Black and White Day…

February 7, 2010 Eastern Sierra Leave a comment

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!

Pre-Dawn Photo Shoot

January 31, 2010 Eastern Sierra 2 comments

I woke up at around 4:00 this morning, made a pot of coffee, and looked outside.  I had my alarm set for 5:30, because I wanted to catch the sunrise at Klondike Lake.  I went outside with a cuppa Joe, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  But there was a TON of stars, and a really nice, bright waning moon.

So I grabbed my gear and headed out an hour earlier than planned.  I got to Klondike Lake at around 5:30…just about the time I was expecting to roll out of bed.  Boy am I glad I did…

Black Mt. Peak by Moonlight

Pre-dawn glow on the Inyo/White Mountains

Cold dawn at Klondike Lake

It was another gloriously still, but crisp and cold morning.  Perfect for long exposures…AND long underwear…

Thanks for coming along!

Full Moon Landscapes

January 30, 2010 Eastern Sierra 1 comment

Took a quick ride out to The River to shoot some landscapes by the light of the HUGE full moon…

Bishop Range

Druid Peaks

The Tree

Upper Owens Valley

It was a really pretty night.  Crisp, but perfectly still.  There wasn’t even a tiny wisp of wind that I could tell, which made for really nice conditions to shoot long exposures.

And evidently this is supposed to be the biggest and brightest full moon of 2010, so…YAY FOR ME!!

Thanks for coming along!

Back to the Artesian…

January 29, 2010 Eastern Sierra Leave a comment

I told you there was a couple other things I wanted to try at the Artesian Well this morning.  There isn’t a ton you can do with this small pool, but if you get the light right, it does everything for you…

Before the good color came up, I managed to get several nice B&W shots.  This one was the best…

B&W Sunset

When I took this one, the clouds were really quite grey with some muddy areas, and not a lot of color but for some pale blue over the Sierras.  So I flipped to monotone with a yellow contrast filter, and the tones and dynamics were fantastic for B&W.

And once the sun dipped below the ridgeline of the Sierras…those dramatic clouds came to life…

Artesian Sunset

I simply love living in this area…

Thanks for taking the time to look!

Artesian Sunrise

January 29, 2010 Eastern Sierra Leave a comment

Well…I had to take yesterday and the day before both off of work to take care of The Kid.  I don’t mind taking care of her, but I do mind taking the time off work.  So I made arrangements with her mom to take her a night early so I could work today.  That means I had no kid this morning…

So I did what any reasonable photographer would do.  I woke up at 4:30, made some coffee, gathered my gear, and headed out for a shot I was desperate to get…

First Light

This place is really neat.  When it’s cold, like this morning, the hot spring water coming from the standpipe really gives off a lot of steam.  The long exposure really makes it nice and soft.

There isn’t really a lot of different ways to compose this shot, but I do have a few other ideas.  I’m going down tonight for sunset.  See what I can come up with…

Thanks for looking!