Oak Glen Road

I orginally went up to Oak Glen to do a photo shoot with some fellow photographers. But as I couldn't find them, and didn't have cell service up there. I ended up just shooting on my own. I had just gotten Nikon's 10.5mm DX fisheye lens which I am renting for the week. It was a lot of fun experimenting with that lens. Being able to see so much is something that I just love. Whenever I have the money, I am definitely going to have to buy an ultra wide angle lens.

While I do not have the pictures I intended to bring back. No people. No apples. I had fun, and saw life through a new perspective. Cheers to fall colors and sunsets.

Tim (graphic artist by day, cartoonist by night)

I am starting to develop my photography beyond just taking pictures. Part of that included creating a watermark that would start developing my branding. My good friend Tim is a graphic artist so I asked for his help in drawing up my logo.

I gave him a couple of ideas, lots of creative space, and he took and ran with it. He gave me three rough outlines from which I picked one. Then I specified exactly what I wanted. I like the end result, but feel that it has room to grow. There are just too many options and ways to do things.

A big thank you to Tim for drawing up my logo. I love it!


As always, (l)ive (Y)our (l)ife!

Apple Dumplings!

Fall is here! Well it was here last week anyways. Today feels like it belongs to summer but got lost somehow and ended up being today. That being said, it was the perfect time to make some apple dumplings. Many years ago after watching Disney's Apple Dumpling Gang I was inspired to make some as they looked so good. Now that I have had time to tweak and taste. I can tell you they taste best with a little vanilla ice cream on top. Here you can see the process of making them.




Peel those apples!




Kneading the dough.




Make sure you put plenty of sugar and spice in those apples!

Lesly

Lesly is getting married in less than a month. She had originally wanted to do a bridal party shoot, but as that didn't work. We just went ahead and did a shoot with her and her sister. She has a heart for God and for His creation. It was a treat to get to photograph her.
Of all the ones I took, this is definitely my favorite. It just captures who she is. I had originally not wanted to shoot in this location as it was in the direct sunlight and I didn't think the colors went well. But I am so glad, I went ahead and took a couple of shots. A diffuser worked wonders on the lighting, and you just can't beat a 50mm lens.

Ask and you shall recieve

I am on my way to a photography workshop in Colorado Springs. It has been an amazing drive. I have seen the sunset over Bryce cannon, watched the sunrise in Capitol Reef, and driven Hwy 12 by starlight. And yet I have not seen a single cloud till now, when I have less than an hour more to drive. Yesterday I asked God if he could send some clouds my way. He did, the sky in greater Denver area looks amazing. There are these thin wispy clouds that just make you want to grab a camera. I did of course, and had a fun break from driving. Below is my favorite, the one I didn't even mean to take. It embodies my journey to greater learning. Keep shooting and lyl!

Stages to a photographer

I thought this was a really fun and decently accurate chart showing the stages a photographer goes through. I think I would put myself at the "first tripod" mark, as I have recently realized the benefits to using a tripod. And started to use it as much as I can. It can be a bit of pain to lug a tripod around at times but the ends do justify the means in this case.


I found the graph here: http://kottke.org/10/04/stages-of-a-photographer

Tioga Hwy: entrance to Middle Earth

As you head down Tioga Hwy towards Yosemite Valley you pass by some beautiful country. In fact it's the only pass through the Sierras, so its a one of a kind drive. You basically has drive-thru access to the Sierra high country. The road is a bit trippy at times as it is a two lane asphalt road without guardrails except for the one you see below.



I understand the need for conversation and taking care of the earth, but I would think that they ought to improve on this road. Its an accident just waiting to happen. As you drive you the first thing that really grabs you attention is Lambert Dome.



A hunk of granite rising from the floor of Tuolumne meadows,its hard to miss. Especially as it is contrasted with the lush green meadows that for over half the year are covered with snow.



Somewhere between there and the valley floor is a turnoff for May Lake. Don't miss it. Its a mile hike to the lake which serves a base for all sorts of destinations. The path goes uphill, but don't give up hope around the corner is some of the prettiest country California has to offer.








If you visit Yosemite make sure to visit, its well worth the time!

May Lake

My family went up to June lake this past week, so I have been busy snapping pictures! This is May, not June lake lol. I thought I would share this photo as I continue to process all the photos I took. As I had 3 cameras, I sure took plenty! the others are soon to come.

Pinholes

Pinholes in the cloth of heaven, stars truly do declare the majesty of God.



Tonight the tears of Saint Lawrence or as they are more commonly known, the Perseid meteor shower, climaxed. As I have not really seen a meteor shower, I wanted to be there this time. I hadn't adequately prepared, and did not get any pictures of the meteors, and yes I saw many tonight. Instead I settled for a picture of the star trails around Polaris. I had never really successfully taken such a picture and wanted to try my hand at it.

This frame was captured at f10 iso400 and a 20 minute exposure.

1:50 pm

My brother and I went hiking the other day. Of course I brought my camera along, my heavier camera at that. (I miss the d40, that camera was so light you didn't know it was there.) What's funny is I took this photo 15 minutes into the hike, and then didn't really take anymore pictures. Even though we hiked 8 miles and took roughly 4 hours to cover it. 3 hours going up and 1 going down. Goes to show the effect gravity has on us all.

I wanted to give the water a flowing effect, so I set the shutter to speed to 1 second. My tripod wasn't handy, and I didn't want to risk a slower setting. All too often photos will look great till you get home and see how much your hand wobbled as you took the shot. That was not going to happen this time. To compensate I increased the aperture and fired away. What you see below is what I got.

Bimmer Time!

There is something about bimmers that are just awesome! During summer time that is especially true. Haven't you ever had the urge to jump in and just go for a drive? With no end in mind just out for the journey! During some of those drives I have found some amazing photo locations. So even if you don't have a bimmer, jump in and go!

PS: For those of you wondering why I said bimmer, not beamer time, let me clarify. I beamer is a BMW motorcycle, while a bimmer is a BMW car. Don't ever get it mixed up again.

PPS: This picture was heavily edited using Picnik. If you haven't tried it out you should. It has several free tools that really let you play with your photos to get the look you want. While I generally don't like to over edit my work. I decided to have fun with this picture and make a sort of poster out of it.

the Wilburs

Last summer I had just gotten serious about photography, I had recently purchased Nikon’s 35mm DX lens so that I could explore the world that prime lens’s offer. One of my friends had invited me to her wedding. Naturally I brought along my trusty d40. I wanted to exploit the joy and happiness that I knew I was to find that day. Yet at the same time respect the wedding photographer and stay out of his way as he did his job. Thankfully my friend knew I could take a decent photo, and gave me the opportunity to snap a few shots of her with her new hubby. It was just getting dark so I had my aperture wide open. The photo below was shot at ISO 400 and 1/500 of a second. As yesterday marks her one year anniversary I dedicate it and this post to another happy year for her and husband.

as always lYl