Well, that was a long hiatus. In the past two months we've been to Colorado Springs to see the kids and grandkids, I went to San Diego immediately after for the International Society for Aviation Photographers convention, we followed that a week later with a long weekend in Yosemite and then we spent a few days in Cambria during 4th of July week. We also entertained Lin for a great five days and had lots of BBQs and other adventures along the way. In between I managed to write three articles for work and we went to the Hollywood Bowl a couple of times. Oh, yeah, we also prepped for the release of the last Harry Potter movie by having a marathon viewing of all the previous Potter movies the week before release. It's a wonder we found any time to sleep.
Having said that, we've now committed to the gym again. Yes, I got tired of seeing Jabba the Hutt every time I looked into the mirror in the morning. A truly scary thing if you've never experienced it a 0-dark thirty.
The upshot is I'll have even less time than before, so irregularity may be the continuing hallmark of this blog. For that I apologize, but life, as they say, goes on.
I did manage to capture some nice images while we were on our adventures. Part of the reason we went to Yosemite and Cambria was to let Tina get some plein-aire time. She did well. For a sample of some of her recent work check out her website (see link on this page).
We had one really nice sunset while on the Central Coast. Morro Bay was quite nicely lit and the egrets were wading along the shallows looking for targets of opportunity. This is one of the more striking shots from that evening. It was a very peaceful moment - unless you were a fish.
More to come, hopefully soon.
This is one of the more startling photos I ever took, and I did not notice it until after the slides were processed. I was at Inspiration Point overlooking the Yosemite Valley watching the colors in the valley shift as the day drew to a close. I had recently purchased on eBay an 1000mm lens for my 35mm camera. I decided to try it out on El Capitan, the impressive monolith that dominates the left-hand side of most images taken from that vantage. I liked how the granite face glowed golden and how the ridge between us and the rock face was silhouetted against the light. Indeed, for scale comparisons, if you look closely at the little jutting piece just above where the gold on the face, the ridge line and the shadow cast on El Capitan meet, you can see what would normally be a large tree. It is a mere speck in this image.
I took a few shots and went back to a more normal angle of view for the rest of the day. It was only when I looked at the processed transparencies that I noticed the rich, blue shadows cast by the ridge onto El Capitan. It absolutely floored me in its intensity and has become a favorite image of mine.
This is the uncropped version. I have a large print of this in a square-cropped format hanging above the familyroom fireplace at home. It is one of the more abstract images I have ever shot, yet I find it very tranquil. It definitely opened up a new way of looking at things for me, which I've tried to explore since then.
A couple of days prior to the photo in yesterday's post, I shot the sunset from the other side of the image. Roy and I were exploring the Windows section of Arches National Park at the end of a long day. As we began our short trek to Turret Arch I paused to shoot towards the fading light, silhouetting one of the rock pillars nearby. While not exactly pointed towards the spot I was standing days later, it was close enough to provide a complimentary bookend to yesterday's view. I love the shades of gray receding into the horizon line. It was very peaceful and beautiful.
I shot the image above several years ago. It was the end of a long day with a lot of hazy, yucky weather coming down from Carmel along HWY 1. We reached this spot below Pacific Beach. It's near the last bend before getting to Gorda, where you can no longer see the multiple headlands looking North. Tina suggested we stop as she thought something interesting might develop. It did, producing one of the best sunset pictures I've managed to capture. Tina was so inspired by it that she's done two oil paintings based on this image. You can see them by visiting her blog at www.skyshadowstudios.blogspot.com. Yes, that is a shameless plug. But well worth the visit.
