Inconsistent
So, what normally happens with me whenever I want to start writing consistently happened again.
School.
I like teaching, for the most part (and this is another subject entirely that I think I’ll start writing on) but it does take some effort to be effective in the classroom. And even then, sometimes you feel like you’re not effective enough.
But I digress.
This space is solely focused on photography and the like. So let’s show a few captures I’ve managed over the past few months . . . err . . . almost six months now since I last posted.
Wind and the Waves - October 2020
I’ve definitely mentioned how much I like shooting at Tahoe when there’s a storm inching it’s way above the basin or when the wind has picked up enough to create some decently sized waves on the shoreline. It just makes me think about the coast and how much I love to shoot seascapes. And having an opportunity to make Tahoe look like a seascape also highlights how incredibly large the lake is.
Pano from the Eastern Shore - Dec. 2020
This is a pano I took with the idea that the light wouldn’t get any better than this. Of course, in the back of my mind, I’ve seen Tahoe light up when the conditions were like this, but I wasn’t too sure about it this time. I was also lucky enough to have had a friend call me up, Glenn Lee Robinson (go check out his work, amazing photographer), who wanted to see more of the Eastern Shore.
Of course, Tahoe then decided to show off with the picture below.
Tahoe Glow - Dec. 2020
I remember Glenn asking me if this was one of the best sunsets I’d seen at Tahoe.
“Definitely a Top-3 for me,” I said. Maybe even a Top-2.
First shot of the New Year. Taken on New Year’s Day - 2021
Lastly, here’s a shot of Bonsai Rock from the New Year. This capture was mainly due to my reluctance to really work around crowds. I’m pretty introverted by nature and if I see a large amount of cars parked in some of the pull-off spots on the eastern shore, I’ll probably drive by to find something with less people. Bonsai happen to have only 2 - 3 cars parked around the normal pull-off area and even then, I was really the only person here when I shot this.
I have a few more to post, but I’ll save those for later and see if I can get back to some consistency. I might try to get back up to Tahoe this weekend after the recent snowfall and get a good winter capture of Tahoe for the first time this year.
Photographic Progress . . .
A quick story on my beginnings as a landscape photographer
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. ”
So I was thinking about how I started with landscape photography and why I’m doing what I’m doing at this point.
It was about six years ago when I saw a picture of Torres Del Paine, by Daniel Kordan, which set off something within me. I remember I was in Barnes and Noble at the time, thinking about how I always liked photography, but never really studied it or tried it out as a hobby. This was also coming off of numerous injuries playing basketball and looking to do something else that wasn’t as “risky.”
Of course I ended up severely hurting myself a year later playing in a soccer game, of all things, but that’s a story for another time.
Anyway, since I was thinking of taking up photography, I picked up a few photography magazines just to thumb through them when I came across the Torres Del Paine picture of Daniel Kordan’s, a breathtaking picture that had energy and movement, but also a bit of serenity and tranquility to it as well. I’ll link to his gallery here and the picture I’m referring to is the first one in the gallery. And you might as well just check out the rest of the gallery as well!
Honestly, seeing that picture made me think “I want to get there,” not just physically, but also artistically.
This is where I’ll address the quote that started this entry.
Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who was pretty famous for his mission on the ISS and posting a number of different videos about his time serving on that station. A famous video of his is this one:
Now, back onto the quote. I won’t repost the whole quote here, but I’ll just use this part:
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction.”
I haven’t read his book (yet!), but I knew of the quote above, which was a great quote to remember. It’s the choices we make, day in and day out, that help define what we could be. What we could become. Sometimes we aren’t as consistent as we’d like, but always taking up that mantle again, not giving up on what you’d like to become, we have to make those choices and sometimes ignoring the impulses within (like wanting to sleep!).
That’s what that quote means to me. And it definitely applies to more than just photography.
So it was a simple choice; I wanted to be a photographer, specifically of landscapes like the ones I saw in Kordan’s gallery. That meant moving my life in that direction.
One of my first attempts at Burney Falls. If I remember correctly, this was day 100 of the 365 Project. I think I actually hand-held this with an old Samsung Point and Shoot. I actually still have that camera. This was taken in May of 2014.
So in 2014, I decided to do a 365 project with photography and take a photo every single day for that year. The intention was to be intentional. I wanted to get better. So I went out, most of the time after work, to find a composition, sometimes pushing it to near midnight. Sometimes I stayed at home because I was incredibly tired from teaching that day, but still managed to get shots either outside in my neighborhood or around the house.
Throughout the first half of the year, I mainly stayed within the Reno/Sparks area, save for a few trips like Burney Falls (see photo to the right), but I eventually started driving up to Tahoe more and more as the year progressed. This was also when I bought my first DSLR, I think mid-way through the year.
And yes, the gear upgrade made a difference, but it still came down to what I was seeing and how to set-up a shot. That was still the most important factor (until it came to understanding how to edit - still learning that one!).
I definitely point to this project as the project that started me down this photography path. Every single day of that year, I choose to practice. I also started reading as much as I could, studying as much as I could, and watching as much as I could regarding photography and everything else associated with it. I could see tangible and incremental things I did to progress throughout the year and looking back at what I did then definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment.
But I’m definitely not where I want to be.
I think that will keep me going.
This was taken this year. At a very similar spot from six years ago. I think I chose this spot just so I could make the comparison. Plus, I didn’t have the proper gear to actually get in the water to get the composition I really wanted!
Milky Way.
I couldn’t remember the last time I took a milky way photograph, though I think it’s been about 15 - 16 months. I think I was in Bandon, Oregon and woke up very early (though not on purpose.) So I thought to myself then, “why not see about a capture?”
The result of that is below. Not the best capture, but still something I could call “okay.”
Not too bad of a capture at 5 am in the morning. I also shot this at f/4 on my 16mm. Not sure why I did that when I had my 14mm f/2.8 with me. Or so I think. I’m too sure at this point.
So fast forward to June of 2020, a Monday to be exact. I had taken a nap in the late afternoon (I had been working on rebuilding a desk top - not a computer but an actual desk top) after doing some work around the house. And since it was summer, I figured that I had earned a bit of a rest and a nap, since I normally wouldn’t during the school year (though that would be fun - I do miss nap times).
Now, I didn’t plan on sleeping for an hour or so during a nap, but hey, it happens.
It was around 4:30 in the afternoon so I set an alarm for around 4:55. What I didn’t realize was all my alarms were set for the “am” so I set it without checking the “am” part. So at around 6-ish, I woke up, stretched, groaned and moaned with each cracking of my wearied joints. I mean, some of it sounded like marbles rolling around in a felt bag (still does). Despite all of that, I will admit I was feeling pretty refreshed after waking up. Of course, I also silently cursed myself for sleeping that long, knowing that I’d be up all night.
But, I thought it was a good time to take advantage of that error.
Roll with the punches. Go with the flow. Be like water.
So at around 10:00 pm, I packed my camera and gear, thought about making coffee, but was already pretty wide awake, grabbed my water bottle and off I went. I also figured that social distancing at 11:00 pm at Lake Tahoe wouldn’t be too much of an issue, especially as it was a Monday going into Tuesday.
I parked at the pullout before Hidden Beach (plenty of parking obviously), got my headlamp on, slung my backpack around my arms and off I went. The night was crisp, but it wasn’t unbearably cold. In fact, it was calm and rather pleasant, filled with stars and . . .
. . . bugs.
Lots of bugs. Bugs that wanted to use my headlamp as an opportunity to zoom around right in front of me. At first I thought it was just dust and dirt lingering like clouds in front of me, but I came to realization that some of the wispy, darting specks of white were actually tiny insects floating and flying about on my artificial light.
It wasn’t too bothersome, but I made sure to watch myself and my breathing.
I made my way to Hidden Beach, traversing several newly spun webs (my apologies arachnids!) as I saw a few lights on the beach. People were already there, just hanging out and watching the stars. Awesome place to do it, honestly. It’s the reason I was there too.
So I found a deserted part of the beach and set-up near the water’s edge. I decided to use my 14mm (haven’t been using that lately) since it does have a fast aperture of f/2.8. At first, there was cloud cover as I snapped a few test shots (one of which is the picture you see to the right. This is actually a blend of both beach and night sky).
Now, I also realized how much out of practice I was with Milky Way photography. Thinking about composition, thinking about foreground, what elements needed to be in the picture, all that jazz. Should I use my headlamp for some light painting? Should I just get a super long exposure for that?
I opted for the super long exposure for the foreground elements, though even then, I don’t think I did it long enough. I also wanted a relatively clean shot/silhouette of the mountains, not wanting a light trail from the cars to intrude within the frame. That was tough to do, especially if I were to leave my shutter open for a long time. The image I did get still had some light from people chilling along the shoreline of Tahoe, but that’s okay. I was thinking about cloning out that section, but decided to leave it. The Milky Way itself, I stacked around 6 pictures for that (using Sequator) and I’m actually okay with that part of the image.
So to the picture itself, here’s the picture once I blended the stacked photos of the Milky Way and the foreground picture as well, which I did in Photoshop.
So here’s the first Milky Way capture of the season.
Beach and Rocks - 14mm - 75 seconds | ISO - 3200 | f/2.8
Milky Way (6 images stacked using Sequator) - 14mm - 20 seconds | ISO - 3200 | f/2.8
Looking back at this, I definitely want to use a lower ISO (1600 maybe) and maybe do a bit of light painting for the foreground next time. We’ll see though!
A Day Trip. Well, an Evening and Night Trip.
Tufa Formations. As the sun went down, it lit up this small portion of the tufa formation.
On Monday, June 15th, I decided to take a day trip to Mono Lake. There wasn’t any particular reason, I just hadn’t been to the lake in two years and figured it was time for a visit.
The above sentiment is one of the reasons why I like where I live. The Reno-Tahoe area is in relative distance to a lot of incredible scenery. Tahoe is literally (said this in a Chris Traeger voice - if you get that reference) 40 minutes away, at least the northern part. The California Coast is around 4 - 5 hours or so (still doable as a trip!). Burney Falls is around two to two-and-a-half hours away. And Mono Lake is around two hours away (well, maybe two-and-a-half).
So it’s still a decent drive, but something that doesn’t really drain you of energy, say like a 8-12 hour jaunt somewhere (though I’ve done that too, in the past).
Of course, when I made the decision to go to Mono Lake, it was around 4:30 pm. So the day was really close to finishing.
So it’d be an evening/night trip, since I knew I wanted to be there at sunset.
Mono Lake is an incredible place to visit, primarily due to the geological formations that populate the area. For certain parts of the lake, the tufa formations jutting from the ground and along the shoreline have been there for centuries, in certain cases. These tufa towers are a result of underwater formations (when the water level was apparently higher), where calcium-rich springs met with carbonate-rich water and were insoluble to the alkaline waters (I think that’s right?). These towers were eventually revealed when the lake level dropped to it’s current capacity.
More tufa.
Walking along the tufa formations gives Mono a definite, otherworldly feel. And yes, it’s cliche’d to say that about Mono Lake, but it holds true. You definitely have to be cautious where you step as you make your way to the edges of the lake. As for myself, I was being cautious because I was still wary of cutting myself again on jagged rock.
It definitely makes it somewhat difficult to find a composition since there are several places that you’d like to go, but shouldn’t just because you’d step on those fragile formations. But there’s still a lot of perspectives to find from what’s available. I think one shot I’d like to get here would be a Milky Way shot, but that’ll have to come later.
When I arrived, there were several birds that were flying around the area, in particular, two gulls that seem to be cruising and skimming the lake for an early evening snack. In and out they flew, zig-zagging through the frame, gliding quietly atop the surface of Mono Lake. I wanted desperately to capture their flight against the backdrop of the sky and the tufa formations in the lake, especially if they started flying toward the camera, which they did when I first set-up.
Of course, waiting for zig-zagging birds to line up properly within the frame again amidst the setting sun wasn’t going to happen, at least this time around. Especially if I was trying to capture it!
However, there was a shot I thought was pretty fortuitous, despite not getting what I had hoped.
I didn’t realize it at the time, as I was only paying attention to the birds, the fading light and how the clouds were catching it. I triggered the shutter whenever the birds came into view, hoping to catch them in a frame. I also got a capture just of the scene itself, maybe thinking that I could get the birds in a different frame since I had to adjust my shutter speed to account for their flight, and blend them together later.
I did miss capturing the birds in frame for the most part, though I got a couple of blurry captures which didn’t make sense to use. But as I was editing, I sat there again thinking about how unique Mono Lake was in terms of topography, how it resembled something extraterrestrial. As I thought about that, I noticed the cloud formation in one of the captures I had for the scene, a very fascinating cloud in the left, upper-third of the picture that resembled a flying saucer.
I didn’t see that cloud as a flying saucer when I was taking the picture. I only recognized it when I started editing it. I thought it was an appropriate little “cloud” to show up during this capture.
Mono Lake is such an otherworldly place. What’s surprising is the little grey cloud shaped like a “classic” flying saucer.
Focal Length: 16 mm (vertical)
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/11
Shutter: 1/10 sec.
So does anyone else see that flying saucer?
Chasing and Guessing
Last Friday, June 12th, I took myself up to Tahoe figuring it’d be windy and stormy again, two things I love to photograph up at Tahoe, primarily because it kicks up the waves to create some interesting scenes. It also helps with the social distancing since there aren’t too many people keen on hanging out at Tahoe when there’s a rainstorm peppering the ground with precipitation.
For this trip, I wanted to hike along the east shore, a quick and easy jaunt to Chimney and back, taking some pictures along the way. As I made my way along the shore, the sunlight penetrated the clouds intermittently, an inconsistent burn that lit up scattered sections of the shoreline. I was pretty content seeing the light unfold and getting a few pictures of that as well.
Until the rain came.
It started raining, and although I was prepared this time with my rain gear and proper footwear, it’s still not too fun when you’re getting pelted by a waterfall of relatively cold precipitation.
So I hiked back to my car and had a little snack (mozzarella cheese wrapped in prosciutto - great little snack) before driving back to the Reno/Sparks area.
Here’s where you need to be adaptable and patient.
Knowing that the light had been peeking in and out all afternoon like some atmospheric game of hide-and-seek, there was a chance the actual sunset would light up. That was on my mind as I was driving toward Incline Village.
As I peered out toward the lake (briefly - I was still driving!), I saw the horizon had a small gap of blue sky, something that most landscape photographers always have there eye on, especially with medium-to-high elevation clouds in the sky.
We need light. We guess where it shows up. And we chase it.
So I decided to chase it. The light.
As I approached the outskirts of Incline, I turned around, drove back down 28, and found parking near Hidden Beach, guessing at the possibility of some decent light to photograph. And because of the rain, most, if not all, of the people who were around that area basically vacated due to the precipitation.
So I went to a new favorite spot, found a decent composition and fired away. The end result is below.
This is a blended image. The first image used was for the bushes and trees, getting an exposure at a relatively fast shutter speed and ISO to get a clean look. The second exposure was for the waves. And I used a third exposure for the crashing wave in the background. I used a 16mm focal length for all the exposures (except for the crashing wave) and blended them in Photoshop.
Shoreline (Trees/Bushes):
Aperture - f/8
Shutter - 1/125 second
ISO - 800
Waves:
Aperture - f/16
Shutter - 1/6 second
ISO - 100
Crashing Wave:
Focal length - 18mm (aligned in PS)
Aperture - f/16
Shutter - 1/4 second
ISO - 100