Rare June Cloudy Sunset

It seems like a couple of months since Southern California has had significant high clouds that create great sunsets. Yesterday was a rare June high cloud sunset. I rushed to the beach to set up for a nice shot.

I picked two photos that represent the best of the evening. Who knows when I will have another good opportunity until late Fall arrives.

Sedona Sunset

This goes back a ways but it brings back fond memories of a trip to Sedona, AZ. My friend, Al Z, held his wedding there and I was privlidged to attend it. This sunset was the photo highlight of the trip.

Sunset With An Angle

I found this protruding off the Hermosa Beach Pier. I think its angle adds a different dimension to my usual sunset shots and a nice addition to my collection.

Evening Sail

This evening the pier was full of sunset admirers. I waited patiently for this sailboat to reach the last glimmer of sun. It arrived just in time before the sun passed into the Pacific.

Palms at Sunset

2nd Street in Hermosa Beach lends itself well for sunset shots. As Spring rolls along, less clouds hang in the sky for photos. While it looks like I will have to wait until mid-Fall before sunsets are again photo-ready.

Cresent Sunset

These two palm trees break up a barren beach near Playa del Rey. I thought they might make an interesting composition and provide a different location of beach from my usual travels.

Photo For A Friend

A few moons ago I told my friend, Joni, that I would do a double exposure type photo for her. I have finally come through with my promise.
This experiment started after a photo seminar I attended. The speaker only took film shots but mastered double exposing them. His photos are frequently published in calendars and postcards. Digitally, the same technique is quite easy to master. No years and years of failed experimentation here. Simple Photoshop knowledge trumps years of trial and error.

Flowers with Flash

I do enjoy photographing flowers but never used my flash to fill in light. Since I took the Wireless Flash class from Nikonians, I thought it might be wise to put that knowledge to good use.







These two pictures represent my first attempt. I like the results but realize I have a lot to learn. Nothing like learning from your mistakes.

Back to My Roots

I recent spent the past week back in my old Ohio home town. In addition to catching up with family, old friends and odd jobs, I was able to take a few photographs.

Originally I had hope to capture the opening of the spring flowers, I found that my trip was a week or two early. I was unable to photo them but I did catch a few beautiful sunsets.

An April Sunset

As spring comes to southern California, it marks the end of storms and cloudy skies. I try to introduce interesting subjects to offset the sunset. On the above photo, I framed it to provide as much symmetry as possible.

As I looked back at the city, I noticed the sunset's glow reflecting off the building windows. I thought it made an interesting shot. Sometimes I find my favorite shots just after the sun has set.

A rain event approaches tomorrow and maybe offering one last visit before its long absense until late fall. I hope it provides for a few shots for my next blog.

A Parrot's View

Southern California has a significant population of wild parrots. Over the years they have either escaped captivity or were set free.

They usually gang up in flocks of 15-30 and fly noisily through the neighborhood. I don't recall a bird that makes as much noise.

I captured this one sweeping in for a quick breakfast at the neighborhood bird feeder. As usual, the three of them were loud.

Easter Morning In The Wetlands

A beautiful and warm Easter morning drew me into the wetlands to photograph a few shorebirds. I was quickly disappointed to find few birds in the waters.

Unsure whether spring migration began, or whether it was a bad birdwatching day, a few American Coots were about the only thing to be seen today.

The Visit

I was blessed this past weekend with a visit from my brother and my nephew. While the trip was short in duration, it maximized in fun.

We headed out to the desert and photographed the Union Pacific. Here is a picture of them shooting a passing container train.

Tony passes the time finding rocks to throw and finding ant holes to demolish.

Supercat

I never fancied myself as an animal photographer but I couldn't resist taking out the camera for this scene.
I find him curled up in the flower pot and composed the shot.

The cactus provided a nice frame and I waited patiently for the right moment. I found two shots I liked for uploading.

Daylight Saving Set

Daylight Saving Time usually signals the end of great sunset shots in Southern California. Soon even the slightest of clouds will disappear until Standard Time returns in November. Generally, we get either gloomy marine overcast or cloudless sunny days.

Tonight produced a magnificent sunset unlike any I have witnessed in quite a while. I took 50 shots or so and found it difficult to narrow it down to a few to upload. I thought about posting 5 or 6, but the reality is they are all very similar. It is still hard to choose "the best" of them though.

Sailing Into the Sunset

Every photographer finds it quite satisfying to be there at the right moment. I was fortunate enough to find this sailboat cross the sun just before being swallowed by the vast Pacific.

National Geographic Shot

This is my idea of a National Geographic shot if they published one of mine. I was photographing birds and found this Egret sitting on the guardrail of a small dock. It allowed me to approach to about ten feet away or so.


I snapped many photos but this one is my favorite. It represents the best lighting angle and a dark background to offset it.

These Black-necked Stilts are among my favorites to watch. I usually see them along the Ballona Creek as I ride on bicycle. Their quick, jerky head movements are memorable to see.

Balancing Act

I waited almost a year for this day. I knew the sun was at the point where it would present itself just over the Hermosa Beach pier prior to setting. I wanted to capture that moment.

I did so in near perfect balance. It took several shots to get it right. I would take a shot, view it in my camera's LCD and reposition myself for another shot. After around 5 shots, I go the one I wanted.

I walked to the end of the pier only to find the sun balancing itself on the pier's railing. I quickly took this shot and captured another nearly perfectly balanced shot.

I like the balance and symmetry of these photos and found a theme for today's posting -- a balancing act.

Flowers in the Rain

This morning ended a week's worth of rainy days. I trekked out to shoot flowers while they still held raindrops. I usually circle the neighborhood and look for the best subjects. This one is my favorite of the day.


This shot is why I brave the wet elements. The payoff is usually very good.
While Southern California doesn't get many rain days, it is a treat to catch the small window of opportunity to get these shots.


I did not add a frame to this photo but framed it this way. I shot this throw a white pickett fence and it turned out just as I envisioned it. Sometimes I get lucky.

I really liked the geometry in this shot. I think it all added up nicely.

Moon in Total Eclipse

The west coast experienced a total eclipse of the moon and I was fortunate enough to capture a few photos between the passing clouds. The pictures may seem a bit out of focus but it is due to the high clouds that obsured the view.

I zoomed back with the telephoto lens and include two stars in the composition. This is as close as I could get to the total eclipse before clouds took over the night sky for about 45 minutes or so.

By the time the big cloud formations cleared the total eclipse took place the the moon started its reappearance.

Nikon D300 in Lowlight

I know you have heard how great the new Nikon D3 is in lowlight situations. I can attest that the new Nikon D300 is no slouch. I recently photographed a sunset at the beach and as I started to walk home, I noticed a couple heading for the swing set. Already a half hour after sundown, I knew it would be difficult to slow down the motion with little available light, no tripod and no flash.

I set the D300 to ISO 1250 and fired away. I was amazed at the quality. While not as good as the D3, it remains impressive. Of course, the resolution of these two photos do not do justice to the camera. I must resize the image to 2” X 3” at 72dpi to make image file size small enough for the web. If you saw these in their native size and resolution, I think you would be amazed at the low noise level.



I think this picture shows he had the same idea as I did. He set his flash and camera to capture at the apex of her ascent. You can see the viewing screen on his camera waiting for the right moment. I hope his image was as good as mine. I am very satisfied with the new Nikon D300. It is an amazing camera that is residing at the top of the digital DSLR heap. Only the D3 is better right now. Don't hesitate to get one if and when you have the chance. You won't regret it.

Color and Light

Today I felt like an extended ride on the bike so I made my way up the hill to Palos Verdes to catch the sunset. The light and color of the tonight's sunset wasn't spectacular so I tried to make it more interesting by capturing a few boats as they passed under the sun.

This one caught me off-guard. I struggled to retrieve the camera from my bag just in time to catch this one before it passed by. Luckily all the boats travelled slowly this evening.

This boat followed the above one a few minutes later. As the sun became consumed by the clouds, the light softened at the expense of the color. The detail of the sun is better but the oranges and reds disappeared. These are the compromises we face as landscape and sunset photographers. Make the best of what you have. Both are decent pictures, just different in color and light.

Row Your Boat

Yesterday I was photographing birds in Playa del Rey and came across the Loyola Marymount University women's rowing team. I am not much of a sports photography person but I took a few shots anyways.

This is an interesting body of water where the Ballona Creek meets the Pacific. Ballona Creek quickly becomes a trickle in a cement riverbed.

This team is rowing upstream with Marina del Rey and the Hollywood Hills in the background.

Winter Shore Birds

Southern California beaches become home to many migrant shore birds for the winter. As the cooler weather produces smaller crowds at the beach and birds fill the gap.

Morning provides the best shots of shore birds. The early morning sun shines from the east against the west facing ocean. The lighting at this time is at its best.

We begin with a Godwit hunting for his breakfast. These are medium-sized birds with beautiful variable brown feathers.

I next approached a flock of Godwits that finished their morning feeding and began to soak in the morning sun. Here we find one that is drying its feathers and retaining its body heat.


Godwits are plenty but they are far from the only shore birds calling Hermosa Beach home. There are more to come as I will publish more shore bird shots in the near future.

A Good February Start

The Groundhog may have seen his shadow but February started on a great note. A nice sunset ended the first day of the month and the surf was up. This young lad caught the day's last glimer with a little body surfing.

While shooting the Manhattan Beach Pier, I noticed this surfer to the left of the pier. I migrated a little south and composed a few shots against the orange sunset. I managed several good shots with these being my favorites.

Nikon D70 with Nikkor 80-400mm VR lens.