Freedom

After changing the camera angle, I found this view looking directly down. Throughout this series, there will be many of these 90-degree camera angles (looking straight down). But, each one appears a little different and tells a different story. This story is one of a hidden view that many don't notice. A lot of the time on the road, especially when we need to get to a destination fast, we don't stop at all the scenic overlooks. We just focus on the road ahead. For this picture, I wanted to capture the overlook and all the excellence that is around it. Maybe we should pay more attention to those signs like we do speed limit signs, or should I say, some of us pay attention to speed limit signs. 

 

Backcountry Road

One day I decided to go on an adventure. Where? I'm not sure. We went down to Highway 145 and took a left. I think that's south? Or maybe west? Either way, we took the highway for a few miles and found this scenic overlook. And scenic it was. Deep into no-service country, I did my new favorite action and sent the drone up. This picture came from directly above me, about 1000 feet up. High enough that it captures the movement of the road, with the beauty of the mountains all around it. 

 

Mountains

After flying around for a little while, I was fascinated by the surrounding mountains. Luckily, the early morning clouds were replaced with lighter, more sporadic ones. Each day the clouds had something different to offer. Sunday was snow clouds, Monday was broken ones, Wednesday was more snow, and Thursday and Friday, well you'll see those later. But, they were similar to these, just more wispy and silky (very technical terms), and a whole lot more appealing. 

 

Resort Town

After snowboarding for the first half of the day, the snow clouds were replaced by the sun and clear skies. So, I sent the drone up yet again. Different cities have varying laws about where you can and cannot fly drones. In Dallas, the only rule is to stay out of airport airspace and stay below 394 feet. In Telluride, you cannot fly above private property (which is hard to determine when 400 feet in the air), and some private properties have very restrictive drone policies. But, staying above public property and out of the resort's boundaries (yes, I checked the flight path afterward), I was able to capture this picture of the lift lines on Chair 4 and the surrounding buildings. 

 

Pine Forest

After waiting as long as I could, I sent up the drone. The temperature was around 15F, but I wasn't too concerned about the battery or the drone's performance since it was warmed before take-off. While in the air, I looked around, then looked down, and saw these snow-covered pine trees. I wanted to position the drone such that the entire frame was full of trees, which wasn't very hard to do. Then, when editing, I debated putting the picture into black and white. I eventually settled with color because I like the hints of brown and blue that add another layer to the image. 

 

Snow Flakes

As the snow continued to fall, I knew that I couldn't fly the drone, but trust me some incredible drone shots are coming soon. On the ground, I took out my camera and found the closest pine tree. My goal was to capture the snow falling onto the already accumulated snow. To do this, I needed to have a high shutter speed so that the snowflakes would be frozen in the air. This was the best of many pictures, but I like the way it turned out. 

Also, if it is even possible, I have taken too many good pictures. 45, to be exact. And if I continued with my recent three pictures per week strategy, that would take fifteen weeks. Lucky you, I will be trying to post for forty-five consecutive days. So, sit back while this remarkable Colorado series floats on by. 

 

Blurred

After waking up a little too early the next day, I decided to take a stroll in the shin-deep powder. Even after sixteen inches fell, it was still snowing. After walking for a little while, I found this lamppost and street sign. I set up my camera and tripod and took a long-exposure picture of the snow falling. Even in the short two-ish minutes that it took to take this picture, I still managed to accumulate a large amount of snow on the lens. You can see this with the circles of light and fuzziness of the lights. But I think it adds to the picture. Nothing says snowstorm more than not being able to see fully.

Spring Storms

Welcome to Colorado! Starting with the fifteen-hour drive, I could tell the weather would be crazy. Tornadoes and incredibly dense fog in Amarillo, hail in Santa Rosa, winds that blew over an 18-wheeler in Tucumcari, and snow during the final two hours. I'm not sure how much more crazy the drive could have been. Then, to top everything off, when I woke up on our first day, there were sixteen inches of snow, and another five fell during the day. Now, I would never complain about too much snow, but there was a lot of it. 

 

From Above

For my last picture of this series, I ventured down to Teddy Bear Park. I sent the drone up the usual 394 feet (oddly specific, but that is the maximum flight altitude in Dallas and most cities) and as close to downtown as I could. Flying poses new risks, such as commercial planes in your area and takeoff and landing zones, but the rewards far outweigh them. For instance, I took this picture a few hundred feet from the border of Love Field's landing zone. Luckily, the camera quality on the drone is good enough that it didn't become too grainy when I cropped in. 

From the first sentence, you can tell that this is the last picture of the series. No, the next series does not feature a warm-up. If anything, it is only getting colder. Starting Monday, I will be posting from colorful Colorado! I am excited to take pictures in a new area and especially excited to send the drone up in the mountains. 

 

Road to Nowhere

Continuing on my bike ride, I came upon a long and straight street. The dark skies, few tire tracks, and dull colors made for a mystical-looking picture. Besides the tire tracks, it is as if humans had left the area. When editing the picture, I tried to capture this emotion by lowering the saturation and vibrance. Saturation and vibrance are how much color shows up. A high saturation means a lot of added color, while low saturation will make the picture look black and white. For many of my pictures, I add the slightest bit of saturation and vibrance to give them the extra pop, but not for this one. 

 

New Town

Being the smart young man that I am, I went on a bike ride! While on this bike ride, I sent the drone up from multiple locations. For this first one, I angled it straight down. There is something about the snow that makes an old landscape new. I have biked this route countless times, but this time was different. Never were the lawns and roofs and streets white. While editing, I wanted to mute the colors and give it an older feel. I lowered both the vibrance and saturation, added some red and blue, and lowered the green. Everything added together turned out almost brown, something that I think works with this picture. 

 

Untouched

One battery later, I sent the drone up again to examine the white substance. About 700 feet about a major road, I looked straight down onto a mostly landscape. I recently was introduced to Todd Hido. His work focuses on capturing man-made objects free of humans. For instance, many of his pictures feature nighttime shots of light pouring out a house's windows or a road leading through a desolate landscape. This picture reminded me of some of his as the scene is free of human existence (except for that one car). And, this was only the beginning of the snowpocalypse. It is only going to get so much better. 

 

Lights

I woke up the next morning bright and early at 6 am. I didn't set an alarm, but my mental clock told me it was time to explore. When I first looked out the window, I thought that the colors were inverted. The grass that was usually lighter in color than the concrete street was darker. For some reason, the snow didn't accumulate on the grass, only on the road. About thirty minutes before the sunrise, I sent the drone up. I flew it over to a nearby intersection and took the picture. A little grainy, but I really like the street lights on the white snow. 

 

Before the Storm

By changing the camera angle, I exposed all of the surroundings from yesterday's picture, the tall skyscrapers, green river, and cloudy skies. While the picture doesn't show it, the temperature was a crisp 27 degrees. You can't exactly see it, but the whiteness in front of the buildings is actually light snow falling. The snow that day was lake-effect snow, when hot water rises into the cold air, producing snow. Currently, this snow is light, but over the next few days, upwards of six inches fell around the city. 

Path to the Past

While high above Dallas, I noticed this railroad bridge and the Trinity River below. The picture looks like something from the backroads of Colorado or somewhere outside of a city. But, this picture is only a five-minute drive from downtown Dallas. While this railroad might appear from the distant past, during the hour while I was taking pictures, a train traveled past. And this wasn't the first time I was taking pictures here, and a train came by. It is something I rarely think of, but I am sure that this track, and others, supply the city with many of its items. 

 

Skyline

Welcome back to Dallas! I hope you brought your parka from Florida because it's about to get bitterly cold. I originally had some other pictures that I took in January ready to post but figured this series would be more timely. This first image comes from before the storms and 400 feet above Trinity Groves. The weather at the time of this picture was about 27 degrees, with light snow flurries and moderate wind. While using my car as a windbreaker, I moved my frozen fingers to angle the drone for this capture. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it was cold and snowy and windy. Regardless, I ended up with this wonderful picture of the Dallas skyline. 

 

Motion

Wow! Did I post on a Saturday again? Yes, I did! When I originally scheduled the posts in mid-January, I was still working on this image. After a little while of editing, I wanted to post it before the next series, but I also wanted to start that series on a Monday. So, I posted on a Saturday, lucky you! This picture is a combination of two images; one of the people walking on the beach at night and the other of stars. I took both pictures within thirty minutes of each other, but the settings were wildly different. For the people portion of the image, I used a shutter speed of ten seconds and an ISO of 640. For the star portion of the image, I used a shutter speed of twenty seconds and an ISO of 100. Both parts had an aperture of 2.8. Basically, these two portions would not form this picture on their own, and some editing needed to be done. After multiple attempts to merge the images, I ended up using the sky replacement tool in Photoshop and created this. 

 

Sunset Watching

For the last image of the adventure, I chose this one of a family watching the sunset. I felt there was something about a picture of people watching a sunset that made for the perfect last image. The adventure started with the sun rising just above the skyscrapers and ending with this sunset. The sun creating streaks in the sky and the silhouettes of the people, perfectly ending our Florida adventure.

Starting next week, I continue another adventure back in Texas as I have been testing and perfecting my drone skills and am excited to show them. 

 

Crashing Waves

This scene is one that I made, with no expectations of it turning out like this. I saw the seashell and thought about how interesting an image would be if the focus is sharp on the shell with a long shutter speed and blurred waves. I waited for a few rounds of water to flow over the sand and make it less manmade, then snapped the shutter. There is something so elegant about the simplicity of this. The crisp focus, soft colors, and smooth water, all work so well. 

 

Under the Sunset

As we enter the final week of Florida pictures, we close the adventure with three sunset pictures. This picture is of two swimming heads as they swam under the sunset. When you first looked at the image, you probably had no idea that those two black spots were heads. But, now that I mention it, the picture probably looks a lot better. Either way, the colors of the sunset are spectacular, ranging from blue to red, top to bottom, with clouds dotting the sky.

 

Beachside and Lakeside

As the sun began to set and I biked on over to the beach, I sent the drone up, as I now typically do. This first image comes from the Grayton Beach State Park, which does cost $5 per car and is not all that different than the public beach, but it's the experience that matters! Anyways, near the state park was the deposit of the lake water into the sea. I saw this on Google Maps as I was researching where the best beach might be, but didn't expect this much of a contrast. I am still not entirely sure why the lake is as dark as it is but creates an interesting scene with the light green seawater and brown lake water. 

Afternoon Float

Continuing the adventure on Western Lake, after I received the critically low battery warning and while the drone was forcing me to land, I took this one last picture of the lake. Some paddleboarders happened to go by, which resulted in this wonderful image. From this vantage point, you can imagine my position in the past few images. Monday's image came from the bridge in the background, Friday's image was from far to the left of this but of the same general area, and Wednesday's was from right above that dock. While the ocean was interesting, I think I took most of my pictures at the lake. 

Blue Skies and Calm Waters

Down on the lake, I found this fisherman enjoying the calm water and moderate temperatures. When taking the picture, I didn't think it was good. I looked at it on the little camera screen and was like, eh. But, when I was reviewing the pictures (almost a month later, oops), this stood out. I feel like I have seen a picture like this in a fishing magazine. I don't follow fishing, so I don't know fishing magazines or big brands but feel I have seen a similar picture back when I would read a magazine while waiting for a haircut. Who knows, maybe this will star on the next cover???

 

Nothing but Blue

As I flew the drone further and further away, it revealed the entire Western Lake. What makes me like the image so much is all of the white roofs and blue waters. On its own, the blue waters would be enough. They are bright and contrast well with the surrounding brush. Then you add the white rooftops, and each looks a little different and special. They pop against the blue waters and match the white sand beaches. Then, and my favorite part, there is a single red roof (from one of the gazebos I mentioned a few days ago). You don't really notice it at first, but once you do, you can't not look at it. 

 

Lakeside

Continuing in our hypothetical day, around midday, I flew the drone over Western Lake. On the lake, there are many wooden docks. There were about two more like this one and two others with a little gazebo at the end. Right as I took off and was looking for interesting objects to view from above, I looked down and saw the fascinating contrast between the green shrubbery and bright colored wood. I positioned the dock such that it was vertically centered, and both the coast and tip of the dock were in the frame, then took the picture. 

 Main Street

About thirty minutes later, I decided to fly the drone over the main street of Seaside, Highway 30a. I am glad I took the picture when I did, as the shadows of the palm trees and faint hues of the sunrise complement each other well. The centerpiece of the image is the bright sun but around it is the rich colors in the shadows. The two leading lines, one from the street and the other from the shoreline, both lead to the back of the image where the sun is. It all just flows so smoothly. For the one who carefully looks at the image, can you find the 4Runner? Just another reason to like the image so much more :)

 

Morning Adventures

As the day continues and the sun rises a little higher into the sky, I wanted to end the sunrise portion of this adventure with this. Even almost two months after taking it, I still remember my reaction when I first looked through the camera and saw the scene. I was so excited to have been able to take the picture. The seagulls were flocking around this person and their two children as they took a morning stroll. The focus was sharp, the exposure was proper, and the action of the seagulls with the people and sunrise created a wonderful picture. If I were to name a favorite of any of my sunrise pictures, this would be the one. 

 

Color

For this next picture, I wanted to capture the sand and the remnants left behind when someone walks in it. As I was waiting for the sun to rise, this person walked by. I waited for them to walk a little ways away, adjusted the focus to barely in front of the lens, then took the picture. I like how it ended up, the sand in crisp focus, the person with some resemblance of a human but not entirely, and the vibrant colors of the sun. The one thing that I dislike about the picture is all of the other marks in the sand. I wish that there was only one line leading to the person, but I can't complain as this still turned out exactly how I wanted. 

 

Peaking

As the sun continued to rise, a few more people decided to take a morning stroll. One of those people was this couple who happened to stop to take a picture a little ways ahead of me. I ended up taking a picture of them taking a picture, and it ended up like this. Everything looks so calm and still. Them in a silhouette, the sun just barely peeking above the clouds, and the waves crashing along the seashore. There was the smell of the sea in the air and a steady wind creating a little taller waves that day. 

 

Morning Walk

Back on the ground, I took this picture minutes into the new day. The sun was barely above the sea when this person walked by with a dog. I waited for them to walk a little further away from me, then took this picture. The orange sun lighting up the sky, the buildings of the town a few miles away from this beach, and the silhouette of the person and their dog as they took a morning walk along the beach, all combining into this picture. 

 

Rise

As I continue through the rest of my adventure, I want to structure the pictures as if a day will pass by, starting with, of course, a sunrise. Once again, from the drone, this picture comes from high above the sea. There were two directions to take the picture, one facing directly into the sun, and possibly overexposing it, and one facing away from the sun. I chose to face the sun because I felt I could manage the bright sun by decreasing the exposure. The raw picture ended up really dark, but with the power of Photoshop, I was able to brighten the city while keeping the sky a nice soft orange. 

 

Town Square

Welcome back to Florida! As we pick up this adventure again, I wanted to start with a picture from the center of Seaside. I flew the drone about 500 feet above the town, then took this picture. I like how simple everything looks. The green space is in the center, which is surrounded by a row of palm trees, which is surrounded by a row of buildings. Surrounding the buildings are homes, then in front of the buildings and green space is the highway, which cuts almost directly through the middle of the picture. Above that are more homes, the beach, then the water, which happened to be a dark green that day because of the wind. From up above, everything looks so peaceful and structured. 

 

Reflection

As the sun continued to set, the clouds became more and more interesting. In the color version, you can see bright yellows and some oranges. Although the black and white version doesn't show that, you can still see the sunlight pouring through the clouds in the middle left side of the picture. I wanted to turn the picture black and white to really illustrate the silhouettes. I positioned myself between the sun and my brother and sister and captured them as they were running from the waves. I also was lucky enough to take the picture when they were in the highlight of the clouds, which made their silhouettes sound out even more. 

 

Sunset Walks

After landing the drone, I took some sunset pictures with my main camera. This first picture is one that I took as I was walking along the beach. There were also some other people walking, and I wanted to capture them and the surrounding environment. I took a few steps closer to the water, partly getting my feet wet, and moved my camera closer to the surface of the water, then took the picture. The people are barely out of a silhouette, the sky is colorful, and the waves create a soft blue tone to the image. 

 

Floating

As I flew my drone over the water, I noticed some manta rays swimming. At first, it was just one, then another, a third, then this large squadron (yes, a group of manta rays is called a squadron, I Googled it). I happened to be at the right place and the right time because as I flew my drone over the group, some paddle boarders were right over them. I changed the camera angle such that it faced directly downward and snapped the picture. The dark spots of the rays below the light green water, below the bright colors of the paddleboards.

 

Top Down

I am back! After taking a break from taking pictures and posting, I am excited to showcase some new ones I recently took during an adventure to Florida. As you may notice, this picture is looking straight down onto a beach. No, I did not take this from the roof of a hotel. Instead, I have added a new weapon to my arsenal, a drone. This is my first series of images with the drone, and I can undoubtedly say that I am very impressed. I ended up purchasing the DJI Mavic Air 2. It was between that and the Mini 2, but I chose the Air 2 for its higher picture quality and better safety features. Whether you care about that or not, it will allow me to (literally) reach new heights, and I have many drone pictures ready to post. 

This first image comes from a beach near Watercolor. I noticed the row of umbrellas and chairs and wanted to capture that line and the lines of the beach in a way not seen by many people. So, I flew the drone up to about 400 feet and snapped the picture. The dark blue umbrellas contrast with the light-colored sand, which contrasts with the teal water, and from this angle, it creates a unique and fascinating image

 Waterwalking

A few days later, I went on a bike ride around town. As I biked around, I came to this lake. A lake we call Teddy Bear Lake because there are three large, marble teddy bears on the opposite side of the lake. But, I did not focus on those bears. Instead, I found this bird walking on the lily pads. When I first arrived, I didn't even notice it, it blended in very well. Then, as it started moving, I saw it. I took a few pictures of it, then continued with my bike ride. 

 

Lightning

After returning from Colorado, I was sitting at my desk, looking out the window, and I saw this storm rolling in. The storm didn't contain much rain, but it did feature a lot of lightning. I was trying to focus on my homework, probably some math, but kept getting distracted by the lightning. I took my camera and set it up on the tripod. I pushed the lens as close to the glass as I could, to try to minimize the glare, and started taking pictures. The last time I tried taking pictures of lightning, I pressed the trigger or shot a video and hoped to capture it. This time was different. I used the long-exposure technique to keep the shutter open for multiple seconds. This would mean that the lightning could strike anytime between those seconds, and I would capture it. After taking a few blank pictures, I finally got what I wanted. A crisp picture of the lightning lighting up the sky, surrounded by clouds and trees. 

 

Into the Mountains

This is the final image of the Colorado series. I saved this picture to be the lost one posted because I think it is my best picture. You have the road leading you to the back of the picture, the car, breaking up the symmetry of the landscape, and Star and Taylor Peaks in the background. I took this picture right before I took the Ashcroft picture. We had passed Ashcroft and were continuing on the road when I turned around and snapped this picture. I didn't really think much of it when I was taking it, but it's those unexpected pictures that are always the best. 

Reflections

I think this is my favorite sunset picture out of all the others. Before the sunset, I had done some searching on Google Maps and found this lake near the place where we were staying. I biked over there and set up my camera. I placed it very low to the water to capture the full reflection of the tree on the lake and took some pictures. Then when editing, I recalled something I had learned in one of my school's photography classes, flipping a picture horizontally and placing the two mirrored pictures next to each other. So, this means that what I saw when taking the picture is only half of what you see now. I mirrored it because I like how it looks paired with the reflection of the lake. You have the reflection of the trees on the lake, and the reflection of the trees on either side of the image. 

 

Rolling Sunset

Next, I wanted to post three of my favorite sunset pictures. This first one comes from the top of Cozy Point Hill. During one evening, I wondered what it would be like if I took pictures of a sunset from the top of the hill. And boy, I was not disappointed. About thirty minutes before the sunset, some rain began to fall from the clouds. This along with the streaks from the sun created a magnificent picture of the mountains. 

 

Maroon Peak

As we start to conclude the Colorado series, I wanted to post some pictures that I wasn't able to edit in time. This first picture is of Maroon Peak. After taking pictures of the sunrise and visiting Crater Lake, I ventured off on the Scenic Trail Loop. I ended up on the other side of Maroon Lake (the west side) and facing Maroon Peak and a stream that flows from it. While I was taking this long-exposure picture, two deer ran in front of me and the camera. Unfortunately, they were too fast to be captured in this picture, but it was an incredible experience to have two deer run right next to you then cross this stream in front of a huge mountain. 

 

Fishing

A few days after hiking up Aspen Mountain, I went biking on the Rio Grande Trail. The Rio Grande Trail is relatively flat (or, flat for Colorado standards) as it traverses next to the Roaring Fork River. As I was biking along the trail, I noticed a man fishing. This was one of the first times that I have taken pictures of someone fishing. I wanted to achieve two things, to capture the line frozen in the air and the movement of the water. While it was hard to edit and combine the two pictures, I think it turned out very good. You can clearly see the line against the dark background of the trees and you can also see the streaks of the foam in the water. 

 

Looking Back

As I began my descent down the mountain, I found these two people looking back at what they had just climbed up. This is one of those pictures where it seems planned and directed, but it's not. I was walking down the mountain and happened to look up at them. They were both looking at the scenery around them, probably to give them the motivation to keep climbing. 

 

Movement

This next picture comes from the main viewing area at the top of Aspen Mountain. I intended to create a timelapse of the action that was occurring. To achieve this, I took multiple long-exposure pictures, then combined them while editing. The focus is on the mountains in the background, which is good because that is the most important object in the frame. Next, you can see the people moving. It's almost as if they are ghosts just floating around. Finally, there are the moving clouds on top. They look long and streaky, almost like cotton candy, except gray. 

Outlook

Once at the top of the mountain, there were some amazing views. The day I hiked there were lots of clouds and even a chance for rain. But, I used these to my advantage as I took some long-exposure pictures of the moving clouds. 

To create this picture, I combined a bunch of long-exposure pictures of the clouds with a regular picture of these two people sitting in the chairs. For each of the long-exposure pictures, I erased the area where the people were sitting, and just kept the clouds. I wanted to keep the focus of the image on the mountains. When I was taking the picture, I thought about where the focus should be and chose the mountains because that is the main idea for the image and what you will look at longer. 

 

Up Above

On the Aspen-Snowmass website, one of the hiking trails they suggest is the Ute Trail. Now, I didn't really realize that when they say the difficulty is hard, they actually mean it is hard. The first mile and a half of the trail was brutal. The trail goes up many switchbacks as it crisscrosses up the mountainside. Luckily, there is a great view of downtown Aspen at the halfway mark, which kept me motivated. 

I took this picture about a quarter mile up the from the rock, as I was looking back on some hikers behind me and Aspen behind them. I like the picture because of the leading lines and colors. There are lines from the trail and trees, both of which point to the mountains behind the hikers. I also like the colors of the landscape. Of course, there are lots of greens from the grass and trees, but there are also some browns, blues, and even a few yellows from the wildflowers. 

 

Slowing Down

This next picture comes from Hunter Creek Trail. The trail itself is relatively easy as it follows Hunter Creek up and into Red Mountain. This spot came after about an hour and a half hike. We were just about to turn around, but I wanted to take a few pictures on a bridge over the river. My dad wandered off to the other side of the bridge to see what was there, which is where I took this picture. So moral of the story, always wander off! 

The other side of the river had a little ghost town with some trails running through it. I saw these people hiking through and wanted to capture the moment. With the ghost house on the right side of the frame, hikers in the middle, and the mountain range and clouds in the background, the picture came together beautifully. 

 

Down the Mountain

After a grueling hour and a half hike, we made it to the top. We were met with familiar views, as this is the same spot where we have skied before. But still, the view was just as incredible as when I saw it the first time. 

We had hiked the trail towards the end of the day (about 5), which meant that the shadows were long and lighting was not as harsh. As we were walking down the service road, just a few hundred feet from the top of the trail, I saw my dad walking in the shadows. I thought it would look interesting if he was walking and the background was the mountain peaks. Luckily, I captured him while he was in the sunlight, which allows him to be seen more easily. And in the background are the chairlifts, clouds, and mountain peaks. The whole picture comes together as the perfect scene from the top of a mountain hike. 

 

Aspens

This next adventure comes from the newly redesigned Vista Trail on Snowmass Mountain. Earlier that day, both my dad and I saw that this trail had been redesigned and was open for the first time that day. We did some research and found it was about 1.9 miles long and had an elevation gain of about 1,300 feet. That ended up being an underestimate, and the trail was actually 2.4 miles long. It doesn't sound like that much, but that extra half mile was brutal. Unlike Ditch Trail or Cozy Point Hill, Vista is a trail mostly surrounded by trees. I wanted to showcase this by waiting for my dad to walk a little ways ahead of me, then taking a picture showing just how tall these trees are.