Sea of Cortez

Mar

2022

Blue Hour Begins

Blue Hour Begins is an oldie but goodie that I photographed in the Sea of Cortez as we were cruising to Cabo San Lucas aboard our sailboat Raven.

The blue hour is a brief span of time, more like 20-30 minutes, that takes place twice a day, once before the sun rises and again after the sun sets. It is a time of deep saturated colors with intense blues, and it is a time valued by photographers for the richness of the light.

The sun was setting as our Raven approached Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. With no wind, we were using our motor to make progress. The sea was flattened and glassy, reflecting those rich colors after the sun sank below the waves.

The superyacht charter agency Yomira selected Blue Hour Begins as the iconic image for their website. I checked out their prices, but the rental fees that reach 1,000,000 euros/week are a bit out of my range! Still, I’m flattered that my image is in such stratospheric company!

I thought the unobstructed, expansive nature of the sky was a good choice for my first foray into multi-panel displays. The presentation is contemporary and impactful. But triptychs are a new format for me and I had to work through a learning curve to set up the 3-panel format and upload it to my website in a user-friendly format.

Jul

2016

Waterlily With Feather

We’re cruising at the moment, and a recent stop was in New York City where we visited the Whitney Museum of Art. On a rooftop balcony we came across a collection of water gardens in galvanized tubs. It was an overcast day, throwing even lighting over the flowers, and I was captivated into spending a half hour or so photographing the lilies from assorted angles. The maroon and green striped lily pads were the size of dinner plates, and I thought the small white feather and clover-like water plant added a touch of eccentricity.

Prints of Waterlily With Feather are available for purchase HERE.

Sony a7Rii, 1/320 sec at f/4.5, ISO 400, 56 mm (FE 24.0-70.0 f/2.8 GM lens). Handheld.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

Jul

2016

Sail Into Sunset

We purchased our sailboat RAVEN in 2004 in New Zealand, embarking on what has become more than a decade of exploring the oceans of the world. After cruising the South Pacific for several years, we brought the boat to North America and in 2008 we spent the year cruising Mexico, primarily the Sea of Cortez. This image, Sail Into Sunset, was captured as we crossed over from Mexico’s mainland to Cabo San Lucas on the tip of the Baja California peninsula. Fortunately we had a motor, as there was very little wind – either on that day or, for that matter, the majority of days that we spent cruising in Mexico. Rather than linger in one spot for days becalmed, we just cranked up the John Deere and continued on our way. This ultimately contributed to our decision to make the transition from a sailboat to a powerboat in 2010 – because we were probably motoring 90% of the time anyway! Perhaps the title should be modified to ‘Motorsail Into Sunset’, but that sort of takes away from the romance!

That said, my favorite conditions at sea are intrinsic to this image – the peaceful ambience of a smooth calm glassy sea reflecting the sky. Unobstructed views of the distant horizon, sunrise and sunset, blue skies and cloud formations, moon and stars, all viewed in fullscreen iMax glory. I would lie stretched out on the folded sails along the length of the boom and enjoy the soothing motion of the boat, while scouting out denizens of the sea lazing on the surface – turtles floating with a seabird perched atop their shells, flying fish skittering out of the way of our oncoming hull, a breaching whale, dolphins racing to play in our bow wave.

Prints of Sail Into Sunset are available for purchase HERE.

Nikon D3, 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, 14 mm (14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8 lens). Handheld.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.