circadianreflections

Yosemite Cathedral

January 7, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yosemite Cathedral, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

On our second day in Yosemite Valley it snowed most the day. It was a Sunday, and the service was going to start while we were there. The bell rung while we there to announce the service I think, but I didn’t hear any singing. I said later we should have gone in.
I haven’t been inside this chapel since the mid 1980’s. I attended my girlfriends wedding here. I remember the inside of the chapel being very simple, elegant, very comfortable, and welcoming.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm @ 17mm| f5.0| 1/320 sec| ISO 400| Manual Mode| On a Tripod

Merced River (Orton Effect)

January 6, 2011January 6, 2011Posted in California, Landscapes, NikonTagged Merced River, Snow, Winter2 Comments

Standing on Swinging Bridge watching the Merced River slowly, and quietly flow west while brothers and sisters built snowmen on the river bank, and Mom’s and Dads had snowball fights, and gaiety and laugher was ringing through the afternoon air, and I was happy.

” When it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this,
When there’s no one complaining there’ll be days like this,
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch,
Well, my mama told me there’ll be days like this.”
~Van Morrison

There”ll be Days Like This

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 25mm| f5.6| 1/50 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| On a Tripod”

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.” Henry David Thoreau

January 5, 2011January 5, 2011Posted in California, Landscapes, Nikon, UncategorizedTagged Yosemite National Park; Swinging Bridge: Snow; Trees; Merced River2 Comments

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.” Henry David Thoreau, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

This place is a favorite location for so many tourists and photographers, but I have a really hard time seeing or feeling the shot here. I think it’s a beautiful place, but what I see doesn’t translate to the viewfinder.
This is just at the beginning of the bridge looking back toward the Three Brothers which are shrouded in cloud cover in this scene.

This is another photo that came out looking Black and White though it was shot in color. It was a very gray, and rainy day. The bridge was icy, and slippery. I think I need cleats for my snow boots.

New Year’s Day in Cook’s Meadow

January 4, 2011January 6, 2011Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

New Year’s Day in Cook’s Meadow, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

I really liked the patterns and texture all the rocks and snow made in the river and meadow here. They reminded me of puzzle bits and pieces.
Half Dome spent all afternoon hiding behind cloud cover. This was all I saw of it on Jan. 1, 2011.
I took this photo in color, but it was so gray and rainy that the photo came out looking like a Black and White. It wasn’t snowing at the time I took this photo, but the snow was melting in the tree behind me and the wind was blowing it everywhere. You see some of that in this scene.

Striking Gold in Yosemite

January 3, 2011January 3, 2011Posted in California, Landscapes, TravelTagged Coyote7 Comments

Striking Gold in Yosemite, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-am away-probably freezing to death!.

My first shot of 2011 was this beautiful Coyote just a short distance inside the park. Dali (DD), Tj, Alex, and I spent the first week-end in 2011 in Yosemite National Park. We had hoped for some great winter landscapes, and were thrilled when Tj spotted her laying in snow across the road. We pulled over and she came over to the car and acted like she expected us to throw out something for her to eat. She hung around long enough to realize we weren’t going to feed her and other passing cars spooked her so she gave up and went into the forest.

This made my week-end! Isn’t she a beauty!

Nikon D90| Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8@ 155mm| f2.8| 1/125sec| ISO 200| Hand-held

A Brief Moment in Time…

December 29, 2010Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

A Brief Moment in Time…, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Lake Tahoe in the early evening. This was a short photo op on the way to Emerald Bay to take sunset shots after a day of chasing Fall Color in Hope Valley.

I thought I’d give the Orton Effect a go on this photograph to see how it worked. I’m happy with this one too.
I especially like the light on the foreground logs. There is a trail on the other side of this fallen tree I wanted to go explore, but didn’t have time to.

” There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. “~John W. Raper

December 28, 2010December 28, 2010Posted in California, LandscapesTagged Orton Effect2 Comments

” There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. “~John W. Raper, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Today I wanted to try a new technique my friend Geo told me about. It’s called the Orton Effect. Created by Michael Orton in the 1980’s he sandwiched two slides together one in focus, and the other out of focus to create an ethereal painterly quality.
Today we can recreate this effect with a single image in Photoshop. Or do it the original way of taking two photos. One in focus and over exposed 2 stops, and one out of focus and over exposed one stop. Load the photos into Photoshop then do a little blending, and layering et Voila!
Be sure to use a tripod when taking your photos if you plan to use this technique.
It doesn’t work for all types of images, but wooded areas, and winter scenes seem conducive to the technique.
There are a couple of flickr groups devoted to the technique. One is here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/orton/

I thought this photo I took at Sorensen’s Resort back in Oct. would be nice to try the technique out on. I like it!

Sorensn’s Resort established in 1926 is popular stop along the Hope Valley Fall color route located at the junction of Hwy 88 and Hwy 89.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: