It Brings Me To My Knees

Over the years, sunrise has become my favorite time of the day. I remember back to the first time that I really, REALLY, experienced a sunrise. It was some years ago just outside the little town of Escalante in Southern Utah.

I had the good fortune to be able to witness these sunrises every morning across the street from the house where we were staying. Awakening in the pre-dawn hours, quietly making a cup of coffee (some might argue with the “quietly” part), I would slip out the front door and cross the street to the edge of the open expanse that lay beyond. Placing my coffee cup on a fencepost, my camera on the tripod, I would stand in darkness waiting for the first light to makes its appearance.

Glowing In Brilliant Saturated Colors

It is the evolution from the darkness when there is very little you can see, to the beginning of twilight as forms begin to emerge and birds begin their songs, followed by the gradual imperceptible transition of the light, right up to the moment when the first beams touch the very tops of mountains and mesas, then down lighting the tops of trees, and finally washing over shrubs and grass. By now the whole landscape seems to be glowing in brilliant saturated colors. And then it is over, much too soon. But knowing there will be another opportunity at sunset and yet another the next morning fills me with excitement.

From the very beginning in the relative darkness all the way to when the sun is fully up and the colors have become less intense, I am taking images. In the early years I would experiment during these shoots with different settings to see the different effects I would get. Now I have pretty much developed a routine and know the basic settings I will shoot with, varying them somewhat depending on the light and the subject.

Invariably these morning sunrises bring me to my knees. They are so beautiful, and each sunrise presents differently from all the ones before it. They fill me with such joy that I often catch myself laughing and talking out loud in words of praise. I am so blessed and full of gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to be present, to witness, and to know.

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White Tailed Kites - A Family Affair

Perhaps you have seen birds fluttering in one place in the air. I have seen Northern Harriers do this as well as kestrels. But most commonly it is the white-tailed Kite. Three years ago there was a family of them in the Laguna De Santa Rosa and I had the privilege of witnessing their behaviors and capturing some of it with my camera. This first picture (above) shows a juvenile in flight and an adult on the branch. The juveniles are distinguishable by the brown markings. This Kite family had three juveniles and one adult, perhaps two adults but I only saw one at any given time. Late one evening I saw this scene with the adult holding a gopher or vole while the three juveniles gathered. I was particularly taken by the orientation of the juvenile's body on the bottom left. As it turned out I got several shots of juveniles in unusual positions. On one occasion I photographed one of the juveniles doing a somersault in mid air (topi...

The East Side of the Sierras is Beautiful

Why “Notes to My Mother”? My mother was the one person in my life who was always interested in what I was doing, what I had to say, who I was. She was never too busy to listen and take an interest. Never critical, always accepting. Even when I was wrong or misguided, there would still be a gentle interested listener present. Though she has been gone over 6 years, I still get the urge to write or call her, to share an image I am proud of or share my latest adventure to some beautiful place. I know she would love to hear about it. My mother was an artist. She painted most of her life, right up to her passing at the age of 96. When I was 4 years old we lived on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. She would take me out to paint with her - she with her easel, me with mine - and we would sit together creating our art. While I gave up on the medium she kept at it. Then, in the year she passed I picked up a digital camera and began my adventure into the world of landscape ph...

Aurora Borealis May 10: A Northern Lights Extravaganza

As a quick update: All of these images were taken on the night of May 10-11, 2024. on San Juan Island WA. We were taken by surprise in the middle of our vacation when it was announced there was to be an aurora display that would likely be visible from our location. What an understatement! What we witnessed was simply out of this world. We saw colors I did not know existed in the auroras, especially the light pinks and, of all things, orange (neon). There were four of us on the grounds at the Trumpeter Inn during the "show". I was the only one with a DSLSR camera so the others would see something interesting and I would point my camera in that direction and take a timed exposer. Most were in the 15 to 20 second length. At one point, Jan looked up straight overhead and saw something that was quite unusual; it looked like some kind of convergence. I pointed the camera overhead and took this picture, which I find startling....

Notes To My Mother

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