Thoughts and things ...

Category: PHOTOGRAPHY

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BLOGGING / PHOTOGRAPHY / RV Adventures / Vacation

Why a BLM over a regular camp ground

If you don’t feel like reading, this post is summarised by the 20 sec video at the end. A picture speaks a thousand words a 20 sec video says even more in this case! I spent the last three nights staying in Joshua Tree park at the Indian Cove campground for $20/night. I was fortunate enough to be able to chose my campsite in person versus reserving the unseen online. I don’t know if all the National Parks are arranged like this but basically the plan is to pack you all in as close to your neighbour as possible. I don’t know about you but after paying $30 entrance fee to the park and then $20/night for a camping spot that sports the amenities of a fire ring and a picnic table – no electricity or showers and imaginary privacy well I have to wonder if this actually makes sense. I only had neighbours one night and they seemed like nice enough people but I couldn’t relax outside and enjoy the stars and silence because their party included music and loud talking till late into the night. It was a beautiful park don’t get me wrong, but I guess when I’m paying for a campsite I’d like a better sense of privacy so I can enjoy nature and the experience. The main benefit to a campground over the BLM land is the ability to leave a table and chair out and have a decent sense that it will be there when you return. It is the ability to have a space to call your own for as long as you have the campground reserved. That’s the only real benefit though unless the campground offers showers and electricity too. The BLM style of camping is open space camping. The freedom to...

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PHOTOGRAPHY / PSPYH

A Foggy outlook doesn’t have to be foggy…

A fog over the marina is what I awakened to a couple of mornings ago. I waited a bit till I could see the sun starting to show it’s rays then it was time to launch my drone and watch the foggy view roll away from above. The video ends with a rather unique shot – it is actually a 360 view of the marina which you can see better from the image below.

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PHOTOGRAPHY / THOUGHTS

A slideshow of some of my favourite recent pictures

A love of sunsets, my pups & my marina home is the essential subject of this video slideshow. The first dog silhouette is of Boeing, my Australian Shepherd who passed away a few years ago.  An array of marina photos and sunsets follows.  The one bridge pictured within is the Richmond San Rafael bridge with Mt Tamalpais in the background.  The bridge is not visible from the harbour but a great sunset just the same. The last two dog-sunset-sihouettes are of my current family members, Zulu (a 4yo catahoula) and then Sky (a 6yo Australian shepherd). The slideshow ends with a couple of stunning moonrises! The background music is “Oh! Mio Babbino Caro” sung by Gianni Schicchi.  I’m not really an opera music listener but this piece of music inspired me to get the photos together and there is always the option to turn your sound off if the music doesn’t suit you. Overall the slideshow is for me to remember special moments and images from the last several months and if they suit your taste you will enjoy as well.

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PHOTOGRAPHY / THOUGHTS

Breathless Moments

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” ― Maya Angelou What a saying and how true.  The breaths that take our breath away are those individually special moments.  For me it is things like sunsets and the way the same scenery can look so different each day as the sun sets and illuminates the surroundings with that very special sunset light.

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FAMILY (PUPS) / PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo 101: Day Nineteen: Double

Double image … my favourite shot of my pup Sky against the sunset and then I mirrored it so it likes like double the ‘Sky’ against the sunset of the sky….!        

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PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY / PSPYH

Photo 101: Day Seventeen: Glass, Squared

  Incorporate glass in today’s image: a window, a mirror, a wine glass, sunglasses, or something else. It doesn’t matter what form the glass takes. Today’s Tip: We’ve practiced shooting at different angles and from unique POVs. How can you interact with glass to create an interesting photo? Look through. Look between. Find an unconventional surface. Experiment with your flash both on and off.

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FAMILY (PUPS) / PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo 101: Day Sixteen: Treasure

My treasured pups are the treasures of choice of course for the assignment today Day 16:Treasure What’s your treasure? Perhaps you found a coat at the thrift store like the one your grandfather wore, or took a once-in-a-lifetime trip through the Himalaya. Maybe you treasure your children, or your cat, or a quiet space in the woods. Show us an image that represents a treasure to you. Tip: Get close to your subject — either use the zoom function in your camera, if it has one, or physically move closer to it.  

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PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo 101: Day Fifteen: Landscape

Today, snap a picture of a landscape. Focus on the gestalt — the entire setting as a whole, …— rather than a specific subject or focal point within the scene. The setting itself is the star. I decided to use a panoramic shot for my landscape and then crop it down to be the actual desired image.  See the cropped image below. Tip: Ready to do some basic image editing? After your shooting session, sift through your landscapes and find one that needs cropping. (You can look back to previous shots from the course, too.) Look out for: Stray objects in the background, near the frame’s edges and corners. People around the perimeter of the frame that might have “photo-bombed” your picture. A foreground or background that is too prominent or “heavy.” A composition that is too-centered, with your subject right in the middle, that might benefit from cropping along two sides (in other words, cropping to the Rule of Thirds).

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PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo 101: Day Fourteen: Scale

Today, play with scale: you can use anything and everything to help convey size in your image, from your Chihuahua to your Mini Cooper, to an aerial view or perspective from a penthouse floor. Tip: Don’t just point and shoot. Observe your scene closely before pressing the shutter, considering how all the elements in the frame interact with your subject, and how all objects in your foreground and background relate to one another. Make an object appear larger through a ground-level POV. Place two things side by side in an unexpected way. Surprise us!

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FAMILY (PUPS) / PHOTO101 / PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo 101: Day Thirteen: Moment & Motion

Tip: Movement is a great way to convey time and fleetingness.   Experiment with panning: pan your camera across your scene while following your moving subject. It takes practice, but if done right you can produce images with clear subjects against blurred backgrounds.

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