WJMcIntosh (Mostly Offline Until March 5)'s photostream  

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I was very surprised a couple of weeks ago to discover that the Tabebuia trees in hub had already begun blossoming. We've had early Springs before, but I can't recall seeing these particular trees blossoming at the beginning of February before. The pink blossoms added even more magic to the beautiful evening that Mike, Diane and myself found as we exited the Plaza Inn as a storm was breaking up. Just behind me, as I took this shot, was a huge rainbow which stretched across the Eastern sky. And I should probably mention that the rain in Southern California almost always chases away all but the hardiest guests, leaving plenty of empty scenery in the parks. Mike has already posted some of his gorgeous shots from that evening and I hope to post quite a few more over the next few weeks.

I also need to apologize for not getting to all of your photos lately. I will definitely try to catch up in a couple of weeks. I'm off to Tucson for a competition tomorrow, and then the Reno for a convention the week after that, PLUS starting a new semester this Monday. So...my flickr time will be a bit limited.

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

(3 shot bracket, handheld using the Sigma 10-20)

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I just got back from my second attempt at the Horsetail Falls after narrowly missing the light for three days in a row last year. Much better luck this year as the sunlight stayed on the falls on both Friday and Sunday night. The only problem we ran into this year was that there has been very little snowfall this year in the Sierras, and there was only a trickle going on Friday night when this shot was taken, and NO water going by Sunday night.

This particular effect can be very elusive as the light only hits this particular section of El Capitan for the last two weeks of February every year. I was speaking to another photographer on Sunday who has been at this for 20 years, and he has yet to get a Horsetail shot that he is happy with.

I was pretty happy with what we were able to get on Friday night, but a bit disappointed in that the sun went behind some high clouds just as it was turning red, and this effect looks more like lava when the red light hits it. It seems that you really need perfect conditions to recreate the effect first photographed by Galen Rowell in 1973. You need a year where there is plenty of snow above and a day where it is melting fast. In addition, you need a cloudless Western sky, and you only have about a two week window to get that rosy sunset color on the water. We came close this year, but it would have been even more effective with a LOT more water and stronger light just before sunset. But there's always next year, right?

I stopped by the park this afternoon to meet with Mike up and Diane Greening who were in town for a tradeshow. As luck would have it, a storm was clearing when I arrived and we were both able to get some nice late afternoon shots before another big cell moved in sending us off to the Plaza Inn to get out of the rain. When we came out, we found ourselves looking at the most beautiful evening I think I've ever encountered at the park. The sun broken out just before sunset and a large rainbow had set up stretching across the entire Eastern side of the park. Both Mike and I began shooting like crazy, and by the time I we finally met again after all the sunset color was gone from the sky, I had put another 500 or so frames on my card.

I knew I had to get going, so I said goodbye and started on my way out of the park thinking I was done for the day. I think I made it as far as the Partner's Statue before I turned around and noticed the blue hour sky behind me. I started shooting again and eventually found myself in Fantasyland. As I was still trying to find things to shoot with the Western sky as a background, I suddenly thought of the Carousel, and fired off several shots. There are several reasons why I love shooting in the rain, but one of the top three is that the crowds almost always head for the exits, especially if it's cold. When it started pouring again, it seemed that almost everyone in the park was heading back home or to the hotel. Getting a clear shot of the carousel like this at 6:30 PM is virtually impossible on any given night. Thanks to the rain, the crowds were very thin at this point, and I was able to find plenty of empty cobblestones to set up my shot.

Single exposure, handheld with ISO at 4000, f 5.6, shutter at 13 as I was bracketing and took the slowest frame.

I believe I shot this a few weeks ago at one our Disney Photography Mafioso meets. I think I was probably setting up for this shot just before everyone ditched me to head off to ride Big Thunder. (The audacity!) This was my first time trying out the B&W 10 stop ND filter, and I was itching to try it out on in an area where i could pick up some reflections from water. I'll be headed up to Yosemite again this weekend, so I'm hoping to use it up there as well. I think this particular exposure clocked in at 30 seconds

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(Better when viewed larger on black by hitting the "L" key. :) )

Last Saturday, I knew there would be some clouds around with another 20 percent chance of showers, so I set off for Laguna and shot the coast for awhile just South of Ruby Street Park. After shooting for a half hour or so between showers, I headed further south to an area that I found just a couple weeks ago just North of Dana Point. I had been looking for a rocky area where I could experiment with long exposure brackets with my 10 stop ND filter and I finally found one just below the Ritz Carlton Hotel which I believe just went in a couple years ago. I took my life in my hands getting down to the water while trying to protect my camera and lenses, but finally found a suitable rock to set my tripod on while keeping an eye on the 6-9 foot waves that were coming in with the storm. The waves never quite made it to where I set up, but the water was lapping at my feet the whole time I was shooting. I've been doused before, so I'm always a bit wary now, lol.

I have really fallen in love with this area of the California Coast, and I hope to get a chance to shoot quite a bit more down there in the coming year. I'm also hoping to get a chance to go looking for whales around Dana Point as well as they should hang around until Mid March from what I understand.

3 shot bracket with the Sigma 10-20 and 10 Stop B & W ND filter. Longest exposure was 20 seconds at F14.)