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Thirsty Thursday: Sestri Levante Sunrise

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel

It's been just under a year since we were in Italy and I still haven't looked through all my pictures. #fail. I think maybe it's because I'd like to go back. But, since we haven't won the lottery and Massey isn't a famous dog model (she's a diva of course), I don't think we'll be going back any time too soon. So, tonight I spent a few minutes looking through my Sestri Levante sunrise shots. Here's a few. In typical Welliver Photography style, the sky has no drama.

Thirsty Thursday: Sobranes Canyon

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2013 Chamisal Edna Valley Rosé Wine

The Sobranes Canyon Trail to the Rocky Ridge Trail is always one of our favorite short hikes. We typically go through the canyon first because we like to work for our view. Besides, I think it's better to see the ocean on the way down. It makes the hike a little more relaxing. My favorite part may be watching Massey ping-pong between me and Beth as we stop to take pictures of things. Mas does a pretty decent job of keeping us together (of course, that's until we reach the open spaces at the top). Or, it could be the variety of the terrain that the trail takes you through in a short distance. All in all, the view at the top is worth the hike. See you all out on the trails!

Thirsty Thursday: Random Weekend

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2012 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas

Okay, a quick note about this wine. It's a Rhône. The color is awesome. A good nose with a smooth taste with a hint of spice at the end. Very nice for the price. Here's an excerpt from the Tablas website:

"The Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas is a blend of four red Rhône varietals: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise. The wine incorporates fruit from several of the top Rhône vineyards in Paso Robles, each vineyard selected for its quality. Like many red wines from the Rhône Valley, it is based on the dark fruit, mineral and spice of Syrah, with the brightness and fresh acidity of Grenache, the structure and meatiness of Mourvèdre and a small addition of Counoise for complexity."

This is a bit of a random post, but last weekend itself was a bit random. We randomly decided on Friday to head to Solvang, CA. Of course, being the planners that we are, we booked a hotel room the night before in Lompoc, CA. It was the only place available that would let Massey stay the night. If only the other hotels could meet Massey, they'd understand. Anyways, we didn't have much of a plan other than exploring Solvang (which is a cute little town), hiking or running somewhere, and drinking some wine. Of course, we had our cameras, but I think we were both just wanting to chill a bit with out it. Solvang was definitely cool and we had some decent tastings and an awesome meal. Check out our recent Instagram activity for pictures of that.

On Sunday, we decided to summit a tall hill. The peak we climbed to the top was Gaviota Peak. It's somewhere just off the 101 between Solvang and Santa Barbara, CA, but closer to the later. I think Strava thought the hike was somewhere between 6.8 and 7.1 miles (depends on your GPS device. . . I had an iPhone and Beth had her Garmin). It was a descent hike. Not my favorite, but he view was cool from the top. I know that Massey had a good time. She's such a good travel dog. So here's a few pics from that hike.

On Monday, we headed back home but stopped at Tablas Creek Vineyard outside of Paso Robles. We are now members there as their wine is fantastic. A couple of our other wine memberships are now in jeopardy of being cut (yes, they will be cut soon). Unfortunately, we can't be members everywhere. I'm sure we'll be posting more pics from our future Tablas Creek adventures. For now, here's a couple.

Thirsty Thursday: Italian Thoughts

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Beringer Pinot Noir

Nothing fancy tonight, but a decent Pinot to ease into the night. My thoughts today are quite random and I'm not sure if this is actually a coherent post. I'm thinking about many things from spending time with family to laughing and crying to remembering travels. I'm just happy that today's events have been, well, uneventful (or maybe eventful now that I think about it). Sometimes it's a good thing when nothing happens (or that everything seems to go right). Anyways, on to the photos. Tonight's travel memory of choice was Cinque Terre, Italy. I have a few pictures that I think seem to capture the narrow streets and small village feel along with the resort style beaches. Although I wouldn't consider our Italy visit my absolute favorite trip, it was pretty fun (I must say that the wine was quite good though). I think I would recommend that everyone go to Cinque Terre at least once. I'm not sure I'd say go back but there's something about the villages there (even if they are a bit touristy). Still, the narrow streets, atmosphere of the villages, and cool sunsets make it pretty darn neat.

Thirsty Thursday: Vernazza Views

Rambler: Massey....I mean Terry
Drink in Hand: Ancient Peaks 2012 Blanco or 2011 Cabernet Franc (or both?) 

Perhaps I've had too much to drink. In my defense, it's a Thursday (or holiday right)?! I realized tonight that I need to go through my Italia photographs. They've been neglected for far too long. I'm not sure why I haven't edited them. Perhaps it's because I'm intimidated by the mountain of photographs that I have. Here's a few that I just finished tonight of the Cinque Terre village Vernazza. This was one of my favorites of all the villages. I'm not really sure why, but this one and Corniglia were my favorites!

Thirsty Thursday: Distant Bridge

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Red Table Wine

Once again, we find ourselves seemingly out of time to write a proper blog post...but perhaps that doesn't matter. Perhaps, it's okay to dig through the archived photographs. You never know what you'll find or what you'll end up posting. Tonight I took a few minutes to browse photographs from Switzerland, random hikes, the Alabama Hills, and even street photographs from trips to Portland. I ended up settling on just a couple coastal shots. I think I liked the wideness of the shots with the crystal clear sky. It makes you feel small and you can feel stress just fade away. You'd think I get tired of shooting the coast, but I don't. Such a beautiful coast. Sometimes I don't think we make over to the coast enough. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it!

Thirsty Thursday: On the Coast

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2008 Cobblestone Chardonna

​So, it's been another long week.  Actually, to be honest, it's been a long couple of weeks.  I don't know what it is lately but it's been rough.  I'm not sure why but it has. I'm sure it's been just me.  I hope everyone else has had a good couple of weeks.  The highlight of last week was our short little trip down the Big Sur coastline. I think we may need to do this more often as neither of us has taken very many photographs this year.  2013 is currently making itself out to be one our thinnest years as far as photography is concerned.  Perhaps that's okay.  Maybe we'll finally be able to sift through our early photography years (a.k.a., 2004-07ish).  

We should probably try and get out a bit more...at least as far as shooting is concerned. There was something about being behind the lens again trying to capture the moment.  Trying to create a feeling.  I'm sure things will pick up as winter turns to spring and we get into the swing of things this year.  Until then though, you may be seeing some old photos of ours for Thirsty Thursdays​.  Here's too looking forward to the end of the week and the start of a couple days of break.  Perhaps raise your glass to taking a few more photographs.  Cheers!

 
 

The Welliver Photography Best of 2012

Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites! 

Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.

Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry. 

Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry. 

Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.

Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry. 

Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.

Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht  (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.

Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.

Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.

Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.

Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog! 

Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.

 

Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry. 

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.

Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.

Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.

Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.

Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.

We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there! 

Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!

All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.

Thirsty Thursday: Big Sur Coast

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Hot apple cider

Hey Welliver Photography fans! Thirsty Thursday here again, time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans.  I found some warm-looking photos in the summer archives from an afternoon spent exploring the Big Sur coast. Figured some warm weather photos wouldn't be bad on a chilly December evening. Enjoy!  

McWay Falls

McWay Falls

Searching...

Clover

Big Trees

Hiking

Pfeiffer Beach.

Hurricane Point.

Bixby Bridge.