In a world of so many great photographers and writers, I am venturing into some unknown territories, leaving comfort zones, finally very willing to practice the art of seeing. By maintaining the practice of posting daily photos, I hope to continue learning about the possibilities that I trust are out there for the taking.
I’ve been away so much I can’t keep up with the editing and posting of photos. Such a problem, right?
Next week Page, Arizona and slot canyons. Then……two days later, Ray and I attend a very special family wedding….Ramsey and Annie get married at Pop Castle, my sister Ginny and Walid’s river home.
My friend and workshop leader, Jeff Leimbach, took this photo of me at Park Avenue in Moab, Ut.
At ADZPCTKO in Lake Morena. Out at 5:30am both mornings for a couple of hours around this pretty lake. So peaceful.
Back from the ADZPCTKO weekend at Lake Morena. Pictures will follow.
10 years of PCT Class bandanas. A tradition started in 2003 by Cupcake, Yogi and me.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM @ 16mm
Manual mode
1/4 sec 1t f/18, ISO 100
tripod and shutter cable release
Another favorite from the Moab, Utah workshop.
Side view of Mesa Arch.
Well, I have to say I’ve never been to a better workshop ever. Check out my friend Jeff Leimbach’s photography workshop website.
Here’s what I wrote to Jeff today (although his mailbox is full so he hasn’t seen my note to him yet):
Boy, what a great workshop you put on! I am so impressed with your ability to give equal attention to all attendees, incredibly full photo op days, expertise and help with Lightroom and Photoshop and most of all the the love and service attitude that permeates throughout the workshop. And……what a picker you have in your choice of guest instructor, Dave Black. What a REMARKABLE man with sooooo much expertise/experience and that he too humbly and willingly shares with all. I learned so much from you, Randy (who I adore), and Dave. I’ve never felt more relaxed in any of the many workshops I’ve attended. Can’t wait for Page, Arizona.
Park Avenue monuments in Arches National Park. This is where we spent our last morning shooting......shooting in pools of hand carried water poured into rock pools located in the flat just beyond the road. This is a 6 shot pano merged in Photoshop.
Here's our group!
And here is one of my favorite photos from the workshop. We were on our stomachs, cameras on the ground in front of the water we placed in a depression in the hard rock to capture this morning reflection.
And as if I hadn't had enough photography, I went out 1 hour after I got home last night to shoot this.
One photo from yesterday
I shoot while I drive. I'll probably die doing this but I can't help myself.
Another driving shot. I can't keep the camera up to my eye but for a quick second so I'm thrilled with the composition.
Third drive by shot. The other 106 I deleted.
I stopped at most all the view points. This is a cropped version on one. Kept hoping I'd get a spot light of filtered sun but that didn't happen.
BTW, I only shoot while driving when no other cars are anywhere around. The I – 70 was empty this morning.
Today’s eight hour drive headed for Moab, Utah went by fast. There were two highlights in my day…..First was a two hour lunch in Vegas with Connie. It’s always a joy spending time with Connie (even when she’s crying:-) I’m hoping we’ll get to visit again on my way home from this Photography Workshop I’m taking. Second highlight of the day was the incredible setting sun light coupled with the stormy looking sky, and……a big AND….. that after checking into the Marriott in Fairfield, Ut I unpacked and left the room and drove around town looking for photo ops.
With such an incredible background how could I not take a picture of my new car.
Neat houses in this little town.
This was last week’s adventure backpacking on the PCT and this week, in an hour or two, I leave to attend my friend Jeff Liembach’s Photography Workshop in Moab, UT.
Looking forward to the long drive with all my camera gear right next to me in the passenger seat.
A speck of light on a very stormy day.
Ray picked Just Kidding, Happy Pants and me up at Scissors Crossing and we drove to the town of Julian, not that far off trail. After checking in we found out Julian has no laundrymat. But Ramona, 22 miles away does. Washing trail clothes is an exciting thing but this particular time it was a wee bit more exciting when the girls thought up the idea of Happy Pants getting in the washing machine.
Before the thought.
After the thought.
Jen, Happy Pants, is writing a daily blog on her website if you are interested in reading what she writes about our trip.
Melissa and Jen on the PCT in Section A, before descending down to Scissor's Crossing.
I’m getting this look from using the Clarity slider in Lightroom 4.
Halo around the sun. This photo was treated but the second photo was not.
I only mildly edited this photo of the sun midday. I couldn't believe what I was seeing while backpacking.
Here is a link to a site where I got the explanation for what I was seeing.
This is what I read on the carolinalive.com site:
When you looked up on Thursday, you probably saw what looked to be a colorful rainbow around the sun. It wasn’t actually a rainbow, but a halo. With each picture I received, the same question was asked…how do these form?
First, it’s important to know that white light coming from the sun contains every color known to man. When that white light passes through a raindrop or ice crystal, each color is bent slightly and sent in a unique direction, creating the spread of colors we see. When raindrops are involved, the spread of colors appears as a bow across the sky. Since ice crystals are six-sided, the light is refracted differently creating a ring around the sun or moon.
Halos, like those you saw Thursday, are very common and form because of the presence of high, thin cirrus clouds entirely made of ice crystals. Interestingly, if you had a protractor handy (and who didn’t?) you would’ve measure a perfect 22-degree angle between the center of the sun and the actual halo.
In a few of the photos, I noticed another interesting and rare optical phenomenon known as an Infralateral Arc. A what you ask? Just two weeks ago I asked that same question because of another photo sent to me by a friend in Florida. I dusted off the old meteorology books and found Infralateral Arcs are only present when the sun is high in the sky. I also found that the greens and blues easily seen in the photo distinguish the Arc from the even rarer 46-degree halo.
It’s amazing what happens to light when it passes through raindrops or ice crystals. Thankfully, these phenomena are completely harmless. You may laugh, but I once got an email telling me that halos are “the eyes of life forms from distant galaxies preparing their takeover of the world”.