tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331439962024-02-28T15:42:48.913-08:00Jeff Sullivan PhotographyWelcome to my photo travel blog. I am a landscape and night photographer who conducts photography workshops in some of America’s most exotic landscapes.
I just completed a travel guide to the best landscape photography locations in Southern California, to be available in September 2015.Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.comBlogger508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-32640436500385593732021-08-30T16:03:00.002-07:002021-08-30T16:03:28.450-07:00PhotographyTalk Success Interview: Jeff Sullivan<div>I had a fun hour-long chat with Alex Shult of PhotographyTalk on Friday. Let us know what you think!</div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/ltuLlHJ6D2U" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ltuLlHJ6D2U/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-80985487700695518062020-01-09T06:40:00.000-08:002020-01-09T06:44:42.936-08:00My Top 10 Travel Photos 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Flickr-Top-9-best-2019-favorite-photos-Jeff-Sullivan-Photography.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="top nine 2019 images" class="size-full wp-image-92789" height="920" src="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Flickr-Top-9-best-2019-favorite-photos-Jeff-Sullivan-Photography.jpg" width="920" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Some of my favorites on Flickr in 2019: 1. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/49259075246/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">The Sunset That Wouldn't End</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 2. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/49030352156/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Oak and Granite</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 3. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/46683237595/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Milky Way and Sunrise Light</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 4. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/48051980412/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Bodie Milky Way and Mill Reflection</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 5. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/49069975372/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Cottonwood Trees Against Shadowed Pines</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 6. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/48251984021/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Intricate Bodie Sunset</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 7. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/49055381788/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Tufa Island Reflection</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 8. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/48248550272/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Return of the Rainbows</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">, 9. </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23183960@N00/48266113342/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">Nevada Mines and Ghost Towns at Night</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span></td></tr>
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It's that time of year again! Photographers are posting collages of their Top 9 most popular posts on Instagram. I only put <a href="http://instagram.com/jeffsullivanphotography">42 images on Instagram</a> in 2019 so far, less than one per week. Due to variations in number of people on Instagram at various times of day and how the site's new post distribution algorithms affect my posts, I didn’t see many of my own favorite images among the most-liked posts on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeffsullivanphotography/">my Instagram account</a> (shown below),so I tend to make my own selection.<br />
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I don't have the privilege or luxury of being able to travel the world to pursue great images, but I live within easy driving distance of spectacular mountains, coastlines and deserts. I anticipate unique sun, moon and star positions to enhance compositions, and in the course of exploring new locations for workshops and <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/workshops/">sharing them with photographers in workshops in the best seasons</a>, I do capture a nice photo from time to time.<br />
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How to find and choose the best? On Flickr I find over 450 photos when I search for “2019”, and I saved over 100 new images into a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157702403996372">2019 Favorites</a> album on Flickr:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Flickr-best-2019-favorite-photos-Jeff-Sullivan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="landscape abandoned and night photography" class="size-large wp-image-92790" height="362" src="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Flickr-best-2019-favorite-photos-Jeff-Sullivan-1024x634.jpg" width="584" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">2019 Favorites album on Flickr </span></td></tr>
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As is often the case, some of my favorite images are newly-produced edits of past work, often discovered when revisiting old folders. As my tools, skills and objectives evolve, I see new opportunities for old images, often ones that I've never post-processed before. For the sake of my year-end roundup, I sort them to the end of my 2019 Favorites album and attribute them to their prior year.
So for a top ten selection for 2019, let's go with the 10 images below.
<strong>Top 10 Favorite 2019 Images</strong>
I don't like selecting my year-end favorites too early since we often get great weather in early winter, as the following December 13 sunset on flooded salt flats in Death Valley demonstrates:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/49259075246/in/dateposted/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="The Sunset That Wouldn't End"><img alt="The Sunset That Wouldn't End" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49259075246_568f3865b4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park</span></td></tr>
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<strong>#1 </strong>
Rain is uncommon in the lower reaches of death Valley, where an average of only 1.9' falls, but sometimes runoff from rain in the mountains above helps temporarily restore prehistoric Lake Manly in Badwater Basin.
A few weeks earlier, I came across great light on an oak in one of Yosemite's meadows:<br />
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<strong>#2:</strong><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/49030352156/in/dateposted/" title="Oak and Granite"><img alt="Oak and Granite" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49030352156_962299dd00_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />
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This image quickly became my latest print, and it looks particularly good in a metallic print on paper, selected from <a href="https://jeffsullivan.smugmug.com/Yosemite-National-Park/">my SmugMug site</a>.
New places were featuring prominently in my favorites, perhaps partly because they're new, but also I think that it's easier to take an entirely fresh look at a location when it's your first time there. Although I've visited White Pocket, Arizona before, this was my first clear night there:<br />
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<strong>#3:</strong><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/46683237595/in/dateposted/" title="Milky Way and Sunrise Light"><img alt="Milky Way and Sunrise Light" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7828/46683237595_be98dd2d00_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />
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I had just picked up the Nikon D850 in December, and not only was this one of my first Milky Way images captured on it, I was interested in testing its dynamic range on the Milky Way reflection.<br />
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<strong>#4:</strong><br />
I like a good challenge, so Milky Way reflection was on the menu again in June in <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/bodie-night-photography-workshops/">Bodie State Historic Park</a>:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48051980412/in/dateposted/" title="Bodie Milky Way and Mill Reflection"><img alt="Bodie Milky Way and Mill Reflection" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48051980412_e4004af8c4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<strong>#5:</strong><br />
Every year I run across new time-light dependencies in Yosemite National Park. Fall opportunities in particular can rely on a single set of vegetation getting spotlighted with light for a few minutes, like these young cottonwood trees by the Merced River:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/49069975372/in/dateposted/" title="Cottonwood Trees Against Shadowed Pines"><img alt="Cottonwood Trees Against Shadowed Pines" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49069975372_4214c019d6_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
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While opportunities based on sun position are repeatable and predictable, other times an opportunity is more serendipitous, like sunset color on complex storm clouds in Bodie:<br />
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<strong>#6:</strong>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48251984021/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Intricate Bodie Sunset"><img alt="Intricate Bodie Sunset" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48251984021_b6af6635d1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Sometimes we revisit a favorite spot, only to be treated with exactly the kind of lihgt we like to see from it, like this Belt of Venus effect captured at Mono Lake:<br />
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<strong>#7:</strong>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/49055381788/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Tufa Island Reflection"><img alt="Tufa Island Reflection" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49055381788_a5e1d920e2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Weather can enhance our compositions, like this third brief double rainbow that appeared one evening in Bodie:<br />
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<strong>#8:</strong>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48248550272/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Return of the Rainbows"><img alt="Return of the Rainbows" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48248550272_20acd930b0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Other compositions can be anticipated months or even years in advance, you just have to allocate time in your schedule to go get them, like the Milky Way rising over this mine in <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/nevada-photography-workshops/">Nevada</a>:<br />
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<strong>#9:</strong>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48266113342/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Nevada Mines and Ghost Towns at Night"><img alt="Nevada Mines and Ghost Towns at Night" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48266113342_899f403aca_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Even locations with iconic compositions can offer great results if you look a little harder at what else is there, like this downstream composition at Kanarra Creek in Utah, which works well without Upper or Lower Kanarra Falls:<br />
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<strong>#10:</strong><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/46666505365/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="If Antelope Canyon Had Water..."><img alt="If Antelope Canyon Had Water..." height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7847/46666505365_acd5dca458_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />
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I still have dozens of places on my "to do" list, come experience the thrill of discovery!
So that last image was a bonus, and the one prior isn't really one of my "best" photographically speaking, but you can find dozens of contenders in my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157662274824107">2018 Favorites</a> album.<br />
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<strong>2019 Runners-Up</strong><br />
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Other 2019 images I liked but didn't quite include:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48754290498/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Thor's Well"><img alt="Thor's Well" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48754290498_4d4321a465_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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For some reason Thor's Well seems frequently enough captured that it needs particularly good atmospheric conditions to make it stand out. No doubt I'll revisit the place more to see what else the site delivers in light and conditions.
Sometimes there's no place like home, like this winter storm reflected on Topaz Lake:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/46253511365/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Topaz Lake Winter Reflection (Black and White)"><img alt="Topaz Lake Winter Reflection (Black and White)" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7920/46253511365_8a4c7eeb4d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<strong>Prior Years' Images Discovered or Reworked</strong><br />
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Sometimes I can't get to a particular image in the year I captured it, either because I lack a sufficient tool to do it justice, or I simply don't have the time required to work on it. My "new or improved" images from past years included some real stunners, particularly ones re-imagined in black and white:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/48981519457/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Geyser Basin and Trees in Morning Sun Rays"><img alt="Geyser Basin and Trees in Morning Sun Rays" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48981519457_becc092bdf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/46189919465/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Calm Before the Storm"><img alt="Calm Before the Storm" height="160" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7919/46189919465_3b3f2152a3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/45798170785/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Breaking Storm Over The Palisades"><img alt="Breaking Storm Over The Palisades" height="427" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/4880/45798170785_b75f464a34_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/28622981567/in/album-72157702403996372/" title="Galactic Center & Standard Mill"><img alt="Galactic Center & Standard Mill" height="480" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/28622981567_6bb5973a44_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<strong>Honors & Recognition</strong><br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B5a_lS_nT92/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">“Sunrays On Yosemite Valley Morning Fog” By Jeff Sullivan. Find out the story behind the shot in our latest issue, which covers all areas of black-and-white photography. . . . . . . #OPNovember #OPWildlife #landscape_lovers #landscapephotography #fantastic_earth #landscape_captures #ic_landscapes #ig_exquisite #ourplanetdaily #landscape #landscapelovers #instanaturelover #welivetoexplore #allnatureshots #specialshots #landscapestyles #nature_perfection #explorecreate #artofvisuals #wonderfulplaces #wildernessculture #lifeofadventure #travelstoke #liveessential #peoplescreative #visualgang #welltraveled #NationalParks #wanderlust</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/outdoorphotomag/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Outdoor Photographer Magazine</a> (@outdoorphotomag) on <time datetime="2019-11-28T20:01:34+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 28, 2019 at 12:01pm PST</time></div>
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Photo Of The Day: “Sand Dunes Black and White 2015” by Jeff Sullivan. Location: Death Valley National Park. View our Photo Of The Day gallery at <a href="https://t.co/Kp4tdqKo1L">https://t.co/Kp4tdqKo1L</a> <a href="https://t.co/Iegz4Y794e">pic.twitter.com/Iegz4Y794e</a></div>
— Outdoor Photographer (@OutdoorPhotoMag) <a href="https://twitter.com/OutdoorPhotoMag/status/1202671573372743680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWuhznnf8K/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Congratulations to @jeffsullivanphotography for winning the recent Your Best Photo of 2018 Assignment with the image, Golden Hour on the Oregon Coast. “Sometimes, the most interesting photos we take are from a new location or from a fresh look at a place that we haven't visited in a long time,” says Sullivan. “In 2018, I took a 2,000-mile road trip to revisit some of my favorite places in Oregon. Although I lived in Oregon for years in the 1980s and revisited a lot in the mid to late 2000s, I hadn’t been to some of these places in years. I had a great time on this latest lap, but even with 2-plus weeks it wasn’t enough time, so I’ll just have to go back soon! “My main exposure here was 1/8th of a second at f/16, ISO 200, and that produced a useful result, but HDR processing in Photomatix provided more shadow detail and highlight color, for a better overall result. The images were adjusted in Adobe Lightroom prior to HDR processing, then additional adjustment was conducted afterward as well.” * * * #OPAssignments #Oregon #landscape_lovers #sky_captures #landscapephotography #fantastic_earth #landscape_captures #ic_landscapes #ig_exquisite #ourplanetdaily #landscape #landscapelovers #instanaturelover #welivetoexplore #allnatureshots #specialshots #landscapestyles #nature_perfection</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/outdoorphotomag/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Outdoor Photographer Magazine</a> (@outdoorphotomag) on <time datetime="2019-02-26T18:30:14+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 26, 2019 at 10:30am PST</time></div>
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<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
Now it’s time to go out and capture another 100+ from 2020! To join me in the pursuit of images like these, check out my workshops listed at the top of <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/">the blog on my Web site</a>.<br />
<br />
<b><u>My Favorite Landscape / Travel Photos from Each Year, 2006 – 2018</u></b><br />
<br />
Here are some of my collections from prior years. It has been a great 14 years of adventure, I can’t wait to see what I can find to show you in the years to come!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157662274824107">2018 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2019/01/04/my-top-10-photos-of-2018/">2018 Top 10 Landscape/Travel Blog Post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157676554197004">2017 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2017/12/21/top-10-travel-photos-2017/">2017 Top 10 Landscape/Travel Blog Post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157667038079736">2016 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2017/12/18/top-10-photos-2016/">2016 Top 10 Landscape/Travel Blog Post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157651316649769">2015 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/02/top-10-travel-photos-2015/">2015 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos Blog Post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157650285822751">2014 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/09/top-10-travel-photos-2014/">2014 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157651147968922">2013 Favorites photo album on Flickr </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/07/top-10-travel-photos-2013/">2013 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157651147837112">2012 Favorites photo album on Flickr </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/04/top-10-travel-photos-2012/">2012 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157650751241608">2011 Favorites album on Flickr </a></b><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/02/top-10-travel-photos-2011/">2011 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></strong><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157650751721288">2010 Favorites album on Flickr </a></b><br />
<strong><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/01/top-10-travel-photos-2010/">2010 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></strong><br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157651158831831">2009 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2015/12/31/top-10-travel-photos-2009/">2009 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157650748530749">2008 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2015/12/30/top-10-travel-photos-2008/">2008 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157648842435683">2007 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2015/12/30/top-10-travel-photos-2007/">2007 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157648833139014">2006 Favorites photo album on Flickr</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2015/12/30/top-10-travel-photos-2006/">2006 Top 10 Landscape / Travel Photos blog post</a></b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Instagram-2019-best-nine.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-large wp-image-92783" height="730" src="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Instagram-2019-best-nine-819x1024.jpg" width="584" /></a> My most popular photos on Instagram in 2019. #bestnine2019[/caption]Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-81920490371764344112019-02-27T07:19:00.002-08:002019-02-27T07:19:39.449-08:00Your Best Photo of 2018 Assignment Winner Jeff Sullivan - Outdoor Photographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxWjpKawk2w/XHakI5u09hI/AAAAAAADD7s/q-NmQVCFv7kkv5v_P6EYjyElaYVgUGjHwCLcBGAs/s1600/2I9A0914_5_6_7-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxWjpKawk2w/XHakI5u09hI/AAAAAAADD7s/q-NmQVCFv7kkv5v_P6EYjyElaYVgUGjHwCLcBGAs/s640/2I9A0914_5_6_7-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/blog/your-best-photo-of-2018-assignment-winner-jeff-sullivan/#.XHai4-DysSE.blogger">Your Best Photo of 2018 Assignment Winner Jeff Sullivan - Outdoor Photographer</a>: Congratulations to Jeff Sullivan for winning the recent Your Best Photo of 2018 Assignment with the image, “Golden Hour On the Oregon Coast...<br />
<br />
Thank you for the honor Outdoor Photographer Magazine!<br />
<br />
See more of my Best of 2018 images <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2019/01/04/my-top-10-photos-of-2018/">here on my blog</a>.<br />
<br />
Also see more images from my September 2018 trip to Oregon in another post on <a href="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2018/09/28/oregon-coast-photography-tour/">my blog</a>.
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWuhznnf8K/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Congratulations to @jeffsullivanphotography for winning the recent Your Best Photo of 2018 Assignment with the image, Golden Hour on the Oregon Coast. “Sometimes, the most interesting photos we take are from a new location or from a fresh look at a place that we haven't visited in a long time,” says Sullivan. “In 2018, I took a 2,000-mile road trip to revisit some of my favorite places in Oregon. Although I lived in Oregon for years in the 1980s and revisited a lot in the mid to late 2000s, I hadn’t been to some of these places in years. I had a great time on this latest lap, but even with 2-plus weeks it wasn’t enough time, so I’ll just have to go back soon! “My main exposure here was 1/8th of a second at f/16, ISO 200, and that produced a useful result, but HDR processing in Photomatix provided more shadow detail and highlight color, for a better overall result. The images were adjusted in Adobe Lightroom prior to HDR processing, then additional adjustment was conducted afterward as well.” * * * #OPAssignments #Oregon #landscape_lovers #sky_captures #landscapephotography #fantastic_earth #landscape_captures #ic_landscapes #ig_exquisite #ourplanetdaily #landscape #landscapelovers #instanaturelover #welivetoexplore #allnatureshots #specialshots #landscapestyles #nature_perfection</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/outdoorphotomag/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Outdoor Photographer Magazine</a> (@outdoorphotomag) on <time datetime="2019-02-26T18:30:14+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 26, 2019 at 10:30am PST</time></div>
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<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint, Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint, Bandon, OR 97411, United States43.105494901308084 -124.433727264404343.099698901308088 -124.4438122644043 43.111290901308081 -124.42364226440429tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-27848428052289475922018-11-13T17:09:00.001-08:002018-11-13T17:09:43.581-08:00Eastern Sierra Fall Colors Photography Near Bishop, California<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bygZqMwxZAY/W-t1IOg6xZI/AAAAAAADBZ0/uDN6j_kQl5cl-kh9UgMrNuivRYPS55YMwCLcBGAs/s1600/2I9A4387_8_9-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="427" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bygZqMwxZAY/W-t1IOg6xZI/AAAAAAADBZ0/uDN6j_kQl5cl-kh9UgMrNuivRYPS55YMwCLcBGAs/s640/2I9A4387_8_9-1.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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2018 was another outstanding year for fall color in the Eastern Sierra! Our main workshop visits to the Bishop area were expected to be October 4-6, but the color held out so well, we returned during the October 10 - 14 session as well.<br />
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The 2019 calendar will be up soon <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/eastern-sierra-fall-colors-photo-workshops/">here</a>.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/31349782168/in/dateposted/" title="Colorful Aspen Reflection"><img alt="Colorful Aspen Reflection" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1943/31349782168_c2b2595301_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/43573981320/in/dateposted/" title="Icy Fall Morning"><img alt="Icy Fall Morning" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1946/43573981320_62dc6c00f0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/45313963902/in/dateposted/" title="Fall Colors on Black Rock"><img alt="Fall Colors on Black Rock" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1913/45313963902_c6a0402cfe_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44946618584/in/dateposted/" title="Fall Pond Reflection"><img alt="Fall Pond Reflection" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1932/44946618584_edabf77dcd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/45387219021/in/dateposted/" title="First Light Over Aspendell"><img alt="First Light Over Aspendell" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1977/45387219021_97346f59d6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44450230135/in/dateposted/" title="Along South Fork Bishop Creek"><img alt="Along South Fork Bishop Creek" height="512" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1934/44450230135_18055b97c4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30252079697/in/dateposted/" title="Cloudy Fall Reflection, Lake Sabrina"><img alt="Cloudy Fall Reflection, Lake Sabrina" height="640" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1923/30252079697_555d490789_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-34015781101518546052018-11-13T16:03:00.000-08:002018-11-13T16:03:12.314-08:00Snowy October Night Photography in Bodie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ndMPBkcf3TY/W-tkttHh_pI/AAAAAAADBNs/l5rh_jSqSIEEA9_NqAQ1vFuFVu6eADW5wCLcBGAs/s1600/2I9A5682-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ndMPBkcf3TY/W-tkttHh_pI/AAAAAAADBNs/l5rh_jSqSIEEA9_NqAQ1vFuFVu6eADW5wCLcBGAs/s640/2I9A5682-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I've shot in Bodie at night nearly 40 times. The Bodie workshop season typically runs late May through mid-October when any storms tend to be convention-driven from daytime heat. So even on stormy days, the sky usually clears up at night. This time, in early October, a light storm not driven by daytime heat moved through, at first driving broken clouds to move through our shots of the Milky Way, then thickening to create trails of uneven clouds back-lit by green airglow.
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44490504334/in/dateposted/" title="Break in the Storm"><img alt="Break in the Storm" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1968/44490504334_ac09e2b2e3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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The Milky Way was mostly out for the first hour, then coming and going with streaks of clouds for about an hour, then then the clouds were translucent with intermittent snow showers. The snow never stuck to the ground much, but it was cool to have streaking through our shots. Fortunately everyone else was really into it too It was chilly with the wind blowing, but every shot was different, so we worked fast, and right through the end, when we could barely get out on time!
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30241071357/in/dateposted/" title="Snow Flurries in Bodie at Night"><img alt="Snow Flurries in Bodie at Night" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1918/30241071357_b9bf759825_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/45399226122/in/dateposted/" title="Moving Clouds Over 1937 Chevy"><img alt="Moving Clouds Over 1937 Chevy" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1927/45399226122_bcdfd31cdb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30476894477/in/dateposted/" title="Stormy Night at the Lottie Johl House"><img alt="Stormy Night at the Lottie Johl House" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1976/30476894477_5e377afdcc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44513127815/in/dateposted/" title="Snow Falling Over the Standard Mill"><img alt="Snow Falling Over the Standard Mill" height="480" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1967/44513127815_a265cce391_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/31576015998/in/dateposted/" title="Moving Clouds and Airglow"><img alt="Moving Clouds and Airglow" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1973/31576015998_1ec2b0280c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44725939974/in/dateposted/" title="Main Street Bodie on a Stormy Night"><img alt="Main Street Bodie on a Stormy Night" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1908/44725939974_f658b2d24b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30509937817/in/dateposted/" title="Red Atmospheric Glow"><img alt="Red Atmospheric Glow" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1901/30509937817_1b6bfee07a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>One participant decided to leave in case the snow showers became more intense. His red brake lights were reflecting off of the low clouds above.Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Bodie, CA, USA38.212779300000008 -119.0125100000000238.20030280000001 -119.03268000000001 38.225255800000006 -118.99234000000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-46241609617827887432018-09-28T16:48:00.000-07:002018-09-28T16:48:33.576-07:00Oregon Coast Photography Tour September 2018<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6XmUEgN1BcQ/W66QwfrfB_I/AAAAAAAC-TQ/X8ZrSPDnrGkp3ypu6Ld7Pn6uc4bxLPduQCLcBGAs/s1600/2I9A0914_5_6_7-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6XmUEgN1BcQ/W66QwfrfB_I/AAAAAAAC-TQ/X8ZrSPDnrGkp3ypu6Ld7Pn6uc4bxLPduQCLcBGAs/s640/2I9A0914_5_6_7-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oregon Coast dunes at sunset, September 2018.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I just completed a 2000-mile trip to revisit some of my favorite places in Oregon. Although I lived in Oregon for years in the 1980s and revisited a lot in the mid to late 2000s, I hadn't been to some of these places in years. Even with 2+ weeks it wasn't enough time, so I'll just have to go back soon!<br /><br />I don't know when I'll get around to uploading all of my photos from my recent Oregon Coast photography tour, but here are a few images that I've uploaded so far.<br /><br />What's your favorite place along the Oregon Coast?<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30037856857/in/dateposted/" title="Bandon Sunset Panorama"><img alt="Bandon Sunset Panorama" height="256" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1972/30037856857_0e729a5f17_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44114202314/in/dateposted/" title="Twilight Hunt"><img alt="Twilight Hunt" height="360" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1955/44114202314_25d0f46392_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/44777995691/in/dateposted/" title="Oregon Coast Sunset"><img alt="Oregon Coast Sunset" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1847/44777995691_c48ddca440_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/31023140538/in/dateposted/" title="Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor, Oregon"><img alt="Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor, Oregon" height="457" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1936/31023140538_2f9a3cab09_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/43059794300/in/dateposted/" title="Tangerine Sunset on the Oregon Coast"><img alt="Tangerine Sunset on the Oregon Coast" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1943/43059794300_b08cef1ea7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Bandon, OR 97411, USA43.1189978 -124.4084480000000243.072630800000006 -124.48912900000002 43.1653648 -124.32776700000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-26433588651671787812018-02-16T09:49:00.002-08:002018-02-16T09:49:46.884-08:00Analysis of a Lunar Eclipse ShootI'll be presenting in Woodland, California next Tuesday, February 20 at 7 pm in case you might like to attend. The Woodland Camera Forum meets in Norton Hall, 70 Cottonwood Street, Woodland, California:
<a href="https://www.davisenterprise.com/arts/jeff-sullivan-presents-work-at-photography-group/" rel="nofollow">www.davisenterprise.com/arts/jeff-sullivan-presents-work-at-photography-group/</a><br /><br />The formatting of this post got all messed up when i tried to transfer it form my original Wordpress blog post on my Web site here: http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2018/02/08/lunar-eclipse-photography-january-31/<br />I'll fix it as time permits, which might not be a while, so best if you read it over there for now!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/25189373487/in/dateposted/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Lunar Eclipse Teed Up"><img alt="Lunar Eclipse Teed Up" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4712/25189373487_0cfcdd6431_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/38870956155/in/dateposted/" title="Do You Have Plans to Shoot The Blue Moon This Month?"><img alt="Do You Have Plans to Shoot The Blue Moon This Month?" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/38870956155_9f6aaf251f_z.jpg" width="512" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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For the January 31, 2018 lunar eclipse, my planning started weeks in advance, looking at the timing of the eclipse, the direction of the moon, and at prior shots like the moon set above from 2010 that seemed like a good concept to re-shoot with a moon in some phase of eclipse. I decided to try to place the moon on top of the South Tower of the bridge, worked out the geometry to estimate the moon's elevation, looked in an app to determine its compass direction at that time, and where I should stand.<br />
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So after you decide to shoot an early morning lunar eclipse, what's the next logical thing to do? Pick a spot for the prior sunset of course. Marin County's Rodeo Beach fit the bill nicely for a relaxing sunset.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/25209424907/in/dateposted/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pacific Sunset"><img alt="Pacific Sunset" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4652/25209424907_c6a527a03c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>A trip to Japan Center for sushi later, and it's too early for sleep, so a little night photography along the San Francisco waterfront helps put a few more travel images on the card and burn off a few dinner calories.<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/40074930101/in/dateposted/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bay Bridge at Night"><img alt="Bay Bridge at Night" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4700/40074930101_98426101fd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Wake up at 3am, and go get a nice moon shot from the Crissy Field area:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/40015131532/in/dateposted/" title="Total Lunar Eclipse January 31, 2018"><img alt="Total Lunar Eclipse January 31, 2018" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4712/40015131532_7f40a79553_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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This image was exposed for 15 seconds at f/8, ISO 200 on a Canon EOS 70D with a lens at 381mm using a Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS L Series lens plus EF 2X III teleconverter. After the APS-C crop factor, the equivalent focal length was 610mm! The camera setup was on an iOptron SkyTracker, so the longest exposures in the sequences I was shooting could easily be 15 to 20 seconds at ISO 200.
What next? You've chosen the spot anticipating the moon approaching the Golden Gate Bridge, so when it's close enough you can include the bridge in compositions:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/39149489005/in/dateposted/" title="Lunar Eclipse Over the Golden Gate Bridge"><img alt="Lunar Eclipse Over the Golden Gate Bridge" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4630/39149489005_e4892605cf_z.jpg" width="512" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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But the real alignment you've calculated from the height of the bridge, the distance to the bridge, and the compass direction is the moon passing the top of the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. But you forgot to subtract out the elevation of your shooting position from the height of the bridge, so the moon is about 1/2 moon width, about 0.25 degrees, too high. So you move about a dozen feet to your left, compose over the shoulders of a couple of photographers, and get the composition that you envisioned weeks earlier:
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The recent weather and the forecast called for partly cloudy conditions, and at times there was definitely a thin haze that the moon was shining through, but there was also a challenge that I don't usually have to deal with back home in the high desert: condensation! For a while I had to wipe my lens every few shots to remove it. Astrophotographers sometimes use heaters on their telescopes, photographers shooting on a dewy morning can improvise using gaffer's tape and hand warmers.
That's not the end of the fun, as sunset light paints the sky while the moon dropped into the bridge. Fortunately the atmospheric haze also cleared up significantly.<br />
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<a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_2902_3_4-1.jpg"><img alt="California astrophotography" class="size-large wp-image-91286" height="390" src="https://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IMG_2902_3_4-1-1024x683.jpg" width="584" /></a><br />
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Sunrise approaches as the partially-eclipsed moon sets behind the Golden Gate Bridge.[/caption]
As it descends further, while shooting the lunar eclipse through San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, for a matter of seconds I decided to try to silhouette a vehicle against the setting, partially-eclipsed moon. A large delivery truck fit the bill nicely. I was shooting at 400mm, so I had to anticipate the movement of the vehicle enough ahead of time to leave mirror lock-up on!<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/25185259547/in/dateposted/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Early Morning Delivery"><img alt="Early Morning Delivery" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4705/25185259547_27be210190_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Note the rough edge to the moon. At this high degree of telephoto, on the moon in the lower couple of degrees of elevation when our view of it is through a lot of turbulent air, the view of the moon is visibly distorted. No doubt there will be many faked shots from this eclipse as usual, and <a href="https://fstoppers.com/critiques/tale-two-moons-peter-liks-photographs-called-out-science-218194">a recent article on FStoppers</a> discusses some of the ways you can spot them.
So to summarize, anticipating an interesting place to capture the mono alongside earth-bound features using apps like PhotoPills and The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE) enables the capture of many compositions beyond "Just another lunar eclipse shot"... not that there's anything wrong with that!
So once the eclipse is "in the can" (like a reel of exposed movie film), what next? Think of something to shoot while you're in the are, or on your way home! A quick detour to the California Coast, the Mendocino area in this case, fit the bill nicely.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/40118781972/in/dateposted/" title="After the Eclipse"><img alt="After the Eclipse" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4677/40118781972_3843167a60_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
Astronomical events aren't just opportunities for astrophotography, they are a great excuse to get out. travel, and shoot! The weather can be surprisingly warm along the California Coast in the winter given the heat sink effect of the water and the lower winds compared to summer. Temperatures in the high 50s by noon and walking down Main Street Mendocino, I had to take off and carry my jacket as I became too hot to wear it.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/28397129999/in/dateposted/" title="Post-Eclipse Sunset"><img alt="Post-Eclipse Sunset" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4724/28397129999_1397392b64_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.4194155000000136.9717915 -123.71030900000001 38.578067499999996 -121.12852200000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-83284739382188376272017-12-26T15:10:00.000-08:002017-12-26T16:11:14.397-08:00Outdoor Photographer Magazine Iconic Locations Winner<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/38505104556/in/dateposted/" title="Yosemite Morning Sun Rays"><img alt="Yosemite Morning Sun Rays" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4563/38505104556_740985f45a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Thank you Outdoor Photographer Magazine for selecting my photo as the winning image for your Iconic Locations challenge! See the write-up on their site for more information on how the image was created:<br />
https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/iconic-locations-assignment-winner-jeff-sullivan/<br />
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OP was kind enough to share the image on their Facebook page and Twitter timeline as well.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffSullPhoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffSullPhoto</a> for winning the recent Iconic Locations Assignment! <a href="https://t.co/DyTgKWUvFR">https://t.co/DyTgKWUvFR</a> <a href="https://t.co/tUTgv2Ivl8">pic.twitter.com/tUTgv2Ivl8</a></div>
— Outdoor Photographer (@OutdoorPhotoMag) <a href="https://twitter.com/OutdoorPhotoMag/status/945723416845455360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Here are some more images from that amazing sunrise during my photography workshop in early May:<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/34590536041/" title="Yosemite Light Rays on Valley Fog"><img alt="Yosemite Light Rays on Valley Fog" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4171/34590536041_deb5549dea_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/34194990840/" title="Light Rays On Morning Fog"><img alt="Light Rays On Morning Fog" height="433" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4158/34194990840_6e4fab72df_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/37816753274/" title="Yosemite Valley Morning Light"><img alt="Yosemite Valley Morning Light" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4579/37816753274_94d33bc7ef_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/34557768876/" title="Rainbow in the Mist"><img alt="Rainbow in the Mist" height="512" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4167/34557768876_4284f8bb86_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/33948240893/" title="Moonbow Reflections 2017"><img alt="Moonbow Reflections 2017" height="512" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4167/33948240893_d675b3beba_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/33789741653/" title="Climber Lights on El Capitan"><img alt="Climber Lights on El Capitan" height="427" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4181/33789741653_0bff53838f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/34742054066/" title="Morning Fog in Yosemite Valley"><img alt="Morning Fog in Yosemite Valley" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4188/34742054066_a5f9bc0fbf_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
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See my Web site for many more images from my 2017 photography workshops: <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog">www.JeffSullivanPhotography.com</a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/34865153532/" title="Half Dome Morning Reflection"><img alt="Half Dome Morning Reflection" height="640" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4222/34865153532_c2f1d2e8ca_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Yosemite National Park, California, USA37.8651011 -119.5383294000000112.343066599999997 -160.8469234 63.387135599999993 -78.22973540000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-92084126949662910942017-10-04T10:31:00.005-07:002018-02-16T08:35:06.451-08:00Watch the Moon Rise at Sunset Tonight, October 4, 2017<div style="text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30683555350/in/album-72157627037253536/" title="Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve: Super Moon Rise"><img alt="Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve: Super Moon Rise" height="427" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5322/30683555350_340a1e6e43_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></div>
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The moon will rise shortly before sunset tonight, providing a perfect opportunity to photograph the moon near the horizon at sunset. Here are 38 degrees north it'll rise about 15 minutes before sunset, and be about 1.6 degrees high, or three moon widths, above a zero-degree horizon at sunset.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/6144734608/in/album-72157627037253536/" title="Mono Lake Moonrise (Re-edit)"><img alt="Mono Lake Moonrise (Re-edit)" height="427" src="https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6151/6144734608_d70f25fe4d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
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About ten minutes later as you may start to see the earth's shadow rise above the horizon, its blue color contrasting against the adjacent pink-orange last light of the sun in the "belt of Venus" effect, the moon will be about 3.5 degrees high, seven moon widths.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/30539999674/in/album-72157623567602630/" title="Super Moon Reflection"><img alt="Super Moon Reflection" height="427" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/30539999674_458a77343b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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In apps such as <a href="http://photoephemeris.com/">The Photographer's Ephemeris</a> and <a href="http://www.photopills.com/">PhotoPills</a> you can fine tune the times and moon direction and elevation for any shooting spot you might want to plan for. Plan well enough, and you can anticipate compositions that place the moon reflecting in lakes, or beside or just over natural or man-made landmarks.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/8170120143/in/album-72157623567602630/" title="Moon Rise Behind Half Dome"><img alt="Moon Rise Behind Half Dome" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/8170120143_451cd4146b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Similar opportunities present themselves on the opposite horizon with the moon set at sunrise, so look at your favorite astrophotography app and start planning! You can combine opportunities, such as catching a moon coming out of eclipse, as it sets behind a nearby ridge.
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/15334837117/in/album-72157631958820364/" title="Partially Eclipsed Moon Setting, October 8, 2014"><img alt="Partially Eclipsed Moon Setting, October 8, 2014" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15334837117_793fb417f5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Or place the moon on a man-made structure like the tip of the Transamerica building in San Francisco. I started shooting this sequence of images about 15 minutes ahead of time to show how the placement of the moon can be accurately planned in advance, and rendering the images as a time-lapse video lets you see the entire sequence:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/6506594335/in/album-72157631958820364/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Plan to Shoot the April 14/15 2014 Lunar Eclipse: Example Landing on the Transamerica Pyramid"><img alt="Plan to Shoot the April 14/15 2014 Lunar Eclipse: Example Landing on the Transamerica Pyramid" height="360" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6506594335_53873a4deb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As calculated, the moon ends up centered on the tip of the pyramid!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
For a discussion of advanced considerations, read the article, "<b><a href="http://photoephemeris.com/i-ve-planned-my-supermoon-eclipse-shot-what-could-possibly-go-wrong">I've planned my supermoon eclipse shot: what could possibly go wrong?</a></b>"<br />
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For a bonus on the tomorrow morning, I see in my SkyWeek+ app that the planets Venus and Mars will be within 1/4 degree of each other before dawn on October 5. The StarWalk+ app shows me that they will be rising by about 5:10 am roughly due east. Photograph them on and close to the horizon, then conditions should continue to improve improve by around 6 am as they're rising out of the thicker air and haze close to the horizon. At that point they are still low enough to be captured in landscape shots as the oncoming twilight increasingly illuminates the landscape. The sun rises close to 7 am, so they may fade as the sky brightens, and Mars in particular may be long gone by 6:30 am.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/15030280781/in/album-72157631958820364/" title="Venus Jupiter Moon Conjunction"><img alt="Venus Jupiter Moon Conjunction" height="427" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5566/15030280781_8fb012ff8c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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You never know what you might come up with. A while back I shot the moon with Jupiter and Venus rising nearby, and my photo was used in an article by astronomer Don Olson of the University of Texas, in an article in the August issue of Sky & Telescope Magazine!<br />
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I haven't looked up the phase that Venus is in, but if you have a strong enough lens, youc an see that it's illuminated in a crescent phase.
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/12000918806/in/album-72157631958820364/" title="Multi-Colored UFO?"><img alt="Multi-Colored UFO?" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7305/12000918806_cf0da3ac68_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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The first step is to anticipate and plan for some great opportunities with the moon and/or planets. Then get out there and shoot! Tonight at sunset and tomorrow before dawn offer you a couple of good ones to start with. You never know what you might discover!
Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Mono Lake, California 93541, USA38.0070587 -119.012258937.8068797 -119.3349824 38.2072377 -118.68953540000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-10831248613862658802017-09-01T10:07:00.001-07:002017-09-01T10:07:38.729-07:00Slinkard Fire Time-lapse at Topaz Lake, August 31<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_qmqi9bMk4g" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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Time-lapse video of the Slinkard Fire as it burned downhill towards US-395 and the Best Western Motel at Topaz Lake on the California/Nevada border last night, August 31.<br /><br />#SlinkardFireJeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-16068418644623495112017-06-28T11:23:00.000-07:002017-06-28T11:57:15.842-07:00Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park to Open Thursday, June 29, 2017<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0ldb625c60/WVPykoBEsAI/AAAAAAAC3_c/XHxokUaggxUb_1rNzwUYD8rYkMXAFni9QCLcBGAs/s1600/Tioga_Pass-opening-Jeff_Sullivan-IMG_9510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0ldb625c60/WVPykoBEsAI/AAAAAAAC3_c/XHxokUaggxUb_1rNzwUYD8rYkMXAFni9QCLcBGAs/s640/Tioga_Pass-opening-Jeff_Sullivan-IMG_9510.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milky Way as seen from Tioga Pass Road at 10:32 pm, June 21, 2017.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold;">Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park Open to All Vehicular Traffic</span><span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="m_-2053455287567591210m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_-2053455287567591210m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_110188713" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Thursday, June 29, 2017</span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tioga Road will open for Bicycle and Pedestrian</span><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Use on <span class="m_-2053455287567591210m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_-2053455287567591210m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_110188714" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Wednesday, June 28, 2017</span></span></span></span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park (Highway </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">120 through the park) will open for the season to all vehicular traffic </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">beginning at <span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ">8:00 am</span></span> on <span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ">Thursday, June 29, 2017</span></span>. There will be limited visitor </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">services available from the Tioga Pass Entrance Station to Crane Flat. Tioga </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Road will open for bicycle and pedestrian users at <span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ">8:00 am</span></span> Wednesday, June 28, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">2017. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">All visitors on the road are encouraged to use caution as there may be dirt, debris, and water flowing over sections of the road. Visitors are encouraged to keep an eye out for maintenance vehicles working on the roadway.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">There will be minimal services available along the Tioga Road for several weeks. There will be no drinking water. Visitors should use the vault and portable toilets located along the roadway to help protect water quality in the Tuolumne River watershed. Food service and lodging are not available along the Tioga Road. There is no mobile phone service at this time and 911 emergency calls will not be operational. There are no gasoline services available along Tioga Road. Visitors can purchase gasoline in Lee Vining and at Crane Flat.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">For maps and visitor information, visit the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center, open from <span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aBn" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span class="m_3814376847063250208m_-4960166967483025986gmail-aQJ">8:30 am to 4:30 pm</span></span>, the Big Oak Flat Information Station, the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, and the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center in Lee Vining. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">Tamarack Flat Campground is the only campground that is currently open along Tioga Road. This campground is first-come, first served and fills early in the day. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">Anyone planning to hike or backpack near Tuolumne Meadows and in all high elevation areas of Yosemite should be prepared for winter hiking and camping conditions. Trails are still impacted by snow and ice. River crossings are high and swift moving. There are several high water areas currently impacting the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the John Muir Trail (JMT) in Yosemite National Park. Trail conditions may vary at any time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">When driving in the park, motorists are urged to drive slowly as bears and other animals are active and may be present on the roadway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">for Yosemite National Park, please call <a href="tel:(209)%20372-0200" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+12093720200">209-372-0200</a> and press 1.</span></span></div>
Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Tioga Pass, California 93541, USA37.9318316 -119.1857749000000137.8316381 -119.34713640000001 38.032025100000006 -119.02441340000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-275327199864617762017-06-11T15:08:00.000-07:002017-06-12T06:28:07.302-07:00Mono County Tourism Scores Magazine Cover at 2015 Cannes Film Festival!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2VNbOzfdmBwxxvkQwP3iZhc89SM2PNzA-aRRBuMcLDmpaIGuVHNlNEnuLz1YNYKBmTGChocCCfNzSfKme0aQN0HZbHbxblPjTnlZfxC7owuI3j5JwG5J1pSVRmXgB-7Qi9ew/s1600/Location-International-2015-cover-Bodie-debut-at-Cannes-Film-Festival-France-Jeff_Sullivan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="716" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2VNbOzfdmBwxxvkQwP3iZhc89SM2PNzA-aRRBuMcLDmpaIGuVHNlNEnuLz1YNYKBmTGChocCCfNzSfKme0aQN0HZbHbxblPjTnlZfxC7owuI3j5JwG5J1pSVRmXgB-7Qi9ew/s640/Location-International-2015-cover-Bodie-debut-at-Cannes-Film-Festival-France-Jeff_Sullivan.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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When the Mono County Economic Development, Tourism, and Film Commission wanted to put its best foot forward with a publisher designing a magazine for global film location scouts, they turned to Eastern Sierra photographer Jeff Sullivan. A landscape photographer and guidebook author living at Topaz Lake, Jeff has led dozens of photography workshops for night photography at the local ghost town of Bodie, as well as landscape photography workshops in the broader Eastern Sierra region of California, especially in the Mono Lake to Tioga Pass to Mammoth Lakes area of Mono County. <br />
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The publisher, Boutique Editions, liked forwarded samples of Jeff's work so much, they selected the Bodie image above for the cover of Location International 2015! The magazine is launched each year at the Festival de Cannes in May. The publicity enjoyed by Mono County continued from there:<br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: black;">"The magazine is distributed to 15,000 movie professionals worldwide, and is also available at Locations Trade Show in LA; Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity; Berlinale; MIPTV and MIPCOM; Sundance Film Festival, Utah and at AFM in Los Angeles." </i></span><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/15093733089/in/photolist-oZMjZp-ogyR8U-SES45f-nwZ8kv-pB9TQX-oQ8CPU-fEa7AR-fbQCM9-DQcNSk-RmKymZ-TDp6bi-LdcHUm-ejvUnE-ehsWVQ-PMiW82-PMiUGX-e6tBxM-dQL4pv-dqZ2SQ-SJ9xxM-K7HSAj-de4W6j-ez1cbF-mrk7gd-qsvniQ-SE2KFn-SAc3Y5-SA87Z9-S52mw5-SAc5KS-RpTs6i-RDYkUD-RXDkmQ-Rt8jkv-R5sB4E-atehqJ-amKfx9-bz8Cei-9UySF5-9RDaBt-9LTbNY-R4anid-9RsAqh-9MqEyp-9JMVqP-9sbZjc-9pGipd-fpvtGd-SsCcMR-RpTsCF" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="It's Here!"><img alt="It's Here!" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3863/15093733089_70daa7fb72_m.jpg" width="160" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">Producing stunning photos of locations is nothing new to Jeff. He wrote a 320-page guidebook to the best photography locations in California from Mono County and Yosemite to San Diego: "</span><b style="background-color: black;"><a href="http://astore.amazon.com/jeffsulliph0f-20/detail/091618921X">Photographing California Vol. 2 - South</a></b><span style="background-color: black;">". Locations, and great photos of them, are exactly what he focuses on.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: black;"> </span><span style="background-color: black;">Using the proceeds from the sale of this book to fund the creation of in-depth regional guides, he's on a mission to help you discover "the best of the West"!</span></span></span></span><br />
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The popularity of photo sharing and social media sites in recent years had given him excellent opportunities to showcase his work. Participating <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/jeffreysullivan/">on Flickr since 2006</a>, he is one of the most-followed photographers on this site popular with serious photographers, with over 45,000 contacts and an average of about 10,000 views per day. <br />
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Posting his images on the new Google+ social media site in 2011 as he worked on his guidebook earned him a Top 100 ranking on the site in the site's first two years, amassing nearly 2 million contacts. At least one of the common beliefs about social media post success id true: competent photos really do give social media posts a huge boost! This helped Jeff succeed with his photography workshop business, since a post's reception on Google+ has been determined by Internet marketing consultants to be the #1 factor in helping a site achieving favorable placement in Google searches.*<br />
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<i style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">* It's puzzling that many organizations invest in maintaining social media activity, but don't pay more attention to the quality of the photography in their posts! That's like entering an auto race at Laguna Seca Racetrack in a Honda Accord. Unless you drive a track-ready Porsche, your family car has no business running with race cars. Similarly, investing in online marketing activity but using consumer-quality photography will cause your investment in marketing on the Internet to under-perform against the competition as well. If you're going to compete with the best in the world at anything, including getting your social media posts noticed with the lowest possible investment of time, put your best foot forward and don't skimp on high quality, eye-catching images! </span></i></blockquote>
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Mono County and Boutique Editions weren't the only organizations noticing Jeff's work in 2015. A travel company in the U.K. noticed his work and named him a "<b><a href="http://www.chillisauce.co.uk/blog/top-100-travel-photographers-in-the-world/">Top 100 Travel Photographer in the World 2015</a></b>". Upon his book release in late 2015 he took a celebration lap of the Western U.S. and Canada, and one of his photos from Yellowstone National Park won an Outdoor Photographer Magazine "<a href="https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/iphone-instagram-assignment-winner-jeff-sullivan/#">iPhone and Instagram</a>" contest. <br />
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To see Jeff's work from 2015, both new images and reworked images from past years, see his blog: "<b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/01/02/top-10-travel-photos-2015/">Top 10 Favorite Travel and Landscape Images From 2015</a></b>".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/22822235682/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Snowy Fall Aspen"><img alt="Snowy Fall Aspen" height="427" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/704/22822235682_d8e3bab6be_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Late Fall Colors on Conway Summit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/19300382138/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Shaft of Water and Light"><img alt="Shaft of Water and Light" height="427" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/431/19300382138_a61ba3cf29_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset Rainbow at Topaz Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Over Bodie's Standard Mill</td></tr>
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<i style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Award-winning landscape photographer and astrophotographer Jeff Sullivan has been exploring the American West for four decades. Honing his DSLR photography since he took a 35mm darkroom photography class in eighth grade, Jeff started his freelance photography business in 2006. He has led <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/bodie-night-photography-workshops/">dozens of photography workshops</a> in Yosemite, Death Valley, the Eastern Sierra and the historic Wild West ghost town of Bodie, California.</span></i></blockquote>
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Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Bodie, CA, USA38.212779300000008 -119.0125100000000238.20030280000001 -119.03268000000001 38.225255800000006 -118.99234000000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-45762475997817163542017-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:002017-02-20T08:31:16.654-08:00Manzanar National Historic Site<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/2308794777/in/photolist-ChkWwt-BHPBma-C7L8oC-7FMi7u-4w2bfv" title="Manzanar National Historic Site, California"><img alt="Manzanar National Historic Site, California" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2232/2308794777_959c23364e_z.jpg?zz=1" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>On February 19, 1942, seventy-five years ago today, the President of the United States authorized our government to incarcerate Americans. More than 110,000 American citizens and immigrants of Japanese ancestry were forced to give up their homes, businesses, and ways of life. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: inherit;">This chapter of American history is included in history and civics education in California, but it doesn't seem to be common knowledge nationwide.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ansel Adams photographed in and around Manzanar while it was in use. My 2006 photo to the right was taken near where he captured his photo "Mount Williamson, Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar". <br /><br />I included Manzanar on page 90 of in my 320-page photographers' guidebook <b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/">"Photographing California Vol. 2 - South"</a></b>.</span><br />
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Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Manzanar Reward Rd, California, USA36.7272288 -118.1527894000000211.205194299999999 -159.46138340000002 62.249263299999996 -76.844195400000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-68104008286411901662016-10-05T08:23:00.000-07:002016-10-05T08:55:57.411-07:00Bodie Researched for Alton Towers Theme Park<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AOlB2CDATcA" width="560"></iframe>
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This was a fun video to shoot. U.K. theme park Alton Towers decided to research an authentic mining town for an attraction they're opening this week. We spent one day up in Bodie capturing video, time-lapse footage, stills, interviews and sounds, and this was the result.<br />
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I'd like to thank the California Film Commission for the quick turnaround on our film permit, Bodie State Historic Park / <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/117795023600181258796" target="_blank">+California State Parks</a> for supporting the research and production, and <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116318044389289937577" target="_blank">+Lori Hibbett</a> for producing sunrise and night time-lapse footage of Bodie's iconic car on the shoot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The day before the Alton Towers shoot in Bodie it was snowing on us </td></tr>
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For more information on accessing the historic buildings and town of Bodie, California, for photography or filming, contact <a href="https://plus.google.com/b/104705240104163576047/104705240104163576047/posts">Jeff Sullivan Photography</a>, <a href="http://www%2Cjeffsullivanphotography.com/">www,JeffSullivanPhotography.com</a>. <br />
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Jeff also teaches night photography workshops in <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/bodie-night-photography-workshops/">Bodie</a>, and night and landscape photography workshops in <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/yosemite-national-park-photography-workshops/">Yosemite</a>, <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/death-valley-photography-workshop-2013/">Death Valley</a>, and the <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/10/04/eastern-sierra-fall-colors/">Eastern Sierra</a>. His 2017 schedule will be released shortly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo of Bodie by Jeff was featured on the cover of Locations International 2015, a directory of locations for film location scouts that was distributed at the Cannes Film Festival.</td></tr>
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<br />Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Bodie State Historic Park, Hwy 270, Bridgeport, CA 93517, USA38.2117628 -119.011486312.689728300000002 -160.3200803 63.733797300000006 -77.7028923tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-88081852300287918912016-10-04T12:16:00.002-07:002017-02-20T10:37:35.768-08:00Where to Shoot Yosemite's Horsetail Fall<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A happy Valentine's Day: February 14, 2017, Yosemite National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/24999521872/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Horsetail Fall on Monday Night"><img alt="Horsetail Fall on Monday Night" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1482/24999521872_ed5d183e26_m.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two flows in 2016!</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Horsetail Fall in Yosemite Valley is backlit by the setting sun for roughly two weeks each year. As the sun falls behind the vertical face of El Capitan, it selectively lights this waterfall with its orange sunset glow.<br />
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This is an amazing spectacle to witness. Lasting only about 15 minutes before the sun goes down, the lighting gradually grows in intensity and color for the last 5 minutes or so. It is often like seeing a narrow strip of lava flowing down the face of El Capitan.<br />
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The weather and the water flows often don't cooperate. You need enough snow above El Capitan, high enough temperatures up there for some of that snow to melt, and you need clear skies where the sun sets on the western horizon. I was shut out by back to back blizzards in 2007, so I was fortunate to see this on two consecutive evenings from two different angles in 2008, and several times since then. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/24519525974/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Different Take on Horsetail Fall"><img alt="Different Take on Horsetail Fall" height="160" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1487/24519525974_f71e5099fa_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly no water in 2012, it still looked great!</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Sometimes there is little water flowing down the rock, but from a position to the south, the selective light on the wet spot makes it look like the waterfall is there anyway! <br />
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Other times, if there's clearly too much cloud cover or valley mist to allow light through, heading somewhere else for a more traditional landscape shot may be the ticket for that evening. You have to first anticipate where the best light will be, before you can be in the right place to react to the light as it develops. <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/32911540736/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Horsetail Fall February 15, 2017"><img alt="Horsetail Fall February 15, 2017" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2881/32911540736_1ce7838a90_m.jpg" width="192" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>In 2017 I experienced a new variation: there was little direct light on the waterfall at sunrise, but there was intense sunset color on the horizon a few minutes later, and while the main flow of water didn't pick that up with any particular intensity, the surrounding wet spots on the rock reflected it beautifully. <br />
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Unfortunately most photographers seemed to have been waiting only for the direct light of the sun, so there was a pulse of traffic as they drove away, probably not seeing the sunset light that developed after the official sunset time. Folks, <i><u>that's how sunsets usually work!</u></i> The best color is minutes AFTER the theoretical (zero degree horizon) sunset time. So stick around for at least 10 minutes "after sunset", or even 15 or 20, just to be sure that you don't miss that night's color, whatever it may be.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/2299280744/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Natural Firefall (266,301 views on Flickr so far!)"><img alt="Natural Firefall (266,301 views on Flickr so far!)" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2382/2299280744_9ee55c2e35_m.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 28, 2008</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>1) Along the bank of the Merced River near the turnout just East of the Cathedral Beach picnic area (which is closed for Winter). This location is described on page 24 of my 320-page guidebook <b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/" rel="nofollow">"Photographing California Vol. 2 - South"</a></b>. <br />
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This angle provides the composition that compresses the complete length of Horsetail Fall against the rock of El Capitan. You can zoom in for a composition with no sky, or use a wider focal length to include the profile of El Capitan. This seems to be the most crowded location in recent years, as photographers pack together to shoot through an opening in the trees. <br />
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This is arguably a more complete view of Horsetail Fall, showing a longer stretch of its descent, making it look longer and skinnier. The view of more of the vertical drop makes the water flow look skinnier, and seeing it all from a longer distance makes it look more abstract and lava-like.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/2298387177/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Horsetail Falls at Sunset"><img alt="Horsetail Falls at Sunset" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3023/2298387177_8fafc39815_m.jpg" width="160" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>2) In the vicinity of the Cathedral picnic area on Northside Road in the valley, 1/2 mile East of the El Capitan bridge. That North road is closed for maintenance, so it's a 1 mile walk each way from where the El Captan bridge road hits Southside Road. This location is also described in <b>"Photographing California Vol. 2 - South"</b>. <br />
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This is more of a side view than the position on the south side of the Merced River, with the upper reaches of the waterfall against the sky. By showing less of the vertical drop, the flow of the water looks wider, and you see more of the rock face relief in detail. <br />
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The more northern location is probably the more common and iconic shot you see, although I don't mean to imply that's better. It's just another nice variation on a rare and amazing solar alignment event. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/796560170/in/album-72157604010317412/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Winter Wonderland"><img alt="Winter Wonderland" height="240" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1338/796560170_4693bdefc4_m.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Horsetail, 2007. So what?</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>The conditions required to make Horsetail Fall are unpredictable, so it's important not to rule out all trips that look iffy. You're probably more likely to miss it than catch it, but it's important to remember that Yosemite is beautiful this time of year, and generally more so if there are passing storms! So missing Horsetail Fall may be the best possible outcome for your trip. You may catch far better photos, of far more unique conditions.
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Plan on some dates, prepare yourself for the trip (carry chains), enjoy a winter trip to Yosemite, and consider Horsetail Fall to be possible icing on the cake! And expect to enjoy return trips to Yosemite in the winter if you don't get the Horsetail Fall photo that you want on the first one. Seriously, even when I lived in Sacramento, only 3 hours away, it was nearly impossible to predict when conditions would be great. <br />
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Life isn't a destination, it's the journey that occurs as you pursue your goals. Enjoy and make the most out of every moment.<br />
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If you want a little help maximizing your odds of success and anticipating the light to be in the right place while you are in the park, I update my annual list of Yosemite photography workshops <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/yosemite-national-park-photography-workshops/">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Yosemite Falls reflection on a moonlit night, February 15, 2017</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Horsetail Fall, California, USA37.7291238 -119.6284756999999712.207089300000003 -160.93706969999997 63.2511583 -78.319881699999968tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-86861509497907868942016-10-04T12:16:00.000-07:002016-10-04T12:54:11.233-07:00Eastern Sierra Fall Colors Presentation October 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll be presenting on Eastern Sierra Fall Colors this Saturday, October 8, 1 pm in the Mono Basin Visitor Center auditorium in Lee Vining. If you're in the area, drop by after lunch for some inspiration before you head back out!<br />
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I'll have copies of my guidebook <b>"<a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/">Photographing California Vol. 2 - South</a>"</b> on hand for signing, or if you already have one, bring it by and I'll sign it!<br />
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If you'd like to let me know that you might be coming, you can RSVP at the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1092501577530706/?active_tab=posts
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If you can't make it to the event, the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/114901948092855351156" target="_blank">+Mono Lake Committee</a> bookstore in Lee Vining has had the book in stock recently, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Whoa-Nellie-Deli-307983628936/?fref=ts">Whoa Nellie Deli</a> as well.<br />
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Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Mono Basin Visitor Center, Lee Vining, CA 93541, USA37.9656511 -119.1210489999999712.443616600000002 -160.42964299999997 63.487685600000006 -77.812454999999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-859518661512330952016-05-27T10:39:00.000-07:002016-07-12T20:45:47.190-07:00Eastern Sierra Conditions Spring 2016<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aspen trees are starting to leaf out</td></tr>
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My <a href="http://activesole.blogspot.com/2016/05/eastern-sierra-photography-workshop-June-2016.html">early May blog post</a> on spring Eastern Sierra conditions contained a collection of possible outcomes and opportunities for spring. I've been out a few times since then, checking the emergence status of various wildflowers, the water level at Mono Lake tufa sites (and their muddiness, since they form over springs), unpaved road access conditions, snow levels and lake iceout conditions around Tioga Pass, pond water levels and reflection opportunities in Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows, bird and wildlife photography opportunities, and so on. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quick snapshot on my iPhone 6S+ - good enough to show the arrowleaf balsamroot starting to bloom</td></tr>
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Wildflowers vary in intensity and timing from year to year, which is why I do these scouting trips before the workshop, and not while dragging customers around. Even knowing where various species can be prolific, checking the current year's status and timing involves many less than fully productive searches. Wild iris seemed to be a bit behind in timing. Mules ears have been starting to emerge over the past 2 weeks, and could peak in the next week or two. The few days of clearer, warmer weather in the forecast early next week could help them along. Paintbrush was doing well at low elevations but it is too early to tell how prolific it'll be at mid to high altitudes. Lupine were healthy in some areas and should still be available for another week or more a lower altitudes, and emerging at mid altitudes. Wild peach has been strong, and yellow bitterbrush has bloomed as enthusiastically as many local residents can remember (one even mentioned that this native must be a new invasive species), but the peak is now past for both. Isolated patches offered a variety of other species, sometimes dense, but you really have to search for them. I'll be back out over the next few days to see if some of the patches have increased in intensity, enough to warrant a visit during the upcoming workshop.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the photos in this post are from May 2016</td></tr>
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The weather has been unsettled, great for daytime photography as but less conducive for many types of night photography. That's pretty typical for May, which is one reason why I only ran a couple of Bodie night photography workshops then, but currently focus more on June and later. <br />
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Some locations are on the wet and muddy side, not unsurprising for spring, but certainly good to know before you show up for a sunrise or sunset and can't access the compositions that you might have enjoyed in the past, in summer, fall, or simply a drier year. In other cases, a site might be more dependent upon long term trends, and the long term drought continues to provide cracked earth foregrounds. If you're shooting in one basin and the weather and light looks like it might be better 25 miles north or south, you can save an hour of driving if you know that the site that you have in mind isn't in great condition that week. Conversely, you can make your day, week or month if you know that a site is in great shape, and you arrive to find great light to complement the site's full potential. A good workshop is made great when you can "connect the dots" to consistently arrive at a series of good sites, in great seasonal condition, offering optimal lighting, while reacting to the day's weather conditions. There are no guarantees in landscape photography, and that's part of what makes it exciting, but scouting trips do resolve what would otherwise be unknowns in the mix, increasing the odds of everything coming together just right.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quick iPhone snapshot is good enough to record conditions, break out the DSLR upon returning in better light</td></tr>
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The somewhat early opening of Tioga Pass is not surprising given a fairly dry month of February and the winter's overall normal to low snowpack (93% in the Mammoth lakes area, closer to 100% north of Tioga Pass). It has re-closed at times as moisture causes afternoon and evening storms, but it's open again now. Lakes are in various stages of losing their ice. Tenaya Lake was clear by the time the pass opened, Ellery may be completely clear now, Tioga was mostly frozen last week, so it may still hold some ice into next week. The terrain is complicated up in that area, so having spent many sunrises and sunsets up in that area is important to knowing what is likely to be productive, vs. a bust.<br />
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Tuolumne Meadows currently offers a lot of seasonal ponds. Determining ahead of time which of them provide decent compositions at current water levels helps keep the workshop moving efficiently. Many workshop leaders spend a lot of time and money marketing, and do a great job filling their workshops. Good for them. I prefer to spend my time in the field, develop extensive site and condition knowledge, and over time earn the reputation for delivering great opportunities and results. <br />
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It's important to me for my knowledge to include photographic technique and post-processing skill. Anyone can apply a filter in post-processing software or use a certain technique to make a landscape look wacky, and there's nothing whatsoever wrong with that, it it's the style someone chooses, rather than is trapped into through less than optimal exposure technique or lack of alternate post-processing workflow options. Getting through the end-to-end digital photographic process with realistic results is like walking a tightrope: bay far the easiest thing to do is to fall off. There are subtle things you can do all along the way to optimize results. You don't need the latest camera or software, it's more about fine tuning the various steps. <br />
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Ansel Adams produced timeless results by producing heavily manipulated but seamlessly realistic results, while popular trends included hand-tinting photographs to add color. Most of us don't know the names of his contemporaries today. No doubt Ansel could have had great commercial success producing those colorized postcards, but any era's hot trends can look cartoonish years later, out of the unique social context of the time. We're not immune from that today: I have over-saturated digital photos from the mid-2000s, tonemapped HDRs from the late 2000s, and I've dabbled with luminance masking, color light painting, and lately software filters. I gravitate more realistic results, and for the experiments with various trends, I'm gradually re-processing many of the more over-the-top post processing results. It's useful to try a range of things to settle on your own preferred style, and to continue to try new things for variety and to see if you want to broaden your options for post-processing any given scene in the future. So I want to maintain a broad enough collection of experiences to be prepared to help photographers who want to expand their own skills.<br />
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While the goal of my pre-workshop explorations are mainly to visit locations to assess conditions, it'll be a fun challenge to line up the sites for great light and weather during the workshop next week.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iPhone 6S+ panorama</td></tr>
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With the storms in the past weeks I haven't been out for night photography as much as I would like, but we should have a great time in Bodie June 4/5, and I hope to be out a few times in the coming nights to assess a few new locations as well.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/8171922308/in/album-72157630926160354/" title="Starry Night over Bodie Church"><img alt="Starry Night over Bodie Church" height="457" src="https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8485/8171922308_98de30de6b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Lee Vining, CA 93541, USA37.957592 -119.1199430000000337.907511 -119.20062400000003 38.007673 -119.03926200000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-66003052560065461352016-05-13T09:03:00.000-07:002016-05-13T09:03:02.098-07:00Eastern Sierra Photography Workshop in June: What's in Store?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZp9b4RNKWU/VvkhN56vp0I/AAAAAAACuJs/k2igdwa3VvAa5RR50aur-H1y_YfNp15OgCKgB/s1600/_MG_4446-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EZp9b4RNKWU/VvkhN56vp0I/AAAAAAACuJs/k2igdwa3VvAa5RR50aur-H1y_YfNp15OgCKgB/s640/_MG_4446-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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“The Traveler sees what he sees. The Tourist sees what he has come to see.” G.K. Chesterton<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26139637365/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Eastern Sierra Mules Ears"><img alt="Eastern Sierra Mules Ears" height="160" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1567/26139637365_ea75261a65_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>I can only be in one place at a time, so I have to be efficient and pack as much opportunity as I can into my time in the field. Every day has the sun rising and setting. Some weeks have wildflowers. Fall colors may be peaking in a given location for only a few days to a week. The Milky Way is available during a few weeks of the year, a moon rise at sunset or moon set at sunrise about a dozen times each. So I pick a prime season, the most likely peak days and times. <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/3466574795/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Storm Over Mono Lake"><img alt="Storm Over Mono Lake" height="160" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3634/3466574795_f03cb75861_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Workshops take me out of the field as I work on permits, itineraries, write descriptions, set up payment / registration buttons, and I perform a some kind of marketing to get them seen, if only a mention or two on social media. I'm not going for volume, and I personally lead all of my workshops, so they are designed to place you in a stunning place, in a peak season, as the exact best time.<br />
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The first week of June is amazing for the Eastern Sierra for so many reasons. Some snow remains on the Sierra Nevada (and possibly the White Mountains) to catch alpenglow, and there can be a fresh snowfall around the end of May to refresh that surface. Several species of wildflowers are starting to bloom, profusely in some areas.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9iAFJ377Lqs/T7EtQyBWhAI/AAAAAAACg98/O5gX9ceX7ZY4qONNxFgo9ALEh30RH8ZaACKgB/s1600/_MG_4545-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9iAFJ377Lqs/T7EtQyBWhAI/AAAAAAACg98/O5gX9ceX7ZY4qONNxFgo9ALEh30RH8ZaACKgB/s320/_MG_4545-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This year the new moon and Milky Way shooting timing coincides with this week, and we have the possibility of a late spring storm from the northwest for interesting sunrises and sunsets, or warmer monsoon moisture from the Baja coast that could bring dramatic afternoon clouds, showers and rainbows, or evening thunderstorms.<br />
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I used to be nervous about the thunderstorms interfering with night photography, but I've learned through experience in Bodie and the surrounding area that convection-driven storms tend to break up or blow east by the time the sky is fully dark around 10/10:20, so they're really just bonuses for sunset and twilight shooting, even when rain showers interfere locally for an hour or so (and even then they often give way to rainbows). <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/5076130562/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Fresh Snowfall at Ellery Lake"><img alt="Fresh Snowfall at Ellery Lake" height="171" src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5076130562_92bce7ed46_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Tioga Pass may have just opened and we may have interesting iceout conditions on the lakes. More often than not the pass <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tiogaopen.htm">opens in May, so with 89% snowpack</a>, the odds are good for a normal, mid to late May opening. It seems like they often try to wrap up whatever road maintenance is needed in time for an opening for Memorial Day weekend, so I'm going to guess Friday at noon as the official time, but cars line up early and they often let them in around 9 am.<br />
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We'll start with a sunrise on Thursday, pursue wildflowers and weather during the day, have an early dinner, and head back out for sunset at Mono Lake.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/5425834205/" title="Entering the Earth's Shadow"><img alt="Entering the Earth's Shadow" height="426" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5251/5425834205_dda309f533_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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We'll pick from a number of spots for Milky Way shooting, and arrive by the time it's fully dark at 10:07, when the galactic center of the Milky Way has already risen 6 degrees, perfect for placing it in our compositions.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/20148890662/in/photolist-AbA2yb-wGukdA-zzM8zb-oqXYmj-orsFnG-nPZXcK-nKskGR-DQcNSk-dqZ2SQ-efVsvD-9UySF5-9Wq9H2-9Wq9ue-9WsYo1-9WqaNr-9WsZP1-9Wt19o-9Wq9TV-9WsYLG-9WsXBS" title="Mono Lake Milky Way Panorama"><img alt="Mono Lake Milky Way Panorama" height="215" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/323/20148890662_dd4a8b9af8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
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Friday we'll catch sunrise at Mono Lake before the weekend crowds arrive, shoot different wildflowers, maybe explore some interesting geology or head up to Tioga Pass if its open for snowier views. Another sunset spot, More night photography, and turn in not too late since most of us are continuing on to Bodie the following night, and Bodie interiors the following morning.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/16336949221/" title="Eastern Sierra Wild Iris"><img alt="Eastern Sierra Wild Iris" height="512" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7538/16336949221_9d0394e1ff_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Plans are all well and good; I frequently plan something as simple as a sunset moon rise composition weeks in advance. But landscape photography is about light, so if you're on a workshop, you want a leader have enough depth in detailed regional knowledge to be ready to ditch all plans and react to the weather and light if there's more potential 20 or 30 miles from where you are. So leave the tourists behind who are stuck to their fixed agenda, and rather than a traveler who reacts to the weather and looks for a place to shoot it, you can travel with a local who knows the opportunities in every direction, and anticipates the conditions before you pick the next destination and hop in the car to arrive there just in time.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/8701499047/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sunset Rain Clouds Over Mono Lake"><img alt="Sunset Rain Clouds Over Mono Lake" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8131/8701499047_7199fd5217_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>Early June in the Eastern Sierra offers an annual convergence of so many factors which could make photography conditions stunning. Photography is more fun shared, so I can't wait, and all the better that I get to share all of this bounty with old and new friends!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26823864752/in/dateposted-public/" title="Spring is Coming to the High Sierra!"><img alt="Spring is Coming to the High Sierra!" height="360" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/26823864752_04f76f2ce1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Most of the participants are returning customers, but <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/eastern-sierra-fall-colors-photo-workshops/">we have room for one or two more</a> if anyone's interested!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/14482962580/" title="Bodie's Standard Mill"><img alt="Bodie's Standard Mill" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3913/14482962580_f9aa7a324c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/25064061082/" title="Milky Way Arch Over Standard Mill"><img alt="Milky Way Arch Over Standard Mill" height="360" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1498/25064061082_d3013feeae_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Connect with or contact me in all of the usual places for photographers: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/">Flickr</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Sullivan-Photography/346430679644?ref=hl">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/jeffsullivanphotography">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffSullPhoto">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/+JeffreySullivan/posts">Google+</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/JeffSullivanPhoto">YouTube</a>, <a href="http://500px.com/JeffSullivan">500px</a>, <a href="http://jeffsullivan.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>, or <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog">my Web site</a>.Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Mono Lake, California 93541, USA38.0070587 -119.012258937.8068797 -119.3349824 38.2072377 -118.68953540000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-45487467724494618042016-05-08T23:59:00.000-07:002016-05-09T00:14:21.241-07:00Mercury Transit of the Sun Coming May 9, 2016<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dz8PDf0WFO4/VzAqBIG_H7I/AAAAAAACwB0/vQd-B6YglwYWbHnTwntebibgSkAJ9aNVACKgB/s1600/_46A2846-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dz8PDf0WFO4/VzAqBIG_H7I/AAAAAAACwB0/vQd-B6YglwYWbHnTwntebibgSkAJ9aNVACKgB/s640/_46A2846-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venus transit of the sun June 5, 2012</td></tr>
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There will a a transit of Mercury across the face of the sun, as seen from earth, on May 9, 2016. <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/transit/2016-may-9">This article on timeanddate.com</a> can tell you when the mercury transit may be available from your location. It also provides links to information on proper eye protection!<br />
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When the planet Venus was scheduled to pass in front of the sun in early June 2012 I wanted to capture the event, but I didn't want to simply record a dark spot in front of a bright one. So I decided to place earth-bound objects in front of the sun to capture the Sun, Earth and Venus in the same shot. And why not... the next opportunity to capture a Venus transit across the face of the sun wouldn't come for another 105 years!<br />
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My setup for the Venus transit enabled me to shoot it at 400mm:<br />
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<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Canon EOS 5D Mark III </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">EF 70-200mm f.4 IS L lens </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">2X III Teleconverter</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Solar film for photographing the sun</span></li>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5fcnlUvJEc/VzAn1wMvQII/AAAAAAACwBY/X2sl1pH_tvIbfc7BGviIECwwI7l23yH0wCKgB/s1600/_46A2938-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m5fcnlUvJEc/VzAn1wMvQII/AAAAAAACwBY/X2sl1pH_tvIbfc7BGviIECwwI7l23yH0wCKgB/s320/_46A2938-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Since I was including foreground objects but wanted to catch Venus and the sun as well, depth of field was a concern, so exposures were captured at f/32, 1/500 second, ISO 200. That's with the solar filter reducing incoming light.<br />
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The setup I'm considering for the Mercury transit will enable me to shoot it at 640mm effective:<br />
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<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Canon EOS 70D </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">EF 70-200mm f.4 IS L lens </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">2X III Teleconverter</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Solar film for photographing the sun</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">This time I'll may track the sun and go for a composite photo showing the path of mercury across it. In that case I could use an f-stop like f/11 to reduce any image softening from diffraction, so something like f/11,<span style="color: #141823;"> </span></span></span>1/2000 second, ISO 100.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Be careful if you try to capture photos of this event. The sun can fry your sensor, so don't leave the shutter open in live view for long. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I'm going to go get a camera or two set up and focused now<span style="color: #141823;">!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<i>"After centuries of trying, only photographic technology could measure the ‘Transit of Venus’ and tell us our position in the solar system."</i> - <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108082546445760935585" target="_blank">+Royal Observatory Greenwich</a><br />
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<br />Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Tioga Pass, California, USA37.9110371 -119.2579299999999937.509834600000005 -119.90337699999999 38.3122396 -118.61248299999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-10549489660859198062016-05-02T12:22:00.000-07:002016-05-02T12:29:50.248-07:00April Road Trip to Death Valley<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GcJfyauh2-8/VyeVl2rcqDI/AAAAAAACv4I/C1IsAdpxjewdNZ68MDkmOer0ZfOc85ZqACKgB/s1600/_MG_7660_1_2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GcJfyauh2-8/VyeVl2rcqDI/AAAAAAACv4I/C1IsAdpxjewdNZ68MDkmOer0ZfOc85ZqACKgB/s640/_MG_7660_1_2-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natural Bridge</td></tr>
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You may have noticed that I'm obsessed with death. Death Valley National Park, that is! I grew up in New England, just about as far from the desert as you can get in America, so in my current quest to explore the largest national park in the Lower 48 States, I must be making up for lost time.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mesquite Flat Dunes</td></tr>
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Fortunately, currently living in the nearby Eastern Sierra region, I'm only 3-4 hours from a couple of park entrances, so I can indulge in my desert yearnings frequently. I usually visit once or twice in the Thanksgiving to New Year's Day time period, then again in February and March as the wildflowers start to bloom. But as spring continues and Death Valley starts to really warm up, I like looking for storms and bouts of cooler weather, in case I can slip one or two more visits in before it gets too hot.
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In April 2016 I could see a storm front approaching in the weather forecast. Daytime high temperatures would drop into the 80s. I'm currently working on a detailed photographer's travel guide to the park to be offered in the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/110451018599793407613" target="_blank">+SNAPP Guides</a> app, so I threw my camera and camping gear into the car, and headed to the park with a list of the sites I wanted to explore or revisit next.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VFtZb5_o8vU/VxeKFV_vQgI/AAAAAAACvtM/djr88LvPVf0OJHwY_PFnrHuEe8_fo1hrACKgB/s1600/_46A0619-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VFtZb5_o8vU/VxeKFV_vQgI/AAAAAAACvtM/djr88LvPVf0OJHwY_PFnrHuEe8_fo1hrACKgB/s320/_46A0619-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I hiked to a natural bridge, and enjoyed great views with sunlight streaming through clouds. I explored stone-walled buildings at an old mining town site, and found wildflowers thriving at higher elevations than on past visits this year.<br />
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I met a Subaru coming out the wrong way from Titus Canyon, apparently deciding that "high clearance" meant higher then they had. The worst part of the road is about halfway through the 24-mile loop, so drivers that wait that long have a lot of wrong-way driving to do. Sometimes they're in a hurry to get out, so they come flying around blind turns!<br />
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On the edge of a canyon, two jets saw me with my camera, so they took two passes each direction up the canyon, turning and shooting up sharply right in front of me, so I was able to get some great shots. They were very fast, very close, and very loud!<br />
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In Salt Creek, the water was slightly higher than normal, so the pupfish were exploring down to the parking lot, feeding in the flooded margins before low water forced them back into their normal cramped habitat space. Normally they're a little skittish, but their quest for food prevailed, so when I held my iPhone out over the water, one came over and posed for a portrait.<br />
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On one evening, I caught a sandstorm over Mesquite Flat Dunes, back-lit with golden sunlight by the setting sun.<br />
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On the way home, sunset light was lighting up rain showers at Mono Lake. It was an eventful and productive trip. I can't wait to return! In the meantime, I've uploaded the latest batch of photos to the <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/116469806647181209109/photos/116469806647181209109/albums/6261164211535356177">Death Valley 2016</a> photo album on my <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116469806647181209109" target="_blank">+Death Valley Workshops</a> page on Google+.<br /><br />If you might like to join me in Death Valley sometime, my spring 2016 workshops are done for the season, but I can add a session in mid-December if there's sufficient interest: <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/death-valley-photography-workshop-2013/">Death Valley Photography Workshops</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26390237086/in/dateposted-public/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Jellyfish Cloud"><img alt="Jellyfish Cloud" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1702/26390237086_0f7d6ef0b6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset rain showers over Mono Lake</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes Parking, CA-190, California, USA36.605967799999988 -117.115904536.604374299999989 -117.118426 36.607561299999986 -117.113383tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-37708259927525737582016-04-20T11:25:00.000-07:002016-04-20T11:43:18.998-07:00Photograph Jets Up Close in Death Valley<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/25805134654/in/dateposted-public/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="High Speed Selfie"><img alt="High Speed Selfie" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1694/25805134654_d938b199e6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water vapor condenses on the wing of an F-15C from the 144th Fighter Wing of the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/114154158794502703427" target="_blank">+Air National Guard</a> in Fresno</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've encountered jets in this canyon in Death Valley by coincidence a few times over the years, so I mentioned them on page 130 of my "Photographing California" guidebook, but I've only recently sat around and waited for them to arrive. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first time I showed up at 4:30 pm and waited for a couple of hours, and was skunked. I later talked to someone who had arrived at 3:30 pm, and saw three passes in 45 minutes before leaving at 4:15 pm.</span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="3s83f" data-offset-key="f69ob-0-0" style="line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="f69ob-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span data-offset-key="f69ob-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second time I waited from dawn, nothing happened until a single plane went through at 9:50 am. Nothing happened for another hour, then a pair of F-15C jets from the California <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/114154158794502703427" target="_blank">+Air National Guard</a> went through it in each direction, twice! </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">They seemed to spot the camera on the first run, then on the next three runs the lead plane pulled up sharply right at my location partway down the canyon, to be pulling a lot of Gs and turning up out of the canyon sharply directly next to me. The pilot appears to be looking at the camera each time, and I can't think of many reasons to end a run up the canyon early, in both directions, so it sure seemed like he was setting up selfies.</span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When he was pulling the most Gs, water vapor trails formed as trailing lines in the wingtip vortices, and more vapor formed on top of the wings.</span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">Having heard that photographers fly over from Europe to spend a week sitting all day waiting for the jets, and they report 7 to 9 per day, I had my 9 and figured that I had done well. For some reason, Mondays were considered to be less promising, so I might not see any more planes that day. I picked up my tripods and started moving towards the car, and more planes came! It was like that until I had to leave by noon. I'd throw the tripod over my shoulder and another jet would come.</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">A couple of guys from the adjacent campsite in the Stovepipe Wells campground the night before showed up and saw a jet go through. A few random people watched one go by from time to time. A busload of children on a field trip showed up, their wait was no more than 10 minutes, then a jet went by and they left. It seemed as if perhaps they came from a town nearby and had been able to coordinate with the pilot, perhaps a parent of one of the children.</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">Having been skunked on a prior visit then rewarded with a flurry of activity after a few hours of boredom, I can't make generalizations yet about your odds of catching jets flying up canyons in Death Valley, but apparently if you are persistent enough, they may eventually come.</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit;">That's when you'll find success, when preparation meets opportunity.</span></div></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26371595726/in/dateposted-public/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="F-18 Showing Off"><img alt="F-18 Showing Off" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1605/26371595726_dc7a7cdf3e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water vapor condenses at the wingtips and over the wings of an F-18 in a high-G turn</td></tr>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Panamint Springs, CA, USA36.340019 -117.4707030000000136.13521 -117.79342650000001 36.544827999999995 -117.14797950000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-791336263503324832016-04-05T13:20:00.000-07:002016-04-05T13:20:43.889-07:00Shell Creek Road Wildflowers, Paso Robles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Shell Creek Road is a rural road running north – south
between CA – 58 and CA – 46, passing pastures and rolling hills that can feature wildflowers in late March through April. There are also agricultural fields which can have symmetric lines for photographs, as well as a large vineyard with both old and young vines. The old vines are probably the ones which yield the excellent the Shell Creek Vineyard reserve petite sirah produced by David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains.</div>
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Shell Creek Road can be a convenient detour to take when approaching Carrizo Plain National Monument from the north, or departing Carrizo Plain in the direction of Paso Robles. The wildflowers are more concentrated towards the southern 6 miles or so.<br />
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From Paso Robles at US-101, take CA-46 east 15.6 miles and turn right onto CA-41 West Centre street. Go 2.8 miles and turn right onto Toby Way. After 0.3 miles on <st1:street w:st="on">Toby Way</st1:street> turn right onto <st1:street w:st="on">San Juan Road</st1:street>. After 4.5 miles turn right onto <st1:street w:st="on">Shell Creek Road</st1:street>. You’ll be on Shell Creek Road 10.7 miles, ending at CA-58.<br />
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To continue to Carrizo Plain National Monument, travel east on CA-58 24.2 miles, turn right on Soda Lake Road and travel 13.7 miles.<br />
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There's a creek at the north end of the road which can flow over the road after a heavy rain, and this can close the road. When I last visited, there was a car in the creek, just downstream of where it had washed off of the road. Don't underestimate how deep the water is, or how little force it might take to push your vehicle off the road!</div>
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For more information on the area, I cover Shell Creek Road on page 177 of my <b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/">"Photographing California Vol. 2 South"</a></b> landscape photography guidebook.<br />
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Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Shell Creek Rd, California, USA35.5175382 -120.331424435.310750199999994 -120.6541479 35.7243262 -120.00870090000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-9415994523741502932016-04-03T18:33:00.001-07:002016-04-05T14:11:11.916-07:00Wines to Taste at Hospice du Rhone April 14 - 16, Part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWBUWMcfywM/VwHBcR_fKnI/AAAAAAACvMM/bDDodU2qjdQm5Y2Ul_tm0kusoWRmTWLmg/s1600/US-Rhone-producers-syrah-grenache-etc-small-500px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eWBUWMcfywM/VwHBcR_fKnI/AAAAAAACvMM/bDDodU2qjdQm5Y2Ul_tm0kusoWRmTWLmg/s1600/US-Rhone-producers-syrah-grenache-etc-small-500px.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: black;">W</span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">ineries producing Rhone varietal wines in the United States</span></span></td></tr>
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When exploring wines produced with various different grapes, it can take years of experimentation to sample enough wines with dinners to get a good feel for which wineries produce the style that you like, and what foods they go with best. Fortunately there's an efficient, cost-effective way to find new favorite wines: wine tastings. I like to visit temperate regions and visit wineries while I travel, but there are many tastings in California where producers from all over the state, or all over the world, will come to you. The <b><a href="http://www.hospicedurhone.org/the-event/schedule.php">Hospice du Rhone</a></b> (HdR) wine tasting event coming up this month in Paso Robles features top wineries from the United States, France and Australia.
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Many wine lovers are familiar with syrah, one of over 20 wine varietals traditionally grown in the Rhone region of France. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier and the other Rhone varietals have done well in the New World as well, particularly in California, Washington and Australia. In Australia they call syrah "shiraz", after a region in the Persian Empire that produced notable wines at the time, although those were apparently white wines, and not syrah. But I digress.
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The first year that I attended the HdR was 2001. Earlier that year I had toured the Australian island of Tasmania enjoying their pinot noir, then I flew to the shiraz-laden Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale wine regions near Adelaide. The Australians were enjoying the release of wines from their fantastic 1998 vintage, which was in a string of strong vintages. I was enjoying them too. Upon my return, I checked two cases of wine as luggage and packed more in my carry-on baggage, for a total of 39 bottles in all! Ah the days before airline restrictions on liquids. Then a couple of months after returning from Australia, I attended the Rhone Rangers tasting event in California, offering American-produced Rhone varietals, and I enjoyed many fine Rhone lineage wines there.
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So I started 2001 with a great survey of Australian and American Rhone style wines, and Hospice du Rhone would be a great opportunity to add French wines to the mix, and try them all in one place. Let's start with the American wines and wineries that I particularly enjoyed at the Rhone Rangers event. Although wines change from year to year, the best grapes are consistently grown in the best sites, and wineries and winemakers that have tuned their winemaking practices for those sites will consistently produce great wines year after year. So finding your favorite vineyards, winemakers and producers is a great first step. So among this year's <a href="http://www.hospicedurhone.org/the-event/producers.php">239 wineries pouring at HdR</a>, many of these producers will again be pouring great wines:
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<b> 1998 <a href="http://www.lewiscellars.com/"> Lewis Cellars </a> Napa Valley Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Ripe nose, syrupy dark fruit, intense with ample tannins, a touch musty, long dusty finish with more dark fruit. 92
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<b> 1999 <a href="http://www.cedarville.com/"> Cedarville </a> El Dorado County Estate Syrah $24.00 03/31/01 -</b> Deceptively supple, fills the mouth with ripe soft berries and some vanilla. 91
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<b> 1999 McCrea Cellars Yakima Valley Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Ripe and musty with minty plum and black fruit, intense acid and tannins, ripe on the finish. 91
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<b> 1999 <a href="http://www.napavalley.com/napavalley/winetxt/truchard/truchard.html"> Truchard Vineyards </a> Napa Valley Carneros Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Musty, concentrated, a little syrupy, intense on the finish. 91
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<b> 1999 T-Vine Cellars Contra Costa County Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Ripe and very sweet,syrupy (American oak?), concentrated. A "no dump" wine. 91
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<b> 1998 <a href="http://www.jpvwines.com/"> Joseph Phelps Vineyards </a> Vin du Mistral Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Dry, deceptively well balanced, with a congue-tingling finish. Closed, masking ample intensity. Should be better in a few years. 91
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<b> 1998 <a href="http://www.justinwine.com/"> Justin </a> MacGillivran Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> (Barrel sample) Ripe, minty, fleshy, dark fruit, which carries into the finish. A "no dump" wine. 91
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<b> 1998 McCrea Cellars Yakima Valley Cuvee Orleans Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Nice nose, plus ripe dark fruit, peppery, toasty, with ample tannins. 91
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<b> 1997 <a href="http://www.chalonewinegroup.com/"> Jade Mountain </a> Napa Valley Paras Vineyard Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Supple with vanilla oak and coffee flavors. 91
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<b> 1997 <a href="http://www.swansonvineyards.com/"> Swanson Vineyards </a> Napa Valley Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Dry with dark fruit, oak, spices, herbs, nice acid balance. 91
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<b> 1996 QupE' Wine Cellars Santa Barbara County Hillside Select Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Supple with vanilla oak, skins, dark fruit, nice persistence. 91
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<b> 1999 Beckman Vineyards Santa Barbara County Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Tannic, dusty, peppery. 90
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<b> 1999 <a href="http://www.cedarville.com/"> Cedarville </a> El Dorado County Estate Grenache $20.00 03/31/01 -</b> Medium to full body, plush texture, sweet black fruit, balanced with an acid-supported finish. 90
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<b> 1999 <a href="http://www.cedarville.com/"> Cedarville </a> El Dorado County Zinfandel $22.00 03/31/01 -</b> Fruity, slightly syrupy, vanilla. 90
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<b> 1999 <a href="http://www.lavacap.com/"> Lava Cap </a> Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> (Barrel sample) Syrupy berry, spices… blueberry pie. 90
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<b> 1998 McCrea Cellars Yakima Valley Ciel du Cheval Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Supple, vanilla oak, toasty on the finish. 90
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<b> 1997 Clos Mimi Paso Robles Shell Creek Vineyard Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Minty, fruity, with spices and vanilla oak on the finish. 90
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<b> 1997 <a href="http://www.7peaks.com/"> Seven Peaks </a> Paso Robles Shiraz 03/31/01 -</b> Ample body, dark fruit (blackberry), mint, plum, shuts down on the finish. 90
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<b> 1995 <a href="http://www.swansonvineyards.com/"> Swanson Vineyards </a> Napa Valley Syrah 03/31/01 -</b> Dry, medium bodied, peppery with red and black fruits, some leather, nice intensity and acid. 90<br />
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<b>My Background in Wine</b><br />
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But what qualifications did I have for attempting such a feat? I started enjoying Ridge Vineyards wine since the early 1980s: my mountain biking route took me past their tasting room. A friend of mine worked there. Ultimately they would be named one of the top 5 wineries in the world, so I was spoiled by quality from the start. As I worked in Silicon Valley's high tech industry for a couple of decades, I had access to great wines and my budget enabled me to collect them. I started taking tasting notes in 1994. Given that my day job was selling servers to Netscape, Yahoo! and other startups, I set up a Web site and posted my notes there. That got me into the big wine tastings, often early as a wine trade journalist, before the crush of public made it a little more difficult to access the more popular tables and wines. Even just trying a wine each night with dinner would tune my palate with over 3500 wines in 10 years. But my friends and I got together for a "boys night out" every Wednesday night, and we quickly settled on blind tastings as the agenda, with the host selecting the theme each week. Add in a few trade tastings each year, and you start to develop an experienced palate, along with a pretty sizable database. Eventually I decided to be a wine broker for a few years, representing small wineries to wine shops and restaurants.<br />
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My taste in wine may not be identical to yours (the whole subject of reviews, ratings and rankings has been covered ad nauseum for decades elsewhere). But you can try wines and a producer or two that I've liked, and if we like similar styles, my experience may come in handy for you.<br />
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I both take notes on the flavors and characteristics of a wine, as well as assign a score on a 100-point scale, like the ones American consumers have become familiar with from Wine Spectator Magazine and Robert Parker's newsletter, Wine Advocate. There's a love-hate relationship with such systems in the industry as a score over 90 points can help sell a wine, and higher on the scale may mean bigger, bolder and more in-your-face, but that's not what you want with every meal. There are many excellent balanced wines that score in the high 80 to 90 point range that might pair better with food. I think that many or most wine consumers have become educated enough to make educated choices, so there's no particular need to shy away from putting a stake in the ground regarding where on such a scale a wine might fall.<br />
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Fortunately the Hospice du Rhone event provides one of those opportunities for you find what you like, and cut months or years off your search time, while you save many hundreds of dollars on the cost. <br />
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Maybe I'll see you there!Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Paso Robles, CA 93446, USA35.6368759 -120.6545022000000235.5336314 -120.81586370000002 35.7401204 -120.49314070000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-20794939865975842232016-04-03T16:27:00.002-07:002016-04-05T13:16:12.208-07:00California Spring Wildflower Sites, April: Antelope Valley<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26219797725/in/dateposted-public/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="The Mojave Desert in April"><img alt="The Mojave Desert in April" height="427" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1709/26219797725_0b52248faf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldfields and California poppies mix with Joshua trees in Antelope Valley near Lancaster</td></tr>
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One of my favorite photography road trips ever was a tour of California wildflower sites in the spring, including Antelope Valley and the California State Poppy Reserve, Carrizo Plain National Monument, <b><a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2016/04/01/figueroa-mountain-wildflowers-are-blooming-now/">Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area</a></b> in the +Los Padres National Forest, and the area covered by the annual Ridgecrest Wildflower Festival in the Eastern Sierra. I posted on my blog at the time <a href="http://activesole.blogspot.com/2011/04/antelope-valley-poppies.html">some of my favorite photos from the Antelope Valley</a>, but I have a little more time now to take a second pass and show you more of what I saw.<br />
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I'm considering taking that route again this year, so reviewing past trips and refreshing my memory on what to stop in on and check can be productive. I've also looked up the wildflower report at the California State Poppy Reserve, which <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627">posted this update</a> on Saturday, April 2:<br />
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<i>"The season appears to have ended early, as last month's rains came too late to sustain the bloom that had barely started. The fields are mostly grasses now; only a handful of poppies are blooming alongside the trails. The beavertail cactus in front of the visitor center is blooming, which usually happens after the season has ended- a sign that an early summer is on the way."</i><br />
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An early start to summer should not be entirely unexpected, given the record El Nino heat in the Pacific Ocean driving our weather pattern in recent months. It's a shame though that it didn't bring enough rain at the right time to deliver a bumper crop of wildflowers in the Antelope Valley. The Antelope Valley is large though, and there may be dispersed pockets where enough rain fell, perhaps with a northern exposure to minimize drying during the gap in winter storms in February. Much of the area is in the Mojave Desert ecosystem, where Joshua trees serve as gerat subjects, with or without wildflowers.<br />
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In any case, many other areas of Southern California desert are blooming with normal to above normal intensity, so if I decide to take the trip, the conditions in the Antelope Valley won't make or break the outcome.<br />
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So while I have my photos handy, here are a few more photos from the Antelope Valley area on that prior trip, and I'll sprinkle a few across my various social media accounts as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FlbHqRSn0SeV66YFMNe7_aMvSEqM8PZPQPL0iZHmvC9LjP6fqZaKZkVSNBEwldVreEcu42WTvbyjh1OxhfJIBig09iQ5fVENED5qEEEHX172iU5nWeQC5UNhSe000nUkBBj7jw/s1600/Photographing-California-Vol-2-South-landscape-photography-guidebook-by-Jeff-Sullivan-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FlbHqRSn0SeV66YFMNe7_aMvSEqM8PZPQPL0iZHmvC9LjP6fqZaKZkVSNBEwldVreEcu42WTvbyjh1OxhfJIBig09iQ5fVENED5qEEEHX172iU5nWeQC5UNhSe000nUkBBj7jw/s320/Photographing-California-Vol-2-South-landscape-photography-guidebook-by-Jeff-Sullivan-cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve often starts its wildflower reports in mid-March to keep visitors updated on the conditions as they peak at some point through April. The area celebrates the annual bloom at the California Poppy Festival. This year the 25th California Poppy Festival will be held <b><a href="http://www.poppyfestival.com/">April 16-17, 2016</a></b>.<br />
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For more information, I cover the Antelope Valley California State Poppy Reserve, and other sites to visit on an April California wildflower tour, on page 184 of my new 320-page guidebook, "<a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/"><b>Photographing California Vol. 2 - South</b></a> (shown to the right).<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/26220447155/in/dateposted-public/" title="Road to Nowhere"><img alt="Road to Nowhere" height="640" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1625/26220447155_a019e37632_z.jpg" width="512" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve34.73142033099424 -118.3938217163085934.728157830994242 -118.3988642163086 34.734682830994238 -118.38877921630859tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33143996.post-71147501681627725372016-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:002016-04-01T07:00:07.465-07:00California Wildflowers in April: Figueroa Mountain Road<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset from Figueroa Mountain Road</td></tr>
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Are you looking for a place to find wildflowers along California's Central Coast? Figueroa Mountain can be a great place to see wildflowers when the timing is right. Helen Tarbet of the Los Padres National Forest sent out her first wildflower update of 2016 to email subscribers on March 18. She reports that <i>"California poppies are blooming throughout the mountain"</i> and <i>"<span style="background-color: black; line-height: 15.68px;"><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Other wildflowers to look for as you continue your uphill climb include, buttercups, goldfields, coreopsis, shooting stars, ceanothus, California poppies, Mexican elderberry, blue dicks, fillaree, royal lupine, lomatium, fiddlenecks, beautiful pink prickly phlox on the serpentine rock formation on the right and lovely orange wall flowers just beyond that. Also, you will see strikingly beautiful Catalina mariposa lilies in the open grassy fields and wild canyon peas in some shaded areas. </span></span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 15.68px;">At Vista Point (large gravel turnout about 11.4 miles from the bottom), exquisite chocolate lilies are in bloom..."</span></i><br />
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The variety along this road can be stunning. I hope to get back down there next week, but in the meantime, here's my description of Figueroa Mountain Road Recreation Area on page 218 of my <a href="http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/photographing-california-travel-guidebook/"><b>Photographing California - South</b></a> guidebook, illustrated with a few extra photos:<br />
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<b>Figueroa Mountain Recreation
Area, Los Padres National Forest</b> </div>
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<o:p>Home to an annual wildflower bloom each spring, Figueroa Mountain provides a variety of species at various elevations, diversifying your opportunities and extending the wildflower season. The U.S. Forest Service often provides updates on the timing and progress of the wildflowers as they emerge in the February through April time frame, so if you have the opportunity, check their Web site for current conditions.</o:p></div>
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<b>Photo advice:</b> A selection of lenses will help you capture a
variety of perspectives on the flowers. California poppies are one of the most
common species of wildflower here, and they don’t open until they have warmed
up in the sun, so it’s not necessary to rush up here for sunrise.</div>
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<b>Getting there:</b> From US-101 take CA-154 East, San Marcos Pass
Road, 3.0 miles, turn left on Figueroa Mountain Road. <br />
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This is a narrow mountain road and your drive on it may take you 15 miles or
more and increase in elevation 3000 feet. It is not recommended for large
vehicles or trailers. </div>
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<b>Time required:</b> You’ll probably need 2 - 3 hours or more to
navigate the road and have some time for photography.</div>
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<b>Nearby location:</b> Also in the spring, the oak-laden hills and
pastures in the first mile or two of Figueroa Mountain Road may offer
wildflowers such as wild mustard.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Figueroa Mountain Road</td></tr>
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After enjoying the wildflowers, consider exploring the town of Los Olivos and the wineries of the Santa Ynez Valley. Jeff Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02256796802024209239noreply@blogger.com0Los Olivos, CA, USA34.6677172 -120.1150066999999834.6154777 -120.19568769999998 34.7199567 -120.03432569999998