Author: circadianreflections

My name is Deborah Zajac. I'm a photographer living in Nevada at the base of the Eastern Sierras. I am a passionate nature, landscape, night/astro photographer. I shoot predominately in color and use Nikon Digital Cameras, and lenses. I hope you enjoy seeing some of the photos I've taken while on my travels. Please feel free to leave a comment I'd love to hear from you.

The Smokin’ Grill Cafe

Posted in Food Photography, Photography, Still LifeTagged , , , , , 2 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Grilled Chicken Salad

 I based the title on the bit of smoke that was coming off the grill. I had to turn the Vent on high and open the sliding glass door. I thought our Smoke Alarm would go off, but it didn’t.  🙂

Chicken Breast on the Grill

I grilled the chicken, and He-Man made the green salad. He makes the best salads. They’re always loaded with fresh veggies that he picks up at the Farmer’s Market. This one had Avocado, Cucumber, Orange, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers, Red Onion, Tomatoes, and Radishes. There were so many good veggies there wasn’t much room for the lettuce! To top it off he tossed in some Parmesan Cheese. I sliced up a Grilled chicken breast tenderloin on top of my salad. I dressed it with a little Balsamic Vinegar.   I’m stuffed!

Nikon D700| AF-D Nikkor 85mm f1.4D | Hand-held| SB910 camera right front high 1/32 pwr bounced off ceiling 45º

I’ve been photographing a lot of food lately which I’ll be sharing. I’m having fun, lighting, and learning to stage it, and I get to eat it when done taking the photo. 🙂

more to come…

 

You need to break some eggs to make an omelet

Posted in Food Photography, Still Life, Tabletop PhotographyTagged , , , 1 Comment

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Beef and Cheese Omelette

When Big Baby Boy comes home to visit I usually make him a big breakfast like I did when he was growing up.
He was home for the July 4th holiday week-end. (Independence Day in the USA). One of those mornings I made him a 2 egg plus 1 egg white omelet with some left-over hamburger patties that I’d made the night before, and some cheddar cheese for the filling.  Juice, and a slice of sour-dough toast on the side completed this breakfast.  Big Baby Boy is 6’2″ and has always been athletic, and has had a healthy appetite since his birth. 

I made the rest of the family smaller versions of this. 🙂

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.8G| Hand-held in natural light

P52 34/52 Dawn Santa Clara County

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Photography, Project 52-2014Tagged , , , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDP52 34 of 52 Dawn Santa Clara County

Mornings are arriving a little later, and chillier these days and with that I’m finding it a little harder to get out of the house for a hike or walk. Once I get out I am usually very happy that I did.
This morning was especially nice as we had a lot of clouds which meant there might be some color, and I got lucky and had “God Rays” too, and there was a bonus; the sign marking the trail’s boundary is gone! 

YEAH! I have spent years framing around it, cloning it out, or cropping it out. It was lovely shooting and not have to deal with it, or deal with it later in post development.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t replace it, and if they do they put it somewhere that doesn’t hinder the view. 

Nikon D700| AF-S Nikkor 17-35@ 17mm| f20| 5 seconds| ISO 200| Tripod| B+W 6 stop ND filter

Butterfly on Lantana

Posted in Insects, PhotographyTagged , , , , 9 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Butterfly on Lantana

There have been two regular Butterflies visiting my blooming Lantana for several weeks.

I’m not sure what type of Butterfly they are, but I think they’re in the Fritillary family. Any help with

the ID would be greatly appreciated.

Here’s one enjoying a nice drink of Lantana juice.

Taken with a Nikon D700 and AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens

August Super Moon over the Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz, CA

Posted in Astrophotograhpy, CaliforniaTagged , , , , , , 6 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August SuperMoon over the Giant Dipper Santa Cruz CAThis isn’t exactly the image I had in my head, but it’s close. There is a telephone pole on the left I wish wasn’t there, a light pole on the right that is spilling light, and flare into the image, and the train which is just about to the top of the hill hasn’t any running lights so, no light trails from it. I did get light trails from passing cars though.

I cloned out several wires that were running through the sky, but left the telephone pole because that’s beyond my Photoshop skills, and… it is what it is. I really dislike wires, traffic lights, signs, and garbage cans right in front of Historic, and beautiful buildings, and things!

One thing I am happy about is that this isn’t a view you see often in photos of the Giant Dipper.

This is my favorite Roller Coaster. It took me a couple of years to get the courage to ride it. I’ll never forget that first ride. I was 12 yrs old. That hill is STEEP and it scared the crap out of me, but it was fast, and thrilling!  I still love riding it.

If you’re anywhere near Santa Cruz in the Summer I recommend giving this Coaster a ride. It’s fun, fun, fun!

For the History Buffs:
The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located in  Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. It took 47 days to build at a cost of $50,000. It opened on May 17, 1924 and replaced the Thompson’s Scenic Railway. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award; it has been ranked annually in Mitch Hawker’s Best Wooden roller coaster poll.~Wiki-pedia

Nikon D700| Tripod| Manual Priority|
Frame 1) AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm @ 25mm| f11| 4 seconds| ISO 250|
Frame 2) AF-S Nikkor 300mm w/Nikkor 14eII =420mm |f11| 1/400sec| ISO 400
Both frames taken the same night from same location.