California Sunset

Well what can you say about California sunsets? THEY ARE F***ING AWESOME!!!!! They're definitely one thing about California that never gets old. This shot was taken while camping in Santa Cruz last fall. If you are in the area around that time I recommend watching at least one sunset. I do not, however, recommend camping at that time of year as you will freeze your tuchus off. (For those of you not familiar with the tuchus, it is your bottom. If you need help saying tuchus I would tell you to say it like this: "tukas," with a little phlegm between the tu and the kas.)

Long Jump!

I know that it has been a few days since my last post, so I am bringing some Photoshop fun after a break. Over the weekend the Fairy and I and a couple of friends went camping at Costanoa, a beautiful campground that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

While we were hiking along the beach we all took turns jumping off of sand dunes. I set up my camera to shoot in sports mode and captured the Fairy doing her jump. This is the first time I have tried to combine this many photos into one action shot. Hope you enjoy!

For today's post I am following up with another long exposure shot. This one was taken while we were staying at a Friends cabin up in Washington State. It was about 5 hours north of Seattle. The cool thing about this shot is that it was really sunny outside and leaving the shutter open for 1 second produced this night style shot. Enjoy!

Long Exposures

Well for all your readers out there (8 total from what I can see) a special treat you way. TWO PHOTOS! I am a huge fan of long exposure shots. I wanted to share a couple with you today that were taken in two different settings (one day, one night), but both had over one second exposures.

For the cat picture: I took it last night while I was wondering around MTV (aka Mountain View). I put my camera on the sidewalk, prayed that the cat would sit still, and set the shutter for two seconds. Luckily it only took one try to get the image right.

For the picture of the rocks: I was on a hike with GF near Juno Lake California. At about two miles up there was this incredible stream that we sat around for awhile and just listened. I perched my camera on a rock and had to try ten different exposures before I was able to get the image the way that I wanted.

For the rest of the week I am going to focus on night shots and long exposure pictures. Let me know what you think each day. Well let's face it, if one person comments on this site I will be more than excited, even if you just comment HI!

DUMBELDORE!

This is a picture that I took last summer while the Fairy and I were on two week road trip. I took this shot at the 3 million year old Mono Lake. The sculptures in the water are formed through a combination of salt and minerals from the surrounding mountains. When the water starts to evaporate, the minerals leave behind these amazing sculptures. The sculptures themselves are amazing, however due to California's constant need for more water, the lake itself is deteriorating. Within a single lifetime the water has dropped over 60 feet. The funny thing is that although Mono Lake is close to Yosemite, the water from the lake is drained for use in Los Angeles.

What was great about being around these mineral deposits was that you felt as if you were standing in a fairytale or a great science fiction novel.

A Glowing Vision

For today's post I wanted to go abstract. Most of my pictures are beautiful landscapes or clear objects, but I was inspired to post this one after seeing a photographer's work in LA this weekend. His work was at a little breakfast nook in Studio City. He took shots of everyday objects/people, and through either photoshop or a trick of the lens, blurred out most of the picture.

The result of this was that he left your imagination in control. Each person can define and build sharpness into the picture. With my picture above, I feel the same thing. It is a picture of the fairy's back while she is wearing a glow necklace, but it offers many more layers that are open to interpretation.

Let's start the comments people! Let me know how you interpret this photo.

Wine Barrels

For this evening's post I found a picture that I took back in September of last year. It is from a winery up in Napa called Lancaster Vineyards. From what we are told it is a very "elite" vineyard, and you are only welcome by appointment only. I mean yes, the wine was good, but I did not leave impressed. I am more impressed when I can buy a 4 dollar bottle of wine and it tastes like one of their $80 (yes 80 dollar) bottles of wine.

The vineyard however stores their wine in a "natural cave." This way they do not need to pay for air conditioning. The temperature is constant year round.

This shot has not been enhanced, retouched, or photoshopped in any way. Look at those colors!