I took some pole pics at a the rentals in Carlsbad, and I thought I would share a ground-level picture and a pole picture that's up about 35-38 feet.  Our new pole only goes to 24ft, but a climbed up a hill to get the extra height.Here's the first photo taken from the ground behind the unit.Not a bad view at all.  But I wanted to show where these units were located, and the pole was the best way to do what I wanted.  Here is the revised photo from the pole.Even though this is further away, the angle gets the big ocean thing happening.  Plus, the trees provide really nice framing, and I like seeing the water between the branches.Feel free to ask questions if you have any.John Hokkanen, Encinitas Real Estate   12/23/2007

I know Margaret has made some posts about our Canon 24mm Tilt/Shift Lens, and so I thought someone might find this of interest.Margaret probably indicated that we usually take our photos vertically and shift the lens horizontally, thus yielding a landscape photo.  I don't usually rotate the shift the other direction, but today I had a need.  I was in a small 1 bedroom property with a combo living/dining and adjoining kitchen.  By shooting landscape and shifting horizontally, left to right, I got the below image.  I approximated how much of the field of view I would have gotten if I had taken this photo with our Nikon point & shoot.  As you can see, there isn't much comparison.  I know there has been discussion in the group about using wide angle lenses to photograph more of a room, and ... 12/23/2007

Margaret thought someone might want to know what we have in our camera bags when we go on a photo shoot.  She's off-line for the next week, so I am standing in for her.Pelican Case (waterproof case)Canon 5D back24mm Tilt/Shift lens35-105 zoom lensalcohol wipespolarizing lens cap for 24 mm lenswall charger for Canon batteryNikon point/shoot camerawall charger for Nikon cameraCanon 580ex flash with 2ft extensionIn a luggage bag (small), we keep the miscellaneous lighting equipment36 inch gold/silver reflector24 incho gold/silver reflectorTwo Vivitar manual flashes36 Alkaline batteries (AA)12 fully charged rechargeable batteries (AA)alcohol wipesspare tripod camera platespare fireplace gas key for lighting fires on-sitespare camera screws/hardware2 weinbaum electro-optical flash shoes1 A/C... 12/20/2007

Encinitas Real Estate Our website can help you easily locate Encinitas Properties for Sale, use one of the custom Encinitas Real Estate links below to find the right Encinitas home for you. Chris Holmes is an expert in Encinitas Real Estate and can help you locate the home of your dreams.Encinitas Real Estate Links-Encinitas Real Estate | Encinitas California  12/14/2007

Visit the Meditation Gardens at theSelf Realization Fellowship Retreat in Encinitas Are you seeking a few moments of peace and tranquility? A place to relax and get away from the trials and tribulations of daily life?   The Meditation Gardens at the Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas Temple may be just the environment to take you to that special emotional and spiritual place. The Retreat was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1937 in South Encinitas on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. A world teacher in meditation, he established the center as a place to help others "toward realization of the limitless resources of love and peace that exist within every human being." (from the Visitor's Guide). Visitors from around the world have visited the center to learn meditation, enhance thei... 12/13/2007

Take 1 minute, that's all, and enjoy a gift of peace, tranquility and relaxation. [video taken at the Self-Realization Fellowship Retreat in Encinitas - more on that later] 12/13/2007

Margaret asked me to write up an entry about the papers we use since I am the guy who runs down to the paper store and buys the paper. Please note: These are color LASER papers.  If you are printing with an inkjet, you need to buy INKJET papers because of the absorbency required to quickly let the ink set.  If you print with an inkjet on a non-inkjet paper, your performance may vary (as they say) because the ink isn't absorbed instantly and it smears a bit.  I have never found any issues with running inkjet papers through the laser printer, and, if Office Depot has a sale on a good inkjet paper, I will often buy it. Xerox Digital Color Elite Silk printing paper for color lasers, eggshell finish, 80 lb: This is a very high-end paper and costs about $40-45 for a ream of 12x18 paper.  But ... 12/12/2007

Whole Foods Market is coming to our area next year. This will be their 3rdstore in San Diego County, and it just a hop, skip and jump from South Carlsbad.We had a Whole Foods Market in Cambridge (2 of them, actually) back in the Boston area and it was terrific. Not that there aren't some good stores here (Henry's [formerly owned by Whole Foods]in Carlsbad and Encinitas, Seaside Market in Cardiff, Jimbo's at The Forum in South Carlsbad), but Whole Foods is a step up, in my opinion.The store is not inexpensive, and you probably don't want to do ALL your shopping there, but there is lots of good stuff, especially for take out.This 10,000 SF store will be the anchor tenant at "Pacific Station" in Encinitas at 687 South Coast Highway (Route 101), and construction is due to begin in the sprin... 12/11/2007

ENCINITAS HOME SEARCH ENCINITAS SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA Search Encinitas Homes for SaleEncinitas is a great North County San Diego Coastal Community with miles of beach and many things to do.Encinitas Real Estate - If you're buying a home in Encinitas or need to know your Encinitas House Value make sure you contact Dawn Sells San Diego today. Your Encinitas Real Estate, Home and Condo Connection.All Encinitas Homes for Sale including 92024 ZIP Code.All Encinitas Condos for Sale including 92024 ZIP Code.Encinitas in North County Coastal San Diego is comprised of several communities rich in San Diego history. Encinitas is comprised of Cardiff by the Sea, Leucadia, Olivenhain, New Encinitas and Old Encinitas and was incorporated in 1986. Officially founded by Jabez Pitcher in 1881 when he fil... 12/10/2007

Encinitas Schools Elementary Middle High Private Encinitas SchoolsInformational page for all schools in Encinitas in San Diego County California.Schools in Encinitas. This page is information on Schools in Encinitas including; Encinitas Elementary Schools, Encinitas Middle Schools, Encinitas High Schools, and Encinitas Private Schools. It is for information purposes only. If you have any questions about Encinitas Real Estate contact Dawn Sells San Diego today. Visit Encinitas Real Estate BlogWhen you're ready to buy a home in Encinitas or sell your home in Encinitas contact us. We're here to help! Encinitas Schools Encinitas Union School District - Parent Reviews - Map101 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, Encinitas, California 92024-4349(760) 944-4300 FAX (760) 942-7094Attendance Boundary Map fo... 12/10/2007

Encinitas Beaches Parks and Recreation Encinitas CaliforniaEncinitas Real EstateEncinitas Beaches in San Diego - Detailed information at City of Encinitas BeachesMore at ... Encinitas Real Estate BlogGrandview Beach 1700 Neptune Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapBeacon's Beach 948 Neptune Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapStonesteps Beach 350 South El Portal, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapMoonlight Beach 400 B Street, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapD Street Beach 450 D Street, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapSwami's Beach 1298 South Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapEncinitas Parks - Detailed information at City of Encinitas ParksCottonwood Creek Park 95 N. Vulcan, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapLeucadia Roadside Park 860 North Coast Hwy. 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 - MapOrpheus Park 482 Orpheus Avenue, Encin... 12/08/2007

Geocoding providers come in various flavors from the highly value added to barebones geo location.  Thank goodness for the US Census Bureau and their effort to geolocate the census data and offer it to the public for free.  This has resulted in a number of vendors offering nearly-for-free Tiger line (Census) geolocation capabilities.  That fact has brought prices down a LOT.  A good example is http://geocoder.us/. Having thanked the Tiger line vendors for bringing prices down, I have to say that the Tiger data is not particularly accurate (80-85%?, not sure).  But, if you have no other choice, you can still get 80+% of the homes, businesses, or other information geocoded so that you can display them on maps with this data.  That's good.  When investigating geo-coding services, there rea... 12/08/2007

We are a team of about 10 agents and one of our big focus points with sellers is the quality and intensity of our marketing. Consequently, we have been using a lot of color laser toner over the years. We began using a Minolta Magicolor color laser that had very, very reasonable color toner cartridges. To cheapen the cost, we would even pop the toner refill hole and refill the toner to get a second use from each cartridge. Unfortunately, that particular laser printer did not have the fuser heat (if memory serves me correctly) to fuse toner on thicker cover stocks and some coated stocks. So...we moved on. We then bought an HP Laserjet 4600 color laser, which is a nice workgroup printer that I've seen in many real estate offices. The toner was a little more expensive than the previous prin... 12/06/2007

A couple of years ago we incorporated and I set up a Wells Fargo business account because that's where my personal account was at the time.  In addition, we got a couple of business Visa cards so that we could charge business expenses to them.Everything went along OK, more or less.  I had one run-in early on from a rather nasty credit card person who was calling about my failure to pay on time.  I asked him what in the world was he talking about and why was he taking that tone with me, and I suggested that he remember that I was the customer.  He said that the bill had been issued and that I had not made the minimum payment on time.  I asked him about the balance, which I think he said was a couple of hundred dollars.  I then asked about the charges incurred during the billing cycle and... 12/05/2007

Interviewing a Real Estate Agent How do you choose the best real estate agent for your needs? INTERVIEW a few! You are going to spend some time with your agent and you need to feel comfortable with them as a person and as a professional in the business. A lot of our clients have been very educated professionals with little time to spend on locating their next home or preparing their current home for sale. This is why you hire us! We are a FULL-SERVICE TEAM who takes excellent care of our clients. When you call an agent for a phone interview, ask the following questions:  Where do you FOCUS your practice? (If they say all of San Diego, don't use them.) Do you ANSWER your own phone when I call? (Try it out later to make sure.) Do you work on the WEEKENDS/EVENINGS? (Some listing agents won... 12/05/2007

We do a lot of printing for our clients, and I'm responsible for the selection of our printers (since I create all the marketing materials).  One of the vendors that we use on a recurrent basis is 48HourPrint.com.48HourPrint.com has a number of benefits over your local printer.  First, they have two large printing facilities; one of them is in the midwest, and the other is in Phoenix.  These are LARGE printing facilities organized around volume printing.  This is what keeps the cost down.One of the things that they do that is innovative is they have their own PDF printer driver that you install on your PC.  After you have ordered and paid for a print job, you go to your production tool (Publisher, Photoshop) where your layout is and you print to their PDF printer driver.  It converts th... 12/04/2007

In parts 1 and 2, I covered camera back, tripod, and lens for architectural photos.  In this last of 3 parts, I intend to cover other equipment and editing.I hope that I have persuaded a few readers that a great camera back and an architectural lens is a great combination.  To complete the equipment portion, one needs some flashes.  On the camera, I use a two foot extension cord on the hot shoe of the camera attached to a high-power Canon flash (550EX).  This is my primary flash and it has a great deal of power.  It has the capability of being completely automatic, but I leave it in manual mode for reasons I'll explain below.For secondary flashes, I use some Vivitar flashes that I bought for around $100 each.  These will not communicate with the Canon camera as they are completely manua... 12/02/2007

The holidays are upon us, with Thanksgiving just 4 days away. And so begins a series of holiday events in many of our coastal towns. Lots of trees are already up and decorated, residents are installing lights, and the holiday retail season is in full swing...like it or not.The Encinitas Holiday/Christmas parade will be held this year on Saturday December 1, beginning with a tree lighting at the Lumberyard Courtyard, a retail shopping center (on the coast highway, Route 101, at the south end of the downtown area) at 5:00 PM. This is the largest community event in Encinitas.This event has not been without controversy. In 2005 the name was changed by the Mayor from Holiday Parade to Christmas Parade, setting off a series of boycotts from past participants, calls and emails from both critic... 11/19/2007

Many people relocating to the area want to know about the climate. They know that Encinitas and Carlsbad have a wonderful climate, but they want to know how close to the ocean they have to be to enjoy the coastal climate. For years we have talked about the various climate zones with an off-the-cuff kind of description. In response to these questions, we developed a map that shows the climate zone data made available from the County government. The map has the four climate zones of western San Diego clearly marked. On the web page, the zones are described and what it all means. Here's a zoomed in sample of the map. To see the page and the entire map, Click here to jump to the Encinitas/Carlsbad microclimate page. Of course, this is just one of the newest maps that we've implemented. We h... 11/18/2007

In response to media coverage of the San Diego fires and the fires' devastation to homeowners, the SurfTheTurf.com Real Estate Team has combined various map data to allow homeowners to see fire zone risks, recent fire destruction, and climate zone data all on a single map. The Team has also released a prediction of possible high-risk areas that may be subject to devastation in the near future for current homebuyer consideration. The map may be viewed at www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com/page.cfm?page=InfoWildFires.Developed by John Hokkanen, lead realtor of the Team, the map combines fire zone risk data with 2003 and 2007 fire season burn data. It also overlays climate zone data showing the relationship of the marine, coastal, and transitional climate zones to the fire risk zones. The discussi... 11/18/2007