San Jose California Nature Photographer – Page 4

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 28/52 To make a prairie…

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014Posted in DEDPXL, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, WildflowersTagged #dedpxl04, Bees, Get Low, Insects, Macro photography, Nature, Perspective, Project 52, San Jose California Nature Photographer, White Clover, Wildflowers4 Comments

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
~Emilly Dickinson

Image taken laying on my belly in my front yard at the beginning of evening Golden Hour. The clover is popping up in patches here and there…I sometimes think we should let it take over. Though most consider it a weed, and blight on the lawn (He-Man included) I like it!

Addendum: Woo-whoo! I’ve passed the halfway mark of my Project 52! It’s actually gone by pretty fast.

Nikon D300s| AF-D Nikkor 105mm @f9 + Kenko 20mm extension tube| Hand-held

Dahlias from the garden

July 6, 2014July 6, 2014Posted in Fine Art, Flowers, Macro Photography, NatureTagged Bokeh, Dahlias, Flowers, From the Garden, Macro photography, San Jose California Nature PhotographerLeave a comment

Here are few macros I’ve made of the Dahlias growing in my backyard. This one is a Pom-pom Dahlia.

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

This one I used my 20mm Kenko extension tube, and a Hoya Soft Filter on my Macro lens

This yellow Dahlia I photographed using my AF-S 50mm f1.8g lens

…and one more Pom-pom Dahlia. I’ve had a lot of fun photographing these this Spring/Summer. Unfortunately, the blossoms are getting smaller, and smaller on this plant.

I think I’m ready to try growing Plate size Dahlias and Peony’s next year.

Nikon D700, D300s, Nikkor AF-D 105mm micro lens, Kenko Extension Tubes, Hoya Soft Filter (B)

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake pt II

July 4, 2014December 10, 2014Posted in Food Photography, Photography, Tabletop PhotographyTagged Bundt Cake, Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Food Photography, Off camera flash, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Strobist5 Comments

The finished cake glazed, and topped with chopped almonds.

…this cake is so moist, rich, and delicious! The crumb is lovely. It won’t last the week-end!

I hope you have a great week-end!

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.8| Nikon SB600

Addendum: The recipe for the cake is from Taste of Home you can get it here

Notes: After spraying the Bundt or Flute pan with non-stick cooking spray I dusted my Bundt pan with unsweetened Cocoa Powder instead of flour. This keeps the cake from having white flour on the crust.

To make the Chocolate Sauce I melted 1.5 cups of Dark Chocolate Chips with 2-3 Tablespoons of milk then drizzled over the completely cooled cake letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Add chopped nuts if you like. Enjoy!

P52 27/52 Chocolate chocolate chip Bundt Cake

July 4, 2014December 9, 2014Posted in Food Photography, Photography, Project 52-2014Tagged baking, Bundt Cakes, Chocolate, Food Photography, home-made cakes, Photography, Project 52, San Jose California Nature Photographer7 Comments

Busy morning bakin’. Just waiting for this super rich, moist cake to cool before glazing with a semisweet chocolate sauce.

Miam, miam!

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G| SB600 camera left low @ 1/4pwr

Addendum: Melissa of http://melissabluefineart.wordpress.com/ is craving a good chocolate cake and asked for the recipe, so for you Chere Melissa here’s the recipe.

This is a recipe from Taste of Home- Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I made the chocolate sauce by melting 1.5 cups chocolate chips with a 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Drizzle over the cake when completely cooled letting it run down the sides of the cake. Enjoy!

“Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day ,and head back to the Milky Way?”Train – Drops Of Jupiter

July 1, 2014July 1, 2014Posted in Astrophotograhpy, Photography, US National Forests, Wide Field Astro-photographyTagged Milky Way, Night Photography, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Silhouette, Stanislaus National Forest, US National Forests, Wide Field Astro-PhotographyLeave a comment

Another image from my week-end with friends camping in the Stanislaus National Forest in North Eastern California. We had great weather, and two nights of gorgeous dark skies.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere the constellation Sagittarius rises in the southern sky bringing with it a very dense part of the Milky Way: a large plume of white milky gas, and dust, and running through it a dark lane called the Great Rift with all its tributaries standing out marvelously in the night sky.

We scouted for locations during the afternoon and found this location off trail. We hiked through a hillside full of mesquite, and low bushes keeping an eye and ear out for Rattlesnakes then we climbed on top of a huge granite slab to get a higher perspective.
It was wonderful to be under such a dark sky and see so many stars, the Milky Way, and a few shooting stars, and it was really great having Marsha for company. It had been a long time since we’d been out shooting the stars together.
We’re making plans to return to this area for more night imaging.
You can see Marsha’s work here.

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…

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