Camera Rentals and Lens Rentals from BorrowLenses

I just put in an order to rent the Nikon D3S and the Nikon 14-24mm for an upcoming weekend from BorrowLenses! If you haven't tried renting cameras and lenses before, I highly recommend renting gear! I use BorrowLenses for all my rentals! Renting camera gear is a great way to try out a lens or body before you make a purchase. It also works great for special trips like summer vacations, weddings, parties, spring break or no occasion at all! If you do rent something from BorrowLenses, please use the link above as I do get credit!

Sutro Baths and Mouth of the Golden Gate San Francisco

"Sutro Baths and Mouth of the Golden Gate" We spent the weekend in San Francisco last weekend. Great brunch at the Cliff House just watching the clouds go by. Point Bonita lighthouse and the Marin headlands/Mt Tam off in the background. This is a 3 shot panorama image. You can see the full resolution image here: http://www.jharrisonphoto.com/Landscapes/San-Francisco-City-Scapes-and/2749016_BabVB#1200451942_Z6BTX

Which Camera?! Nikon or Cannon?

I had to share this for some Friday night humor! Ymmv (your mileage may vary!) Kudos to folks BorrowLenses.com for finding this one!! I rent camera bodies and lenses from them as often as possible! Let me know what you think!

Horsetail Falls Across the Merced at Sunset

Since this is the week when the sun is at the right angle to potentially illuminate Horsetail Falls like it is lit up with lava, I thought I would post this. This is "Horsetail Falls Across the Merced River" This is another vantage point for capturing Horsetail Falls off of El Captian from across the Merced River. Most folks use a long lens, but I like this setting. There are NOT many places to capture from this locale as it is packed with photographers and there aren't as many unobstructed spots along the bank of the river. I like this tranquil setting with the snow on the banks and the lush green trees off in the distant. The one red tree stands out on the bank. The bonus is the glow from Horsetail Falls off in the background! Ahh....just another fine day in Yosemite National Park! You can see more images of Horsetail Falls, including my award-winning image "Nature's Firefalls" over here on my website.

Seabright Beach Sunsets in Santa Cruz

The highlight of my weekend was spending a day with my family down at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz on a very warm winter day! It was in the high 60's with clear skies - the kids played in the surf. I captured a few shots right at sunset to end a beautiful day. Walton Lighthouse here glowing with a soft pink sky and the trees silhouetted against the huge sun with the Surfer's Museum nearby. You can see more Santa Cruz sunset pictures in this gallery here.

http://www.jharrisonphoto.com/Landscapes/Santa-Cruz-Sunset-Surfers/15054517_AwnVm



You can find Seabright beach, just off the main Beach in Santa Cruz here:
View Larger Map

Photo Tips for Shooting Fall Colors

A couple tips for shooting fall colors like my "Below Fern Springs in Fall" shot!

1. Take pictures of the leaves during or after the rain! When leaves are wet, you get a boost of color and saturation. It really brings out the colors nicely. Since it is raining today here in Silicon Valley, I am going to take my camera out!
2. Use a circular polarizer. This helps to reduce the glare and reflections on the wet leaves allowing you get a clearer image.
3. Cloudy day?! Perfect!! Take pictures when it is overcast or cloudy. Too often I see folks taking pictures in harsh midday light that creates shadows and contrast that your camera can't handle and isn't pleasing.
4. Look for a variety of colors and contrast. Oranges, Yellows and Reds in patterns with the brown stems or bark of the trees can work well.
5. Move the camera with a slow shutter speed. You can create some interesting effects while moving the camera while you are shooting with a 1/10 or 1/25th second shutter speed. Check out William Neill's images for beautiful inspiration of what you can create.

If you do take some pictures, feel free to share them here! Hope this helps and gets you to take a few more pictures.

Here are some images from last year shooting in the Eastern Sierra.

iPhoto '11 for Organizing Your Photos!

Want a great program for organizing and working on your photos? I suggest you try iPhoto! iPhoto '11 just came out (picked mine up yesterday!) Lots of gr8 features including organizing, easy emailing photos and printing. I use Aperture and Lightroom for my landscape photos, & iPhoto 4 pictures of the family - makes it MUCH easier! It is worth getting a Mac JUST for iPhoto and iMovie! The "faces' feature is great when I want to quickly find pictures of the kids and grandparents. The Books and Calendars are really nice and you can make your holiday gifts now! My kids love Garageband also! More on iLife from the Apple website here.

Spring Waterfalls in Marin County - Cataract Falls

"Cataract Falls in Spring" Marin County, California. This spring the waterfalls were AMAZING! Water was flowing everywhere! Can you hear it flowing?!! I made a trek up to Cataract Falls just north of the Golden Gate bridge. = It is just a couple mile hike (uphill!) along side these flowing falls with lush green moss everywhere! A perfect place for a weekend hike with the dogs and kids (I met lots of folks on the trail!) Highly recommended. You can get directions to find Cataract Falls here: http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/cataractfalls.html (the pictures aren't very good on this site, but you can find it -- it really is beautiful, especially when the falls are flowing!)

You can see the larger image on my website here:

Or my latest images always on my fan page here:

Garden Jawa does Yosemite!

These pics are TOO funny! Nothing like showing off this cute little guy in the perfect place. The Garden Jawa does Yosemite. This image is linked from the starwars.com website -- all Copyright, credits and attributes to Starwars.com.

http://www.starwars.com/shop/shopnews/gardenjawa_yosemite.html

Looks like you can pre-order these here!
http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/product.xml?topcatID=1300264;product_sku=SWLFLGGJW1

"Bridaveil Trickles" Bridalveil Falls Yosemite National Park

"Bridalveil Trickles" This is a close-up below Bridalveil Falls. This is part of my "Water, Light and Textures" series of images from Yosemite National Park. The full series can been seen on my website here: