“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty
Even with all the light pollution I think this came out pretty well.
I was happy to see I still was able to get to my Internet server when I arrived home after midnight this morning. I hope this bodes well for my week. “)
Nikon D700| Nikkor 18mm AI-S| f3.5| 33 seconds| ISO 3200| Tripod
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
I went kayaking for the first time Sunday morning in Elkhorn Slough which is in the Monterey Peninsula in a sleepy little coastal hamlet called Moss Landing here in California.
This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was out here on a Pontoon boat with a Photography group last year. My friend Dali and I both signed up for the Basics Course at Kayak Connection which is located right on the Slough .The red kayak behind the blue one was mine for morning. She’s sleek, quick, and her number is KC58. I had the good fortune of having a great instructor who got me through the basics in just 3 hours.
While we were practicing how to go straight, and proper paddle position I got close to Dali so I stopped , and thought to pull out my camera for a quick photo of him gliding through the water in his yellow kayak.
After learning how to paddle straight, turn, stop, and go backwards, and learning to quickly steer clear of obstacles with a maneuver called the “J move” it was time to venture further into the slough. We rowed out toward the mouth of the harbor when two male otters came to play. They were so close to me. One swam under my kayak and started knocking his clam on the underside of my kayak to crack it open. It was so exciting! Just look how close this one was to me.
Our guide Courtland told us this Otter’s red tail tag meant he’d been released from the Monterey Bay Aquarium for being too familiar with humans. Evidently he’s still quite fond of humans. He showed no fear of us at all. He was swimming right up to our kayaks and looking in, and all around them for food I think. This is what I wanted to experience while kayaking.
It was an exciting day! Dali and I are both stoked and looking forward to getting out on the water again!
Canon Powershot SD750, SanDisk Digital Film
“He ain’t wrong, he’s just different but his pride won’t let him do things to make you think he’s right” ~Willie Nelson, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.
Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Quote from Willie Nelson’s song Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be Cowboys.
…but I’ve always liked cowboys.
This was taken on an impromptu stop at Columbia State park last year. This part of the state is rich with history and folklore. Cowboys being a big part of that folklore.
Columbia State Park was once a town that sprung up during the California gold rush. It was declared a National Park or Open Air Museum in 1946. About 30 buildings remain. Some of which are the Saloon, the Wells Fargo Express, the Pioneer Emporium, Black Smith, hotel, the bakery, and stable. You can take a Stage Coach ride and pan for gold here. The staff all dress in period costume. I’ve been here a half-dozen times and loved every visit.
From my Summer 2011 archive| Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35@ 35mm|f8| 1/60second| ISO 200| Hand-held
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
This Transit was a rare event. A once in a Lifetime event for those of us on the West Coast, USA. The next Transit of Venus happens in 2117. I doubt anyone alive today will see it. I didn’t want to miss this special day. I had work on Tues. the afternoon of the Transit. I knew I’d be missing First contact and the first 2.5 hours. No time-lapse for me since I wouldn’t be satisfied not having it from start to finish, but I wanted to see it and if the sky was clear get a photo or two.
The sky around my hometown was full of fluffy clouds all day. The forecast had called for clear skies, but kept changing as the weather kept proving them wrong each hour. Monday, a friend invited me to join him at NASA Ames. Tues. he emailed me updates about the sky condition. Just after 2PM he emailed, “the sky is “mostly clear”. I called my friend Dali and invited him to meet me at NASA Ames then quickly gathered my gear after work, and drove the 12+ miles to get there. I was thrilled to discover commute traffic was light heading north allowing me to drive 65mph the whole way up.
I met my friend Dali in the parking lot and together we found my friend John who stands 6’4″ a good head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd that gathered there to view the Transit.
I set up my tripod and camera/lens/solar filter and started taking photos of the Sun with Venus making its way across the Sun. On my photo above the large black spot is Venus, and the smaller black dots are Sunspots.
John and many other amateur astronomers had set up their telescopes and were allowing people to get a closer view of the Transit. He’s also a Nikon user like me. He kindly let me hook my camera up to his telescope to get a bigger photograph of Venus transiting the Sun. I’ll post that soon.
Thank you John for sharing your scope, and space with me yesterday it was fun, and send my thanks again to your daughter for the goodies. The coffee cake I sampled was delicious!
Dali’s photos of the Transit are here and here.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 200mm + Tamron 1.4x extender= effective focal length 420mm| f11| 1/200s| ISO 400| Manual Priority| Tripod
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
Today is the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th birthday. There’s going to be a party with fireworks shot right from the bridge tonight. The crowd is going to be BIG! I decided to stay away from the city, and not fight the traffic in and out of the city.
So instead of posting a historic photo or two shot tonight of the Golden Gate Bridge with Fireworks I’ve decided to honor the birthday by sharing a few photographs of the GGB that I’ve taken the last few years.
2010 Golden Gate Bridge through the fog.
2011
Golden Gate Bridge North Tower
Golden Gate Bridge South Tower from Fort Point, San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge when the lights just came on.
Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands
2012- Panorama from Slacker Hill in the morning
It’s a beautiful bridge to shoot day or night, and one I’ll never tire of photographing. I hope to photograph it many more times before its 100th birthday!
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
“Rise quickly for I am numb with Winter’s morning chill.
My fingers ache for your warm embrace.”~
That’s my plea every sunrise shoot, and to be honest most nights too! My fingers are the first to go numb, and I’ve not found a hand-warmer or pair of gloves to keep me warm enough to thwart the chill.
This is a shot from Convict Lake taken the third morning of 2012. Seeing sunrises like the one my friends and I saw on this morning make the early rise, drive time, and standing in the cold worth it!
Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35@17mm| f13| 10 seconds| ISO200| Manual Priority| Tripod
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
My mother asked me if I was going to photograph the upcoming Annular Solar Eclipse, and said she wasn’t sure if they would be able to see it in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I told her “Yes, I’m planning to view, and photograph it.” and that she will be able to see a “Partial Solar Eclipse” if she stayed home or in the Bay Area.
In the Bay Area you won’t see the Full Annular “Ring of Fire” to view that one must drive about 4+ hours to a place where you can see that. I gathered several links for her to glean some more information about what she could expect to see here in the Bay Area and thought I’d pass them along here too.
The link below is an animation of the what will be seen in the Bay Area. Click your refresh or reload button once the map page is open. It should be animated then.
http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/eclipse/0132012/San_Jose_CA_United_States_2012May20_anim.gif
To view the Full Annular Ring of Fire the map in the link below shows the path in the west one can view that. The red line is the center line on which one can view the Full Circle.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html
Don’t look at the Sun without protection. Use the old fashion cardboard box and paper method if you haven’t got Solar viewing glasses or a solar filter for a telescope or your camera’s lens. It’s called a Pinhole Camera. There are places around the Bay Area that are offering viewing too.
Making a Pinhole Camera
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html
http://pacifica.patch.com/articles/ready-for-the-eclipse-how-to-view-it-safely-41c76507
Circadianreflections Blog 
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