Yosemite Falls Creek Bridge

Using any excuse to just get out and start photographing, Martin Luther King Day (Monday, January 17, 2011) was no exception. It had been well over a week since the last good snow hit the Central Sierra Mountain range. The sky was clear in Yosemite, the sun was warm, and for the third week in a row, the Central Valley was fogged in. That was more than enough to get me packing.
My wife and I spent the day going from one spot in Yosemite to another. This is one location I never tire of. With every curve in the road or twist in a trail there is another breath-taking view. This first photo is of a stone bridge that crosses over Yosemite Falls Creek (just down stream from Lower Yosemite Falls). It's not one of the Valley's more famous bridges (that's probably why no one was taking photos of it); however when the sunlight pokes its way through the trees and reflects off the creek creating a golden glow on the under curves of the bridge, you just have to stop and spend a few minutes watching the reflection ripple upward.



Another location in Yosemite Valley that is missed by many is Fern Falls. Unless you know what you are looking for or where this very small falls is located, it is easy to overlook. Even in the summer most Yosemite trekkers overlook this spot. Winter shooting (even if the sun is shining) is difficult because of the deep shadows and flashes of bright lighting that fall on the snow. This photo was taken in a very shadowed light. Even with fill flash it was almost too dark to capture. ISO was bumped up as were the exposure and sensitivity settings.

White snow against dark green moss, granite rock, and dirt... I was happy to even be able to capture what I did...

Going to the north side of the Valley from the south side created a totally different view and lighting. Here in the meadow in front of Yosemite Falls is a view of the snow, the tree line, and the falls. The skies were clear and deep blue. At the bottom of the falls was formed an ice dome (about thirty to thirty-five feet high and about forty feet across.

Here is a close up of the ice dome from just under the Lower Falls. The spray off the rock where the Falls reaches bottom is what causes the freezing water to form a egg shaped dome of ice.

I'll be posting more Yosemite photographs soon... check back for a view of a panorama I took from the Merced River looking back toward the east end of the Valley. Sunset, full moon rising, and a low misty fog hovering over a meadow.

There is just something about "PANORAMA"...

January 22, 2011… it should be cold and it just was not. Well, not unless you were in the Central Valley of California enduring the very thick and frigid fog. After days of seeing fog, the call to the warm sun was just too hard to resist.

Early in the morning it was off to the Sierra’s. Taking my wife and my two oldest grandchildren to Dodge Ridge for a day of snowboarding, I dropped them off and headed back down to Pinecrest Lake for a quick few shots.

The lake was semi-frozen (with a very thin crust of ice on the top and dozens of signs warning people to stay off the unstable ice). Ignoring the fact that the sun was directly over the south side of the lake, I spent a couple of hours walking the north shore from the west. This panoramic shot was from the western edge of the lake at the Pinecrest beach area.

The warning sign said it all: “WARNING: Unstable Ice & Snow – KEEP OFF”. With that kind of a warning, and the fact that you could visibly see cracks in the ice, you would think that people would pay more attention to the warm conditions and how the affected the thin ice. On my shoreline trek I saw people walking their dogs and following the rules of “Keep Off the ice”… Just before I left there was a young couple with their three small (very small) dogs… Suddenly, SPLASH! In went one of the dogs. Yelp! Yelp! Then a second and a third SPLASH!!! I was about thirty feet away when I heard the young woman screaming to her dogs to get out of the water. The man kept shouting “Where did he go?” As I got closer, one, then two, then all three appeared between the rocks… shivering and shaking. I’m sure glad the small dogs got out when they did as the air may have been warm, the water was not. The guy was just seconds away from trying to reach into the freezing water to get them… I think he saw the water was deeper than he expected and chose not to chance it.

It was an exciting few moments at Pinecrest Lake that day. The warning signs said it all: “Unstable Ice & Snow – KEEP OFF”. Well, all’s well that ends well. The views were fantastic.

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)

Dragonfly up close and personal

Sometimes don’t you just like to get up close to nature and zoom in on the small things in life? Macro photography is just that. Getting a close up view of nature and seeing things just a little bit differently than you normally do. Many years ago (too many to want to count) I remember the fascination I had with the microscope. Small details that the eye doesn’t notice just jump off the screen (or once printed “off the paper”). This dragonfly that I noticed in my back yard is such an example. I’ll have to thank the little critter for staying so perfectly still and long enough for me to capture its image. Once I downloaded the digital image onto my computer, the once unnoticed colors and shapes came into view. The golden browns, the blues, the minute veins in its wings; all the way down to the invisible hairs on its body and legs. Things you would not notice if you just saw it flying bye. I did not even have time to go get my regular camera (Digital SLR), I just had my “carry where-ever I go” point and shoot Sony Cybershot 8.1 mega pixel camera. Just shows you that you can capture very good images with many of the newer simple to use cameras.

Photography is not always about the camera (although quality and great lenses really do help); most of the creative part of photography comes from the person behind the lens. Angle, lighting, focus, patience, and often time’s just plain old luck play a big part in taking good photos. I was fortunate this time to have all those elements. I don’t know if having my Digital SLR and macro-lens would have made a difference with this one photo as time was a factor that I just could not risk. Shoot with what I have, or risk loosing the shot all-together by going for the high end camera. I think I made the best choice.

Amgen Tour 2010 Modesto CA - Team Radio Shack

Well another year and another fantastic Amgen Tour of California race here in Modesto, California. I had the best spot for seeing the faces of the racers as they slowed to round a corner near Enslen Elementary School. A few sprinkles of rain didn't dampen the crowd. This year I managed to capture Team Radio Shack and Lance Armstrong during Stage Four of the Tour. Unlike past years, the race circled three times giving me (and the hundreds of others who were next to me) the greatest view (short of the finish line) possible. Here are just a few of the photos I took. I hope you enjoy them (and the song by Queen - "I Want to Ride My Bicycle"). It just fits the tone of the race. Makes me "want to ride my bicycle" now also. Just click on the clip, turn up to volume, sit back, and let's go for a ride.

Three Dimensional Illusions

Have you ever wanted to make photos in 3-D? It's not that difficult and really not that expensive (especially with digital cameras). Sure, you can go out and buy a 3-D camera (like the 10 megapixel FugiFilm 3D camers; or a Holga Sereo Pin-Hold camera (using 120 film); or ever a high priced 3D World Medium Format Stereo Camera (about $1,750), but with just a little effort and your existing camera (preferably digital), you can make some amazing 3-D photos.

The example here was made in less than 10 minutes:

The steps I used are simple... The first thing I did was set up various objects at different distances against a background that was stationary (doing landscape will wake a little more practice to get the effect down, however, most of us will be taking 3-D shots of family and friends (or pets) so I'll save the long distance landscape 3-D how-to for later.

The basics of 3-D photos is to remember that you already have a built in 3-D in your head... Your eyes! When taking 3-D photos, just remember the distance between your eyes. Each eye angle of view is ever so slightly different, so when you take your two photos, you may want to mark the distance between your eyes on a ruler (or paper) and then take your first photo shot at the distance of your left eye, and the second photo at the distance of your right eye. Focus your center of the photos at the same spot on both photos (as in the case of my sample, I used the center candle as my focus and then just took both shots focusing on the same spot on the candle. Then keeping my head stationary, I shifted the camera from one eye to the other (you could use the same eye to shoot, but just remember to only move your head the same distance as the space between the center of your two eyes.

Technically the name of the difference in the space and angle is called "parallax" which just means that the object being photographed (or the objects nearest the camera) change their relative position as it relates to the subject in comparison to the other background objects in the photos (just like your eyes do). You can see the difference even without a camera just be looking at something close to you and switching between your left and right eye... you'll notice the object furthest from you doesn't change that much (the background) while the subject you're focusing on does (by approximately the width between your eyes). When taking your photos, be sure to keep the objects parallel to your eyes to get the 3-D effect.

After you've taken your two photos, you can either print them and tape them together (no boarders if possible), or put them side by side (both equal sizes) and then focus on the center of the photo (I put a red dot on the sample). Adjust the photo closer or further away until both photos become one (if you cross your eyes the photos will merge into three photos... the center photo that appears will be a compilation of the two original photos and that compilation will be a 3-D image). If you have a pair of 3-D glasses (Polarized like the kind that were used when viewing the movie Avatar) and you have a program such as PhotoShop CS series, go into Layers and superimpose one photo layer on top of the other photo, then put on the glasses to get a cool 3-D effect... (I know, too much work!) There are mirrored devices that can be purchased that will merge the two photos together (like the "Multipurpose Pokescope Viewer", the "Loreo 3 D Pixi Viewer" (which is really cheap), or an "Adjustable Stereo Wide Viewer" side-by-side BIG print viewer like the "SS-1" - (all these can be found at 3Stereo.com - "http://www.3dstereo.com/viewmaster/3dl.html" and "http://www.3dstereo.com/viewmaster/sv.html" (and a dozen or more sites by typing in 3-D cameras or 3-d viewers)...
(changing the colors heightens the 3-D effect)

With very little practice you can learn how to see the 3-D photo without the aid of a viewer or special devices... just remember to put the two photos at a distance (all depending on the size you made of your photos - the bigger they are, the further away they will need to be - however the better the effect will be with bigger prints) where you can move forward or back to have the two photos merge without straining your eyes. A good way to start is stand close to the photos and move either the photos away from you (or you move away from the photos) until they merge into one picture (focus in the center)... Remember also that three pictures will "ALWAYS" be seen when the proper distance is met. The picture in the center is the 3-D photo. You'll be amazed how much more detail you'll see in the center photo verses the single photos to the right or to the left of the center 3-D photo. Colors will be brighter and the depth-of-field will pop! This all happens because each eye picks out the information presented in the photo on that side of the eye... When the two pictures meld together, each eye is picking up the information in the photo on its side and your brain creates the 3-D image. Cool - isn't it! As a bonus, while looking at the center picture, move your head from left to right and back again (just sway back and forth). What you will experience is the illusion that you are actually moving around the objects.

One of the biggest problems with doing all this without the viewers is that your eyes fatigue quickly and you can't just talk long looks at the photos (hint... spend a few dollars and get a viewer)... I have an antique Stereoscope viewer and I made photos that fit in the viewer... that takes a little getting use to and experimenting putting larger photos in a 3 inch by 7 inch landscape format. The one thing I discovered with landscape photos is that to get the same effect as close up 3-D photos is that the distance between your two photos is in comparison to the distance of the object (the further the object is away from you, the wider the two shots have to be taken: (example... if I'm 50 feet away frojm a tree that I want to photograph in 3-D, I have to shoot several feet apart focusing on the same spot in both photos. You just have to experiment on that (which I'll hopefully write on soon).
(adding an object in on photo also intensifies the 3-D illusion)

Well, as I've said so often before, with photography you just need to look at things differently and experiment with your camera. Half the fun is trying new and different things that give your different perspectives and effects. That's what makes it fun!

Experiments….

It's always fun to experiment with different lighting. On Christmas night I was having dinner at my son's home and he has this huge tree in the middle of a very large field. Using a thee million candlepower spotlight and painting the tree with light in the darkness created this scene. It's always fun to try something new. You never know how it's going to turn out until you try it.

Modesto is BEAUTIFUL at night during Christmas...

Here it is Friday night - December 18, 2009 and I just could not resist the lights of Christmas in Modesto. I started off just driving around and looking at the lights. My first stop was the McHenry Mansion and took this shot:



You can't help but view The Modesto Bee Newsboy and his dog from across the street"


Just around the corner and down the block across from where 10th Street meets K St. I spotted a beautiful display of lights by the Double Tree Hotel.


And where there a lights in the trees, you just have to have the old style street lights decorated too.





If you haven't had the opportunity to view the lights of Modesto... get out soon while they are still aglow.






On Satruday night (December 19, 2009) the McHenry Mansion had an open-house. The best open-house I've ever been toat the Mansion. It was billed as: "Christmas Candlelight Tours".
The docents were dressed in period garb and the lights were dimmed to reflect the late 1890's to early 1900's. Every aspect of the tour was great... I hope they have it again every year. FANTASTIC!!!!

(I wish they would have had a one half hour period before they opened when photo buffs could go in and take photos (with flash)... No flash was allowed and t was impossible to use a tripod... so, with the dimly lit period lighting, it was very difficult to get a well lit shot (even with high ISO)...

MAYBE NEXT YEAR?

Christmas Greeting

My 2009 Christmas Greeting to all those who have taken the time to view my photos and links. I want you all to know that I do appreciate you and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Joy-filled New Year. God Bless you.


Saint James Episcopal Church at 42 Snell Street, Sonora, California is the most Christmas beautiful church I have ever seen. Driving up to the church just says... Merry Christmas. A must see when ever you are in the area.

End of October 2009

Just couldn't resist... October is almost over and I just had to get out and have one more shoot before Halloween. This time I was going to head back to the Sonora/Twain Harte area.... after passing Knights Ferry on Hwy 120, and just before reaching Jamestown (California), I guess I got a little distracted.... There it was, the turnoff for Chinese Camp and the Hwy 120/49 southern route. Next thing I knew, there I was having a hot cup of coffee in Bucks Meadow. By that point I figured "Why not? I'm almost there!".... So off I went, further south and on to ... yes, you guessed it... YOSEMITE.

Considering I was just out for a drive looking for more Fall color, and after checking the Yosemite web site (don't ever trust a web site that tells you there is not color: "The trees are all evergreens.") I had decided not to go to Yosemite, however something was just pulling me to the Valley floor. Am I ever glad I let the moment drag me along. Here are some of the views that greeted me on this very lazy Thursday. Next time you have that voice in the back of your mind say... (well, at least when it comes to photography) "Oh, what the heck, just go!" Well, "JUST GO"....

(I'll be adding more images over the next few days)...

More images from Plumas County area....

I'm beginning to wonder if God is giving me a sneak peek at what Heaven will look like. Every season I am discovering new and magnificant views, and with each changing season I'm seeing this beautiful Earth in greater detail. Photography (even though I have been shooting images for over fourty years) really does cause (force) me to look at my souroundings in a different light.

Here are some more images I captured this past month in the Quincy/Plumas County area.

I say this with each passing season, however true, there is so much to shoot and so little time to catch it at its peak. The days I was able to visit must have been the most perfect for this season. The week before here in Northern California we had heavy rains and high winds. The winds this week (today) are again high (with gusts up to 40-45 miles per hour). The days I was in Plumas County were perfect. The air was calm, the skies clear and bright, and the color.... WOW! Such color!...

(An old barn on Bucks Lake Road outside of Quincy, CA.)

Meadow near the Middle Fork of the Feather River near Gaeagle, Califonia (end of October 2009)

A quick catch-up after a long busy Summer 09

(View near Clio, California off Hwy 89 in Plumas County)......

WOW! Is it the end of October already? Where did the time go! Well, for me it's been a very busy summer and early fall 2009. Beside having taken more trips to the ocean and the Sierra Mountains, I've been trying to get my " imagesbywilliammoore.smugmug.com " photo web site up and running and adding some of my most recent images into that sight.

(Yes the rock jump with color near the Sardine Lake Road - Sardine Lake, California)

This past week I spent a few days in the Quincy, California (Tahoe National Forest) area. Yes, it's that time of the year again.... FALL COLOR! The Quincy/Plumas County area of the Sierra Mountains is one of the most colorful and spectacular viewing areas in Northern California. Over the next couple of weeks I hope to be adding dozens of photographs to both this site and the "images" site.

(You don't have to go far off the beaten path to capture some of natural beauty of Northern California - this photo was taken just to the east of Lower Sarine Lake... The utility company was nice enough to clear a path through the forest for low growing and very colorful plants to thrive and display their color.)

(After returning from the Quincy area I still had the bug for fall color so I took a quick treck up to Twain Heart, California (just east of Sonora)... Several miles up a gravel road (Middle Camp Raod - Longway Rd. just past Phoenix Lake Rd. to be exact).... I took this photo. Being that I'm never totally satisfied with just taking an image (like this one)

I often times will convert the photo image to an oil paint image. On canvas these photo conversions look as if I had spent hours painting the canvas from the photograph. You can see every curve and brush stroke.

In case you hadn't seen my other photo site, hopefully these photos will inspire you to take a look. It's time to get back to taking pictures. I hope you drop in from time to time as I add more photos for you to enjoy. If you get the chance to get up into the hills, this is the best time of year for capturing the splendor of Mother Nature.

Too many photos ----- Too little time.

(Bodie - Before the Storm).... (Note: just click on the photos for a larger view)
For the past month (or more) I have been in one of those great dilemmas for a person who loves to take phots. Too many photo opportunities and so little time to process them. Over this (what seems like a very short summer), it has been "go ~ go ~ go!". A few days shooting from just south of Morro Bay up to Monterey. Then a few more days from Monterey to Half Moon Bay. A quick week trip to Lake Tahoe and Virginia City (Nevada). Not even back a week or so and then a Highway 1 trip from Bodega Bay to Fort Bragg and more fantastic views of the Pacific Coast (sunny days all - which the locals say never happens in a row). And then, this past week it was off with some photo friends for a few days at Tioga Pass near Yosemite, Mono Lake (and the amazingly beautiful "Tufa" that spring out of the lake); the ghost town of Bodie and back over Sonora Pass and the rugged beauty of the high Sierras.


"Bodie in Decay"(Bodie School)

Well, as I said, too many photos and no time to process them. These pictures are just a tease of some of the shots (and at last count for the past six weeks the count is over 3,000 of them) I have been fortunate to capture.
(Tufa on Mono Lake - Light Painting) (Point Arena Lighthouse) (Friends at Glass Beach - Fort Bragg, Calif.)
(Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, Mendocino, California)

Over the next few months I'll be posting more of this summers shots. Right now I'm working on several for the Modesto Photographers Collective's showing at the Mistlin Gallery (this will be the gallery's final show after many years of presenting local artists in the Modesto area). Hope you enjoy this tease. Just a view "Looking throught my eyes..."...

Lake Tahoe and Virginia City - opposites attract!

It's funny (as in peculiar) how you can go weeks (and months sometimes) and kind of feel uninspired (photo wise), then go in spurts where you just can not get enough time behind the lens. The family (all the kids and grand-children) just returned from a week at South Lake Tahoe (and day trips around the lake and into Nevada (around Virginia City). The weather was cool at the lake and the skies (especially the sunsets like this one) were beautiful.

(South Shore sunset)

Those all allusive bellowing clouds that are so few and far between here in the Central Valley were in abundance in the Sierra range. Sunsets were spectacular and the views from the mountains around the lake were breathtaking.

(Still snow capped peaks in late June)

I shot until I could shoot no more (actually, I shot until my wife told me we needed to go)... I shot hundreds upon hundreds of photos (these are just a very small sample). Everthing just seemed to shoult: "Over here! Shoot there! Look here!".

I did and these are some of what I saw. I probably have at least a months worth of work to catch up on not that I'm back home and slowing down (it's near 108 degrees here today so this is a good time to just stay indoors and do a little work getting some of my photos ready to post on this blog.

(Beauty even after the fires)

(The water really is Emerald Green).

(At every turn there is a suprise)...

(Shooting in black and white and using different colored filters gives you great effects)

(Virginia City, Nevada) Boot Hill - history all around)

(Old saloons and bars dot main street Virginia City)

((Not to mention all the candies you can haul away in a truck)

Back to the lake and some of the other two legged critters I attracted with my camera.

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I did taking them. Living in this part of California is really great. Just a couple of hours (if that) to the vast Pacific Ocean; a couple of hours to Yosemite Valley, San Francisco, the gold mining country, the rivers and lakes (just out of town), the wine country, and the coastal range mountains.

There is just so much to see and so much beauty all around. It's difficult sometimes to decide which way to go. I know.... life is rough! I feel very blessed to live where I do and to have the choices I have to be creative.

(Until next time)......