Want to Improve? Try Practicing 10,000 Hours!

@Aubélia: Thanks Aubelia.

@Stefan: Thanks Stefan.

@Judy aka L@dybug: It is a fascinating book and just a good read. I'm not surprised that others are talking about it.

@Sergei Z: Thanks for your nice words Sergei. A great way to start my day!

@Tim: Hopefully you can feel that cool ocean breeze all the way to where you are at Tim. I have friends who live in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area and I know all your heat has to be getting tiresome. Hang in there.

@Barbara Kile: These are flowering chaparral that grow wild along the headlands and are usually gone by now Barbara (they reach their peak in June). But everything seems late this year. What will be very colorful when you arrive is the non-native ice plant that also can be found along the headlands. It is already starting to turn its late-summer red and is very beautiful.

@Denny Jump Photo: I appreciate your kind thoughts Denny, but honestly, I don't think I am anywhere near perfection and I'm not quite sure I will ever reach it. I feel art, and learning to be an artist, is a constant evolution. One never stops growing and expanding in their art as long as there is a constant quest to grow. I think we as digital artists (like it or not we all are) are only scratching the surface of what can be achieved. Hopefully with age, I will not close my mind off to the possibilities that await me. Personally, I look forward t many more years of visual development.

@Irene: Galen Rowell used to write that development as a photographer is a three-legged cycle: reading (study), practice (photographing and processing - I added the last part), and critical analysis. See my response to Denny (above). And you are right Irene - PRACTICE is the key word!

@Maria Draper: You are correct on all fronts Maria. I captured this frame at dusk but the fog was very thick so it was almost like night, thus requiring a 30-second timed-shutter at f/16. The reason for the small aperture (besides depth-of-field) was to make the light of the Pt. Sur Lightstation look like a starburst. What amazed me was that this light came around twice during this exposure (it rotates roughly every 12 seconds), thus, I started my exposure just after it had passed and allowed it to record twice. During a couple of subsequent frames, I held my hand of the top half of the lens as it would swipe past on its second passing, but to the best of my recollection, this frame actually recorded the light twice!

@Ralph Jones: My youngest son Aaron has gotten serious about his golf game within the last 14 months and has dropped from a 25 handicap to a 7. Over that span, we have calculated that he averages 5 hours per day of practice (roughly 2,000 hours when we deduct days off). He calculated at his pace, he would reach his 10,000 hours roughly between his sophomore/junior year in college. His swing coach continually tells us he has the natural ability, he certainly puts in the effort, and he seemingly has the passion (he loves the game). We'll see where it all goes - but as parents, we stress that education is still the number one priority. He seems to be handling it all very well.

@DarkElf: I know you are aware of how much even a simple breeze can play havoc with a long exposure - especially when shooting along the coast. Thankfully, with the marine layer already in place, there was virtually no wind. Luck always seems to play some part in image-making.

@James Guillory Photography: Totally past my prime James!

@Tracy: Same here Tracy, I practice the guitar quite a bit as a child unfortunately, I don't play much these days.

@Scott F. Schilling: Good point Scott - I wonder if all that driving counts?