Page 1485 - Dive the Seas and More-2

FRANKO’S MAP OF MONTEREY depict Monterey better than ever. I hope
As of September 2006 yours truly has at
last produced the third edition of Franko's
Map of Monterey. I must admit that even
I, the maker of the map, love it! This is
one of the coolest looking maps I have
ever seen, and that is partially because
Monterey is just physically beautiful on a
map, and partially because I think I did a
great job! It is very difficult for an
engineer who is also an artist (that’s me)
to actually finish a work and actually
really like it. Usually it is easy to self-
criticize, but I really, REALLY like this
new Monterey map! However, because
my Monterey map is so much oriented to
the ocean scene, and it shows Monterey’s
beautiful dive sites and reef creatures in
such vivid detail, I decided to rename the
map as Franko's Dive Map of Monterey.
In an August 2006 visit to Monterey I
once again was reminded that this is one
of the most stupendously beautiful places
on earth, both above and below the water.
Monterey inspires me beyond adequate
words to describe. I have to turn to
mapping in order to depict Monterey in a
way that resembles its fabulous beauty.
Some artists do seascapes, some show
trees or mountains, but I do maps. Thank
goodness for computer graphics, or else
I’d be oil painting! Well, actually, I would
like to paint. Anyway, Franko Maps are
sometimes called “Fabulous Maps of
Favorite Places,” and in the case of
Monterey this phrase is more true than
ever. Monterey seems to be more
beautiful every time I visit. Technology
and mapping progress has enabled me to
that the pictures here on
www.frankosmaps.com give the viewer a
glimpse of what I mean. This edition is
different and improved in many ways.
First of all, the shaded relief of the hills
and mountains around Monterey are
shown in wonderful new shades of green,
with better clarity and more beauty than
ever. Basically, the map was made over
again from scratch. With the use of aerial
photos from the USGS’ National Map I
was able to correct the locations of my
roadways. I never knew they were off, but
technology has changed much since my
2003 edition! Thirdly, the information
I’ve put on and around Monterey
Peninsula and Monterey Bay has been
much improved, with additional tidbits
about scenic or historic spots of interest to
all visitors. But most of all, in the opinion
of “Aquanut”, i.e., yours truly, the water
surrounding the Peninsula on side one and
across the Monterey Bay on side two is
absolutely the best yet. This improvement
is partially owed to technology, as well as
to the inspiration of Monterey that has
come to the artistic side of me. The
technical side of me learned that digital
data was available similar to the data used
for the land masses in my various maps,
and thus my artistic self was enabled to
depict the underwater topography like
never before. Wow! I did it in “Franko
blue” hues, with the underwater canyons
of Monterey and Carmel looking just
amazing. The outcome was better than I
could have thought of only a few months
ago. To improve the map even more, I
took the reef creatures out of their box and