"Marin Lupines California Poppies and Grasses above the Golden Gate Bridge" San Francisco, California.

"Marin Lupines California Poppies and Grasses above the Golden Gate Bridge" San Francisco, California. I just printed a 30" x 40" of this for a collector and thought I would share. The Marin Headlands are one of my favorite spots to shoot! So many spots you can't go wrong if the lighting is right. Just a little past sunset waiting for the full moon to pop-up I captured the wildflowers with the wide-angle lens up close.

Highway 1 near Big Sur, Bixby Bridge, Carmel is closed due to landslide

Highway 1 near the Bixby Bridge and Big Sur is closed in both directions after a 40 foot section of road collapsed. So much for my quick trip down to Big Sur! There are some long detours and fixes are coming. Caltrans says it should take at least a month to fix it. More info here. http://www.ksbw.com/news/27221999/detail.html

Shooting Things That Move with Scott Bourne

I had the pleasure of shooting with pro photographer Scott Bourne today while he was in the area after MacWorld! Scott is the main person behind "This Week in Photography" (TWIP) that is leading the Aperture Nature Photography Workshop contest that I won and will soon be shooting with in Yosemite!

it was just a quick outing to the Palo Alto Baylands, but that is quite the bird mecca! Scott commented that he would shoot here every day of the year if he lived here. It is quite nice to have soo many species around.

For those of you who know me, my photography is primarily landscape photography and some kids/family portraits - I generally dont' shoot things that move! Scott gave me some great tips on lighting and composition that really helped point me in the right direction (which is 180 degrees opposite to what I normally do for landscape photography!). Totally front lit and a few side lit portraits of the Coots, Mallard ducks and a few other species whose names I will remember or learn soon! The learning is what I love about being outdoors to shoot! I also learned a great new tip to get my Nikon D300 to shoot 8fps instead of the normal 6fps (frames per second!) not using an external battery grip.

Look for more images of things that move in the future! If you want to check out the other images from this day at the Palo Alto Baylands (where the Palo Alto Camera Club meets) than click on this link.

Time to keep getting ready to go to Yosemite!

Enjoy!
John

Solo Photography Exhibit at the S Gallery on University Avenue in Palo Alto

One of my latest photography exhibits is a small solo exhibit at the "S Gallery" on University Avenue in Downtown Palo Alto. Ok, so this is actually the Starbucks on University Avenue (corner of Bryant), but it is darn nice real estate and I have 6 large photographs hanging! Drop in a get your favorite coffee drink and see a few of my latest. I took my wife, Mary, by there for our date night last week and showed her the display

Enjoy!
John

Back from Redwood National Park - Prairie Creek

I just got back from Redwood National Park. My first time up there. I saw REDWOODS (surprise!), waterfalls, and then this big elk walking around. There are LOTS of elk up there! I think 3 weeks up there would be just right! Next time.

Got Grass?!

Enjoy, John