Category: Landscapes

Ebb and Flow

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

It’s time to head to the coast! My friend Dali and I headed up Hwy 1 to look for a nice spot to photograph the Golden Hour and Sunset. You can’t go wrong driving Hwy 1. There are hundreds of beautiful beaches to see.
Here’s last night’s Golden Hour. The tide was rising. I loved watching the ebbing tide drape/cascade over these rocks. The Golden Hour really brought out the red in the rocks as well.
It was pretty, and very relaxing listening to the pounding surf.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 18mm f3.5 AI-S| f16| 3.0sec| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Tripod| B+W 6 Stop ND|

Santa Cruz Sunset and Golden Hour

Posted in California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Last night’s sunset in Santa Cruz, California. There wasn’t much color in the sky, but the Golden Hour light on this rock formation was really pretty I thought. It also made the ocean a lovely Jade green color.
It was also great seeing and hanging out with friends Dali and Alex, and a big shout out and Thank You to Dali for driving!

Santa Cruz Sunset and the Golden Hour

Camera Settings:

Nikon D700| Nikkor 2470@24mm| f9| 2 seconds| ISO 160| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Tripod| B+W Neutral Density filter

Developed in Lightroom 4 then finished up in Photoshop CS6 for exporting.

Mossbrea Falls

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Mossbrea Falls, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2011 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

One from my archive. This fall is in Northern CA. It’s quite an adventure to get to it. There is no trail to the fall. One must walk along railroad tracks for about a mile. Trains still use the track so you might have to jump out-of-the-way and wait for the train to pass on your way to or from the fall.

Once there if it’s been a wet season you’re rewarded with a wall of water cascading down the mountain. I believe the length of the wall or mountain side that the fall cascades down is as long as a football field. I had to shoot it in bits and pieces To take it all in at once was a bit overwhelming at first. The only way I could “see” to photograph it was to break it down into manageable frames.
I’ve looked at my photos off and on since I took them never being motivated to process them beyond a few basic adjustments then I saved them as PSD’s, closed the file and moved on.
I took another look at the “works in progress” over the week-end because I’m planning to pass this way again next month and I’d like to revisit the fall on my way north.
While looking at them again I finished a few photos here’s the first.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm| B+W Neutral Density filter 0.9

 

Along the fence

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Flowers, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights ReservedAlong the fence in Spring
Another photo from my outing with Rene and Rainey last week-end. I love nature’s bouquets. Here there is Lupine, California Poppies, Common Owl’s Clover, and Fiddle-necks.

The bees were buzzing around here, and the day was warm. The cloud cover really made the colors pop by diffusing the light a bit.  This is my favorite time of year in California when all the hills are green and colorful.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 1735@ 25mm| f14| 1/160sec| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Matrix metering| Single Servo AF| Tripod

 

 

The Nature Trail at Villa Montalvo

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Danbo, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

I needed to get out and stretch my legs, but wanted to stay close to home so I went over to Villa Montalvo to hike up to Lookout Point.

Villa Montalvo located in Saratoga, CA  is now called Montalvo Arts Center. The 175 acre property was originally owned by James Duval Phelan (1861-1930), a 3 term Mayor of San Francisco, and later he became a Senator.  The house an Historic Landmark was built in 1912.

“At his death, Senator Phelan was explicit in his bequest of Villa Montalvo. “I would like the property at Saratoga, California, known as Villa Montalvo, to be maintained as a public park open under reasonable restrictions, the buildings and grounds immediately surrounding the same to be used as far as possible for the development of art, literature, music, and architecture by promising students.”~ Montalvo Arts Center

Today it offers art courses, performing arts events, gallery exhibitions, educational opportunities, artist residencies and hiking in beautiful woodland trails, or exploring the gardens.

Villa Montalvo from the great lawnThe trail-head from Parking Lot 3-This Pavilion is called  The Belvedere  is an original structure from the Senator’s days.

The Trailhead

At the beginning of the Nature you hike through Oak and Laurel woodlands

Nature TrailAlong this part of the Nature Trail there are signs of Spring. Indian Warrior, and White clusters are in bloom.

Tower Lousewort ? White ClusterSoon you begin a steeper ascent and enter the Redwood Forest

Seeing the trees_7295

…and before you know it you’re at the top at Lookout Point looking over Santa Clara Valley. There was Vog on this morning.  It’s only a 1.1 mile hike up to the Lookout Point from the Pavilion. It’s nice to have a beautiful trail close to home to stretch my legs.

Danbo Lookout Point Villa Montalvo

Danbo wants to head home and points the way.

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Moonrise in Yosemite National Park

Posted in California, Landscapes, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , 2 Comments

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Please click on photo to view  it larger, and then if you’d like to view  it on black once in the larger screen mode press L on your keyboard. It looks better I think.

My flickr contact Lynne said she’d like to see this in Black and white. That got me thinking about it, and then I began to play. Finally I’ve come up with something I like. What do you think Woman?

Single frame; Nikon D700: Nikkor 80-200mm @200mm| f10| 1/200 sec| ISO200| Manual Priority| Tripod w/cable release

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Post Thanksgiving Repast Hike

Posted in California, hikes, Holidays, Landscapes, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

All of us were feeling heavy and a bit groggy from the Thanksgiving Feast so we decided to hike up to Mission Peak to shake it off, and keep a tradition going. When my son comes home for the holidays we come up here at least once together. This time my husband came along too. The light was gorgeous at the top when we arrived.

It was a lovely afternoon, sunny, and warm, and it didn’t get chilly or windy until we were near the top. I didn’t outdo any records making it up here this time. The rich food of the day before and not hiking for a few weeks paid its toll.

Near the trail-head there were several Magpies hanging around. Here is one landing on a post along the trail. I think these birds are pretty, but they gross me out!

There are quite a few new calves up here now, and I saw a pretty big Red-Tail Hawk hanging around looking for something to eat near the top. There were also quite a few other people making this trek.

Calf with Caramel Ears

We stayed long enough to snap a photo, and head down. We wanted to get down before dark; we almost did.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 28-105@35mm| Manual Priority| Hand-held