New Melones Lake and Bridge Panographic

With the first chilling rains of Fall I figured it was time to do some experimenting with my photos. I'm working with larger format photos and doing "Panographic" landscaping. I hope to get over to Yosemite Valley right after the first snows of winter and taking photos of the Valley using the Panoramic process. Have you ever look up at the sky or an expansive landscape and wish your photos could capture everything you can see with your eyes? Well, that was what I was thinking when I saw this view off Hwy 49 and looking southward to the New Melones Lake and Bridge area on the border between Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties..

Past reflection on Ripon Balloon Festival

Color the Skies Balloon Festival – Ripon California

Just another early morning rise and shine to catch this shot of the beginning of the Color the Skies Balloon Festival that benefited the Children’s Hospital of Central California. So many thing need to come together to allow my camera to capture the excitement of this event. The skies (must be clean and clear - yet filled with color), the wind (there can’t be any... often these events shut down before they begin due to the winds), and the crowds. As you can tell from this shot, this was one of those moments that just begged to be stopped for people to enjoy for a long time.

Yosemite Skies....

Another beautiful trip to Yosemite was what the day called for. The call was too strong, so on August 21st my wife and I headed out, bright and early in the morning on what looked like it was going to be a clear and sunny day. As we entered the Valley from the Merced side of Hwy 140 and past El Portal we could tell that this day would not just be what we expected for 92 degrees and the California Central Valley filled with bright sunlight. As the day progressed and we wandered up the Mist Trail toward Vernal Falls (and back again), then over to Mirror Lake, it became more and more apparent that the expected sunshine was fading fast. These are a couple of photo I took from the Valley floor.

One of the things I like most about Yosemite (beside the unbelievable beauty) is its unpredictability. I have been going to the Valley since around 1964 and it is one place I never tire of (the crowds yes… the Valley, never!)

Still Boats on Calm Waters

"Still Boats on Calm Waters". This is one of the photos I will be showing at the Mistlin Gallery (1015 J Street, Modesto, CA) this coming October 2010. I'm still going through the hundreds of photos I took in Ireland and all those who have view the photos have urged me to print many of the photos and to present them at gallery showings. Well, I'm going to follow their urging.

Irish Spirit - Set 3 ... the beauty that is Ireland

After two (plus) weeks at the beginning of June 2010 traveling all over Ireland (from Dublin through the North of Ireland, across the top of the world and down the West Coast and back to Dublin, I've put together 3 sets (Irish Spirit) and I hope you take a look at each one as each set tells a different story of the Irish people that I came to know. The Spirit of the Irish people is one of courage, commitment, and sacrifice; it is a spirit that grows stronger each day. These photos can't even begin to tell the story or express the beauty that is Ireland. I hope you enjoy my effort to give you a hint of what I experienced.

IRELAND - Two Nations.... One People

This is the second set of pictures on the Ireland theme and the musical background quite frankly states the new Ireland that I have come to love. Being of Irish heritage (Moore, Handlon, Moran) part of the reason for my visit was to bring a full circle to my family history trek back to the land of my forefathers. Jeremiah Darby Handlon (Great-great-great-great grandfather)was born in 1765 in Dublin, Ireland and came to America as a very young man (like so many Irish did) with only the clothes on his back and a very few Pounds in his pockets. No member of the family has been back since he left (even though there are hundreds of his descendants in the States). Our family follows the tree back to his marriage to Mary Betsey Young on September 21, 1787(they had three children); and to the year of his birth. I had hopes of tracking the line further, however that was where it stopped. The music is titled "Irelands Call" and I thought the words were appropriate to express (even though still divided) the spirit of the Irish people.

I hope you enjoy Set two of my "Ireland" photos.

IRELAND.... a trip to remember forever

In between May and July 2010 has been a month of excitement and travel and the opportunity to capture well over 3,000 photos. Beginning in early June and ending at the end of June my wife and I were able to visit Ireland (both the North and the South ) and to spend a couple of weeks weaving in and out of its big cities and tiny villages (mostly the tiny villages).

Dublin (the Guinness tour and The Book of Kell in the old Library at Trinity College were must sees; and for a great a dinner, Gogarty's Pub - great traditional Irish food... and it didn't matter that it rained cats and dogs... that's Ireland. Dun Loughaire (ya have to stop by Walter's for some fish and chips and a Guinness). A short drive up the M5/A2 to Belfast and through Ballystruder to Carrickfergus Castle and then a stop in Londonderry (or for the rest of Ireland just Derry) - Oh, a must see church in Londonderry is St. Augustine's Church - on top of the wall where the Troubles happened (their motto is: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers "Hebrews Ch.13 V.2" and I can tell you after meeting and talking with a woman greeter there they certainly take that message to heart. The woman was a joy to listen to and she told us of the history of the city, the church, the times of Troubles (she was married at the time when bullets where flying past the front of the church doors)- We could have talked with her for hours, but after our hour visit, we realized we needed to move on to see the rest of the city. We were there when they were about to announce the results of the British inquiry of the shootings in the North. It was then up the Northern Coast to Portrush (a beautiful village at the very top of Ireland. We stayed there a few days and made day trips to Dunluce, Bushmills (and yes, we did the tour... and a wee bit of the taste... a very wee bit). Balleycastle, Causeway Coast, Mourne Mountains and Fermanagh Lakelands, miles of one lane roads on our way to Antrim and Bellymona and so many other towns - a breathtaking experience (not to mention they drive on the left - opposite from the US).

One of my biggest fears is "HEIGHT"... One of my greatest joys is a fantastic view. Both come together at Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (it's a rope suspension bridge near Ballintoy and the bridge links the mainland to the tiny Carrick Island. Bridges usually don't bother me (like the Golden Gate, San Mateo, Brooklyn etc... this one did... 65 feet long and 80 feet above the crashing sea and rocks. Oh, did I mention that it's a wind swept bridge? What fun! (Oh and I walked that rope bridge - one inch at a time...)

On the way past the Giant Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede is the little harbor of Ballintoy. Peaceful little village that, like on the day we were there, you can look out across the sound to Rathlin Island and beyond to Scotland. Well worth the short out of the way wander.

Well, I could go on and on and on about the Irish portion of our trip, however, the theme of my blog is "Photography" and "Looking Through My Eyes". I'd probably best get on with the "Looking" part. This is the first video compilation of our trip and my photo memories. There will be more as I review the over 3,000 (plus) photos I took. There will also be photos from the Normandy and North Eastern area of France, and our little side trip through Belgium. I hope you enjoy these. If you do, your comments are appreciated.

I mixed the Ireland photos around so some are from the North and some from the South... Ireland is so beautiful that for this blog it doesn't matter... it's IRELAND! (BEST VIEW IN NON-FULL SCREEN FORMAT... I used low resolution for posting)