Rare Occasion…
OK, so every once in a while, I get bit by the HDR bug, and decide to play around a little bit. The other night, while out shooting B&W storm clouds, I also shot through some brackets for an HDR merge. This is what I got…
Northern Inyo COunty--HDR
Not too bad. I don’t like super-saturated, over-cooked HDR images. I like them when they are subtle…you wouldn’t really know it’s an HDR unless someone told you. I think this one satisfies that description, but still puts together a nice, wide dynamic range. What do you think?
Thanks for looking!
Spring…In Places…
So, I dropped the girls off for school this morning, and brought my camera bag with me…just in case. On the way back, I couldn’t help but catch the storm over the Sierras, moving in from the west…
Bishop Range--3-shot Panoramic
I decided to try a pano shot this morning. Most of my landscapes are shot at 14-20mm(28-40mm equivalent). This one was taken with 3 shots in portrait orientation, at 42mm(84mmequiv.), stitched in CS4. Below is a single exposure at 21mm…
Bishop Range
Just when it’s starting to look like winter isn’t done with us, yet, I pull in the driveway and find tiny, purple Storksbill flowers blooming everywhere! So here are the first wildflower macros of the season!!
Portrait, in full sunlight
Pretty Pair
It is starting to warm up around here. I imagine it won’t be but a couple of weeks before smaller wildflowers start springing up everywhere. Seems a trip to the Alabama Hills again may be in order…
Thanks for coming along!
Storms From All Around
Took a quick trip out to a spot along the Owens River to take some photos of the gathering clouds to the north…
Northern Whites
Storm Over the Owens River
Just a quick afternoon trip for some cool B&W shots…
Thanks for looking!
Quick Trip to the Pond
Took my girlfriend and the kids to Farmer’s Pond this evening for a couple of quick shots. Zayne left her camera on and killed the battery, Rose and Annette were cold. But Zayne was a good little assistant, and toughed it out by the water’s edge with me for a couple of shots..
Like I said, just a real quick trip. I got the opportunity to explain split neutral density filters and how they work to my daughter, though, so that was great. Not sure she will remember much of the lesson but…she’s 6. I can’t really expect too much…can I?
Thanks for taking the time to look!
First Sunset of 2011
Thick, heavy storm clouds rolling in from the west pretty much blocked any hope of color for the first sunset of the year, but it sure did make for some excellently dramatic B&W opportunities. So I called my buddy James, told him to grab all his gear, and I picked him up for a quick trip to Farmer’s Pond, just outside of Bishop…
- Farmer’s Pond–1/1/11
Driftwood and Ice
It was cold and it was dreary…but it was worth every second!
Thanks for taking the time to look!
One of My First Shots
A long time ago, or so it seems, I took the plunge and invested in a mid-range DSLR camera. My best friend John was thrilled. Within 2-3 days of getting my box in the mail, John took me to one of his favorite locations in The Alabama Hills to try it out. Those first few images were rightly crap. Poor composition, no subjective connection, and only moderately acceptable exposures. But on that first day, I learned and re-learned some fascinating aspects of photography that were forgotten in the maze of years.
I went back through the files from that first day, and actually found one that was fairly reasonable. So I took it into Photoshop CS4, and reprocessed the original file…
Southern Inyo Mountains
I was feeling a little nostalgic, and missing my recently deceased best friend, John. I’m always gonna miss him, but he will always guide my feet and my exposures in this gorgeous little valley that we both loved so much. Thinking back on that first day shooting, I couldn’t help but process this one with a little sense of nostalgia, and an antique flare of it’s own. It was only a few years ago, but it really does seem like a lifetime…
Thanks so much for taking the time to look!
Silouhettes and Clouds
I’m sick. I hate being sick. I hate being stuffed up, nose running, fever, aches, and chills. I hate not being able to go outside and walk around, work a full day, or even enjoy my daughter’s company.
But I love cloud formations, and I love the fact that where I live, I can see some pretty awesome clouds from my front porch…
I guess the clouds today WERE the silver lining. I still hope to feel better and go to work tomorrow…
‘Tis the Season…
…to focus on black and white photography. Viscious storm fronts, heavy snows, and dramatic clouds coupled with high-contrast lighting and deeply saturated colors means it’s time to break out the polarizer, and shoot some B&W’s…
This was the first big storm of the winter to come through. It dumped several feet on the mountains, and even left an inch or so in my front yard. Can’t wait for more winter storms to come through…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Couple More from Yesterday
Just a couple more shots from my trip up Bishop Creek Canyon yesterday morning…
The Road to Nowhere
Intake II
Sabrina Basin in color
Thanks for looking!
Middle Fork, Bishop Creek
Took a quick drive up Middle Fork to Lake Sabrina this morning for a few shots. The fall colors are fantastic up there, and getting better. This heavy storm rolling in made a cold, but good morning…
Sabrina Basin
Bishop Creek below Sabrina
Lake Sabrina
Lake Sabrina
Anyhow…it was just a quick trip, but I think the storm made for some very interesting lighting. It was fun.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
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
A Great Day for Photos
John is an Aqueducts and Reservoir Keeper for the LA Department of Water and Power. That doesn’t really carry a whole tone of weight when you live in the Owens Valley, which has been sucked dry by the LADWP over the last 110 years, but it does mean that he spends the majority of his working days driving back roads, dirt lanes, and unbeaten paths checking water and snow levels, adjusting regulators, and opening/closing flow valves throughout the valley. And since he is one of my closest friends, he shares the “hot spots” for wildflowers with me.
Of course, with the amount of moisture we have seen this year, you can see most of the “hot spots” from the highway…
Baker Creek Canyon
Fiddle Neck
Wild Lupine
Some species of Phacelia, I believe
Scalebud Landscape North
This last shot….man alive, the entire west side of Highway 395 just north of Big Pine was bright yellow and orange. There is scalebud, storksbill, gilia, lupine, wooly daisy, fiddle neck, and paintbrush scattered all over the place. Most of the bright yellow is scalebud, but you can see some concentrations of woolly daisy in the foothills where the saturated orange is. The storksbill and gilia are too small to make an impression with such tall scalebud surrounding it, and the paintbrush and lupine are scattered infrequently enough to render them moot in a wide scene like this. But it won’t be long before there are wild iris, lupine, penstemon, colombine, paintbrush and all sorts of other larger flowers blanketing these fields and the upper elevation meadows. It’s gonna be a good flower year…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Farmer’s Pond
I met up with a couple friends this morning. John picked me up at around 6am, and he and I went to Denny’s and had some coffee while we waited for our friend Bert to get off work. We were gonna go shoot, and we decided to head over to Farmer’s Pond.
We missed the actual “sunrise”, but the clouds were so thick and low, it never did develope color. But it was really nice, diffused lighting, with some great breaks in the clouds over both mountains ranges. And the clouds were just full of drama…
John and Bert. Two REALLY talented local photographers.
Farmer's Pond looking west towards Wheeler Crest
Looking northeast along the stormfront
Storm Over White Mountains
Portrait of a Storm
What a fantastic day! Thanks so much for joining me!
I Got a New Lens…
Yup. I broke down and got a good lens. I picked up a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens. I got a new flash, too. I picked up an Olympus FL-36 hotshoe flash and a bounce shield. I’ve been having fun…
My Baby Girl
"Let There Be Light!"
Bailey Preening
Nina Glaring
I actually got this lens and flash unit in anticipation of road cruising this summer. I can’t WAIT to find some snakes this year…
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!
I hate when she gets sick…
My baby is sick. She is asthmatic, and this time of year can be very difficult for all of us. Every year she ends up in the Emergency Room for treatment of severe asthma symptoms. Looks like we might be heading that way if I can’t control it at home…
Anyhow…being home all day, no school for the kid, no work for me…I get antsy and restless. I want to get outside and do something…but I can’t.
So I walk to the end of the road and shoot the mountains…again…
Yes...my camera works in color...sometimes...
...but Black and White looks better...
...especially with fluffy clouds like this...
And…we are staying home again today. Who knows…you might see some more boring, random pictures from me today…it’s still early…
The Morning After…
What. A. Week. !!!
It started snowing, as scheduled late Sunday afternoon…the storm pretty much followed John and I down 395 from Mono Lake last week. And I knew by looking at it that this one was gonna be big, and it didn’t disappoint. And it stuck around all week.
This morning…the fog settled in as the clouds began to break up…
Cold and Foggy Morn
When the Clouds Break
Frosty Portrait
But, as per normal, it warmed up, cleared up, and a good lot of the snow was gone by this afternoon. But the lingering clouds were still hanging in there…
Young Colt
Back Lot
Even the vacant lot on the side looks pretty with a fresh blanket of snow and the right sky…
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
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…
Storm Over Wheeler Crest…The Story Continues…
Storm Over Wheeler Crest
If you’ve followed the progress of this blog at all, you know that I took this shot back in August of 2009. It was a few days after my 36th birthday, and I was out shooting with my good friends John, Rich and Chris. It was just a fantastic day shooting, and when I took this picture, I just had the feeling that something special happened.
It was a turning point for me, technically, because this is the shot that helped me re-discover my love of B&W photography and the power of the B&W landscape. This shot convinced me that I could achieve very desireable B&W results digitally if I tried hard enough, contrary to everything I had read and heard from the photography media.
This shot was selected to run in a digital side-show at the San José Museum of Art alongside prints by Ansel Adams as part of the “Ansel Adams Early Years” exhibit. That is the first time I really felt “recognized” for any artistic endeavor. It’s something I am very proud of.
And now it has been selected to run in the Mammoth Library Gallery showing from February 1 through March 31, 2010.
Truth be told…I think I have taken many shots since this one that are better. That’s not to say I don’t think this is a good shot…it’s just not my best, in my opinion. However, the hope is that what I consider my best today will not be my best tomorrow. Always striving for better. Always learning something new…
Anyhow…it’s getting tough to get good news these days. So I just wanted to share a little bit of my excitement. Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Snowstorm in the Valley
It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while, we get a really nice dumping of snow in Bishop. We had some really big, wet flakes coming down for several hours during the evening. A really good storm…
Falling Snow in B&W
Snowy Yard
Of course, with accumulation like this, I was holding my breath for this morning to have some really nice snow. I wasn’t disappointed…
Mt. Tom
Mt. Tom and Wheeler Crest
The Silo
John and I went out to Round Valley, and shot Mt. Tom and The Wheeler Crest, and then we shot up Pine Creek Canyon…
Doe, a deer. A female deer.
Pine Creek Canyon
The Fog is Lifting
It really was a spectacular morning. Wasn’t all that cold, either. Just a really nice day to get out and shoot. Thanks for coming along!
Round Valley Relic
The storm clouds rolling in while taking my daughter to school this morning were simply incredible. I was racking my brain the whole way to school and back home, trying to figure out where I could go, close by, and get some decent shots. Than I remembered this old, rusted, gutted, half of a car out behind Kaylee’s mom’s house…
And my favorite shot of the morning…
I really like this last shot. I actually took 3 exposures from this angle, intending to make an HDR photo merge, but when I got the files uploaded, I realized I didn’t need it, so I discarded the other 2 files, and processed this one as normal. I think it came out fairly decent.
I will be going back here, after a nice dusting of fresh snow hits Round Valley…
Thanks for looking!
Grey Skies and Great Mountains
I went out to the Buttermilks with a couple friends the other day. The girls wanted to hike where it was warm, and I wanted to re-visit a favorite place of mine, and try and get a couple different perspectives. The ladies were happy…and so was I.
Grey Skies Over Mt. Tom
This shot uses the same dead tree as my “Storm Over Wheeler Crest” shot from August of this year. I wanted a new perspective, and with the much higher cloud base, I was able to get Mt. Tom in the shot this time. Than I looked south…
Basin Mt. and Mt. Tom
This other fallen tree seemed to beg for attention. I gave it some, but I didn’t get this one quite right. It’s not bad, but I’m gonna go back. I think a blanket of fresh snow at sunrise might be in order…
Thanks for looking!
Basin Mt….Incognito
I was going through some pictures from earlier in the summer, and came across one that, for whatever reason, I just never processed. The clouds were fantastic, the light was just gorgeous, and I shared at least 10 other photos from the same day. I guess that could be why this one was overlooked…
But, in times of photographic drought, images like this one come in handy…
Basin...Incognito
This one was actually shot in color and converted to black and white using the Channel Mixer, where I applied a red filter. It was taken on the same day as my other Ansel Adams-esque shot, “Storm Over Wheeler Crest”…
Storm Over Wheeler Crest
This one was shot in monotone with an on-camera red filter attached. Both worked equally well for the final result, in my humble opinion…
I also heard a vicious rumour…Evidently, there are blog reading tools out there that just continuously search for updated blogs at all the big blogger hangouts…like WordPress.com. The rumour is…if you mention these tools in a blog post…you will automatically get more traffic from those tools. BlogSurfer.us is the first one I have heard about. But I guess I just mentioned it in a post, so we’ll see if it picks up and directs traffic. If anyone knows of other neat “marketing” tricks like this…I’d love to hear about them!
Thanks for taking the time to look!
