November 28, 2018 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California On Thanksgiving morning — a year ago — she and I took a walk on the levees to see what we could see. I had The Beast (Nikon D500 with 200-500mm lens — all eight pounds of it) in case we saw birds. And we did. I posted it on my brand new blog. The past Thanksgiving we took the same walk with the same camera. And again, […]
November 27, 2019 — San Mateo County Coast It was a dark and stormy day; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the bluffs (for it is on the San Mateo County coast that our scene lies), attempting to remove his hat, but barely agitating the stubborn photographer who hand-held against all odds… Days later, through one of the […]
November 27, 2019 — San Mateo County Coast The storm was on its way out, heading east to make headlines. This was its last hurrah; clear sky was visible through the last squall. I’ve mentioned that many (most?) of my influences worked in paint, not pixels. Chief among them is JMW Turner. To me, his later work changed the world of art definitively — to me, he is the father of Impressionism. Toward the end […]
November 27, 2019 — Santa Cruz Mountains, looking west With the Pacific shining in the distance. Same day. Same storm. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 27, 2019 — Santa Cruz Mountains, looking west Wind Advisory. Surf Advisory. Storm Advisory: Signs pointed to good for photography. Taken on the way back from the coast. The coast itself? Stay tuned. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
May 8, 2015. Devil’s Slide, near Pacifica, California / November 27, 2019. Silicon Valley. Devil’s Slide revisited. Again. I sat at the computer today, looking forward by looking back. The image whispered, “noir” and I went under its spell. I’d have been a fool not to. A strange image for Thanksgiving, but it it’s from a favorite shoot — for which I am thankful. And I am thankful to all who visit, follow, read, view, […]
November 16, 2019 — East Bay Hills, San Francisco Bay Area Noted West Coast bridge poking out of the fog. Sunset mid-span. Green flash. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
April 6, 2013 — Sonoma coast. November 21, 2019 — Silicon Valley What struck me about this scene was the texture of the water below the creamy sky. It still strikes me. What struck me about the Sony RX100 was the notion of getting exhibition-sized prints out of a pocket camera. That notion stopped striking me years ago. The sticker on the front of the camera quietly proclaims Zeiss Optics. Zeiss. That means quality. Not so […]
November 16, 2019 — Blue hour, Point Reyes National Seashore How many movies have you seen that were “based on a true story” or “based on historical events”? This is based on an actual blue hour as seen from the south end of the Point Reyes Peninsula, looking north. (Canon G5X II. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
November 10, 2019 — Wright’s Lake, California Whatever it is, it feels no pain and it never cries. It spends a lot of time reflecting. What do you do when you go out on your first shoot in several weeks and you’re not satisfied with your take? You crop ruthlessly and improvise in post-processing. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
December 8, 2018 — Point Reyes National Seashore Mr. Red Tail sat on a rock about fifty yards down a ravine, in perfect view but with his back to the camera. I waited. And waited. With scant warning he took flight, heading out to sea before turning a tight one-eighty and coming right at me. No. Not at me. At his next perch. He picked his spot. Flared. And grabbed his rock. He gave me […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. f/16, 4 seconds, ISO 64. Pan to the left. This is the longest uninterrupted series I’ve done so far on this blog. Your comments have been interesting, informative, and gratifying. A number of people have asked in comments, email, and in person, to see a “before” image. I don’t usually like to discuss technique because I think it’s potentially limiting: I don’t want it to come off as “do […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. Earlier in the evening. f/16, 3 seconds, ISO 64. Pan to the left. In the past few days, many words on the subject of going in the nonobvious direction have passed through my eyes. Aside from being interesting advice for life, photographically this applies to both the initial creation of the image — click — and to the post-processing of the image. A recurring theme for me has been […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. Getting even later. Getting even darker. Still at f/10. Now 15 seconds at ISO 64. Pan to the left and back to the right with a twist. Luke’s mentor advised him to use the Force. My mentors have advised me to embrace and use the conditions before me. There were lights before me. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.3; Editing […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. Getting later. Getting darker. I opened up to f/10 to let in a little more light, and let it go for 10 seconds at ISO 64. Click. Slow pan to the left and back to the right. Clack. In dealing with abstracts, all of the hard-and-fast “rules” go out the window. The only consideration left in post-processing is “what do I want to show?” Something in the image suggests […]
