These bears are entertaining. I haven’t seen them catch anything yet.
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.
Good morning Santa Clara Co! From a trail
Big Sur Milky Way
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I saw Steven Christenson’s beautiful photograph of the Milky Way over this fall and knew I wanted to photograph it myself.
Steven’s Photo is here:
www.flickr.com/photos/steventheamusing/6960258070/in/phot…
Some friends and I met to go make our own photograph of it. We arrived about 11:30pm and shot the foreground while the Moon was shining brightly and lit up the fall and beach. Then we waited for the Moon to set and the Milky Way to rise. It was a beautiful night. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. The fog stayed far out at sea and there was no wind, and it wasn’t too cold.We left for home after 3AM and I walked in my door shortly before 6AM. It was a fun, star filled night that I would do again in a heartbeat!
I spent a lot of hours teaching myself how to blend these two exposures together. I found it tricky to get the horizon where it’s naturally brighter; more so this night due to the moon, to blend with the much darker night sky which I photographed hours later to graduate from light to dark and look natural.
A person with more knowledge and skill with all the tools and power in Photoshop would have probably processed it in no time. I thought about archiving this folder so many times, but I’m stubborn and kept trying new things. Finally, and many layers later I am happy with the photograph.
I’ve learned a lot and have a new skill or two with both Lightroom and Photoshop. I’m hoping the next time I need to do a composite blend similar to this one it’s a bit easier and a lot faster process.
2 Frame composite
Nikon D700| Tripod
Foreground: 17-35@ 35mm| f8| 120 seconds| ISO 2500
Sky: 24mm|f2.8| 23 seconds| ISO 3200
Here’s my friend Phil’s photograph that he made on this night:
www.flickr.com/photos/philmcgrew/7132909159/in/photostream/
Dali’s is here:
www.flickr.com/photos/20139314@N05/7146086149/in/photostream
“San Francisco, O gloirous city of our hearts that hast been tried and not found wanting go thou with like spirit to make the future thine”~Mayor Edward Robeson Taylor
“San Francisco, O gloirous city of our hearts that hast been tried and not found wanting go thou with like spirit to make the future thine”~Mayor Edward Robeson Taylor, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
This rotunda and staircase are gorgeous! Finding very few visitors or wedding guests in June was a wonderful surprise, but
by noon this space and upstairs were lined with Brides waiting to get married on these stairs or in the upper Rotunda.
The quote is in the Rotunda and was written by a former Mayor Edward Robeson Taylor and dedicated by Mayor James Rolph.
Nikon D700| 24mm @ f4| 1/6 second| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Tripod
Prevailing Winds
Prevailing Winds, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Please click on photo to view larger.
I’ve been wanting to do some Night Industrial photography this year and have stopped by here numerous times looking for steam. Last night there was finally steam, but a good wind too which unfortunately for this area is normal. I will be going back to photograph this again. I think at night this plant transforms into a sparkling beauty.
I also think it looks futuristic. I am reminded of Aurthor C. Clark’s book Earthlight. I can imagine the Republics he created on Mars, Venus, and the Moon looking like this.
Earthlight was one of the first Sci-fi novels I read back in late 70’s. I still have that book. The price tag says it was $1.50.
Nikon D700| Nikkor 24mm AF-D @ f10| 25 seconds| ISO 200| Tripod|
Northern Lights
NASA released a new video of the Northern Light seen from space. I’d love to see Northern lights on the ground one day. Here’s the video!
Civil War Days- Sharpshooters
Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
“Ravenous, the gods of war demanded men- lots of men. Northern armies were at first manned solely by volunteers, with each state assigned a quota based on population. But in 1863, after volunteering had slackened off, Congress passed a federal conscription law for the first time on a nationwide scale in the United States.” ~The American Pageant, 9th edition, Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy
APPLY IN PERSON AT COMPANY TENT.
The sign says:
Col. Berdan’s Regiment.
Sharp – Shooters!
30 more Respectable Men Wanted to Complete
Captain J.H. Baker’s Company!-The famous company “C” of Michigan
Many are called but few are chosen!
This company consists of gentlemanly men-none other need apply- as it is the “Crack Regiment” in the Army of the Potomac & “home” of the famous “California Joe”!!
OUR WAGES ARE HIGHER THAN OTHER COMPANY’S!
As many furnish their own Rifles, but the Government supplies each man with of Berdan’s Improved Sharp’s Rifles, while will fire 1 ¼ miles, at the rate of 18 times per minute. We have no drill but Skirmish Drill, no Picket duty; our manner of warfare is like the “Guerillas” or Indian. Our uniform is “Green”, color of the grass and foliage, and You are privileged to lay upon the ground while shooting, picking your position; no commanders while fighting. Be one of the elite & join
Co,. “C”, 1st Reg’t. US.S.S.
GENTLEMEN – This is a beautiful chance for those wishing to see something of this life away from home. The $100 BOUNTY, LAND WARRANT,&c,. same as in all other Regiments.
APPLY IN PERSON AT COMPANY TENT
Jan. 1, 1863 H.L. HURLBUTT-U.S. Gov’t Authorized Recruiting Officer
Union Colonel Hiram Berdan proposed forming units of outstanding riflemen, largely equipped with Sharps rifles, in 1861, and as a result the 1st and 2nd regiments of US Sharpshooters were organized.
The Sharps weapons were the most advanced breechloaders in America when the war began. The Union bought 9100 Sharps rifles and more than 80,000 Sharps carbines during the war. Confederate forces
bought small numbers of these weapons. The rifles were used by the US Sharpshooters, while the carbine was mainly a cavalry weapon. Both were single-shot, were accurate up to 600 yards, and could fire at a rate of about 10 rounds per minute.~Chronicles of the Civil War John Bowman, General Editor
The 1st Sharpshooters fought on the Peninsula and at Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. The 2nd Sharpshooters’ first significant action was at Antietam.
Both regiments fought at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. For the entire war, both units had casualty rates approaching 40 percent. ~ Chronicles of the Civil War-John Bowman General Editor
As able-bodied men got scarcer bounties for enlistment were offered by federal, state, and local authorities. A man with a gift for making money might pocket more than $1000.00!
Nikon D700, Nikkor 80-200mm + 1.4x Tamron TC and 28-105mm AF-D. Duncans Mills, CA.
Related articles
- The Sharps Rifle (broeder10.wordpress.com)
- Civil War Living History Encampment in Easton (janetserra.com)
Circadianreflections Blog 
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