Travel – Page 4 – Circadianreflections Blog

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!

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!

P52 21/52 One Thousand Five Hundred Seventy Five Seconds under the Stars

May 19, 2014May 19, 2014Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Photography, TravelTagged Astro Photography, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Star Trails, Yosemite National ParkLeave a comment

Taken from Washburn Point in Yosemite National Park.

Last week while in Yosemite I shot the stars for an hour, but the Moon was out early and so bright, being nearly Full that it washed out the majority of the stars. I decided to make a return visit since the Moon wasn’t going to rise until midnight.

I thought I’d be alone up there after sunset, but there were two more star/night sky enthusiast there. It was really nice to have the company.
It was lovely meeting you both David, and Brian!

15 frames| 105 seconds each| stacked in StarStaX

P52 19/52 Anna’s Hummingbird in her Nest

May 4, 2014May 4, 2014Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Photography, TravelTagged Annas Hummingbird, Birding, Birds, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society2 Comments

This morning I met my friend Dali at a nearby coffee shop then we went up to Los Altos Hills, CA to meet with other birders, and photographers to learn about Bird calls and sounds. Garth Harwood from the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society was the Guide for our group.

We arrived early so, with time on our hands we looked around for birds on our own.

I spied a Hummingbird flying around a nearby tree so I went to investigate. I was watching her through my lens flit around this bushy tree then just like that I lost her. I kept looking and looking around the tree then I found her in her nest! What treat this was.

If I hadn’t been looking so intently I don’t think I would have spotted her at all. Look how well she blends in. In fact when I first spotted her she had her head pulled in a bit more under the branch. I’m glad she peeked out a little bit allowing me to get this image.

Dali and I stayed only an hour. The group was large keeping the birds in the foliage, and foliage was abundant. I suggested we go to the park where I’d seen the Lazuli Bunting on Thursday. Dali hadn’t seen one yet, and I won’t tire of seeing them anytime soon.

More to come!

Hidden Villa, Los Altos Hills, CA, USA

Breakfast by the side of the road…

April 24, 2014April 24, 2014Posted in Nature, Photography, Travel, US National ParksTagged American Buffalo, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Travel and Tourism, Yellowstone National ParkLeave a comment

Here’s one from my archives; from a trip to Yellowstone National Park in September 2013. I woke up to snow on this morning. On the way to Lamar Valley we spotted a herd of Buffalo grazing near the road so we pulled over to take photos. It was just one of many delightful sights on this day.

Tunnel View Cafe

April 22, 2014April 22, 2014Posted in California, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Travel, US National ParksTagged San Jose California Nature Photographer, Sunsets, USA National Parks, Yosemite National Park2 Comments

This is the “cool” version of Sunset that I took while at Tunnel View in Yosemite a couple of weeks ago. I used a Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo Filter to enhance the colors and reflecting light.

The haze in the image is moisture from the low clouds, and smoke from camp fires down in the valley. I hoped to get Alpine Glow on both Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan, but it didn’t happen while I had my Singh-Ray filter on. You just never know what it’s going to be like. It’s never the same twice.

Yosemite National Park, California, USA- sunset

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