I was shooting a time-lapse on this morning when the card filled (I had forgotten to format it).  I changed the card  but that created a small glitch in the timelapse.

Then the battery died!  I changed that. To get the battery out I also had to take my Canon off of the tripod head using a Manfrotto quick release plate. It doesn't necessarily snap exactly back into place, so you also typically get a sudden jump in some direction of a few pixels.

Both happened during the peak sunrise color, so I couldn't simply make a video from before or after the glitch, I had the best light interrupted twice!

I did keep shooting though, so I have lots of still pictures from the morning, and this is how we learn.  I'm a lot less likely to make those same mistakes now when I shoot.

Mono Lake Sunrise

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For those of us in the Northern Hemipshere the bright, complex center of our Milky Way Galaxy rises highest in the night sky in the weeks close to the Summer solstice on June 22.  Here's a shot from early July, captures high in the Ansel Adams Wilderness at an elevation of 10,000 feet.

The image was captured in July 2010 on a Canon 5D Mark II, on a moonless night.

Milky Way near the Summer solstice

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I had a request yesterday for a print of an image from this sunset by the Golden Gate Bridge, so I uploaded this shot to my SmugMug gallery as well to provide a couple of options to select from: http://jeffsullivan.smugmug.com/Landscapes/San-Francisco-Bay-Area/3792961_m27SrJ
The other one is a little soft in places because it was shot at 50mm, which offered less depth of field.  This one was shot at 24mm so it's sharp all over.  I could have gone for a smaller aperture, but that light was changing quickly and that would've resulted in exposures so long that I'd have fewer compositions (as well as more noise).

Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise

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UPDATE: Here's the current circle (44 photographers)… a work in progress: https://plus.google.com/104896696773020847048/posts/RBLXB8x1bj1
With the help of
+CircleCount I created a circle of 14 photographers from a Cream of the Crop circle: 
- less than 10,000 followers
- more than 10 +1's or reshares in average for the last 50 posts

With the help of +Lori Hibbett I added +David Safanda  +Bryan Nabong  +Mark Hammon +Gary meyers +Matt McDonald +Wayne Simpson +Emily Ford +Brian Adelberg +Wayne Simpson +thomas o'brien +Ryan Wright, at least one of has grown follower count to 11k.

Who would you recommend for a circle of the best emerging photographers on G+ with under 12k contacts? 

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This is the time of year when the wild iris are blooming in  the Eastern Sierra.  They'll be doing great down near Bishop through the end of the month, and the bloom will move up in elevation until it reaches the Bridgeport area at 7000 feet in early to mid June.

Wild Iris Season in the Eastern Sierra

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Here's another shot of the huge "Sierra Wave" lenticular clouds forming over Topaz Lake on the California / Nevada border a couple of nights ago.  The peaks on the horizon, the Three Sisters, mark the California/Nevada border. The North Sister on the left is in Nevada, the South Sister on the right is in California, and the Middle Sister straddles the two states, with its peak lying just into California.

Fortunately I put two cameras out to shoot time-lapse sequences, because for at least part of the time with one of them I forgot to switch the lens into manual focus. That's really ironic, since for landscape I most often use a wide lens and use manual focus to control depth of field, but because I was using f/8 at a long focal length, I wanted the camera to focus more accurately than my eyes could. So I got both cameras set up and shooting, and went back inside.  When I went back out to check the cameras, it had gotten dark enough that one of them was hunting for focus, and missing shots in the sequence as a result. That's what I get I suppose, for departing from my normal workflow, for complicating the setup with two cameras at once..

Looking across Topaz Lake on the California / Nevada border a couple of nights ago, there were some huge “Sierra Wave” lenticular clouds forming. Fortunately I put two cameras out to shoot time-lapse sequences, because for at least part of the time with one of them I forgot to switch the lens into manual focus. That’s really ironic, since for landscape I most often use a wide lens and use it in manual focus, but because I was using f/8 at a long focal length, I wanted the camera to focus more accurately than my eyes could. So when I went back out to check the cameras, it had gotten dark enough that one of them was hunting for focus, and missing shots in the sequence as a result. That’s what I get I suppose, for departing from my normal workflow. The Three Sisters mark the California/Nevada border. The North Sister on the left is in Nevada, the South Sister on the right is in California, and the Middle Sister straddles the two states, with its peak lying just into California.

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Captured April 2011 in Antelope Valley near Lancaster, California.

Antelope Valley near Lancaster, California

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Last night I caught a sun ray rainbow, just before sunset, at Topaz Lake on the Nevada/California border.  

You may have noticed that rainbows move as the sun moves.  White light contains all of the colors of the rainbow, and the rainbows we see are simply that light separated out into various wavelengths, which we perceive as colors.  This doesn't happen like it does with a prism, where the rainbow comes out the back side of the prism and that color-separated light is projected onto something.  Instead, raindrops do separate the colors of light through refraction, but instead of it escaping out the back, that light is reflected back out of the raindrop at a 42 to 43 degree angle.  So everywhere you see rainbow color is a raindrop, and if you draw lines back from that rain drop to yourself and to the light source, those lines meet in roughly a 43 degree angle.

Someone standing a mile north of you may see a rainbow, but their rainbow will be coming from a different set of rain drops making a 43 degree angle back to the sun, and their rain drops at that angle will also trace a "rainbow-shaped" arc in the sky.  This is why you can see rainbows while you drive, and they will appear to move and follow you (at that same angle to the sunlight) as you drive.

So as a photographer, if you don't like where the rainbow is, move!  As long as you don't move so much that "your" rainbow doesn't fall off the end of the column of water it's coming from and disappear into dry air, you should be able to place the rainbow where you want it.  Similarly, if you see the sun striking a column of water and the sun seems to be close to the right angle, simply move until you catch that 43 degree angle and can see and photograph the rainbow you anticipated that it was making.

— 
A while back I decided to auto-post my G+ posts to my blog (for reluctant people who just didn't want to come to G+ for whatever reason).  As G+ approaches 2 years old I decided to test my original Google +Blogger blog (www.MyPhotoGuides.com) to see if Google's integration had caught up with WordPress plug-ins yet.  I still don't see any capability to migrate post to the Blogger blog, and when I post a link to my Blogger post, even though I created it around a photo posted to G+ first, the photo shows up tiny on the G+ share of my Blogger post.  

Here's how I do it over on +WordPress: 
How to Set Up a Photography Web Site and WordPress Photo Blog
http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2012/11/20/how-to-set-up-a-photography-web-site-and-wordpress-photo-blog/

You can see the G+ post mirrored to my WordPress blog here:
www.JeffSullivanPhotography.com/blog
There does seem to be a duplicate post at the moment, probably a short term bug.  In the past those sorts of things in the excellent WordPress plug-in by +Daniel Treadwell  have been cleared up quickly.

Rainbow in a Sun Ray

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Last night I caught a sun ray rainbow, just before sunset, at Topaz Lake on the Nevada/California border.  

You may have noticed that rainbows move as the sun moves.  White light contains all of the colors of the rainbow, and the rainbows we see are simply that light separated out into various wavelengths, which we perceive as colors.  This doesn't happen like it does with a prism, where the rainbow comes out the back side of the prism and that color-separated light is projected onto something.  Instead, raindrops do separate the colors of light through refraction, but instead of it escaping out the back, that light is reflected back out of the raindrop at a 42 to 43 degree angle.  So everywhere you see rainbow color is a raindrop, and if you draw lines back from that rain drop to yourself and to the light source, those lines meet in roughly a 43 degree angle.

Someone standing a mile north of you may see a rainbow, but their rainbow will be coming from a different set of rain drops making a 43 degree angle back to the sun, and their rain drops at that angle will also trace a "rainbow-shaped" arc in the sky.  This is why you can see rainbows while you drive, and they will appear to move and follow you (at that same angle to the sunlight) as you drive.

So as a photographer, if you don't like where the rainbow is, move!  As long as you don't move so much that "your" rainbow doesn't fall off the end of the column of water it's coming from and disappear into dry air, you should be able to place the rainbow where you want it.  Similarly, if you see the sun striking a column of water and the sun seems to be close to the right angle, simply move until you catch that 43 degree angle and can see and photograph the rainbow you anticipated that it was making.

Rainbow in a Sun Ray

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Now that G+ comments can migrate to Blogger, has integration of the two sites been fixed?  In particular, does the photo from the blog post come across at full size, or are Blogger posts still at a disadvantage to native G+ posts?  

I even created the blogger post around a photo uploaded to G+, to ensure that it was easily available to G+.

I've been on +Blogger for years (www.MyPhotoGuides.com) , but I've bought a new domain name and hosted +WordPress there when integration with G+ seemed to be better: www.JeffSullivanPhotography.com/blog

For reference, here's how I do it over on +WordPress using a plug-in: 
How to Set Up a Photography Web Site and WordPress Photo Blog
http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/2012/11/20/how-to-set-up-a-photography-web-site-and-wordpress-photo-blog/

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Even when I'm not out actively pursuing photographs, sometimes they arrive at my doorstep anyway.  

Lenticular clouds are so common in the Eastern Sierra they ore often referred to locally as "Sierra Wave Clouds."  Air flows over the Sierra Nevada, dips into the steep 4000 to 10,000 foot drop off here on the back side, then takes a bounce back up, and water vapor condenses as the air rises and cools at the top of that downstream wave.  It's like the wave which can form on the downstream side of a rock submerged in a river.

Even when I’m not out actively pursuing photographs, sometimes they arrive at my doorstep anyway.

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Testing the new skinny column layout with a tall photo… how does it look?

Mono Lake Sunrise Color

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As I was exploring the rocky shores of La Jolla I came upon this sandstone mound with a little pool of seawater on top.  It looks like someone stepped in it and splashed some of the water out right before I found it.

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For the photowalk in San Francisco to be attended by 1300 people tonight, apparently Google+ events have a "party mode" which will allow people to upload photos in real time so others can follow along: https://plus.google.com/events/cm6l1qj16ktg9f8sv69ep7b2rhk 

Dawn October 12

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This is adjusted to an ultra-warm color temperature of more than ISO 40,000, and it's still blue!

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A lot of heavy hitters on Google+ say
Change is Good
http://thomashawk.com/2013/05/change-is-good.html

I've always approached change from the perspective of "In change lies opportunity", look for the positive potential and head for that.  The topic of change came up here in the context of Google Glass.  I'm all for it.  I can envision infinite applications… some day soon surgeons will be able to operate across long distances.  In the short run… a voice-activated point of view camera?  I could definitely use that.

But in the big picture and recent context of rapid erosion of Constitutionally-protected rights, would I like to see due diligence on valid concerns like privacy, given the flood of developments like this one?  

Justice Department Secretly Obtains AP Phone Records
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/14/183810320/justice-department-secretly-obtains-ap-phone-records

As we're entering a new era of wearable networked devices, a little calm and reasoned discussion on such topics wouldn't hurt.  Proposing or engaging in such discussions doesn't represent a complaint about, or fear of, change at all.

28c3: The coming war on general computation
http://youtu.be/HUEvRyemKSg
_Cory Doctorow: The coming war on general computation
The copyright war was just the beginning_

The last 20 years of Internet policy have been dominated by the copyright war, but the war turns out only to have been a skirmish. The coming century will be dominated by war against the general purpose computer, and the stakes are the freedom, fortune and privacy of the entire human race.

The problem is twofold: first, there is no known general-purpose computer that can execute all the programs we can think of except the naughty ones; second, general-purpose computers have replaced every other device in our world. There are no airplanes, only computers that fly. There are no cars, only computers we sit in. There are no hearing aids, only computers we put in our ears. There are no 3D printers, only computers that drive peripherals. There are no radios, only computers with fast ADCs and DACs and phased-array antennas. Consequently anything you do to "secure" anything with a computer in it ends up undermining the capabilities and security of every other corner of modern human society.

And general purpose computers can cause harm — whether it's printing out AR15 components, causing mid-air collisions, or snarling traffic. So the number of parties with legitimate grievances against computers are going to continue to multiply…

Just as the members of our Constitutional Convention spent ample time debating and defining principles to support such as freedom, security and privacy, and they were meticulous to develop a legal framework in the U.S. Constitution to protect those rights, as we sit poised on the dawn of a promising new technological era, we owe it to our children to ensure that technology which could, in the wrong hands, severely undermine those rights, is designed so that it will not and cannot be misused.  

I can think of no company better suited than Google to design wearable networked technology with such considerations in mind.

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This photo of the moon rising over Half Dome was taken earlier this year, on Feb 22, in Yosemite National Park, California.  

Permits for Events and Workshops on Public Lands
I was chatting with a friend on G+ recently and he said he might start leading photography workshops.  The requirements vary from property to property, but generally you need $2 million in liability insurance, first aid training, and you have to apply for permits ranging from $200 per year to $1500 for a single event, and there can be additional monitor charges. I've been down that road, so I referred him to this useful summary of parks and permit requirements:

Still Photography and Permits On US and California Public Land
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/photo-permits/

What happens if you don't get a permit?  I hear that the fines are not small, and there are photographers who will gladly turn you in if they catch you with a group and no permit.  For example here's a note which was circulating earlier this year.  

——————————-
IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING PERMITS

Fellow Photography Workshop Operators,

My name is Stephen Oachs, the founder of the Aperture Academy, based in San Jose, California. The Aperture Academy (http://www.apertureacademy.com) conducts over 200 workshops each year with approximately 30% of these operated with the National Park System, National Forests and other government managed areas.

As you should know, working with government agencies to obtain the proper permits is challenging and comes with a long list of requirements, including proper insurance, CPR training, and wilderness certifications such as Leave No Trace, EMT and/or Wilderness First Responder training. These requirements are understandable as we are responsible for providing our customers with not only a fun and educational experience, but most importantly a safe one.

It has come to our attention over the past few months that there are more and more photographers conducting workshops without the proper permits, insurance and safety training and this is causing the park system to increase their scrutiny in an effort to police the offenders. With that, it is also making it more difficult for those of us who operate legally and do everything it takes to ensure full compliance.

For those of you who share in our mission to operate legally, safely and ethically, thank you. For those of you who continue to cheat the system and refuse to abide by the law, I am asking you to either step up and begin operating legally, or, choose to operate your photography workshops in locations that do not require special use permits. 

Given the importance of this type of compliance and how violators threaten the future success of Aperture Academy and other tour businesses, If you insist on operating illegally and we become aware of this, we will not hesitate to report you to the appropriate government agencies.

Thank you for your understanding and attention to this matter — good luck to you all in 2013!

Stephen W. Oachs
—————————————
Gallery: (408) 369-8585
http://www.ApertureAcademy.com

Moon Rise Over Half Dome Friday, February 22, 2013

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A few days ago I suggested that you could go out in the early morning hours, look east, and look for meteors from the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.  All week we've had storms here, so I wasn't able to look for it myself.  Yesterday morning, I finally had my chance.  I did capture many meteors, but mainly as the apparent source, or radiant point, of the meteor shower rose above the horizon starting around 2:40 am.  

Then reviewing my shots I saw this one earlier, around 12:23 am.  Was it an Eta Aquarid?  Meteors could come shooting up over the horizon a couple of hours before the radiant point in the constellation Aquarius rose, but I think that was going to occur more centered in this picture.  So the trail of an Eta Aquarid meteor should be pointing down and to the left, towards a point below the center, almost 90 degrees from this one's path.  So although this one appears to the observing camera to be roughly in the sky where many of the meteors did show up 2 to 3 hours later, it doesn't appear to be from the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.  Random meteors happen.

Well, Eta Aquarid meteor or not, this meteor's timing was great, streaking through the Milky Way while the lake was calm enough to provide an only slightly blurry reflection of it.  It's interesting to notice that the star reflections blur towards the camera as slight waves come towards shore in this long exposure, but the path of the meteor is more erratic because it doesn't stay still as waves make the reflecting surface also move.  Too often you'll see a photo with a perfect mirror reflection of the stars.  Can an entire lake be a perfectly flat mirror for the 30 seconds typically required to capture a star shot like this?  A small puddle perhaps, and a reflection in a lake looks mirror smooth for a short sunset exposure, but over the course of a long exposure, lake surfaces move.  I haven't seen a real lake provide a Photoshop-like mirror surface for a long dark sky exposure, but I hope I live long enough to see that night.

Here's a blog post I wrote a while back describing how to capture Milky Way images like this one:
Producing Milky Way Images
http://activesole.blogspot.com/2011/05/producing-milky-way-images.html

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