Mr. Toy's Mental Notes

“OVERTOURISM IS KILLING BIG SUR.” A banner was recently hung on Bixby Bridge with that message, but was quickly removed by Caltrans. A little over a week later that same message was painted on the pavement of the viewpoint overlooking the bridge. Caltrans cleaned it up within hours.   While I don't condone vandalism, I sympathize with the message, and it did help drive home the point. Big Sur, not unlike many other famous places around the world, has been overrun with tourists. The banner and paint job explicitly expressed the legitimate frustrations of Big Sur residents.   I haven't driven down the coast for awhile, but I have seen news reports showing cars on Highway 1 backed up for miles, crawling along at a snails pace. I've also read horror stories of people coming across piles of human poop, complete with toilet paper, along park trails due to the lack of public rest rooms. Clearly, something needs to be done. Soon.   It has been suggested that Highway ...

My online Photography Gallery and Picture Shop had a bit of a makeover this past week, so it seems like a good excuse to tell the story of one of my favorite floral images. In Carmel, California at the Church of the Wayfarer, there is a Biblical Garden featuring plants mentioned in the scriptures. I have often gone there in the spring and summer to see what's blooming. One foggy August day in 1995 I found this lily. I was trying out the 25 speed Kodak Royal Gold film, to see how it worked with flowers. There are very few color-print films that properly capture the subtle tones of a flower, at least to my satisfaction. As you can see, this film was a winner. The summer fog of the Monterey Peninsula is a blessing for this type of work. It provides a soft, even light, avoiding harsh shadows and highlights. There was a slight breeze, so I had to be careful with movement. I set the aperture as small as I dared without getting too slow a shutter speed, and waited several minutes ...