Thursday, December 31, 2015

Top 10 Travel photos: 2009

Storm Over Mono Lake, Eastern Sierra, California
Continuing the retrospective look at my last decade of travel and landscape photography, 2006 - 2015.  Here are some of my favorites from 2009. By this point, three years into my full time pursuit of photography, it starts getting hard to select favorites!

Second Workshop Dawn IX
Eastern Sierra Dawn Reflection
Mono Lake Sunrise Telephoto
Mono Lake Sunrise Telephoto
Belt of Venus
Belt of Venus at Mono Lake, Eastern Sierra
Yellowstone After the Fires of 1988
Aftermath of a Forest Fire, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
It's Coming!
Joshua Tree Sunrise, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Me and My Shadow
Me and My Shadow, Death Valley National Park, California
Lunar Rainbow Over Lower Yosemite Falls
Lunar Rainbow Over Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park
Earth's Last Hope
Earth's Last Hope< Santa Monica, California
Orion over Zion
Orion Over Zion, Zion National Park, Utah
This was a selection of a few favorites from an album of over 60 photos from 2009. To see more of them, as well as some of my road trip itineraries, click on the link or photo below.

Over 50 more of my favorite photos from 2009: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157651158831831


2009 Favorites

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Top 10 Travel Photos: 2008

Southern California Sunset
Sunset on Point Dume State Beach, California Coast
I'm looking back on my last decade of travel and landscape photography, 2006 - 2015.  Here are some of my favorites from 2008.

Cholla Garden Sunset
Cholla Garden Sunset, Joshua Tree National Park
Bachelor Party
Bachelor Elk in Pursuit of Mates
Mormon Row Sunrise
Mormon Row Barn at Sunrise, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Sand Snake
Sand Snake, Death Valley National Park
Ocean View Dining
Blue Hour on Second Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
Sunset Alpenglow on Half Dome
Sunset Light on Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California
Oxbow Sunset, Grand Teton National Park
Dunrise Reflection at Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Crescent City Sunset
Crescent City Sunset, California Coast
Mono Lake Alpenglow
Mono Lake Alpenglow, Eastern Sierra, California
This was a selection of a few favorites from an album of over 45 photos from 2008. To see more of them, click on the link or photo below.

More photos from 2008: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157650748530749


2008 Favorites

Top 10 Travel Photos: 2007

Rebirth
Coquille River Lighthouse at Sunrise, Bandon, Oregon
I'm looking back on my last decade of travel and landscape photography, 2006 - 2015.  Here are some of my favorites from 2007.


Bandon Sunset
Bandon Sunset
Yosemite Falls in Winter
Yosemite Falls in Winter
Happy Birthday NPS!
Merced River Fall Reflection
Range of Light
Range of Light, Bishop Creek, Eastern Sierra, California
California - South Landscape Photography Guidebook
Valley View Calm Evening Reflection, Yosemite National Park
Fall in the Canyon
Fall in the Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon Dawn
Bryce Canyon Dawn, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bridalveil Fall in Late Summer
Bridalveil Fall in Late Summer, Yosemite National Park
Taste of Freedom
Taste of Freedom, Death Valley National Park


This was a selection of a few favorites from an album of over 50 photos from 2007. To see more of them, click on the link or photo below.

More photos from 2007: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/albums/72157648842435683


2007 Favorites

Top 10 Travel Photos: 2006

Half Dome, Full Moon
Moon Rise by Half Dome at Sunset, Yosemite National Park
I'm looking back on my last decade of travel and landscape photography, 2006 - 2015.  Here are some of my favorites from 2006.

Floating
Kayakers and hot air balloon, Tahoe National Forest
 

Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree at Sunset near Las Vegas

Hidden Grotto
Hidden Grotto

Solar Rainbow in Yosemite Valley
Double Rainbow in Yosemite Morning Ice Fog

Last Light in Canyonlands
Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Coral Sand Dunes
Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Utah
Water Cuts Rock
Water Cuts Rock, Zion National Park, Utah


Fall Morning Mist in Yosemite National Park
Fall Morning Mist in Yosemite National Park


Fall's Splendor
Colorful Aspen Leaves by a Spring near Mill Creek, Eastern Sierra

This was a selection of a few favorites from an album of over 45 photos from 2006. To see more of them, click on the link or photo below.

  More photos from 2006https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreysullivan/sets/72157648833139014

2006 Favorites

Friday, December 11, 2015

Stunning Sunset Mono Lake Moon Rise Coming December 24

Mono Lake moon rise November 16, 2013
A few times each year, the moon rises at just the right time to be visible during sunset, while there's enough light on the landscape to capture that in the photo as well.  That will happen this month on December 24, Christmas Eve.  I'm not suggesting that you ditch the family to go chase the moon, just step outside at sunset, look to the east, and you'll have one more reason for the night to be a particularly memorable one.

If you might also want to photograph the moon, I've collected some notes on this blog post that I started in 2006:

How to Plan Great Full Mooon Rise and Set Shots
http://activesole.blogspot.com/2006/11/plan-ahead-for-great-full-moon-rise-and.html

I'm not sure if we'll head down to Mono Lake.  I've been going there for decades and my kids have been going there for all of their lives, so it holds a lot of sentimental value for us. It's pretty close by, so if the weather is nice, we may head down there.  The light could be particularly nice around: 4:35 - 4:55 pm.  Ping me on social media if your'e down there, in case we're standing a few feet down the shore from each other!


Monday, December 07, 2015

Moon, Comet and Venus Continue Their Dance

Comet C/2014 US10 Catalina (blue-green fuzzy dot to the left), the moon and Venus to the right
I predicted last week that the viewing would get better all week for Comet Catalina, with an interesting configuration in the sky with the moon and Venus joining the comet this morning (above).  The three celestial bodies played hide and seek for hours after they rose, then the hazy cloud cover seemed to close, so I caught a few final exposures before picking up my tripod and heading inside.  Fortunately the very last few frames did let all three shine through the clouds just enough that I could show them to you here.

The 14% crescent moon was a lot brighter than the comet, but it'll only be an 8% sliver tomorrow morning, and its rise will follow Venus and the comet, so comet photography will be good before the moon rises, then you can try for all three again as the moon rises.

The image above was captured on a Canon 5D Mark III and EF 85mm f.1.8 lens and cropped from the larger field of view.  The 85mm lens should just fit the three objects again tomorrow, or I might go to 70mm for a wide shot like this.  For shots of the comet only, I'll probably use my Canon EOS 70D on a sky tracking mount, perhaps with a Canon EF 70-300mm f.4-5.6 IS lens to get an effective focal length of up to 480mm.

The screen shot to the right shows what the configuration will look like tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Viewing Comet Catalina Gets Better All Week!


Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina at 6;10 am December 1, captured on a Canon 5DMarkIII with 85mm lens
Catalina December 1 at an effective focal length of 480 mm.
In late November I retweeted a link to an +EarthSky article describing a comet that would be brightening in the coming weeks, Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina.  This morning Comet Catalina was visible below Venus in the early morning sky to the East, as shown in the image above from 6:11 am this morning.

I also captured it at 300 mm on a Canon EOS 70D (right).  Due to bright moonlight, its tails were not easy to pick up, even at an effective focal length of 480 mm.  Over the coming week, the sky will get darker as the moon approaches its new moon phase, so the Comet and its tails should get progressively easier to see.  In the meantime, using a tracking mount would enable brighter exposures with less noise, so better results than this quick catch on a fixed tripod are certainly possible, but the best results should come as the moon gets out of the way November 8 and later, weather permitting.

Catalina with Venus & moon 12/7
Early on the morning of  December 7, there will be an interesting configuration in the sky as it rises to the left of Venus and the moon as a 14.7% crescent.  The moon rises at around 3:20 am with a zero degree elevation horizon such as the ocean followed by Venus and then Catalina around 3:40, so look for the trio clearing a moderately low land horizon around 3:45 am.  These times vary slightly with your latitude, but you can look up exact times in programs such as +The Photographer's Ephemeris or +PhotoPills.  On the morning of November 8, the situation will be similar but with the moon at 8.3%, following the earlier rise of Comet Catalina and Venus.

My 85 mm shot at the top is a four second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 3200 on a standard tripod with no sky-tracking mount, so many DSLR owners can start capturing it, whenever the sky is clear for them in the next week or two.

You can look up the comet in an app such as SkySafari+ to see exactly when it will rise in your location each morning.

Good luck with your viewing and photography!  Weather permitting, I hope to have some results to show you at some point in the December 7-14 timeframe!  Here are some of my prior comet photos on Flickr to entertain you in the meantime: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=23183960%40N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=comets&view_all=1