So the hope was that I'd be able to write more than once every other week, but that doesn't seem to be happening, so bear with me as I continue to take you through last summer. Kind of funny actually that we're almost in winter and I'm still writing about summer, but that's how it goes sometimes.
Anyway, the first weekend in June I had volunteered to help my friend Craig in his quest to hike the John Muir Trail, from Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney and then down to Whitney Portal. Craig had everything planned out, so it was just a matter of me going along for the ride and enjoying everything. We took his truck and my van up to Lone Pine, California, where we were going to leave his truck at Whitney Portal. Whitney Portal is the major trailhead leading up to the summit of Mt. Whitney and where Craig would be coming down from after his 211 mile hike over two weeks.
So the first day was mostly driving in caravan style as we worked out way up to Lone Pine. Since Craig is also a geocacher, we caches along the way, mainly because we didn't have any set itinerary outside of making sure we ended up in Yosemite on Sunday, June 8th so he could get his permit to hike the trail, which would begin on the 9th.
We couldn't have asked for better weather, for camping and photography. There were just enough clouds that I was able to get some pretty spectacular shots. The shot of Mt. Whitney was taken from the road leading up to Whitney Portal. No threat of thunderstorms, just puffy clouds that helps enhance the shots I took that day and on subsequent days. The second shot was taken from an overlook just west of the Mammoth ski area looking over the Ansel Adams Wilderness. The jagged peaks in the middle of the shot are called the Minarets, which was the original name for the Wilderness back before Ansel Adams, the famous photographer passed away.
After dropping off his truck at Whitney Portal, we headed up to Mammoth. Sometime during the day, we'd made the decision to camp at Devils Postpone National Monument. By the time we got to Mammoth, it was close to 8 o'clock in the evening and starting to get dark. We got down to the Postpone and the campground was closed. I think it actually opened a couple of days later. We found out that many of the campgrounds were closed, or were opening up the weekend that we were there. Fortunately, Reds Meadow campground, just a couple more miles down the road, had just opened up the day we got there, so we had a place to stay that night. We pulled into the campground, pretty much in complete darkness, pitched the tent, ate dinner and then hit the sack. We had a big day planned for the next day.
To be continued.....
It's been awhile since I've written. Things have gotten in the way, so it's an easy excuse. Shakespeare club took a lot of my time and we're gearing up for all sorts of end of the year activities at school - yeah, our school year ends on May 29th, so we need to start preparing for those things now. Oy.
Even my photography has taken a back burner. I've been able to get out a couple of times, but not on a daily basis. I knew this would happen, but I didn't think there'd be an entire week where I wouldn't pick my camera up at all.
I've been on Spring Break now for 5 days and this is the first day where I can honestly say, I don't have anything to do right now, so I can either go out and take some shots, or write a short blog. Blog won out this time and I suspect that I'll be outside taking photos as soon as this gets posted.
And now that brings me to the reason why I took this photo. Have you ever had one of those days where your brain just doesn't process information very well? I've had quite a few of those days, but most recently last night. We had a power failure last night - my wife was not amused as she was in the middle of grading papers. The power failure caused my brain to think weirdly, which I'm sure most of you might have done something similar.
So here I am, sitting in the dark because my computer screen has just gone blank, and it's really dark in here. My initial thoughts are, "I need to get the candles out." So I get up and then my immediate reaction is to walk over to the light switch to turn the light on. Yeah, talk about an incongruent moment. I think some or our basic stuff we take for granted are so ingrained into our psyche, that we don't really think about them even when they aren't available to us.
I knew the lights weren't going to work, yet I went over to turn the lights on anyway. So, I got the candles, lit them up and my wife decided that she'd rather wash the dishes by candlelight as opposed to grading papers. I think the lights were out for a grand total of five minutes or so, so it really wasn't a major in convenience at all. We lost power for two days once due to a windstorm. That was inconvenient as well, but I'm sure there are other places that have a lot worse, so I'll not complain.
And so dear reader, if you choose to comment below, tell me a story where your brain went haywire like mine did last night. I'd love to hear your stories.
I've been out of commission for a couple of weeks mainly because the last two to three weeks of school are just incredibly busy that I don't have much time for anything else. This is only my 3rd post this month, by far and away, my lowest monthly total for this year. Now that vacation time is hear, I have more free time to explore other things and that also includes blogging more frequently than I have been this month.
As noted in the title, the photo blogging challenge for this week was night. I have several different shots, but some that are very similar as I did a lot of night time photography this month.
1. Jellyfish
A couple of weeks ago, I made a quick trip down to San Diego to go to Sea World. They had a deal for teachers that if you went to the park on a voucher they provided for you, you'd get in free, plus get a year pass good for the rest of the year. I couldn't pass that up.
Most of the jellyfish exhibits I've seen at aquariums are always in simulated night environments, probably because jellyfish are more deepwater creatures so they don't need or get a whole lot of light in the first place. If you ever get to one of these exhibits, you can get mesmerized by these floating disks of jelly very easily. It's a very peaceful and calming thing to view if you crowd out of your mind the stinging tentacles that most jellyfish tend to have.
2. Evolution
In the town where I live, we have a new shopping area completed just a couple of years ago, including a very nice movie theater. In the center of the square, opposite the theater's entrance is this nice fountain, complete with stair step waterfalls cascading down to different tiers in the fountain. At night there are lights under the water that illuminate it.
Included in the fountain are what look like salamanders, eels and fish, slowly evolving and coming out of the early "primordial sea" of Earth. Several of these creatures are also reading books. I chose to process this one in B&W. I liked the flowing water, but I wanted the attention to also focus on the salamander reading its book. With the light in orange and red, I think that would have drawn the viewer's eye away from the salamander and to the lights and the water.
3. Heavenly bodies
I had about 20 seconds to set this shot up. Our church fiesta was in full swing and I had been walking around taking shots of the various amusement rides at the fiesta, when I spotted the crescent moon just about to drop behind the trees.
I had the camera on the tripod already, so it was just a matter of setting it up, composing the shot and triggering the shutter. The ride was slowing down, so I had one chance to get the light trails before the moon disappeared behind the trees. As a bonus, I also got Jupiter shining brightly above the moon.
4. The movie theater
This is the marquee for our movie theater. To get to the theater, you have to walk under the marquee, between several restaurants and past the fountain I described above. I've taken shots similar to this before, but that was back when I didn't have as good a working knowledge of my camera like I feel I have now.
This shot was a matter of timing. I had to watch down the street and wait for cars to come by. Just leaving the shutter on washed the shot out very quickly as the lit marquee is surprisingly bright. Just a couple of seconds of open shutter was enough to get a good image on this shot. I would have preferred to have continuous streaks of both headlights and taillights, but traffic was light last night when I was taking those shots, so I had to take what was given to me.
5. The Statue
There's not a statue in this shot, but if you look in the lower right hand corner, you'll see a man in an orange shirt who is remarkably in focus. This photo is an 8 second exposure, which is why I call this shot the statue.
I've actually used this particular shot in another challenge set up by P.J. earlier this month, but I wanted to include it in this five shot set, because of this guy. During photography's infancy, it was common to have most people's photos taken when they were sitting down so it would be easier to control movement. Most exposures lasted 30 seconds or longer, so many of the chairs they sat in actually had neck braces to help the subject hold their heads still. A photo of a Civil War battle is incredibly rare although I know at least one does exist. Most of the Civil War photos were taken after the battles were done, mainly because dead bodies tend not to move.
I think the reason why this guy is actually so still is he wasn't aware I was taking his photo. He probably would have been self conscious had he known and swayed slightly, making him a blur much like the other guy standing in front of the ride. Looking over some of my other shots taken with this one, I'm still amazed at how many people really do stay fairly still over long exposures.
Once you're done, head on over to PJs place to see other bloggers interpretation of the night.
Lastly, I would like to apologize to the other bloggers who posted photos last month. I never was able to get around and look at your shots and I will make that up over the next couple of days. I look forward to seeing your interpretations of the night.
