Blocked by Nature

This tree has probably been at the beach for hundreds of years. It is hard to see because of the silhouette, but it is very smooth, and the top half was not on the tree. The smoothness came from the wind-driven sand that had hit the tree and smoothed it. I am guessing that is also where the top half was ripped off. There was a strong gust and the top of the tree flew away.

Hill After Hill

From Santa Barbara, we took Highway 1 up to Monterey. The highway was beautiful with the ocean on one side and hills covered in green plants on the other. This picture came from up high on one of the hills. The highway has a single lane with many sharp turns. Signs were warning long vehicles to not go up the highway, but two semi's decided to go up. They were too wide, so they blocked traffic, creating a standstill. During this, I walked outside our car and took this picture.

Fishing

This bird is a long-billed Curlew. I spotted it while we were driving up to San Fransisco. It's built for standing in shallow water and using its long bill to catch food. Its head looks a little small for its body. You see the long bill and legs then look at the head, and it looks tiny.

Bands of Waves

Many waves have accompanying waves behind them. I have found that many waves come in groups of three. Two small one followed by a bigger one, then another group of three in the same two small one big, but the second group is bigger. Basically, every sixth wave is the biggest. I took the picture in a way that I was able to capture all seven of the waves in a single picture followed by the open ocean.

Sand Dollars

On the third beach, I found around ten sand dollars. Using my macro lens, I moved as close to the dollar as I could. I wanted to capture the design on the dollar and the individual grains of sand. All of the dollars I found had this five-pointed star shape on it. I don't know why it is like that, but it is very interesting and cool.

Bright Colors

The flowers in California are unlike any I have seen before. Every place I visit has different types of flowers that I have never seen before, but these are different. All of the flowers are brightly colored and really stand out against the green, grass background. I have never seen a flower that looks like an egg or a flower, like this that has bright purple as one of its colors.

Night Time Lights

Underneath the same amazing sunset, I looked back at the water and took pictures of a pier. There are a few things in this picture that I really like. The first is the lights on the pier, specifically the string of lights I find very simple. The second is the little pool of water in front of the ocean. The third and final is the hint of sunset. There is enough for a sunset picture, but its very faint.

Orange to Blue

I turned my camera around and toward the palm trees. I used the same aperture and shutter speed technique. I made the sunset darker than it actually was and the night less blue. I added a California touch by including the palm trees in the picture. It gave the picture more objects for your eye to look at and I like it because it's hard for me to find palm trees in Texas.

Beach-Side Sunset

Using the same technique (a large aperture), I was able to capture the sunset in a very dark and rich way. I wanted to make the sunset seem as dark and colorful as possible. I made the colors as dark as possible, which also made the hills darker. On the hills are many palm trees which are casted into a silhouette by the large aperture and high shutter speed.

Sunset Silhouette 

Many times during this trip, the sun was so bright (probably because the water reflected the sun) that I had to increase the aperture to compensate. This was one of those times. When I did this, the picture becomes a different color. The yellow sun turns more lighter-yellow and the silhouetted object turns darker.

Sunset Fog

For most of the two days when we were in Monterey, there was fog covering the sky. Until the sunset on the second day, I didn't see the blue sky. The opening of the clouds allowed for a perfect sunset. There was still some fog in the mountains (which is what is pictured here). The sun reflected back onto the clouds creating a very nice sunset.

Water Stripes

On the beach were teepees made of three sticks standing up. This specific teepee had a rock on one of the sticks. I focussed on the rock and the stripes on it. I believe that these stripes came from the years the rock was laying in the sand and water. When the sand-water flowed around the rock, it created these stripes. In addition to the stripes on the rock, the waves created subtle stripes in the background.

Natural Stream

Taking a few steps away from the ocean, I found this natural stream flowing into the ocean. It was a pond that continued into a small stream. The stream was on the sand, making it very soft and wet. In addition to the sand, many sticks, and rocks lay scattered in the stream. I enjoyed the movement of water around the sticks and rocks. Even though you can't see the water moving, it feels very soothing just looking at it.

Sidewaves

After capturing the waves from the front, I decided I wanted to capture the waves from the side. A perfect picture would be if I set my camera inside a folding wave, but my camera isn't waterproof so I couldn't do that. Instead, I stood tall (making sure to keep my camera dry) and captured the cresting of waves on the side, something many people don't notice.

Wind-Driven Waves

It was constantly windy on the coast, causing the waves to fold back over themselves. In that process, there is a moment when some water is directly over the wave. I wish I could have taken a long exposure picture of this occurring, but there was no object that could be in focus while the wave was out of focus. If I had that rock from before positioned near where the wave crested, it would be a perfect picture.

Palm Tree

This picture is another simple one of a palm tree. There were hundreds of palm trees along the coast, but I wanted to find the perfect one. It had to be a circular at the top and ice cream cone like towards the bottom. It also had to have long strands of palm leaves poking out of the tree.

Mini Blues

For these flowers, I did change the lens to my macro lens. I had the aperture very low (a bigger hole for light to enter) to make the focus be very sharp then become very out of focus very quickly. I like the speckled spots of blue on the flower because it adds good changes of color on the picture.

Split Flower

The next flower I saw was this flower that was split half and half. Half was dead flowers and the other was blue flowers on a green stem. To take the picture, I used my wide angle lens but zoomed in. I didn't have time to switch the lens (into my macro lens) then take the picture, so I got as close I could to the flower without the macro lens.

Egg Flower

I went on a walk around the property and found this sunny-side egg looking plant. This flower is actually incredibly interesting. There are straw-like pieces in the center then flaky white petals on the outside. I took the picture from the side to showcase the yellow center and white sides.

Smooth Skies

I looked up above the rock and found this seagull flying above me. I do like the simpleness of the picture, a white seagull on a grey background. The background is solid grey which allows for the seagull to be the main focus. The seagull happened to be flying toward me making the picture even better. The wings were outstretched and you can almost see the individual feathers.

Fast Motion 

I liked the pier with the lights, but I felt the picture needed something more. I walked to my right on the beach (North) until I found a rock in the water. Using the same remote exposure, low shutter speed, and high aperture I focused on the rock and had the waves crash around it. By the time I took this picture, the sun had just risen. This made taking long exposure pictures harder but not impossible. I wish a wave crashed over the rock so I could capture it, but I do like the movement of the waves around the rock.

Breakfast Walk

I was not the only thing on the beach before sunrise. I was accompanied by this seagull and a few of its friends. I timed the picture so that the waves were just about to end. I wanted to show the water in the picture, but I didn't want to have a wave. The bird was on the shore looking for food, so I decided to wait for the wave to go onto the beach, then I took the picture.

Morning Timelapse

The first morning I arrived in California I woke up early because my body was still on central time. I went to the beach and set up my camera on a tripod. I also used my remote exposure button to capture these long exposure pictures. I had to close the aperture to allow for a longer exposure/shutter speed. I noticed the pier and decided that I wanted it to be the background for the crashing waves.

Seabirds

This is the normal seagull many people think about when they hear the word, 'seagull.' For this picture, I used my telephoto lens again and tried to position myself as close as possible. I don't know what is the red thing on the seagulls' beak. All of the seagulls that I took pictures of had this red mark. I also tried to position myself so that the background was blue from the ocean.

Low Flying

This bird was another one of the many that were on the shore. I believe that it is a type of crane or a bird similar to a crane. I was taking pictures of the waves (like the one I posted yesterday) when this bird flew in front of me. It was hard to take pictures of because it was flying so fast, but I was able to capture this before it flew away.

Crashing Waves

The waves in Santa Barbara were not the biggest waves, but to me, they were big enough. Each was about 5-7 feet tall and crashed close enough to the shore that I could take a good picture of it. For the majority of my wave pictures, I used the 300mm focal length on my telephoto lens to get the closest to the wave that I could. I also used a fast shutter speed to capture the water droplets as the wave crashed.

Speckled Feathers

My next series of pictures comes from northern California is the towns of Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. I took thousands of pictures, but what I mostly focussed on was the beaches. I was fascinated with the birds, water, and how things look with the water in the picture. I liked this bird because it has different colors than normal seagulls. Most seagulls are white but this bird was grey with hints of white and black. It probably is a different species of bird but it still looks interesting.

Floods

On the ranch, the floods were not as bad, but there still was some flooding evident. For instance, this tiny stream turned into a little lake and a creek. After looking back at this picture, I wish that I took less of the sky and positioned the camera lower to ground. I feel there is too much sky and not enough river and nature.

Fresh Air

To me, this picture is the one that reminds me of the fresh air only found in pine tree forests. There are pine trees, water, green grass, and bright blue skies. This picture is slightly different than the one I took earlier because of the clarity of the water. This water was less clear, causing the mirror to not be perfect. There is an outline of the trees and shore, but there is not defined objects on the water.

Mountain View

Near the front porch of the cabin was a dead tree with a background of the mountain. I focussed on the tree because I like the design the tree makes. In addition, I decreased the aperature (I set it to 1/5) to allow for the mountain and tree to be in the picture. I also like the difference in color between the brown sticks, green trees, blue sky, and white snow. They all combine to make a picture that I find very interesting.

Eagles

On the morning of the fourth day, we took a 1.5-hour drive of the property. On the drive, I saw at least six different animals including bison, elk, deer, prairie dog, coyote, and this eagle. I took this picture with my wide-angle lens but zoomed in. I wasn't able to take the picture very close to the eagle because I didn't have time to switch to the telephoto lens, but I worked with what I could.

Sunrise over Chama

On the last day, I woke up early and captured the sunrise for the last time. There was a slight haze in the air, causing the sun to create stripes over and into the mountains. I don't know why there is a haze, and after asking our fishing guide, he too didn't know why. He said he thought there were no fires, but maybe there was.

Sunrise Stop

The hummingbirds were a little different than the elk, in the sense that they came more often and not only during the sunrise and sunset. The majority still came during the sunrise and sunset, but some didn't, making them easier to photograph. Like my other hummingbird picture, I was standing on a chair to get a better angle. This time, I positioned the camera, so the background was a tree with the yellow-orange sunset in the background.

Morning Walk

I found these elk before breakfast on the third day. Elk and most wild animals are mostly seen during sunrise and sunset. The animals sleep during the night and hide from the heat during the day under trees and bushes. The elk is very sensitive to sounds and movements from objects that are non-elk. I stepped outside the door, and immediately all of the elk stared at me. I tried to creep closer to them, but the noise scared them away, leaving me with only a few, far-away pictures. 

Feathers

For this picture, I took my 300mm lens and stood up on a chair for a better angle. The feeder was about 8 feet above the porch, but I wanted to be level with it. To compensate, I stood on a chair and had to balance myself since it was a rocking chair. I increased my ISO slightly to allow for a faster shutter speed so I could stop the motion of the wings (shutter speed 1/3200). After combining all these different factors, I was able to capture this picture.

Overflowed

On the third day, we drove about an hour west to the San Juan River. There was a concern that the river would be too fast to fish. Just by looking at this picture, you can tell the river is flooding. I haven't seen it at a normal state, but supposedly this stage was 5-10 feet above the average height. Rivers are measured in CFS (cubic feet per second). The normal river speed is 500 CFS when we fished it was at 5000 CFS. This is the highest the river is to be fished at.

Bison

As we ventured into the back roads on the ranch, we stumbled by this bison. We had just taken a right turn, and I stepped out to take pictures of a lake with the sun reflecting and scenery. I looked to the far left, (slightly blinded by the sun) and I saw this huge animal. I didn't know what it was at the time, but after researching a little, I learned this is a bison. The ranch has around 30 bison on the property, but mostly in huge pens. I could only get about 300 yards away, but with the 300mm lens, the bison looks relatively close.

Road to Nature

The place we stayed at had miles of dirt roads in the back that you could take to visit the property. I thought that it would be interesting to show one of the roads going to the mountains and disappearing. This road was one of the three main roads on the property. The conditions of the roads were not the best but even after driving for an hour and a half at around 20 mph we barely made it halfway around the ranch.

Conejos River Valley

In the afternoon of the first fishing day, we traveled to the Conejos River in southern Colorado. To get to the river we had to go over a mountain pass. I took this picture from the top of the pass in an opening of trees. I have never seen a picture like this that I like so much. There are the streaks of sunlight going between the mountains, different shades of green colored trees, and a river snaking through the middle. If I could change one thing, it would be the lens flare in the top left, but everything else is perfect about this picture.

Mirror on the Water

Down a dirt road was this mirror-like lake. Overnight there was very little wind and none until noon. It is not often that I am able to take pictures of lakes that reflect their surroundings. There are many reasons why I like this picture including the mirror-like lake, green surroundings, and blue sky. It is like a perfect combination of those three creating a perfect picture.

Sunrise Silhouette

My last picture for the June 7th sunrise was this silhouette of the mountains. I took the picture minutes before the sun would be above the mountains. I like how there is a clear focus on the mountains. There is so much focus that you can see the towers on the mountains from a very far distance. In the middle left of the sun, you can see the towers just barely.

Stretching Wings

The sunrise also brought hummingbirds to the three feeders on the front deck. Many of the hummingbirds stretched their wings between drinks on the feeder, which is what is happening for this picture. I positioned myself on a chair to arrange a better vantage point. I wanted to capture the hummingbird, sunrise, and mountains in the same picture. I believe I was successful except that the mountains aren't too in focus.

Mountain Sunrise

I woke up on the second day with my body still on central time. I rose before the sunrise and stayed awake to capture the entire sunrise. The last time I was taking sunrise pictures in the mountains there really was no sunrise because the mountains blocked the sun from the clouds. These mountains weren't as tall but the views were still amazing. There were a few clouds and even less were highlighted by the sun. I also wanted to include the building because the windows were reflecting the sun.

Super Bloom

The snowpack during the 2018-2019 winter in New Mexico and Colorado was around 650% above average. On June 7th, I went to the top of an 11,000 feet pass where there were feet of snow in some spots. All of the snow is melting and causing the rivers to be full of water. Some of the rivers are overflowing their banks making the surrounding areas very wet and creating a super bloom.

Searching

Welcome to Chama, New Mexico. For four days, I visited northern New Mexico and southern Colorado where I took over 4,000 pictures and caught 4 rainbow trout. The first thing I noticed when I stepped outside was the clean, fresh air. The air smelled like pine trees and didn't have any of the city smog. The next thing I noticed was this bird on a dead tree with interesting clouds behind it. I like how the bird is on the tree because it shows that life can be found on anything living or dead.

Raleigh

Lastly, on the North Carolina trip, I went to the capital Raleigh. I found this statue at the capitol building. I set it so that the statue was in front of the main road and in front of the dark gray clouds. The next pictures are going to be from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado where I went fly fishing. In addition to catching four fish, I also captured thousands of pictures of animals and the nature around the area.

Purple and White

Along with the other flowers, this flower is something that I have never seen in Texas before. The colors are very bright and pop out against the green background. The flowers are solid white with a few small spots of yellow, but the middle stems are purple.

Duke Chapel 

The next spot we went to was the Duke campus and Duke Chapel. It was built in 1935 and is 210 feet tall. Inside is a stained glass wall that reflects very colorful light. I did like the chapel by itself, but I thought it would be more interesting if I put the statue in front. I'm not sure who the statue is of, but it is interesting.

Peeking Out

I found this bird underneath a bush. I was walking around taking pictures of birds when I found this one. I was trying to take pictures of it, but it kept running behind the bush and hiding from me. There were only a few pictures that I thought were good because it kept running around the bush. I do like this one because the bird is looking directly at me and the camera.

Breakfast

On a walk in the morning, I found this squirrel eating its breakfast. I believe that this picture is different than some of the other animal pictures I have taken because it is closer to the subject. It also has a much higher resolution than my older pictures.