Life of Color in Alviso

Rock of Ages

This shot was taken at Marshall Beach, a small beach just south of Golden Gate Bridge. I used ND-400 filter to smooth out the waves of the ocean.

I'm always hesitant to upload an image like this to Flickr where I host my images, as I know Flickr will throw away a lot of details in the shadows during the resizing process. Even the large version has a lot of shadow details missing, but please click on the link anyway. This is also a new approach to B&W conversion I am trying, so please let me know what you think of the results.

Bathing in Gold

Bathing in Gold, originally uploaded by Ivan Makarov.

Large

I've already posted an photo of the outdoor pool at the Hearst Castle. Here is the indoor pool for those 5 days a year when the weather is bad in this part of California. It's actually decorated with real gold and I was standing on it while taking this image.

My Recent Favorites

Here are some of the pictures I recently found inspiring..


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle, originally uploaded by Ivan Makarov.

Large

Last week my brother and I went for a drive down the Big Sur and I finally made it down to San Simeon, a place mostly famous for the Hearst Castle, one of the more famous mansions in the United States. I finally found a place that matches the size and ridiculousness of some of the palaces built by Russian Tsars that I visited while growing up in Russia. The next few images will feature my impressions from that first visit.

This is the Neptune's Pool. Apparently, it was rebuilt three times until William Hearst was finally satisfied with it.

10 Reasons for Zenfolio Account

Thanks to all those who visited my new portfolio I set up at Zenfolio. Here is why I decided to set up my account there versus so many other services that offer similar setup.

1. They use Mpix.com as their (in other words, mine) printing lab, which mean high quality prints.
2. They let you keep most of the profit, withholding just the cost of the print and 12% as a service fee, so you get as much as 70-80% of what your customer pays.
3. You can get paid any time you want, no matter how much or how little earnings you have in your account.
   
4. They have by far the best formula of how you can price your prints. It's very flexible.
5. I love how the images are presented and the ability to modify the look of your web-site, including removal of all Zenfolio logos.
6. They are constantly adding features and expanding their web-site.
7. You can see all kinds of stats about the activity on your account.
   
8. You can get a 2-week trial of all their services.
   
9. I don't see a whole lot of people complaining about Zenfolio.
   
10. Did I already mention the quality of their prints?
    

If you'd like to open the account and save $5, please use the code I have listed on my web-site and feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments section here.

Through the Air

Through the Air, originally uploaded by Ivan Makarov.

Large