Category: Nature

Sunset on the Lake

Posted in Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , Leave a comment
Sunset on the Lake, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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

Inspired by several flickr contacts to shoot this location myself I put it on my “Bucket List”. I was in Hope Valley yesterday hoping to score one last day of shooting Autumn colors, alas all the leaves were gone and those that remained looked fried. So, two friends and I switched gears and drove to Lake Tahoe to find Bonsai Rock. We weren’t really that far away at this point so why not?
We found the location and hiked down the 100-150ft of steep, slippery terrain and scouted out several possible shots.
Then we hiked back up and drove up the highway enjoying the views to pass the time.

We got back to Bonsai Rock well before sunset then  we hiked back down and set up to wait for the sunset. The color wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped, but I won’t complain. It was so quiet, and peaceful listening to the water gently hitting the rocks , and hearing the birds sing, all the while my eyes scanned the scene taking in the gradual color shifts and beauty that surrounded me.
I’m hoping to do a sunrise here someday. This location stays on the bucket list! This whole area is beautiful and definitely worth repeated trips.
On another note- The more I use my D700 the more I love it. The Dynamic range this camera gets is amazing!

A huge shout out to those who inspired me to venture out to his location with their beautiful photographs of this spot- MattyD90, M. Shaw, and Steve Sieren. You can find their work in flickr.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35 @17mm| f8| 1/160 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Release Cable| 2-stop GND-(Singh-Ray)

Autumn on the Owens

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

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.

Here’s one from earlier in the month when I was over in the Eastern Sierras for a couple of days. The color was lovely in the higher elevations, and remembering this spot from the previous year I wanted to stop by again and hike up the river a bit to revisit it.
I am standing on boulder out in the river a bit. It’s a fairly easy thing to get out here, but the jump back is harder! I thought, ” Deborah, you may fall in this year!” Phew! Another year I stayed dry. I think I might be pushing my luck though.

My muse this past month has been Worthington Whittredge an American Landscape artist of the Hudson River School. I find a lot of what I shoot is similar to what he painted. I “get” him.  In music and learning to play the guitar and piano I’ve studied the masters and tried to emulate them before breaking out and putting my spin on the piece. With photography I’ve taken the same approach; learning from those who know how to use a camera, but for composition and framing I’ve looked not only at photographers, but also Master painters. What about you? Do you study the master painters or just other photographers? Who are your muses?

Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35 @17mm| f16| 1/25 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod

A Look Back

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, NikonTagged , , , Leave a comment

A Look Back, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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

On the 21st of Oct. I had the pleasure of hiking with the Monterey Bay Area Hiking Group in Salinas, CA. It was the toughest hike I’ve done all year. Yes, even tougher than Horse Heaven Trail up to Mission Peak! There are 6 or 7 really, really steep mountains to conquer. The grade on each was 25-30%. Tough!
We hiked to 3 peaks; Eagle Peak, Ollason Peak, and Simas Peak. Here I’m looking back at Eagle Peak from the trail just under Ollason Peak. We had made a summit to Eagle peak first. The morning started out really foggy and soon I was cold and damp. It was such a relief to get up above the clouds and fog and into the sun.  8 hikers started the hike and all 8 finished!

Hiking Stats:
10.79 miles, 3,288ft gained, 6hours 12 minutes

Elevations of the Peaks- Eagle Peak-1,607ft, Ollason Peak-1,188ft, Simas Peak-2,245ft

Nikon D700| Nikkor 18mm AI-S| f8| 1/500sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Salinas, California, Toro Park, Hike, Nature

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell

Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged 5 Comments

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

This one looks better large. Please click the photo to be redirected to Flickr where you can click again to see it larger.

Now that my trip to the Eastern Sierras chasing Fall color is out of my system I’m turning my mind and focus on the winter migration and the birds that will be flocking to the Central Valley. Some Sandhill Cranes have already arrived as well as a small flock of White Pelicans. We saw the Sandhill Cranes, but they are ever shy and kept far away from the observation areas so, I didn’t get the shot I have envisioned this time around.
As you know the bulk of what I shoot is landscape so shooting flying birds is something I have to relearn as well getting my camera settings worked out!
I struggled yesterday with camera settings! Thankfully 2 good friends helped me out or I wouldn’t have had one sharp shot.
I’ll be practicing a lot between now and Jan. when most the migrating birds are here. Hopefully I’ll have a better keeper rate by then. My keeper rate from yesterday is down right embarrassing!

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 170mm| f5.6| 1/1250sec| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Hand-held

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”- Albert Camus

Posted in California, hikes, Nature, PhotographyTagged , , , 2 Comments

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

The beautiful colors of autumn along the trail this morning. The air was crisp, and cool as I started my hike in darkness and perfect solitude, but now and then there would be a “crack!”, and rustling in the branches as another leaf fell to the ground to line the trail with a carpet of fallen leaves. For over an hour these were the only sounds I heard.
Fall is at peak in the mountains where I hike. Already many trees are bare. Winter is fast on Autumn’s heels.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 85mm| f2.2| 1/40 sec| ISO 640| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve; Hiking; Photography