sunrise

Jan

2017

Lighting the Path

January 2017

Here’s another favorite from last week’s exploration of Sabino Creek with the water flowing, mist rising in the chill morning air, and rays of light beaming through the naked branches of the sycamores. I have so many winter portraits of bare-branched trees that I call them my ‘Dead Tree Collection’. There is a rhythm and poetry to the silhouette of bare branches against the sky, uplifted and graceful almost like dancers.

I did pay the price however. I have succumbed to some version of winter crud so, as I cough, blow my nose, and guzzle medicine, I’m keeping this post mercifully brief.

SHOP THIS PRINT

Sony a7RII, 1/800 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 70mm (24.0-70.0mm lens)

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Enjoy but please respect.

Jan

2017

Sabino Creek Sunrise

A new year, and back to my photography after a hiatus during the holidays. We’ve been having some lovely rainstorms with snow falling in the mountains. The result is that Sabino Creek, usually dry, is running again. We’ve lost our shortcut across the river, but the enhanced scenery is worth it.

This morning I woke before dawn and saw that a low fog was blanketing the creek. I knew the combination of the coming sunrise and the lifting mist would offer a rare photographic opportunity. I spent a couple of hours at the water’s edge, and even midstream (soaking my shoes) in pursuit of some landscape photographs to add to my portfolio. There were several keepers in the lot, but this one might be the favorite.

SHOP THIS PRINT

Sony a7RII, 1/500 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, 25mm (24.0-70.0mm lens)

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the US Copyright Office. Enjoy but please respect.

Jul

2016

Contest Results!

For those of you who voted in my Favorite Photo contest, thanks for playing along! It was fun for me to watch the results of the polling and see which images rose to the top! The winner? It’s a tie! Sunrise Flight and Fringing Reef Wavelet were the winners. Close runners-up, only a vote or two behind, were The Bobcat, High Heels, and Sail Into Sunrise.

I won’t keep you in suspense any longer – the winner of the drawing for a free 12 x 18″ print is Mackenzie Sullivan. Mackenzie’s vote, maybe not so coincidentally, went to Sunrise Flight. Congratulations Mackenzie!

Sunrise Flight is an image captured as we sailed out of an anchorage early one morning in the Solomon Islands. A couple of summers ago it was displayed in an exhibition hosted by the San Diego Museum of Natural History, where it won an honorary prize. I actually use this photo as the wallpaper for my iPhone! It works just as well in both vertical or horizontal positions. It never fails to bring back memories of those tranquil but dramatic early mornings at sea.

Again, thanks to you all! And better luck next time!

Jun

2016

Sunrise Flight

Sunrise Flight is a composite image created from two photographs captured in the Solomon Islands. We left our anchorage at dawn one morning to get an early start for a long day’s passage. The rising sun lit the cumulus clouds building up on the horizon, giving them an internal glow. I was concentrating on capturing images of the dramatic sky when a booby joined us briefly, winging his way parallel to the boat, his eye reflecting the early light. Two captures taken just moments apart – the empty cloudscape and the sunlit bird in flight – were meant for each other, so I married them in one image that captures the essence of the moment as I experienced it.

The vast expanse of sea and sky and the perfectly positioned wings of the bird together create an image that expresses the unfettered freedom of flight.

Sunrise Flight has been exhibited from coast to coast, including the San Diego Museum of Natural History and, most recently, PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont, a contemporary photography venue. Prints of this award-winning image are available for purchase HERE

Nikon D4, 1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, 165 mm (70.0-200.00 mm f/2.8 lens)

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