LA DPC Meet-Up: May 21 - Queen Mary

03/13/2005 02:37:58 AM · #1

Hi everyone,

I wanted to see where you all would like to go in the month of May.
Some suggestions are:
Downtown
Santa Monica
Getty Center
LA Zoo
Wildlife Waystation

Possible dates:
5/21
5/22
5/28
5/29

If any of you want to go before then, please suggest dates. However I cannot go with you as I will be in Sedona during the 1st two weekends of May. If you want two trips in May, we can do that. I can join you on the 2nd photo trip :) Hopefully my camera will be back from Canon by then (I am sending it in for some slight auto-focus issues after I get back from Sedona).

Post your ideas here!

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

03/13/2005 02:47:49 AM · #2

those dates are good as long as i have at least 3 weeks notice. so i can post them in my calendar. santa monica would make an awsome late afternoon trip. Getty not much but the garden and view.. wildlife and LA zoo.. ANIMALS!! but where ever the group chooses i'll be game with notice :)

I MADE IT!!.. ran into some crazy in downtown but a quick look of a big guy with a steel monfroto tripod made them think twice :).. had lots of fun you guys

03/13/2005 02:20:17 PM · #3

What about everyone else? Any suggestions on date and location?

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

03/13/2005 05:52:23 PM · #4

Arie look what you have done to the Out&About threads.. its a get together-athon :). Can't wait for Anza

brianlh

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

03/13/2005 06:53:45 PM · #5

anything sounds good to me, but whether i can make it or not still depends on what my classes look like next quarter (for which i won't find out about tests and projects anytime soon). although i can't admit to having explored the getty center much, i'm not sure what there is to take pictures of for a longg time other than the garden (which i don't remember being very big, but maybe i'm wrong) and maybe some architecture (as opposed to the whole day's worth we got out of the poppy reserve)? but i suppose the fact that i've only been there once, and that was mostly all inside, plays a factor in that. seems like a good locale, but not sure how long we could stay there. feel free to interject if i'm off track

03/13/2005 07:20:25 PM · #6

Raul, haha yes, we have started something great with the get togethers that has spread around the world! So exciting!

Brian, the Getty Center is great, but it's only worth about 2 hours of good photography (in my opinion) for architecture & the garden. But, we are very close to Santa Monica, and we could hit up the tree-lined streets the purple jacarandas are in bloom) and also some shots on the Promenade after that. There's probably other great spots in Santa Monica that I've never been to that we could check out too! I am up for anything though. :)

03/13/2005 11:03:54 PM · #7

Well, as for me, I've been to Getty about 4 times now, so I'm sick of Ghetty. As for LA Zoo, I just got back from a second trip from there today, so I'd really prefer not to go there. I've shot at Santa Monica once and would prefer that as well. Lots of poparazzi type of portraits and the pier and all the bums. Downtown might be good as well, perhaps Broadway with all the old theaters and the hispanic shops now. As mentioned before, I'll check on getting some tickets to the Queen Mary, it's probably worth three hours of shooting, but there is the sea aquarium and outdoor plaza/mall area there that is cool.

03/14/2005 01:15:52 AM · #8

I don't want to go back downtown yet. I am really excited about the Queen Mary if you can get tickets! Let me know!

Also, if you don't get tickets, I think maybe we should go to the Getty for an hour or so (it's only like $5 per car and we could all cram into two cars) then go to Santa Monica. Tom, if you want to skip the Getty, you could meet us at the Promenade as soon as we leave the Getty.

Post as soon as you know about tickets for the QM. We still have some time.

Pick a date though! Post your preferences :)

03/14/2005 01:20:42 AM · #9

I can certainly meet you guys at Santa Monica if you do the Ghetty/Santa Monica. A doc that knows the managers is coming back from a vacation next Monday, so I'll ask him and hope to know in 2 weeks, I hope. I've a patient that is a manager there as well, but I can't remember her name. Rats...

Message edited by author 2005-03-14 01:21:38.

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

03/14/2005 03:01:55 AM · #10

ya that QM trip would be nice, would we be considering mid to late afternoon? maybe some night shots? (if the tickets are available)

wwaahhhhhhh??? Tom you're a doctor?? where are these pics of your outings I wanna see :).

So ya.. come down south with me for a change :) even though I've only been to the QM twice from the past 10 years >.< sad isn't it. But whatever the group comes up with i'm up for it with notice of course.

03/14/2005 11:13:50 AM · #11

I've only ever been outside the Queen Mary: //www.mirdonamy.com/photoalbumcat.php?albumName=phholidays&cat=july4th&subcat=2004 Never on the boat itself. I'd love to go sometime :)

03/14/2005 11:23:47 AM · #12

The Queen Mary is an interesting scene from a photgraphic point of view. Outside, you have the ship from the boat deck. Archways for the lifeboats, the control room is all brass, there are many nooks and crannies. Birds often rest on the railing, making for nice shots. Since the ship is old, photos look good in black and white and in sepia. If you shoot from the starboard side (side away from the port) it looks like you are on a ship that is not harbored.

Inside is a bit dimly lit but it's all art deco style, lots of wood paneling and stuff. Around the harbor area, you already know. It's a bit diserted in the ship itself and eerie in some quiet dark places. I haven't explored all the spots, but definately worth a trip.

03/14/2005 11:32:14 PM · #13

Sandman,
I'm not a paying member, so I don't think I can post. I'm also too lazy to try to find out ;) One of these days, I'll download the DP outings photos onto my laptop and just do a slideshow for all to see. One thing that is really interesting to me is that we were all at the same place at the same time and how all the pics are different. I actually made some in black and white, and they are my favorites, not the richly saturated orange colored hills.
Yea I'm a doctor, I work in Long Beach, one of my collegue's patient is the CEO of Queen Mary, I'll try to have him hit up the CEO for some tickets next Monday. We should go in the afternoon so we have enough time to catch the sunset and some night shots of the boat from the lot as I'm sure they don't allow tripods on the ship. I'll let you guys know ASAP if free tix are available. If not even an official monthly DPC outing, we should go anyway for fun.

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

03/15/2005 12:39:04 AM · #14

Just some thoughts: don't worry if you can't get free tickets, those are for the tours. You can still go and explore most of the Queen Mary, maybe just not the engine room and that sort of thing. You just have to pay for parking, like 6 or 7 bucks since there's no street parking within a half mile or so. Also, for some really cool night shots of the Queen Mary, check out Shoreline Village across the harbor. There's a bike path/small park area with some short little piers right across from it where you can set up your tripod and get incredible "glass water" shots with the ship nicely reflected. Here's a map: //www.visitlongbeach.com/maps/downtownlongbeach.htm
I took some film shots back in '93 with my Canon Elan, but I don't know where they are now to scan for you. Hope this helps.

03/15/2005 03:14:50 AM · #15

Thanks Telehubbie! You are full of great information. Will you join us this trip?

03/15/2005 12:59:43 PM · #16

Here is a link to the Queen Mary site. I know if you have an appointment at the restaurant or are attending a convention there, you can wonder around on your way there, but I don't think they let the public just come in and roam the place.

Here is a link to their site with the admissions and stuff.
//www.queenmary.com/attractions.php?page=prices

Parking is $10 if over an hour, so we might as well make it a half day thing, get there have a nice lunch at the deli, roam the outside, inside, come out for sunset shots (if they let us stay past closing time of 5PM), and then go to the village across the port and take nice reflective shots of the QM on the water.

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

03/15/2005 01:57:02 PM · #17

I was just there a few months ago and many other times with aboslutely no problem getting in. Just walk on in and up the elevator, say hi to anybody working there at the entrance. Have a "going to dinner" story just in case. Arie, I'd love to go, but can't make any promises yet (with my boy and all).

-Corny cheesy story here if you're bored and want a good laugh:
Way back, I took my girlfriend (now wife) to see Titanic in Westwood when it came out. When the movie was over it was like 1 am, and instead of driving her home, I decided to go the other way and took her to the Queen Mary. We just walked around the decks and did the whole king-of-the-world cheeseball thing at the front of the ship. At the time it was really romantic, but looking back we just laugh.
-Worked though : )

beckettboots

03/15/2005 02:10:13 PM · #18

I've snuck onto the Queen Mary twice.

It's a great photo op, and I think yido's right that if you eat there they'll let you on. To go to a convention or something, that's a different part of the ship, so it's not a guarantee to access to the other parts of the ship. Parking is pricy, but not bad if we carpool.

There's a "haunted house" tour, but I've heard it's pretty lame and rather dark for photography.

San Pedro might be cool. And the Vincent Thomas bridge was recently lit, so it'd be cool to catch that at sunset or something. There's also some interesting older architecture there and the Port of Los Angeles. San Pedro Site

I'm up for something, except for the weekend of the 14-15th.

03/15/2005 02:24:42 PM · #19

So, even if you can't get free tickets, we'll squish into one or two cars and park on site. We can try to get onto the boat somehow or take photos around the area, worse comes to worse. I think a day out in San Pedro / LB could be cool. So, that's that. We are going to the Queen Mary (somehow)!

Vote on a date:
5/21
5/22
5/28
5/29

Message edited by author 2005-03-15 14:24:54.

03/15/2005 02:33:32 PM · #20

My vote is for Sat 5/21. I've a big Ford Crown Vic, so we can squeeze in 6 if needed and share. Even if it's five, it'll only be two bucks a person for parking.

Anyway, I feel fairly confident that the CEO can get us some free passes. I intend to offer him a nice metal Viagra pen for each ticket in trade.

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

03/15/2005 04:19:48 PM · #21

LOL, Tom nice butter him up. I heard the metal pens last longer? *Badump csshh* lame joke but i had to try. I like the 21st also.

03/15/2005 04:46:56 PM · #22

Haha :)

Okay, does the 21st work for everyone else? If so, I am going to start a new thread with the updated info...

03/16/2005 10:37:11 PM · #23

Raul,
If you are interested, Tamron's 18-200 is now available for sale at various large internet stores like Adorama and BHphotovideo. I'm still waiting for my Tokina 12-24, it should be nice to have for the Queen.