Nikon – Page 62 – Circadianreflections Blog

An Ice Plant Sunset

March 12, 2012March 12, 2012Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged Allen's Hummingbirds, California, D700, landscape, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Santa Cruz, Travel, UCSC Arboretum, UFO's, Vasili's Greek RestaurantLeave a comment

I decided to spend the night in Santa Cruz the night before shooting the Moonset at Pigeon Point Lightstation. I would be able to sleep in an extra 40 minutes. Which meant I could sleep until 3:45AM and only drive 30 minutes to my shooting location, and I would get to spend some time with my friend Rainey. We met at the University of Santa Cruz Arboretum to photograph the Allen’s Hummingbirds that return each February to the succulent garden at the Arboretum. They are so cute, and very active. This guy hardly stayed still 2 seconds together. He looked kind of cross about me taking his photo a few times. You don’t suppose he’s sticking his tongue out at me do you?

We stayed at the Arboretum until closing time then we went to Vasili’s Greek Restaurant on Mission Blvd. for dinner. We shared an order of SPANIKOPITA: Spinach and Feta Cheese Baked in a Filo Dough Triangle which was served with fresh sliced lemon to squeeze over the warm filo triangles, and an order of KEFTETHAKIA: Greek Meatballs. These were served sitting in a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, and garlic vinaigrette. These were to die for! We both wished we had ordered these for our entrée.

We both ordered the HORIATIKI SALATA for our entrée. A salad of Capers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Red Onions, Feta Cheese, Pepperoncini & Greek Olives, tossed with a light vinaigrette and topped with a slice of fresh French bread for dipping into the vinaigrette. They offer 2 sizes small and large. The small was more than plenty.

Neither one of us had room for dessert. I will definitely be returning to Vasili’s.

From here we went over the Natural Bridge State Beach to shoot the sunset. (See 1st photo) After the sun went down, and the color faded we began to pack up and call it a night, when a woman who parked in the spot next to me asked,” Are you taking photos of that thing in the sky? What is it?” I looked up and saw what looked like a rocket streaking across the sky heading southwest with a long contrail then at that moment something broke off the contrail and it fell toward the sea.

and the end of the contrail with the little piece falling off …

Then it just disappeared. Poof. It burned up. A meteorite? Space junk? We have no idea. There was nothing in the paper. Perhaps it was just a flare? It made for an interesting end to our afternoon and evening.

Rainey and I went for a coffee, then said good-night as we both had early wake-up calls. Her’s for work, mine for a Moonset.

Santa Cruz, California, Natural Bridges State Beach, Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35mm & 80-200mm| Induro Tripod| Dinner photo taken with my iphone

Trillium Ovatum

March 7, 2012March 7, 2012Posted in California, Flowers, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged Muir Woods National Monument, Nikon, Northern California, Photography, Prime lenses, Travel, WildflowersLeave a comment

Spring is popping up here in Northern California. While in Muir Woods National Monument last week-end I saw quite a few Trillium in bloom. Did you know their common name is Western Wake Robin? I didn’t.

Moire and False Color and the D800/D800E

March 6, 2012Posted in Nikon, PhotographyTagged Nikon, Photography2 Comments

Nikon gives us a lesson on what it is, how it looks, and which camera D800
or D800E is the right choice for you.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Nikon-Camera-Technology/gy43mjgu/1
/Moire-and-False-Color.html

Winter Yosemite February 2012

March 5, 2012March 5, 2012Posted in California, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged California, D700, El Capitan, Manual Focus Lenses, Nikon, Photography, The Three Brothers;, Winter, Yosemite National Park2 Comments

This is a very popular photo spot in Yosemite National Park,and while here to shoot the Horsetail Fall annual event we stopped here. A companion whom I drove up with had never been to Yosemite before so this was a “must see” stop for him. Even though I missed the snow in valley, I have to admit the colors, and textures here were marvelous.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 18mm Ai-S| f16| 1/30 sec| ISO 200| Manual mode| Tripod|

A Ground Dweller

March 4, 2012March 4, 2012Posted in California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Travel, WildlifeTagged Birds, Burrowing Owl, California, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeLeave a comment

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hanging out in Muir Woods National Monument with several photography friends. Several of them had hoped to see owls, but we hadn’t seen or heard any in the 4 hours we had been in the forest. When we met a fellow photographer Dennis A. and he heard there was an interest in seeing owls he kindly shared with us the location where several pairs of Burrowing Owls live.

My friend Dali who is an avid Raptor/bird photographer was eager to go to see if we could find them, and find them we did. (see his photo of the Burrowing Owl here)

I first spotted the pair and thought they might be Ground Squirrels, but as we pulled around I saw they were a pair of Burrowing Owls perched just outside their nest, and partially hidden by a little patch of tall grass. They’re adorable!

After parking the car and grabbing our gear we quickly but cautiously made our way to the nest. Once spotted the female dove into the burrow, while the male stood guarding the entrance. Not expecting to do any bird photography I wasn’t carrying my longest lens yesterday, so I was not able to get as close a shot as I would have liked, but getting as close as I dared I fired a few shots before the male dove into the burrow. Here he is just before he dove into the burrow.

Once in the burrow the male kept his head out keeping watch. He’s all eyes and beak!

It was quite exciting to see them. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Burrowing Owls.

We crept just a bit too close for his comfort and he disappeared down the burrow not to be seen again.

Dennis said there are several pairs living in this field, and we did spot another pair but they must have received word that we were about because before we even neared half the distance between us and them they dove into their burrow.

While wandering around looking for the owls we did see turtles sunbathing along an irrigation canal. That was an unexpected surprise.

Dennis A. here’s a huge “SHOUT OUT!” for sharing with me and a couple of friends the location to these Burrowing Owls that have made a field in Vacaville, CA. home. Thank you!!!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 180mm f2.8| Induro CT213 Tripod

Pheasant Under Grass

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged All rights reserved, California, D300s, In the wild, National Wildlife Refuges, Nature, Nikon, Nikon D300S, Photography, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wildlife2 Comments

This is my first Pheasant capture! A couple of friends and I were shooting with a Meet-up group in Solano County and were on the way back from lunch when one of my companions noticed him. I was shooting from a car window, and didn’t think anything would be very good, but was thrilled to see this shot would be a keeper. I love his coloring, wing patterns, and long tail. Even though he’s sort of camouflaged in the grass I’m thrilled that I was able to capture a photo of him in his natural habitat. He darted behind a knoll just after this shot. I didn’t see him again.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300 @ 300| f5.6| 1/1600 sec| Iso 500| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Planetary Conjunction

February 27, 2012February 27, 2012Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Nikon, PhotographyTagged Astrophotography, Jupiter, Moon, Night Photography, Nikkor, Nikon, Nikon D700, Photography, Planetary Conjunction, Venus2 Comments

Thanks Dali and Andy for reminding me about this astronomical event. Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon lined up in a triangle to form a special conjunction on Feb. 25, 2012. We spent a lot of time online emailing each other about places we liked to shoot this. I kept looking at this area of the city and I asked the guys to look at it too. After the guys looked at it on TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris) they too liked it and we decided to shoot it here. Andy didn’t join us he decided to make some progress on his computer project so it was Dali, Phil, and I who shot here. It was fun, but cold!

The forecast called for a clear sky, but what we had were intermittent clouds, and a low fog bank. As soon as Venus dropped into the fog we called it a night. The Crescent Moon is in those clouds, but Jupiter and Venus are clearly visible.

To see what Dali shot go here

To see Phil’s photo go here

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