circadianreflections

Reynolds Mt and Hidden Creek

July 23, 2010July 23, 2010Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

Reynolds Mt and Hidden Creek, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-Home Again!.

Glacier National Park
Logan Pass
Hidden Creek
Hidden Lake Nature Trail
Reynolds Mountain

I’m not positive that this is Reynolds Mt. I’m looking at the map and could be turned around. I can be map challenged. Hopefully someone will correct me if I’m wrong.
There was still a good bit of snow here. I don’t know how to walk in it and promptly fell on my face. My only thought was to save the camera! I did.

Katherine lent me a walking pole after that and it helped tremendously! Thank you Katherine! Hey, I’m from the Bay Area we don’t have snow, and you know I’m not athletic!

pp- This is day one out so I was shooting JPEGs, vibrance, clarity, a little crop, and resized.

Nikon D90
Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S @ 17mm- f11- 1/80s-ISO 200 – Aperture Priority

Glacier Mountain Goat

July 21, 2010Posted in Uncategorized1 Comment

Glacier Mountain Goat, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-Home Again!.

Glacier National Park
Mountain Goat
Montana
Logan Pass

I’m standing on a ledge they just left. There were tourist all over the place. We had a hard time finding a place to photograph them sans people in the background.

This ledge has a nice view of Hidden Lake too.

A Peak at Saint Mary’s Lake

July 20, 2010Posted in Uncategorized4 Comments

A Peak at Saint Mary’s Lake, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-Home Again!.

I spent 3 full days shooting in the park with two photographer friends from Canada. They showed me around this wonderful park. I had a great time.
They convinced me to try RAW so this is it-me jumping in with both feet into RAW. They showed me that uploading wouldn’t be hard with Bridge and cs5. They were right! Thank you Gentlemen!
I should have spun my polarizer a bit more here. I don’t know the name of this mountain. I’m looking for a better map than the one the park gave me to find the mountain names.
PP- some recovery, vibrance, and clarity.

Star Trails over Dinosaur Point

July 11, 2010Posted in Uncategorized6 Comments

Star Trails over Dinosaur Point, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

A few friends and I were planning to meet at Mission San Juan Bautista to shoot star trails. Using TPE it was determined that the No. Star would line up between the hands of the statue “Praising Man” . I could be wrong about the name. Anyway, a friend and I got there early to shoot the Mission chapel, and the town.
While we were wandering around town we noticed the fog bank rolling in and were afraid it would mess up our plans to shoot Star Trails. After dinner we went up to Fremont Peak to take photos of San Juan Valley and the sunset. When we reached the top all we saw was a sea of fog covering the valley below us.
When we got down to the Mission around 8PM there was no sky or a star to be seen over or around the “Praising Man”.
So we stopped our other friends from coming all the way to San Juan Bautista, then regrouped in Gilroy at a coffee shop. At the “Doctor up your coffee” station next to me was a CHP officer so, I engaged him in a conversation about our goal to shoot Star Trails and I asked him if he knew of a high place with some trees or building we could go and shoot and NOT get in trouble with him or his co workers.
He suggested two places. On heading north and the other Dinosaur Point to the south. The North was socked in so we chose to drive out the 20 miles to check out Dinosaur Point.
We hiked out the road a 1/4 mile then doubled back and got off the road and blazed our own trail up a hilly pasture to take our frames.
We left after 2AM. It got colder and windier as the night wore on. I think the ghosting is from the wind hitting my tripod. I used my body to shield it as much as I could.

So something screwy happened to my frames #96-107 they exposed but recorded no data at all. Rien, nada, zilch. All those frames are black. I have checked all the data and they are exactly as all the frames before #96.

One of the guys shooting with me had the most bizarre green lights all around his sky and couldn’t get a true color and he also had black frames.

Maybe Ghost Hunter’s should go check it out.

Stacked in CS5- Resized
28 Frames,Nikkor 17-35mm @ 17mm, f2.8, 181s, ISO 200, Manual mode.
Nikon D300s

Lemur

July 9, 2010Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

Lemur, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

I went to Safari West again. This time on my own to ride shotgun with my favorite guide Adrian.
I had a great time. Adrian had a tour I accompanied. We spent over 4 hours out in the park, then after dropping off the tour group he and I headed back out to the lake where hundreds of tiny little frogs were hatching and hopping all over the place. We spent 40 mins. or so out there shooting frogs and lizards. We wrapped up our day with a lovely Puerto Rican dinner in town. It was a great day!

Adventure Awaits on the Sonoma Serengeti
Picture yourself among some of the world’s most exotic creatures. Come close with giraffes, gazelles, zebras and many of the other 600 animals that inhabit the preserve. Take an exciting three hour, safari drive and explore the wildlife preserve, traveling first in an authentic safari vehicle and then a trek around the inner grounds.

It may not be Africa, but it’s close! With animals roaming and running free outside your safari jeep this safari escape is the closest it comes without requiring a passport.

The wildlife park is designed to give the animals the ability to interact and roam about freely, as well as engage our guests in a once in a life time experience — an African luxury safari in the wine country.
~Safari West

On the Mission Trail.

July 8, 2010July 8, 2010Posted in California, Nikon, TravelTagged California Missions, ChurchesLeave a comment

Continuing on my Mission adventure while visiting Big Baby Boy in southern California we went to Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano.

Here are some photos of the newer chapel and grounds. I’ll post photos of the ruins soon, Here’s some history to pique your interest though.

HISTORY

Mission San Juan Capistrano has been the home to many people over 230 years of history. Its history consists of memories and stories of its past inhabitants and present visitors. It is a place of historical, cultural, and religious significance, as well as a place of inspiration and education.

The story begins in 1775, when Mission San Juan Capistrano was first founded by Father Lasuen, on October 19th. But just a few weeks after the party of padres and soldiers arrived, they received word of the revolt occurring in San Diego. The founding padres, and soldiers decided to leave San Juan Capistrano, and go back to San Diego to help there. Once things had settled in San Diego, Father Serra personally led a party to re-found Mission San Juan Capistrano on All Saint’s Day, November 1, 1776.

Mission San Juan Capistrano, became the seventh of twenty-one missions to be founded in Alta California. Like the previous six missions, San Juan Capistrano was established to expand the territorial boundaries of Spain, and to spread Christianity to the Native peoples of California. Unlike the British colonies on the East Coast of North America, who brought people from their homeland to form colonies, the Spanish believed they could transform the Native peoples into good Spanish citizens. The idea was to make colonial outposts called missions, led by Franciscan padres and Spanish soldiers. The missions would be a center of learning and training of Native peoples. The Spanish government and Catholic Church wanted to convert the people to Christianity, train them in Spanish or European lifestyle, so that the Native peoples would eventually live in towns and pay taxes, like good Spanish citizens.

In 1984, a modern church complex was constructed just north and west of the Mission compound; the design is patterned after the old stone church, and is twenty percent larger.

~Mission San Juan Capistrano

I have 11 photos posted here.

Copyright © 2010 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

The Fog

July 5, 2010July 5, 2010Posted in California, NikonTagged California, Coastal Views, San FranciscoLeave a comment

The Fog, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004.

I met up with several members of my Night Meet-Up group to shoot the fireworks in San Francisco. Our event leader selected a location where we would be able to view the firework displays of Oakland, San Francisco, and Sausalito…if the night was clear.
Driving in my first look at the city didn’t look promising the fog was already low and the top of the Golden Gate bridge was cloaked in fog.
Once at the location we were delighted to find Sausalito was still fairly clear. The fog bank drifted in slowly and behind the hills.
While I wait for darkness I watched the fog roll in and the boats sail in and out of the bay. Below are a couple of photos of the fireworks. My first attempt at shooting them. I tried to find a rhythm and keep time with the “Thump” of the shell being launched or the tracer. Sometimes my rhythm was good…other times not so much.

Sausalito
Alcatraz Island
Fog
sailboats
a bit of color in the clouds
Alcatraz Island

PP- vibrance and clarity, slight crop off the top and bottom,a little more sharpening, and straightened out the horizon line. I need to make my function button go to the Virtual Horizon.

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