Dartblog

We passed a lovely weekend in Carmel-by-the-Sea, updating on local art and gastronomy and exploring at length the Point Lobos reserve, whose estuarine China Cove is reflected in several pictures above. Saturday evening, patrons of Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch restaurant and piano bar were the unhappy recipients of my champagne-fueled stage performances of “L-O-V-E,” the 1965 Nat King Cole side written by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler more widely known by its first line: “‘L’ is for the way you look at me;” and “Beyond the Sea,” the 1946 Trenet song belonging to Bobby Darin. Alexandra took a second microphone and helped, and we both agreed afterward that the applause was especially generous.

(For those interested in the pictures, simply click to see a larger version. They were taken with the EOS 40D; telephoto shots were done with the 24-105mm f/4L from Canon and the wider pictures were done with the 16-35mm f/2.8L, which is exquisite. It was a skyless day, for the most part, and only grades of grays were available, which makes landscapes difficult. The 16-35mm f/2.8L was able to coax texture from the reluctant firmament only because I used a Rodenstock 82mm multi-coated U.V. filter which, though optically transparent, somehow has the effect of building up the perceived contrast of clouds.)