Minaret Fire - Mammoth Lakes CA

A throwback to one of the best sunsets I’ve witnessed up in Mammoth. The entire sky was fire but as the sky started turning a deeper yellow I pulled out my telephoto to really get some of the details of the Minarets. The textures in the clouds were pretty cool with a small break of light near the peak. Taken from the Minaret Vista where I’ll probably try capturing the Milky Way next time I’m up there as long as it lines up right. Friday is right around the corner!

www.bay-photography.com

Lone Juniper and Balanced Rock under Milky Way - Joshua Tree National Park

Here’s the first MW shot I processed from my trip Wed night. We came here before dark to get a nice foreground shot. I wanted 2 things; to have the balanced rock underneath the juniper to give the sense that the rock is smaller, and to use the awesome rock crevices as leading lines in which to me was key for this shot. This comp requires you to get right up to the tree so a twilight foreground shot helped ensure my DOF was sharp throughout. I lined up the juniper as if it is carrying the weight of the MW. As the MW rose through the night, airglow started to appear which is a nice bonus to add some nice green to the sky. My foreground was shot at 8:30 pm with the Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/14, 10 sec, ISO-320 and the stars were shot at 1:15am at f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400. Times like these I wish I had a second FF body to take other comps while I leave my main body in place for the money shot. But I’m happy how this turned out and I’ll just have to return another time to get a different comp I have in mind. Round 2 tonight, stay cool out there gonna be a scorcher.

www.bay-photography.com

Junpier and Rock - Joshua Tree National Park

Pulled an all nighter in Joshua Tree last night. We were hoping mid-week plus the 100+ degree weather would ensure we could hit some of the more popular areas without any trouble of fighting over spots. We started the night off at the lone juniper and balanced rock where we stayed well into the night to shoot the Milky Way. This is a shot from when we first arrived at sunset while the golden hour light was providing some nice light on the subject. The nice wispy clouds mostly blew away by sunset so didn’t get any burn but we did get some nice clear skies for astro. We will be back out here this weekend, but probably to some of the less popular areas as it will be crowded for the new moon weekend. Forecasts show temps to rise up to like 110 this weekend so if you are heading into the desert bring plenty of water and stay safe. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/14, 1/60 sec, ISO-100

www.bay-photography.com

Myrtle Falls - Mt. Rainier National Park

Can you tell my head is still in the PNW? This was taken almost 4 years ago. Hiked through snow and early wildflower blooms and can easily say this is one of my favorite National parks. First time visiting this park, first time we set foot in WA, and my first shot to get published in a magazine by @naturesbestphotomagazine . Can’t wait to bring Cole up to this area when he gets older but for now he will stay with the grandparents while the wife and I go enjoy ourselves. Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-200, f/16, 0.3 sec, ISO-100

www.bay-photography.com

desert sunsets - Joshua Tree national Park

I’ve seen plenty of sunsets but some of the best I’ve seen are in the desert. This was the case on this particular day. We had some awesome clouds that first lit up like gold, turned pink for the afterburn then blew away allowing us to watch the Perseid meteor shower. I call that a trifecta sky and haven’t had the pleasure of seeing too many but I’ll always remember the one witnessed at JTNP.

www.bay-photography.com

Milky Way Arch Rock - Joshua Tree National Park

Arch Rock is one of the more popular attractions and just a short hike from the White Tank Campground. Fun to climb on but even more fun to shoot under the stars. No light painting, no props, no human element, just Arch Rock lined up perfectly with the Milky Way with clouds providing a mystique-like aura over the arch. Sometimes being at the right place at the right time is all you need for a great photo opp.

www.bay-photography.com

Second Beach - Olympic National Park

This photo popped into my head the other day as my wife and I were coordinating schedules to make a trip up to Seattle sometime in September. Would love to get back out here but don’t think we will have time so I’ll probably just try and get as many cityscape shots as I can. The seastacks along the coast there are second to none. I wish I was into astro back then. That just guarantees that I’ll have to make a trip back in the near future. 

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-200, f/11, 1/5 sec, ISO-100

www.bay-photography.com