California – Page 7 – Circadianreflections Blog

Palace of Fine Arts- San Francisco

July 12, 2014Posted in California, Photography, TravelTagged "Blue Period", After Dark Photography, Fine Art, Palace of Fine Arts, Reflections, San Francisco California, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Twilight3 Comments

I rose at 3AM this morning to head up to San Francisco to make some images. I was hoping for pockets in the fog to see the Moonset, or have thick fog in the bay so I might get the fog/ Golden Gate Bridge image I have in my head, but I struck out on both counts this morning. I couldn’t see the moon anywhere, and the pocket in the fog was in the bay with no fog at all on Golden Gate Bridge.

Trying to make lemonade out of lemons I made this image. I’ve shot this location several times both at night and in the daylight, but not in the “Blue period” so, at least it’s a bit different from the images I’ve made before.

I need a nap. I hope you have a wonderful week-end! 🙂

P52 26/52 Milky Way Rising and Falling Star

June 30, 2014June 30, 2014Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Photography, Project 52-2014, TravelTagged Astro Photography, Falling Stars, Milky Way, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Silhouette, Stanislaus National Forest, US National ForestsLeave a comment

Some friends and I went camping in North Eastern CA over the week-end to take advantage of the Moonless nights, and get away from light pollution which is ideal for night sky imaging. I got lucky and saw quite a few falling stars throughout the week-end.
The sky was so dark that ISO 3200 wasn’t enough to bring out more of the Milky Way’s light. I made adjustments the following evening. In this image the Milky Way is just rising above the mountains and was still too light out to get the rich detail of the gas, dust, and dark vein of the Great Rift, but I want to share the falling star that was streaking along the MW that I captured. Though faint I thought it was neat.

Travelerette enjoying the view of the Stanislaus River. This was right behind our campsite.

Our campsite was in a Walk-in campground. There were 10 campsites, with one Vault toilet, no potable water, and tent camping only. Fortunately, we were able to get a spot with shade and on the river. No reservations; this campground is “first come-first serve.

My tent is on the left under a big pine tree. It’s a Big Agnes 2. I have plenty of room for me and my stuff. The tent set up is color coded so, it’s a breeze to set up.

I took my old Red Rider wagon which made hauling our gear to and from the campsite a piece of cake. The hike in was about an 1/8 of mile…maybe a wee bit less. The days were hot, but not unbearable, sitting in the shade I got chilly, the nights, and mornings were chilly, but by 8AM both mornings I was shedding layers. We met some lovely people all were also from the Bay Area.

more to come…

P52 25/52 Summer Solstice Sunrise

June 21, 2014June 21, 2014Posted in California, Landscapes, Photography, TravelTagged Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Landscape Photography, Marin Headlands, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Summer Solstice, Sunrise, Travel and TourismLeave a comment

My friend Anne and I shot from up here a couple of years ago hoping for a big, fluffy layer of fog, but we didn’t have any fog that time, so we’ve been planning since to return to try again. Finally we both were free, and the Marine layer or fog is returning to the Bay Area. Summer’s can be foggy and cold.Mark Twain wasn’t kidding when he said, “The coldest Winter I ever spent was the Summer I spent in San Francisco.” Or something like that.

So, I got up at 3AM and left the house at 4:45AM and drove an hour north to meet Anne in Marin Headlands.

While we were making images during the Blue Period there was a man who sang a wonderful Summer Solstice Sun Greeting song (The song sounded Native American. ) accompanied by a flutist. They were above and behind me so I couldn’t see him, but his voice carried over the ridge strong and passionate; it was lovely and gave me Goosebumps!

Driving down the mountain Anne and I pulled over in one of the turnouts to check out the color and just then the light of the rising sun hit the North Tower, and the grasses on the ridge. I had to pull out my camera. This is the image I made from that stop.

We didn’t get the shot we’ve envisioned because the fog wasn’t quite thick enough, but it was a lovely morning spent with Anne, some fog, a little color, and a Welcome song to greet and ring in the new season. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Agapanthus Abstract

June 14, 2014Posted in California, Flowers, PhotographyTagged Abstract, Agapantha, Fine Art, Flowers, ICM-Intentional Camera Blur, Lily of the Nile, Pleasing Blurs, San Jose California Nature Photographer6 Comments

The Agapanthus are in full bloom at my house. It’s one of a short list of flowers that I can grow…

er…if I’m honest they do well without much attention. I’ve been playing with blurs for a couple of weeks and these tall stalks lend themselves well to this type of blur.

I’ve been toying with the idea of adding a Lens Baby Composer Pro to my kit to use when photographing flowers, and expand my creativity, or open it up! Do any of you have one? If so, did you buy the kit? Do you have a favorite optic you use with it? Any advice or tips regarding the Lens Baby Composer Pro?

Nikon D700| AF-D Nikkor 105mm micro lens| Circular Polarizer| Hand-held

Summer is…

June 13, 2014June 13, 2014Posted in California, Events and Fairs, Photography, TravelTagged Amusement Rides, California State Fair, Ferris Wheels, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Sunsets, Travel and Tourism8 Comments

…the State Fair!

There are a lot more Spinning rides than when I was a kid, but the energy, sounds of the Arcade barkers trying to entice you to try your hand at their game to “Win the big prize!”, the clicking, and clanging of gears and tracks, the lights flashing, and whizzing by, the screams of delight and terror echoing from the tops of rides by children young and old, the sweet smell of Cotton Candy, and the rich buttery smell of fresh popped popcorn wafting through the air all were the same.

Starship 3000, Ferris Wheel, and arcade.

“Let the Spinning wheel spin”~Blood, Sweat, and Tears- Spinning Wheel

My goal on this evening was to have a lot fun slowing down my shutter speed to show the spinning of the many spinning rides.

The Carousel was pretty all lit up so I took two images one to stop action showing its detail, and another with a slow shutter speed.

All the images in this post were taken at the California State Fair July 2012. I missed last year, and hope to get to this year’s State Fair which starts in just about a month. With a little luck #1 Grandson will be with me and experience his first Fair.

I’ll leave you with an image of the gorgeous sunset we had on that evening.

All images were taken with a Nikon D700 w/ AF-D 24mm f/2.8 lens| Tripod

Hope you have a great week-end!

Brewer’s Blackbird-Male

June 7, 2014June 7, 2014Posted in Birds, California, Nature, PhotographyTagged Birds, Birds in the Wild, Brewer's Blackbird, San Jose California Nature Photographer1 Comment

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 + Nikkor 14eII 1.4x Teleconverter| Hand-Held

Just Buzzin’

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014Posted in California, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, PhotographyTagged Bees, Insects, Macro/Close-Up Photography, San Jose California Nature Photographer2 Comments

I’m not really sure what type of Bee this is. Is it a Bumble Bee, or Bee Fly, or something else? He/she got an early start to the day along with the Honey Bees, and me on this particular morning.

Taken in May 2014.
Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 300mm f4 lens w/Nikkor 14eII 1.4x Teleconverter| Hand-held

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