Melisandre on Flickr.
A great Melisandre. She’s got the stare down too. (Friday at Comic-Con 2013)
Tag: Photo on Flickr
Gru’s minions were a popular costume this year.
Bag-End
Chasing the Golden Hour
I wasn’t going to spend a lot of time looking for a good spot to take photos during the golden hour for this week’s photo challenge late Saturday afternoon. There was an open space with electrical towers nearby that I thought would make for some interesting pictures. But the clouds rolled in as I drove down the street, and I spent the next hour racing inland, trying to stay ahead of the marine layer.
The best shot I got of the bunch, with clouds intermittently covering and revealing the sun, was this one. It’s the historic Pacific Electric Railway Bridge in Torrance, California, which I stumbled across a few years back completely on accident. What makes it an even better choice is that when I first found it, I shot it in broad daylight. You can really see the difference that lighting makes!
At this point, I started heading into the hills, figuring I’d focus on the clouds instead of the lighting, though on the way I spotted this view of a hilltop lit up by the sun. I could see it from halfway across town, and wasn’t sure I’d make it before the sun dipped too low or the clouds rolled in to block the light.
The park I’d planned to go to for views above the cloud layer turned out to be in the cloud layer. The fog was hitting the west face of the hills, moving over, and just barely pouring over the summit ridges. I took my first Instagram video, of low clouds racing across the sky before dissipating.
I finally went to another park on the inland side of the hills, and found myself in a clear space surrounded by a wall of clouds to the west and south. This is the view to the west, with the fog backlit by the sun.
This particular park is a great place to get away from it all for a while, so I stuck around for a few minutes to just relax before heading home for the evening.
Fireworks Without Focus
I took a zillion photos of last night’s Independence Day fireworks display, but this one stood out for an odd reason: The camera didn’t focus properly. I’m not sure why “fireworks mode” doesn’t automatically set focus to infinity, but it made for a really interesting effect.
Here are ten more highlights from the evening.
Fleeting Rays of Sunlight
I’m fascinated by the interplay of sunlight and clouds, particularly oddly-shaped clouds and optical effects like haloes and sundogs. The trick with photographing them is that you have to take the picture now. You can’t run and get another camera and come back. You can’t wait until you reach your destination even if it’s only 5-10 minutes away.
Lighting conditions will change. A halo might get stronger, or it might vanish entirely. A cloud that looks like a flaming dragon or phoenix right now will be a dull gray in a few minutes. Patterns of rays will fade from view. I’ve missed my chance a lot of times by being stuck on the road, unable to find a suitable place to stop until the moment had passed.
This last shot is a circumhorizon arc formed by ice crystals. It always appears parallel to the horizon, like a flattened out rainbow, and if the crystals cover enough of the sky it will actually form a circle all the way around the sky. I spotted it while walking back to work from lunch and only had my phone with me — and I actually ran the rest of the way to the office so I could get my camera. I was lucky, since these really don’t appear very often.
The last time I went to a comic con in costume, I went as Jay Garrick, the original Flash. I ran into someone else with the same idea. On a related note, I’ve brought @SpeedForceOrg to Instagram for Flashy photos. #ThrowbackThursday #theflash #cosplay #jaygarrick
The last time I went to a comic con in costume, I went as Jay Garrick, the original Flash. I ran into someone else with the same idea. On a related note, I’ve brought @SpeedForceOrg to Instagram for Flashy photos. #ThrowbackThursday #theflash #cosplay #jaygarrick
The Sign Says: Don’t Even Think About It!
I couldn’t decide between these two photos for the latest photo challenge. The first is a warning sign at the edge of Del Cerro Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. It’s a part up at the top of the hill, ending in if not exactly cliffs, a steep drop hundreds of feet down as the hills roll toward the ocean.
“Danger” signs are a dime a dozen. It’s the “Don’t even think about it!” that struck me as photo-worthy.
As for this second one, it’s not so much the sign that I found interesting as the fact that the bird looks like it’s staring at it, dismayed.
“Gee, I hope this doesn’t apply to seagulls, too!”
I collect pictures of funny/odd/interesting signs at K-Squared Ramblings, so if you’re interested in more, head over there for a look.
Leaving the Moon
Leaving the Moon on Flickr.
Pink and Yellow Flowers on Flickr.
Pink and Yellow Flowers on Flickr.
Cassette Media is Dead
Cassette Media is Dead on Flickr.
Alternate title: Digital killed the audio tape (by running over it).
On Tumblr
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, originally built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, as seen on a November afternoon. This place would fit in perfectly in a Maxfield Parrish painting, and I was pleasantly surprised when we left the museum that evening to see a Maxfield Parrish sky behind it.
Looking Up
Looking Up on Flickr.
Always photograph Lady Mechanika.
Beauty and the Zombie
St. Patrick’s Day Moon & Jupiter
St. Patrick’s Day Moon & Jupiter on Flickr.
Yesterday I looked at the moon and Jupiter and thought, there’s going to be another conjunction tomorrow, isn’t there? Then I forgot, but fortunately I had to make a grocery run.
I took this photo just minutes ago. If you’re in the western half of North America, and the sky is clear, you can walk outside RIGHT NOW and see this.
Manhattan Beach at Night
Manhattan Beach at Night on Flickr.
My first attempt to spot Comet Pan-Starrs on Monday evening didn’t work out, but I got to look back at the coast from the end of the pier, which was nice. You can see the Palos Verdes hills/peninsula in the background to the right.
Looking for comet Pan-STARRS last night. A lot of people had chosen the same hillside park…
Looking for #comet Pan-STARRS last night. A lot of people had chosen the same hillside park and were sharing their telescopes and binoculars as we watched the #sunset over the clouds, then the barely crescent #moon coming into view, and finally the comet itself. More at K2R: Comet Watch
Sunset Rainbow
Sunset Rainbow on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
A nearly full semicircle, redder than usual, taken just minutes before sunset. I had to stitch two photos together to get the whole thing, which messed with the aspect ratio a bit.
Somewhere along highway 6 between Portland and Tillamook
Waterfall 3 on Flickr.
Somewhere along highway 6 between Portland and Tillamook, Oregon. Literally less than a minute’s walk from a turnout on the side of the road.
Next time I’ve got to remember: Take a photo with the [edit] phone too just to get the GPS stamp.