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!
Landscapes, Lizards, and More Fire
Kevin flies back to Colorado tomorrow. It’s been an incredible week, but I’ll be sad to see him go. We’re making plans for him to come visit again in August, and that will be really nice, but…I’m gonna miss him when he leaves…
Yea, it’s really been an incredible week. I met my son. Zayne met her brother. And we really enjoyed each others’ company. It will definitely be sad to watch him go, but I know he’ll be coming back…
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!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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…
Fourth of July
Went to watch the fireworks with a friend last night and had a really good time. I live in a small town, with a small budget, so…really the fireworks sucked. They suck every year. The town simply can’t afford the big, fancy, expensive fireworks, but…they try. And every year is a good time…if you avoid spending the $20 to park at the airport.
Me? I spend the $20 on a 6-pack of good beer, and hit the dirt roads behind the airport. Closer to the action, excellent view, and my money is better spent. Seems like a no-brainer to me…
Anyhow…here’s a couple pictures from last night…
Moon rise over White Mountains
The "Finale"
One of the better mortars of the night
The blast ain't great...but I like the smoke...
The girl I was with was very curious about snakes, and she knows I am a bit of a snake lover. As the fireworks started, around 9pm, she asked if there were snakes where we were. I told her that around 10pm, if we were to drive down a closeby road, I would bet money we would find a sidewinder. Sure enough…as we left the dirt road and hit the pavement, right on schedule at 10pm, there was a young sidewinder in the road. I didn’t get any pictures of it, simply because my friend was really enjoying just loking at it and watching it. It was pretty cool…
Anyhow…thanks for checking out the blog again!
Night Shots
I took a walk down Main St. tonight with my camera and tripod, looking for some decent long exposure shots. Ironically enough…I actually found a couple, what with all the drunks wandering around for St. Patrick’s day, and such…
Anyhow…I learned that High Schools can look creepy at night, Big Rigs and long exposures can learn to play nicely together, and 60 seconds is a long time to hope that the wind doesn’t blow and move your subject.
f/22; 60 seconds; ISO 100
f/22; 40 seconds; ISO 100
f/22; 20 seconds; ISO 100
The above street shot is the best one, in my opinion, but these ones aren’t bad, either…
f/22; 25 seconds; ISO 100
f/22; 20 seconds; ISO 100
f/22; 20 seconds; ISO 100
Hope y’all enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them! As always, thanks kindly for taking the time to look!
