Vietnam War Memorial
I saw the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. when I was, like…10 or 11 years old. At the time, I wanted to see it at night, but my parents weren’t interested, so I never did. Now there is a mobile version, and it made a stop in Bishop this weekend as part of our Mule Days Celebration. So I, of course, had to go see it at night…
Haunting Vision
Late Night Visitors
Vietnam War Memorial
I’m really glad I went out tonight. It’s here all weekend, so I might get a chance to see it tomorrow night, too. That would be cool…
Thanks for looking!
Playing with Fire…
So…my son is a Fire Dancer. Fire scares the shit outta me, but he’s got WAY more balls than I do, because he purposely sets shit on fire and spins it around his head and body. It’s pretty intense to watch, because you can hear the flames and feel the heat. Makes me wonder what it feels like inside of all those flames…
Sunrise…A Good Time to be Me…
I took a quick drive out to a spot I was alerted to by my friend Bob Rice. I saw an outstanding B&W print he made at this location, and he was kind enough to share directions with me. What better time than sunrise?
Sunrise at Wheeler Crest--HDR
This first one is an HDR using 3 exposures at -4EV, -2EV, and 0EV. I used Photoshop CS4 to process the HDR, and the Photomatix Tone Mapping plug-in. I was trying to be subtle…
Window to Wheeler Crest
This one is not HDR. This is a single 5 second exposure.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
A Fine Sunset
So…a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to one of my favorite artesian wells for sunset led to some really nice photos…
I’ve shared photos of this well before, both sunrise and sunset, but I think tonight’s color display was the best by far…
I took close to 100 shots tonight. These two are my favorites of the color ones. I took quite a few B&W before the sun fully set and the color came up. I haven’t processed those yet, but when I do…you’ll be the first to know…
Thanks for looking!
Some Random Shots
I took some random flower macros, walking around town yesterday morning, paying bills, and killing time before work. It was a fairly decent day…
English Plantain
Peavine
No idea what this one is. Not wild, however...cultivated in a garden.
No idea. A big, weedy looking plant growing next to my porch.
No idea. Another weed growing near the BBQ grill. Nasty thorns on this one.
Another garden cultivation. Anyone know what it is?
And a shot of my buddy Rocky, smiling at me from the water…
Rocky Turtle
After work, my friend Rich called and asked if I wanted to go out to “The Ears”. “The Ears” are a group of HUGE satellite dishes, used by researchers and scientists at a variety of universities and institutions to study the night sky. I don’t know the specifics…
This photo pretty much sucks. But I can see this 30 meter dish from my front porch. One of these nights I’m actually going to get a decent shot of one of these beasts…
Big-ass satellite dish...
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Trip to San Francisco
So…anyone that’s been reading knows that I have been in the process of moving. I have been living in a small, 2 bedroom apartment with my daughter and a room-mate for the last 4 years. It wasn’t the best, but we made it work. Not long ago, my girlfriend asked if I was interested in getting a place together with her, and we jumped at the chance. So, me, my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter al share a really nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath house. Moving sucks ASS, and I despise the process. But the results are well worth it.
So…as a little bit of a break, my good friend John and his wife took me to San Francisco for a night. It still amazes me how easily my stress melts away with a camera in my hand…
Wild Rose growing in my new front yard
Bueatiful Swallowtail Butterfly
This guy threatened to break my camera if I took his picture. I wished him luck with that...
Awaiting the Bite
Alcatraz
The Rock
Alcatraz Guard Tower
Forbes Island
Seagull you fly across the horizon...
Telegraph Hill from The Embarcadero
The Golden Gate in B&W
Crosstown Traffic
It was a really fun, albeit short-lived trip to the Bay. I had never been there before, so it was a very worthwhile endeavor.
Thanks for coming along!
I’m a Finalist!!
So…I submitted a shot of Mono Lake to a photo contest recently. Outdoor Photographer Magazines “The Great Outdoors” photo contest os going on right now, and you can help me get my first publication in a professional level magazine by voting for me. Vote Here, and help me out! I dn’t really care much about the money and gear, but I would REALLY like to get my shot published in the magazine. So plese, if you have a moment, take the time to register, and vote for my shot! Thanks!
Mono Lake Sunrise--The Finalist Shot
Reno Overnight
Took a quick trip up to Reno. Nothing fancy…just an overnight and a trip to Cabela’s. Didn’t even go walk the strip. Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of Reno, but at least I was able to get out of town for a night.
Anyhow…We stayed at the Atlantis, and I couldn’t resist…
Atlantis Night
This was actually a really difficult shot to get. The falls are in the center of a variable roundabout with multiple cars going in all directions on all sides of me…and quite close. There was also a bazillion pedestrians and several security lights. It was very difficult finding a good composition that eliminated all of these annoyances…
We also stopped at the Conway Summit Overlook to take a shot of a storm front moving across Mono Basin…
Mono Basin Stormfront
That’s it. It was a fun trip. I got a new CO2 pistol, and a couple of new shots. What more could a guy ask for?
Thanks for looking!
Black and White Day…
Woke up and headed out to the river for some sunrise action first thing this morning. The cloud cover was way too heavy to produce any good colors, but just heavy enough for awesome B&W shooting…
Lazy River at Sunrise
Black Mountain Peak
I didn’t even see the deer in the above one. I pulled over and set up for the landscape, and just as I was getting ready to click the shutter release, they decided to stretch their legs. So I waited for them to settle in, than took the shot.
Poleta Laws Rd. Looking South
The clouds and lighting looked really good to the south. I probably should have headed down there first thing for sunrise, but…I made it to the Alabama Hills for a bit before noon…
Sharkfin and Whitney
You can barely see 14,400″ + Mt. Whitney in the clouds back there. I just thought this outcropping of rocks was really cool, so I waited for a short break in the clouds over Whitney to shoot.
Thanks for coming along!
Pre-Dawn Photo Shoot
I woke up at around 4:00 this morning, made a pot of coffee, and looked outside. I had my alarm set for 5:30, because I wanted to catch the sunrise at Klondike Lake. I went outside with a cuppa Joe, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But there was a TON of stars, and a really nice, bright waning moon.
So I grabbed my gear and headed out an hour earlier than planned. I got to Klondike Lake at around 5:30…just about the time I was expecting to roll out of bed. Boy am I glad I did…
Black Mt. Peak by Moonlight
Pre-dawn glow on the Inyo/White Mountains
Cold dawn at Klondike Lake
It was another gloriously still, but crisp and cold morning. Perfect for long exposures…AND long underwear…
Thanks for coming along!
Full Moon Landscapes
Took a quick ride out to The River to shoot some landscapes by the light of the HUGE full moon…
Bishop Range
Druid Peaks
The Tree
Upper Owens Valley
It was a really pretty night. Crisp, but perfectly still. There wasn’t even a tiny wisp of wind that I could tell, which made for really nice conditions to shoot long exposures.
And evidently this is supposed to be the biggest and brightest full moon of 2010, so…YAY FOR ME!!
Thanks for coming along!
Back to the Artesian…
I told you there was a couple other things I wanted to try at the Artesian Well this morning. There isn’t a ton you can do with this small pool, but if you get the light right, it does everything for you…
Before the good color came up, I managed to get several nice B&W shots. This one was the best…
B&W Sunset
When I took this one, the clouds were really quite grey with some muddy areas, and not a lot of color but for some pale blue over the Sierras. So I flipped to monotone with a yellow contrast filter, and the tones and dynamics were fantastic for B&W.
And once the sun dipped below the ridgeline of the Sierras…those dramatic clouds came to life…
Artesian Sunset
I simply love living in this area…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Artesian Sunrise
Well…I had to take yesterday and the day before both off of work to take care of The Kid. I don’t mind taking care of her, but I do mind taking the time off work. So I made arrangements with her mom to take her a night early so I could work today. That means I had no kid this morning…
So I did what any reasonable photographer would do. I woke up at 4:30, made some coffee, gathered my gear, and headed out for a shot I was desperate to get…
First Light
This place is really neat. When it’s cold, like this morning, the hot spring water coming from the standpipe really gives off a lot of steam. The long exposure really makes it nice and soft.
There isn’t really a lot of different ways to compose this shot, but I do have a few other ideas. I’m going down tonight for sunset. See what I can come up with…
Thanks for looking!
More from Mono Lake…
I’m sure you don’t think I spent the whole day freezing my ass off for 5 shots…
Eastern Sierras and South Tufa
Warning...Dragons Be Here...
Fading Color
First Light
"WTF are you doing?!?"
Harris Hawk Profile
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Sunrise at Mono Lake…
I pissed someone off today. I didn’t mean to do it. Really. I’m honestly sorry that your feelings got hurt, if you happen to see this. But when the light is right…I’m gonna be late…
The color came up quickly, and was gone just as quick. But as is very common, pending snowstorms make for great early morning/afternoon B&W shots…
John and I drove clear up to Walker this morning just looking for stuff to shoot. It was an incredibly fun filled day with LOADS of photogenic opportunities. But we were trying to get back to Bishop, so we bypassed a lot of potentially good shooting…
We did stop long enough for this shot on the way back from Walker…
This is the Mono Basin. I wonder if anyone but me can see the red tail hawk that flew into the scene at the perfect moment, even if it was an imperfect location…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
And if anyone out there is pissed at me for spending the day getting these once-in-a-lifetime shots…please forgive me…
Random Shots…
Well…I had some random shots lying around, and thought I would make yet another in my string of Random Crap…
My friend Kaylee cam into town for a day or two and we had a chance to hang out, and go get coffee…
Kaylee
Jack and His Girls
The Best Medicine
There was a really cool cloud formation over my house the other night…
Really cool cloud
And I finally got a shot of the Christmas lights at Bishop Care Center…
Bishop Care Center
And I didn’t get a chance to get out and shoot today, thanks to a tire on my truck that is ready to blow any minute. But I couldn’t resist taking a shot from my backyard…
Backyard Vista
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Blue Moon for 2009
Every few years, there is a lunar phenomenon known as the Blue Moon. It is an “extra” full moon phase. For 2009, this occurred on December 31. Happy New Year!
Blue Moon and Christmas Lights
Blue Moon in Black and White
I love getting night shots. It’s even better with awesome clouds, a Blue Moon, and Christmas lights…
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
It’s a Fine Day for Shooting…
John and I went out to the Buttermilks this afternoon to shoot some snowy landscapes…
Basin Mountain
Mt. Humphries and Little Peak
Basin Mountain and Mt. Tom
Little Peak, Humphries and Basin
After walking around a bit on the South ide of the Tungsten Hills, we headed to the Easit Side, and found an old mining shack or dynamite house…or something…
Shack Entrance
Basin, Tom and The Shack
And…then we went and shot a couple of neat little ice formations alongside the creek…
Thanks for coming along! It was a really fun day!
The Orton Effect
The Orton effect was first used by Michael Orton. Using color slide film, he would take 2 shots of the same subject, one over-exposed and blurry, the other in focus. He would then sandwich these two slides together and the effect would have a very surreal, almost dream-like quality to them. I have heard it referred to as “painterly”, “artistic”, and “dreamy”. Whatever you choose to call it…it’s pretty cool.
It can easily be applied digitally with today’s editing software…
Creating the above image was really quite simple. I use Corel’s Paint SHop Pro Photo 12, so this “tutorial” may not be helpful to those of you that use Photoshop…
The first step is basic processing of the base image. I make brightness/contrast, high pass sharpen, and clarify adjustments to get a solid base image to start with. Than I copy this image, and paste it as a new layer.
I make the top layer invisible, so I can see the bottom layer, and increase the brightness a bit, than apply a Gaussian Blur. I typically use a 15-25 pixel radius, but I have used higher. Be warned…you CAN overdo it.
Once my bottom layer is nice and blurry, I switch to my top layer, and increase the sharpness using High Pass Sharpen once again. Than I decrease the opacity of the top layer, until I can see the blurry layer underneath. Than it’s a matter of taste, adjusting the opacity of the top layer to achieve the desired amount of blur and “halo” from the blurred bottom layer.
Once I have the desired amount of blur and sharpness, I flatten the image, and continue processing, as necessary. For the top image, the processing ended at merging the layers. For the above image, I boosted contrast a touch and clarify just a bit after merging to bring out some of that texture in the rocks.
And that’s really all there is to it. Play around with it. I have found that the images most suited to the Orton effect seem to be those with lots of leaves, trees, or water. These tend to make a really neat dream-scene using this effect.
I hope you enjoyed this, and Thanks for reading!
Quest for Falls…
Anyone that has visited the Eastern Sierra knows that we have a lot of streams. Big mountains, with steep slopes, and high average snowfall combine to produce an amazing array of rivers, creeks, streams and lakes. Most of these bodies of water eventually find a way to empty their contents into the desert floor. What the LADWP doesn’t siphon off and irrigate away as drinking water, settles in as groundwater beneath the sand and sagebrush of the desert. We won’t talk about the fact that it wasn’t a desert before the LADWP…that will be another post…
Anyhow…
One of my hobbies is finding waterfalls. I like to photograph them, and I like to sit by them, have a cigarette, and just relax. They are magical in their presence… Aural bliss from their falling molecules of Hydrogen and Oxygen. Visual perfection in their flexability and splendor. Glorious in their sustenance. But I digress…
Went for a walk up around Pine Creek yesterday. I know of many beautiful runs and riffles on Pine Creek…it’s one of my favorite fishing creeks in the entire Eastern Sierra. But there aren’t any fish there, so don’t bother…
Found this guy chillin’ in my path to the creek’s edge…
This was a feisty son of a bitch. Sure…he’s one of the prettiest deserticola I’ve ever encountered…but the bastard tried to bite me at least a dozen times in the span of 5 minutes. I like ‘em like that though. Let’s me know they got some fight in ‘em. The bastards will be just fine.
I had to hang onto him for a couple minutes because I was with Rose and Annette, and I’m not sure Rose has had a positive experience with a wild snake before, and I wanted her to see this guy. Anyhow…on to the water…
It was pretty blown out…hazy, mid-day sun with little saturation and WAY to stark in the shadows. So We went up above the road, and just listened. Sure enough, within a few minutes of walking quietly…
Hidden Falls
Jumbled Falls
Little Falls
These were all in one small area, and there were many, many other little falls and cascades scattered about. They were on the main creek and on small feeder streams coming into the creek on both sides. Most of them ended in beautiful little runs and cascades, and there were a few little plunge pools.
I’m going back up there. Better lighting would make this place spectacular. Expect an update on this spot…soon…
As always, Thanks for taking the time!
Little Lakes Valley
I went for a hike up around Little Lakes Valley yesterday. This is a high alpine valley, sitting well above 10,000′ in the Eastern Sierra…probably closer to 11,500′, but I am not certain. HIGH is all I can say…
Anyhow…it was a high, bright sun, with very little clouds, and very harsh shadows. But I found some decent shots…
I also took a couple of colorful shots, for those that would rather see color dynamics instead of tonal dynamics…
And last night before I went to bed, I went outside during some fairly heavy winds to try something different…
I used a 25 second exposure during high winds to get the leaevs really blowing around and creating a wispy, almost ghost-like appearance. To illuminate the tree, I used a handheld LED flashlight and just painted the front of the tree in random patterns with the light, whilst standing off the the left. This was an experiement, and I really didn’t know what to expect. I admit that this is not what I was expecting, and while it doesn’t truly fit the technical definition of “light painting”…I am very pleased with the way the final shot looks eery…almost spooky. Next time I’ll put a headstone in front of the tree for full effect…
Thanks for taking the time to check out the shots!
“…with a little help from my friends…”
So…I was invited on a hike this morning with 3 other local photographers. They are all part of the Eastern Sierra Photographers, as I am. We decided to take a hike up around Lake Sabrina, above Bishop, and boy, did we pick a spectacular day.
Tungsten Hills
On the way up to Sabrina, there was some fantastic light coming through a wonderful stormfront ni the Tungsten Hills area, so we decided to stop and take some shots…
Mt. Tom...sorta...
Of course…whilst in the Tungsten Hills, I am obligated to put on the 150mm tele and find some lizards. It would be sacreligious if I didn’t…
Fence Lizard trying to grow a new tail...
Sagebrush Lizard
Onwards and upwards, we hopped back in the car and continued up to Lake Sabrina at the top of Bishop Creek Canyon…
Lake Sabrina
Tell me those clouds aren’t amazing…
Beautiful time and place to be me...
Faraway Falls
This GORGEOUS waterfall is incredibly far away from me. I used my 150mm lens, and I cropped this way down in processing. I vow to get closer to this fall. Maybe not before the snow falls up there this year…but I WILL get close to those falls for decent shots…
Anyhow…I decided to head back down to the car earlier than the others. We were parked alongside Middle Fork Bishop Creek, and I wanted to get some photos of the creek.
Middle Fork Upper
Nornmally…on a Sunday in August…this place is literally assholes to elbows with fisherman. You can’t get a line in edgewise…which is why I typically avoid the middle fork. But when the rains come, and it clouds up, the fisherman head for cover. Fortunately, as a photographer…i LOVE overcast days. Gives you wonderful light…
Middle Fork Lower
I love how the heavy flow of water gave everything a surreal look to everything. So much movement…
The Stump
This is my favorite shot of the day. Don’t know how you feel about it, but I think this is the best of the day.
Anyhow…Thanks for taking the time to read!
“Shorter of Breath…”
“…and, one day, closer to death.” Pink Floyd is awesome…Anyhow…
Yup…Another year has passed. I “celebrated” my 36th birthday yesterday. I’m officially closer to 40 than I am to 30. I guess it ain’t so bad. I feel good, I still look relatively good with more brown hair than grey, and still more hair on my head than my ears or back. And hell, I’m happy and having a ton of fun just living life. I guess growing up ain’t so bad…
Anyhow…in lieu of any sort of Birthday Celebration, I spent a good portion of the day hiking a rather short but steep trail by myself in the John Muir Wilderness. About 2 miles and about 2,000′ in elevation gain to the first lake…where I stopped…
The First of the Tyee Lakes
I’m fairly certain that this is looking towards the south. I could be wrong as I don’t usually carry a compass on a fairly popular day hike. I suppose it doesn’t really matter much…
Ovipositing Dragonfly
I managed to see this big ol’ dragonfly laying some eggs in the reeds at the edge of the lake. She landed close enough to me that I was able to get a decent shot of her ovipositing…
Small Cascades
On the way back down the trail, I followed the faint sound of trickling water to this tiny little outlet stream, and got what I think is a really decent shot of a tiny little cascade.
South Fork Falls
This is the second try at these falls for me. This is a small feeder stream that flows into the South Fork of Bishop Creek after going over this really nice fall. The last time I shot it with limited filters, and got a decent shot…but this one is better.
Anyhow…that’s how IO spent the ol’ birthday…walking around in the wilderness, disturbing everything around me. Couldn’t have asked for a better day. To top it off, a friend took me out for Sushi and pool in the evening. Great way to end the day!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Wildfire Season
Well, it’s that time of year, when those of us that live in the hotter, drier climes turn our thoughts and concerns towards the safety of our houses and lands. Wildfires. They suck. But they can sure look pretty…
Bishop Creek Cayon Aflame
I took this shot last night at about 10pm when this fire was only a couple 3 or 4 hours old. This morning, it has quintupled in size. I haven’t seen if it is still actively burning or not.
I believe this fire is the result of a lightening strike from a late afternoon thunderstorm yesterday, but I am not positive of that. I do know that there are a LOT of cabins, campgrounds, and homes that are in serious danger of being consumed by this beast. I hope things get under control fairly soon.
Please be careful out there hiking, camping, climbing…even driving your car on dirtroads. The brush is dry so use spark arrestors and caution with fires and smoking. Please…
