Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View

Originally, the plan had been to hike to the Mariposa Grove. However, due to a lack of parking at the trailhead, we turned around and headed back to Yosemite Valley. Between the time we had left the valley and returned, clouds had gathered over the valley, creating beautiful spotlights. At Tunnel View, we watched the patterns of light and shadow move across the valley. After a bit of waiting, spotlights finally lit up both El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall.

Technical Info: Canon 5D with Canon 24-105mm f/4 lens at 40mm.

Golden Eagle in Flight - Oakland Hills

Lately, I've been looking for Golden Eagles in the Oakland hills. While I've spent a lot of time waiting around, I've usually been rewarded with at least a glimpse of an Eagle - often just after the sun has set and I'm getting ready to leave. This is my best shot so far. It occurred after a considerable amount of waiting and wondering if I should be elsewhere. Patience is a virtue.

Technical info: Moderate crop of an image taken with a Canon 20D and a 400mm f/5.6 lens. Exposure was set to +1 to keep the dark bird from becoming a silhouette.

Back from Yosemite

Katrina and I just returned from a brief trip to Yosemite. The valley is currently in an inbetween phase. The snow in the valley is almost melted, but the vegetation underneath has not yet had time to become green, or for flowers to bloom. Since the waterfalls were flowing and the moon was nearly full, we were hoping to photograph a "moonbow." However, each night the clouds rolled in and obscured the moon. This shot is a "daybow" in Upper Yosemite Falls, taken with a 400mm lens on my Canon 5D. I took other similar shots during our visit, but this was my favorite because the rainbow is appearing at the base of the falls and is surrounding the trees.