Posts Tagged ‘travel’

Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

A quick photographic tribute to Christchurch Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand. The main spire collapsed in yesterday’s 6.3 earthquake.

Spire of Christchurch Cathedral in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

Spire of Christchurch Cathedral in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand

The Christchurch Cathedral dominates Cathedral Square in downtown Christchurch, New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

The Christchurch Cathedral dominates Cathedral Square in downtown Christchurch, New Zealand

Spire of Christchurch Cathedral lit by morning sun under storm clouds, Christchurch, New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

Spire of Christchurch Cathedral lit by morning sun under storm clouds, Christchurch, New Zealand

Inside Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

Inside Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand

Playing outdoor chess in Cathedral Square with Christchurch Cathedral in the background, Christchurch New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

Playing outdoor chess in Cathedral Square with Christchurch Cathedral in the background, Christchurch New Zealand

Woman climbing stairway of the spire of Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand (Martin D. Beebee/Martin Beebee Photography)

Woman climbing stairway of the spire of Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand

Ten Favorite Photos From 2010

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

As a way to wrap up the year, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite photos from 2010. Some of these will seem familiar (yes, more pictures of golden retrievers), and some not so much (wedding photos? Huh?).

This is Jasper, our golden retriever, running like a moron through a field of foxtails. Foxtails pose a real threat to dogs when they burrow into their eyes, ears, and nose, and if not caught in time can even result in death. Scary stuff. (As always, Jasper got a thorough going-over after this hike, and was happily foxtail-free.)

Dog running through foxtails

Dog (golden retriever) running through a field of foxtails in California. Foxtails can burrow into dogs through their nose, eyes, and even skin, and can be life-threatening.

Another potential danger for dogs on the trail is snakes. This is actually a gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), and is completely harmless. (To dogs, anyway — not so friendly if you’re a mouse.)

Dogs and snake on hiking trail

A woman restraining her dogs (golden retrievers) to keep them away from a (non-poisonous) gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), California

I started experimenting with underwater photography this year, and had a lot of fun photographing dogs underwater. This photo is from our local river (South Fork American River) which is quite cold. You learn to shoot quickly.

Dog swimming underwater

A dog (golden retriever) swimming, photographed from below.

But it wasn’t all dogs in 2010. I managed to get some landscape photography in, as well. I ended up spending a bunch of time in Half Moon Bay, CA this year for family reasons, and tried to balance it with trips to photograph Pescadero Marsh, Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pillar Point Harbor, and the redwoods in Purisima Creek Open Space.

Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve, California

Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve, California

Redwoods along Purisima Creek

Sun rising through redwoods along Purisima Creek, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, California

Pigeon Point Lighthouse and full moon

Full moon setting behind Pigeon Point Lighthouse, California

Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, California

Full moon rising over Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, California

Maple leaf in Purisima Creek

An autumn leaf of a bigleaf maple (Acer macrophylum) resting in Purisima Creek, Purisima Creek Open Space, near Half Moon Bay, CA

Lastly, I finally got serious about wedding photography. I’ve shot several weddings over the years for friends, but took it to the professional level this year with Sydnie and Scott’s wedding at the historic Bayley House in Cool, CA. It’s quite a different kind of photography for me, but I really do enjoy it and look forward to photographing more weddings in the future. Know anyone getting married?

Sydnie and Scott

Gorgeous Sydnie — she was a natural

Sydnie and Scott

Sydnie and Scott

Christmas, Half Moon Bay Style

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

During the holidays, people everywhere put up lights and decorations. Yet there are still regional differences that can make the displays unique. Take the habit of Arizonans dressing up their cacti.

The folks in Half Moon Bay, California, don’t have any cacti, but they do having fishing boats. And down at Pillar Point Harbor, there’s a tradition of stringing lights on the boats, making for a pretty festive scene.

Christmas lights on fishing boats

Christmas lights on fishing boat docked in Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, California.

This image doesn’t show the gaudy display of lights you sometimes find, and that’s actually one of the reasons I like it: Just a lone little boat with its Christmas lights.

I set the white balance manually here (5300K) to make sure the dominant color was cool to contrast with the warm holiday lights. Had I left the white balance on Auto, the camera would have tried to compensate for the blue hues, and made the overall image warmer. And while that may have been more accurate (probably in the 7500-8000K range), it wasn’t the look I was going for.

The real challenge was the length of the exposure. You see, boats tend to move around when they’re floating on the water. My exposure was 4 seconds, so I had to take several shots to get one that was reasonably sharp.

Final image specs

Nikon D300
Nikon 17-55 f/2.8
4 seconds at f/11

More Christmas lights

Photo gallery of more Christmas lights »

Featured Photo: Luminarias in Tubac Arizona

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

In the American Southwest, luminarias are a traditional form of Christmas lights, made by placing a candle in a paper bag weighted down with a little sand. (They now have electric versions, for those leery of putting a lit candle in a paper bag.)

You can find luminaria displays throughout the Southwest, and we found these during an annual Luminaria Nights event in Tubac, Arizona.

Luminarias in Tubac, Arizona

Luminarias and holiday lights line a walkway just before Christmas in Tubac, Arizona. Tubac is an historic arts and crafts village in southern Arizona.

After wandering about a bit, I found this mix of luminarias and regular Christmas lights outside a group of shops just after the sun had gone down. Dusk (or dawn) is the best time to shoot holiday lights because the sky is finally dark enough to balance against the foreground. The window is narrow, though, because you want to keep some detail in the sky itself (such as the clouds in this photo): shoot too early and the sky will be too bright; too late and it’ll be too dark. (I found this location just a little too late – I would have liked a little more light in the sky.)

The composition is relatively straightforward, with the line of luminarias forming diagonals that lead the eye into the picture. For the exposure, I stopped down to f/11 to make sure I had plenty of depth-of-field, which meant a 30 second exposure at ISO 200.

July Photo Gallery: Tucson, Arizona

Monday, July 5th, 2010

As the temperatures climb here in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, my mind naturally starts to wander back to when we lived for a time in Tucson, Arizona. Ah, at least it’s not the desert, right? Surprisingly, there are summer days when it’s actually hotter here than in Tucson. I’m not sure we expected that.

This gallery features photos mainly from the downtown area of Tucson, including the historic and picturesque Barrio Historico. Outdoor recreation opportunities abound, as well, including the well-known Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.

June Photo Gallery: Farmer’s Market

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

This month’s photo gallery features pictures from the farmer’s market in Prescott, Arizona. Many people think of Arizona as only desert, but Prescott sits at ~5400′ in elevation, and many of the surrounding areas are perfect for agriculture. The result? A great farmer’s market that runs every Saturday morning from May – October.

In the area? Get more info about the Precott Farmers Market »

Can’t see the slideshow above? View the full gallery »

Fall Colors in the Sierra Nevada

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Traffic jam of autumn "leaf peepers" in Hope Valley, Eastern Sierra Nevada, fall, Toiyabe National Forest, California

Ah, another quiet weekend of fall colors in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada. I photographed this line of traffic a couple years ago near Sorenson’s Resort, a popular spot for finding autumn colors near Hope Valley, about 45 min. southeast of South Lake Tahoe. Sometimes the most challenging part of photographing autumn color is finding a safe place to park.