2014, Day 338 - Early bird

Almost every morning we were in Kandy we were treated to a beautiful sunrise.  Unfortunately I was the only one awake to witness it but I suspect the others might have had a glimpse or two from the comfort of their beds while I dashed out onto the balcony for a better view.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 35/f1.4R
35mm, f1.4, 1/950 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 114 - Stand with your friends

An early morning walk through the park, the earth smelling of sweet and musky, wildflowers swaying in the breeze, and the sun breaking through the clouds momentarily to throw their darkness into relief...

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 1/1250 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 80 - Licked by fire

A couple nights ago we were treated to a truly spectacular sunset.  It doesn't count if you don't have proof so here is mine :)

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f2.8, 1/680 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 9 - Solitary

There is a cemetery in Portland's west hills that is dotted with trees standing completely on their own.  In the summer and fall the trees are often backlit by really amazing sunsets but today it was just mildly cloudy.  Although there is some texture in the sky I decided to play with some of the effects in the new OnOne Suite 6.  We all spend time trying to remove stray dust from our sensors but in this case I used their ground glass effect.  It really does put me in mind of all the time I used to spend in the darkroom back in the days of film and the beauty of imperfection.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/500 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 5 - Flashpoint

Another amazing sunrise.  So far 2012 has bless us with amazing morning skies of orange, pink, and purple.  That has to be an auspicious sign, right?

I think this year I need to work on making photography more social.  There are a number of people I've gone shooting with last year but it is, primarily, a solitary pursuit.  That isn't a complaint, I enjoy my time alone because it allows me to time to think not only about photography but about life and its infinite mysteries.  However there is a kind of excitement in photography that is contagious and any number of people can look at the same subject in a much different way so I don't worry about ending the day with duplicates of the images created by other people.  In making photography a social hobby it also greatly increases the chances of learning new things and there is always room to grow in any art form.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 0.3 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 1 - Genesis

The sun has already set on the first day of 2012 and it is time to write the inaugural post for the year.  I am going to continue posting at least one picture every day and expect that I will follow last year's format.  In 2010 I was posting a new photograph daily but the catch was that it had to be taken that day.  Some days ended with me scrambling to find a worthy subject and often the compromise was one that I wasn't happy with whereas when I shifted gears last year to a new photo daily I allowed myself to save images from shoots to post at a later date.  The only problem is that sometimes I would forget about photos I really liked and only rediscovered them much later.  Oh well, it is the risk I take for quality content.

Happy new year!

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
30mm, f4, 1.6 sec @ 200 ISO

2011, Day 339 - Rays

This morning Portland awoke to a heavy layer of frost, dense fog and sub-freezing temperatures.  I am sure that most people were worried about their morning commute when they saw the weather but I called my friend Julie while I was walking the dogs to see if she wanted to go out shooting this morning.  The way that trees look when blanketed in fog is just beautiful in that kind of surreal otherworldly kind of way.  Julie was eager to go out to take pictures but, unfortunately, as we neared Mount Talbert (a convenient middle ground) the fog burned off almost completely.

All was not lost, because of the heavy fog we got a late sunrise which led to some great high contrast landscapes.  This one appeals to me because I like the way the sun behind the trees silhouettes their shape and how it catchs the small branches with a bit of rim light.

What you can't feel in the photograph is the cold air in your lungs and the way your whole body constricts to try to minimize your contact with the icy morning breezes.  The light burn of freezing air in your lungs with the sweet smell of the evergreens and the moist rot of the leaf litter all over the ground. You can't feel the sun as it warms your face when you emerge from under the canopy or from behind a thick growth of trees.  It was an invigorating morning which made a nice start to a rather hectic day of people failing to do as they either promised or instructed.  Oh well, tomorrow is a new day with new adventures.

Canon 1Ds Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
27mm, f8, merged layers of 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8 sec @ 160 ISO

2011, Day 300 - Dwindling

Some days come and go with little fanfare, especially here in Oregon.  The think blanket of clouds hides the arrival of the sun except for the gradual lightening of the day and it departs with the same anonymity but some days the clouds and the sun work together to give you a little treat, to remind you to slow down and take note.  This was taken at the end of our hike and is rather underexposed, we were in the home stretch and I was racing back to the car to get a better view of the sunset from a field just across the highway.  In the end we made it and it concluded and exciting and exhausting day.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f6.3, 0.4 sec @ 320 ISO