These rock formations in Death Valley always remind me of the neapolitan ice cream I had as a kid. If you let it melt just a little, you could swirl it into all kinds of formations!
Petrified Forest National Park is an area in northeastern Arizona. It contains many petrified logs, with trails through the “forest”. The logs vary greatly in color, depending on the minerals in the soil when the trees were buried and “rockified”.
If someone mentioned Death Valley to you, what would come to mind? Would it be hot and dry, dirt and sand, mirages rising from the heat? Or would it be reds and purples and pinks, milk chocolate, blue skies and snowy mountains, rich golds and tans? All of this describes the amazing diversity of Death Valley.
The Panamint mountains rise to 12,000+ feet to the west of the valley. In winter and early spring they can receive snow, emphasizing the bluish mountains and variations in color of the land and rock..
Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to get some great photos – say, your own backyard? There are usually lots of flowers, plants, birds lizards, etc. to provide interest.
This year we have a hummingbird that is a kick to watch. We call her the “resident” as opposed to the “intruder”. There is apparently a nest somewhere in the vicinity (alas not in one of our trees) where the resident lives. She comes to feed on primarily our red yuccas. The male doesn’t come around often; maybe he doesn’t like yucca juice. But this female is very feisty, and chases off anyone who comes into her territory – including one bee!
Yesterday I placed a chair within about 6ft of the favorite feeding spot and proceded to snap. Hummingbirds acclimate to people fairly quickly (I guess they know they’re faster than us), and she came right over to feed. Here are some of the many photos I took.
This feisty mama even chased away a bee! So territorial.
Hummingbirds do stop – quite a lot, actually. R(est) & R(refuel) are necessary to keep those wings beating.
Just like people, dogs, cats and even hummingbirds just have to scratch sometimes.
Hummingbirds are most known for their ability to hover while sucking the nectar from flowers.
After eating and resting, it’s time to once again take flight and find another flower.
Finally a still moment of quiet to rest and preen and plan the next feeding.
The sunset is the end of the day for most people. You take your pictures and then fold up the camera and put it into the bag. But, there is a whole different perspective for photgraphers at night.
You must be able to set your camera for a long exposure; usually only DSLR cameras have this feature. You also need a remote release that you can lock on for the length of the exposure. This means that when you press the button and the shutter opens, it stays open until you press the button again. Here are some examples of that process. All were at least 30 minutes of exposure; I set the camera up, pressed the shutter release, locked it into “open” position and came back sometime later to “close” the shutter.
Here is a photo of star trails out in the desert of Arizona. As the earth rotates, a circular pattern is created around the north star (seen at top center.) You need about a 40 minute exposure to get the circular pattern. The longer you expose, the longer the star trails become.
This next photo shows a more streaked pattern. This time the camera was pointing south, so there was no noticeable rotation around a particular point.This exposure was about 30 minutes. The streak at the bottom was created by several cars going down the road during the exposure.
This photo was taken in Costa Rica while I went to dinner. Again, I set the shutter to open, and came back after dinner to close it. The camera (on a tripod) was on the balcony of my room, so safe from theft. It is Arenal volcano, which continuously erupts to a greater or lesser degree. There was a low cloud as well as steam obscuring the top of the mountain. This exposure was about 45 minutes long.
Everybody loves a beautiful sunset. They come in all colors, from deep red to purple to pink. Here are a few from my travels.
Costa Rica Red
Costa Rica, 2008, from atop a hill. The sun is setting over the Pacific, although you can’t see the water from here. We had been photographing birds; it was too foggy for good pictures. Then, as the sun got ready to set, we drove up the road and got this spectacular view.
Saguaro in Rose
The desert can be a beautiful place for sunsets. Much of the color is produced because of dust in the air. The particles reflect colors to make for some interesting sunsets. A saguaro against a colorful sky is an iconic view of the desert.
Ocean Colors
Then there is the ocean sunset, which is probably one of the most seen in photographs. It is also one of the most varied in color and drama. Stormy skies, big waves crashing on rocks, reflections on the sand – these are all elements that make the ocean sunset magical.
Lone Rock Aglow
Water and clouds always add an atmospheric element; they create a calm, exciting, stormy and/or peaceful mood. This sunset is inland, but it is opposite the setting sun instead of into the sun. Often you can see beautiful color “behind the sunset” which can be as lovely or even better than the sunset itself.
Don’t forget to turn around!
msummersphoto 