Now that I’m home I’m dumping photos off of my CF cards. I saw this composition, and I started processing it. I wish the sunset brought more color, but the dark blue sky works here for me.
Now that I’m home I’m dumping photos off of my CF cards. I saw this composition, and I started processing it. I wish the sunset brought more color, but the dark blue sky works here for me.
I saw some photos of a rock formation on the northeast part of Lake Tahoe called “Bonsai Rock“. This is a pretty cool area. In the right light I think it would be amazing. I was there today, and the light would just not cooperate. :( But that’s besides the point. Finding it is a real pain in the butt. There are some general directions online, i.e. “south of Sand Harbor, near a hill, off of a turnout.” Well great, Magellan, that’s not all that helpful. Also, Panoramio and Flickr have some photos of Bonsai Rock, but none with accurate GPS info. So today, almost by sheer luck, as the best info I had would have put me almost a mile off track, I found Bonsai Rock by stopping at the right turnout by accident. I pulled out my iPhone, launched the absolutely amazing MotionX-GPS app (which if you do any outdoor stuff you should own) and grabbed the actual GPS coordinates of the turnout, the trail head, and Bonsai Rock itself. (The coordinates are approximate as there was a 200 foot accuracy issue with my satellite reception. Never fear though, because the coordinates for Bonsai Rock itself are spot on.)
So some notes for you. The trail head isn’t so much a trail head, as it is a gap in the bushes. You can see Bonsai Rock from this location if you look between the bushes & trees. The trail is all sand covered rock and it’s unmarked. The sand is very loose and it’s very steep. If you’re going, pack light, wear good shoes with a lot of traction, and I’d highly advise a walking stick to provide support. Of course teenagers were running up and down carrying beer during the day, but I’m not going to risk a fall with a few thousand dollars of equipment attached to torso. Going down is much more difficult in terms of maintaing your balance than going back up. However going back up is quite a workout.
To make sure everyone who wants to find this place can, I’ve made a custom Google Map that will show you where to park, where the trail begins, and where the rock itself is located. Bonsai Rock Mapped!
N.B. Some people probably like to keep photo spots secret. Well, sorry. It’s what you do with a camera that makes you a great photographer, not what secret places you know about. Share what you know, and people may share with you. Keeping things secret does everyone a disservice.
UPDATE: Photo uploaded!
It’s not about right versus left, nor liberal versus conservative. It’s not about tax breaks or increases. It’s not about slogans, clothes, or handshakes. It’s about people… living their lives, both rich and poor, separate individuals with a future that is intertwined at so many levels that we’d rather not openly admit it.
I’ve tried to consider arguments on both sides of the aisle. On one hand, what a person works for, what they earn, ought not be taken from them and given to another. Yet at the same time, I can no more so ignore the cries of people who suffer from sickness when relief is available but financially out of reach. I can sympathize with the dreams and ambitions of an entrepreneur setting out on an uncertain path, gambling everything on the hope of a better life for his or her family. And I am saddened for those who share this dream, but are never provided with the means and ability to embark on the journey for it.
As long as I can remember, I have felt empty when I see our place in the world. We can do better. I’ve seen the people of our country demonstrate kindness to strangers during Katrina, I’ve seen limitless compassion and prayers after 9/11, and I’ve seen our soldiers’ courageous fight for justice in a world so cloaked in despair.
However, despite these examples, we are failing. When genocide threatens entire regions of the earth, how dare we sit back and say we’ve done enough? When the arguments once used to persecute minorities are being resurrected to target people based on their orientation, why do so many stay silent?
Government can’t provide solutions for all these problems, but you can.
Today is election day in the United States, and this is our chance to do better. Stand up, vote! I am not writing to say that you should vote for one particular candidate. However I am writing to remind you that there is more at stake than taxes and war. For the first time in recent memory, I feel that the election isn’t between the lesser of two evils. I think there is a genuine opportunity at hand to make the world a better place, for both Democrats and Republicans, for both rich and poor, for the right and the left. We can make America better, we can make the world better. Today, we have the unique opportunity to stand up, cast off lingering doubt, ignore the fear that has been the companion of politics for the past 8 years, and be counted among those who will do better, for no reason other than because we want to and because we recognize that we have to.
Please, go vote!
A group of us went up to Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains this past weekend. We manged to spend some time in Yosemite Valley, Tioga Pass, Mammoth Lakes, Devil’s Postpile, Mono Lake, and Bodie. Brandon and I are still editing our photos, but I did manage to get this one shot of Tenaya Lake while driving across Tioga Pass. We had been driving since about 5 AM and I realized we were going to make it completely across the pass before sunset. Now since I was travelling with family and not everyone was a photog, the idea of pulling over and waiting an hour so we could catch sunset on Tenaya Lake seemed like a nonstarter. So considering I was exhausted, I pulled over and said I needed a power nap. I got to sleep for a good 40 minutes and then we continued on our drive. We came up on Tenaya Lake and we saw this sky and reflection. I pulled over, jumped out of the car, and started firing away. Totally worth the tiny little white lie. (I really was tired, though, so it’s the truth with an ulterior motive).
The second day of our trip the sky was boring, just a bright blue dome, devoid of clouds. I found it hard to get inspired, I knew there were potential shots all around me, but nothing seemed to click. I pulled out my iPhone and started listening to U2′s Beautiful Day (one of my favorite songs). A few minutes after turning on the music, I started noticing things I was missing before, and got quite a few good shots. So my question to you is this: Have you ever used music to help you get inspired while taking photos? What’s on your inspiration playlist?
While in Las Vegas last week, Brandon, Cem, Andrea, and I made our way over to Hoover Dam. We were about 3 minutes late for the dam tour, and they wouldn’t let us in because the dam security folks had shut down the X-ray machines and metal detectors.. (Sorry, I’ll try really hard not to make another dam joke. Dam it!)
So we decided to walk along the top of the dam and salvage the trip. The dam was impressive, though I feel strange that it didn’t give me the same sense of awe that Niagara Falls or Yosemite Valley did. I guess maybe because it was man made? In fact after flagging the 1200 pics I took in Las Vegas as picks or rejects, I realized I only had a few pictures from Hoover Dam that I actually liked. Furthremore, none where of the dam proper. I had pictures of Lake Meade behind the dam, I had pictures of the river continuing at the base of the dam, but no pictures of the giant hunk of white concrete that is Hoover Dam itself.
The most interesting thing at Hoover Dam, in my opinion, is the amount of 1930′s art deco signage and statues. On the Nevada side of the dam is a memorial to those men and women who built the dam and to those who lost their lives during its’ construction. The ground is covered with a star chart so that future civilizations might know the significance of the location and be able to approximate when and why it was built. The American flag is guarded by two giant art deco winged statues. I found this memorial to be more inspiring than the dam itself. It’s of these statues that I want to share a photo. Brandon says it’s perhaps the best picture I’ve ever taken, and I might have to agree with him.
Yup, I was in Hawaii for 8 days, now I’m in Vegas for 7. Got here today and didn’t get to do much shooting. It’s too tempting to just pull the camera out on the strip and start clicking away. Not exactly going to get a lot of keepers like that, so I had to do some research first. :-)
Since I seem to travel to some random places for work fairly regularly, most of my trips are for 2-3 days with lots of work things scheduled. How do I find time for shooting? Well, thankfully, the best times to shoot are way before and way after work. However, how about location scouting? How do I find places to go take some shots without having much time to explore? Here are some of my tricks:
I hope some of these suggestions are helpful to you. I’m going to go wander around the casino with my camera. (Oh, one last bit of advice, check with local security people in advance if photography is ok, best not to end up in that very big desert out there.)
..mike
I just wanted to make sure everyone knows that I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet. I’ve simply avoiding contact with the outside world while I relax in Hawaii. (And by relax I mean photograph everything). So far the trip has been great, and I have a bunch of posts planned for when I get back. This is my first trip to the tropics with an SLR and on top of that my first attempt at geo-tagging all of my shots. Get ready for some interesting posts in a week or two. However, until then, I’ll leave you with this awesome panoramic shot I took on the eastern cost of Oahu.
So I’ve finally caved and decided to use up some of that vacation time I’ve been stockpiling for the past two years. In less than 36 hours from now, I’m going to be on the beach in Oahu, Hawaii. Yeah, that’s right. No work, just play, and lots of GORGEOUS things to take pictures of, of course! Hopefully I can strike the right balance that won’t make Sara get annoyed with me too much. :-D
If anyone has any advice or tips for the best places to go and see while on Oahu, please please please leave a comment on this post with the info! I’ve read a bunch of travel guides and I’ve been there before, but it’s so stunning and gorgeous, it’s hard to recall it all.
I’ll try and post summaries of each day’s photos, but that might be a bit lofty. So, let’s aim for a few posts while I’m recovering from oodles of relaxation and shooting.