Orange Sky over LAX on Flickr.
Tag: Photo on Flickr
Stony path at the office park
Stony path at the office park on Flickr.
Hahn Park at Sunset
Kenneth Hahn Park sits within the Los Angeles basin, half of a cluster of hills bisected by La Cienega Blvd. The western side is an oil field. The eastern side is broken into a maintained city park and something vaguely resembling wilderness, all of it surrounded by suburbs, homes, retail outlets and light industry. Trails run up into the hills, with benches at scenic viewpoints making it possible to have a picnic lunch while you look across the basin to see — depending on which viewpoint and how clear it is that day — Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, the South Bay or the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
This is somewhere along the trail on the western side of the hills, looking north through the valley. I believe the line of buildings in front of the Santa Monica Mountains is Wilshire Blvd.
Beric Dondarrion and Catelyn Stark
Beric Dondarrion and Catelyn Stark on Flickr.
More Game of Thrones cosplay. (Thursday at Comic-Con 2013)
A great Melisandre. She’s got the stare down too.
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.
Curves of Morro Bay
Morro Bay lies along the central California Coast near San Luis Obispo, and is known for two major landmarks: Morro Rock, a large volcanic dome right near the shoreline, and a power plant with three very tall smokestacks.
Some miles north, Highway 46 cuts through the coastal mountains from Cambria to Paso Robles, revealing cattle ranches, wineries, and empty hills. There’s one spot along the road where the hills part, revealing a perfect view of the bay and the rock. Better yet, there’s a turnout, making it easy to stop and look.
The first time I drove this way, it was gray and overcast, and might actually have been raining. A year later I took the same drive again on an sunny day, unable to remember how far along the turnout was but watching for it the whole way. The result: this shot.
The curves of the dome, the bay, the rolling hills and the patch of heavier vegetation all fit in with this week’s photo challenge theme.
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.
Outside WonderCon
Sometime in the past year, the Anaheim Convention Center tore out a street between two hotels and turned it into a pedestrian plaza with fountains and lights. It turned out to be a great gathering place for con-goers who wanted to take a break, socialize, hold photoshoots, etc.
I’ve written up my experience of the weekend over at K-Squared Ramblings, and you can see more photos on Flickr including exhibits, people in costumes, and sightseeing.
