I just love this photo!

I was going through some old photos and I stumbled upon this photo from Morgan and Daina's beautiful wedding last August. I took it at the end of the night, during their last dance.

It might be a little soft, a little grainy, but I just love it. Because that's love, right there.

Signs of Spring

It's been spring for a whole eight days now, and while that usually doesn't mean much here in the foggy city by the bay, I'd swear that there's something new in the air. Life seems brighter, more full of possibilities. And although we still may have the occasional day of rain (welcomed, when drought is always a possibility here), the sun seems to be shining more and more.

Also, daffodils. I just smile whenever I see them. Who doesn't love daffodils?

Wherever you are this Friday, take a moment and check out whatever's blooming around you.

More from Yosemite

We had such a good time in Yosemite last weekend. Sometimes it seems like so much work to go away somewhere for a weekend: all the driving, and packing, and planning can make it feel like it's not worth it.

But it always is. I just love being somewhere new, with new smells, new sights, new breezes and pockets of beautiful light, and new attitudes and customs. Even if it's somewhere not so far away, somewhere I've already been a few times, it's still magical.

And if it's Yosemite, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Well. Then it's just something else.

The impetus for the trip was Evan's company, which generously sponsored most of it (for the whole company, not just us). We all went for a lovely day of spring skiing on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the snow was a little slow, just how I like it. I'm not one for speeding down the mountain; I prefer to take a look around me as I go. And although I didn't bring my camera on the slopes this time because I forgot the right camera bag at home (and deeply regretted it), skiing unencumbered and without too much fear of falling was probably the right choice. (I do like the photos from last year's trip, though.)

Saturday evening we all sat around and ate good food, and inspected each other's weird sunburns. (I was good except for a tiny triangle right up near my hairline where the sunscreen apparently didn't penetrate.) Some had a midnight poker game, but Evan and I just crashed out early, and then the next morning woke up at dawn for a little frosty meadow photography.

The light was just beautiful.

And I have to say that I take secret pleasure in the fact that just as we were leaving the meadow, a bunch of other photographers showed up with tripods and fancy equipment, and *snap* just like that the gorgeous dawn light was gone. Ha!

After that we had a leisurely breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and with Evan's parents went to explore Yosemite Valley a bit.

It was beautiful; there's nowhere else like it.

We walked the tiny hike into Bridalveil falls and proceeded to be almost totally soaked by the fine spray that went everywhere! My lens got a thorough cleaning after that.

Then we wandered around the valley a bit more, and visited the Ansel Adams gallery, which Evan only tolerated but I really enjoyed. I couldn't afford the $45,000 prints of Ansel's that they had for sale, but I did get myself a pretty nice Michael Frye print of a photo of his that I've always loved.

And then we drove home. It was a lovely weekend. We need to do it more often! Anyone want to plan a Yosemite trip with me?

Triangle

Happy Caturday!

My Newest Toy!

Ok, so I put the photos in this post together last summer, but I never added the words that would make it publishable.

(This often happens with blog posts, actually. The images languish somewhere in the blogger server while I try to think of what the heck to say about them.)

So I think I'll keep it short and sweet so there's some hope of hitting the 'Publish' button this time.

I got a fun new (toy) lens over the summer, the Lensbaby Edge 80 optic, which is pretty much an 80mm f/2.8 poor woman's tilt shift lens, without the amazingly superior image quality that comes with most T/S lenses.

Basically, you insert the Edge 80 into a Lensbaby lens (I have the composer) and then you tilt or shift it anywhere you want to move around the slice of focus. You can use it to extend focus (make it parallel to the plane of whatever you're photographing) or you can use it to shorten the focus into a tiny slice, which cuts across your photo wherever you want.

So really, it's just about fun.

Like many other lensbaby optics it suffers from a tendency to blow out the highlights easily (I think this is because they are all engineered to be pretty high contrast out of the box). But if you pay attention it's not much of a problem.

These images make me think of summer. I miss summer. Come back soon!

If you pull out the front of the lens, you can focus on items closer to the lens. You can also use Lensbaby's macro extenders to help you focus closer. This is a fun lens for macro photography.

However, it must be said that the lens doesn't handle flare very well.

Food photography, on the other hand, is a natural application for it.

So all in all, it's a nice change of pace from my other lenses, and it's nice to have something fun you can pull out of the bag to get a different effect in camera. Recommended!

Other blog posts with images from the Edge 80:
Strawberries, Sightglass, Against the Sky, and Ocean Beach.(The first two on film, the last two digital.)

Trees in Reflection

Which do you prefer, the horizontal or the vertical?

Reflection of Yosemite Falls

Rainy Evening

Endless Green

I just love the color green! I think I must sound like a broken record, but it's one of my favorite shades around. I just loved finding this hillside covered in delicate shades of green when I was visiting Brisbane the other week.

I think there should be something like a daily amount of green we're all supposed to get. A shortage of green in your life can cause stress, the doldrums, and a feeling of being stifled. So go out and get your dose! But until you can, here's a picture to tide you over.

Sun Shot

Meadow Flowers

I was looking through old photos today to put together a gallery of images for my new website (coming soon! I hope) and I often thought, "Wow! That's a really great photo! Why am I not taking more great photos like that today?" Which I thought was kind of weird. I mean, shouldn't I be looking back and thinking, "Whew! Glad I'm better than that now!" And don't get me wrong, I did think that a lot. And in certain areas, such as architectural photography and definitely portrait and wedding photography, I've grown a ton.

But it's also nice to look back and think that I didn't suck. What about you? When you look back at previous work, is it with a wince or with a smile? Or some of both?

In Contrast

We measure our lives in contrast, in the differences between things. Between moments, cheerful and mopey. The feeling in our bellies, hungry and full. The temperature of our extremities, roasting or freezing. Our hearts, generous or cautious. So often our contrasts make our life worth living, worth waking up again the next day to see what will be different.And though we might think we want life to be uniform and predictable, I think that's the last thing anyone really wants.

And of course, contrast makes photographs what they are. Thank goodness for it!

Small and Furry and Cute

Ok, I've been holding out on you, I admit it. I had all the super cute photos just sitting on my hard drive, collecting dust. Or whatever the pixel equivalent of dust is.

But here you go! All the cuteness you can handle in one sitting, assembled just for your viewing pleasure.

Cats and rabbits and guinea pigs, oh my!