was on a bike ride with my new Canon 6D (Gotta Luv it!!) and 24-105mm L series. Wow what a difference a full frame makes!! I was absolutely blown away with the depth of color and clarity!! I am really happy with the camera and am going to be experimenting with the different functions and lenses. Course it’s a whole different game now and I really have to save the pennies for those Canon lenses. Have to try some of the off market and bargains just for the fun of it. Just got the very reasonable 40mm Pancake and havn’t tried it yet. Better for street and portraits, so they say!! I will update you when I have a chance to try it out!!

Thanks again for taking a look and let me know what you think of the photo!!

Mike Hope

Turkey Buzzard

Mike Hope 1 Comment

Hi all,

I hope you are having a great Holiday Season. I was up in Sonoma and San Franciso recently and got a chance to try out the Canon 6D. So far I am really liking it. The shots mainly come out pretty good and I have been posting some on 500px and thought you might want to take a look. This one was a fly over by a wily Turkey Buzzard. I used the 24 to 105mm f/4 as he flew over and caught this shot.  Let me know what you think or if you have any questions on the Canon 6D I’d be happy to to help.

Shot in Glen Ellen with Canon 6D and 24-105mm

Turkey Buzzard Mike-Hope

Before I go what do you think about this shot from Hawks  Hill of the Golden Gate Bridge. This was a really busy Sunday and hardly anywhere to stop. I would recommend anyone taking the time to go up the road to Hawks Hill and see if you can find a space and maybe hike down towards the bridge. Truly tremendous to be up there…

Golden Gate Bridge 3 Mike-Hope

Golden Gate Bridge Mike-Hope

Thanks for taking a look…

Mike Hope