postcards from monterey (cont.)

when i went to make my hotel reservation i realized it was too late to make one at the hotel the conference was being held at so the conference $119/night was no longer available (and not that cheap to begin with...) so i went on to travelocity and found the cheapest hotel. i also figured, i'm driving all the way down to monterey and i haven't had a day off in months. literally. i have been working 7 days a week since june and combined with some other personal goings on in my life i am so ready for a vacation. but decided i could only afford (time and moneywise) one day. so i said i'm definitely going to stay past sunday and go to the monterey bay aquarium. and i figured monday would be a good day since most people will be at work or school.

i was completely stoked that the entire time i was at the conference the weather was GORGEOUS and even though i was staying in a cheaper hotel i was still really close to the ocean and could smell it when i opened the door. ahhhhhhhhhh, breathe it in, bring it in. i love it.

monday morning proved to be just as beautiful



i just love this aquarium and i was bummed that in my rush to leave i forgot my tripod so taking pictures without flash becomes extremely difficult even if you move a tiny bit. but i tried. and that's such a good reason to love digital because i love to take pictures and play with framing and you know instantaneously if it sucks and you can delete it and try again and you're not wasting money or paper or chemicals to see you got one good picture out of 4 rolls. so i would try to do longer exposures and hold real still. this is inside the entrance to the open ocean exhibit. in the ceiling there is a circular tank with anchovy and they just swim round and round. i never think about owning my home because i figure by the time i ever make professor i'll never have enough money to buy something. but for some reason when i come here i imagine if this was my room with the blue and the circling fish. i just want to lay down on the floor and stay there. it's so calming

although i'm mainly a fish person i just think this is one of the most beautiful exhibits. i took a really great picture a couple of years ago from farther back away from the display but despite my plan to avoid lots of people and children they were still there and they still have no concept of not taking up the same physical space that you are...
anyway...so i took this one from up close. still turned out pretty cool.

although this picture doesn't really give you an idea about the "thing" that it is i liked how it came out with the motion and colors of the fish and the color of the water reflected from the really low angle i took the picture from.

one of the things i really love about the aquarium beside the obvious (FISH!!!!!!!!!!) I LOVE the gorgeous and super professional looking displays. this is the entrance to the vanishing wildlife exhibit and it's just stunning. i don't think people really understand what amazing skill it takes to be creative and to produce a very professional display but with the artistry and technical knowledge of the organisms as well to give a beautiful and accurate portrayal of the different species. i would love to have a job like that. i would love to be good enough to have a job like that. maybe i'll consider it a back up if this whole scientist thing doesn't work out for me.

besides the artists that have to create the displays the aquarium has also displayed artists over time. i feel bad i can't remember this artist, i thought i would be able to see it in the photo on the plaque, but alas...

it is displayed in the jellies living art exhibit and i'm normally not a fan of abstract art but this one struck me. it's a whale spouting and i thought it was interesting because i'm not this kind of artist. if someone had said paint a whale spouting i would have spent so much time researching the animal and then getting photos and on and on and would have painted like ten of them as PERFECTLY as i could and then liked one of them but it never would have occured to me to interpret a whales spout like this. also i was struck because before i approached the painting i thought it was like a 3-d paper piece with different colored papers arranged and elevated and what not. and i got closer and it was a painting. i was impressed with the cleanness of the lines but the very skillfull execution of shadows on the different shapes and colors that make this pop.