Spring Cactus - 2020

The Siler Pincushion Cactus is a federally listed endangered plant and only grows in a small region on the Utah, Arizona border. The blossoms are small, about an inch, or around the size of a quarter.

View from Black Rock Road overlooking I-15 freeway.  The morning light creating a beautiful backlit desert scene.

Sunrise in Kayenta, Utah

Sunrise in Kayenta, Utah

Drive-by 'Shootings' in the Neighborhood!

Easter Sunday 2020

His is Risen!  

This will indeed be a memorable Easter 2020.  Jesus Christ has been called the Prince of Peace and the Light of the World.  The world certainly needs peace and light at this time during the world wide Covid 19 virus pandemic.  Usually Christians go to their churches, chapels, meeting houses and temples to worship, but this year we will be doing it at home! 

Joshua Tree Preserve, Utah

Joshua Tree Preserve, Utah

I took this photo last night around 8 pm, just before the sun set through a lightly hazy sky. It's amazing how warm sunset light can transform an ordinary landscape into something beautiful. I drove about half an hour away from home to a remote area near the border of Utah and Arizona for this view. Even though it is still a little too early for the cactus buds to bloom out, yellow wild flowers always make me happy!

A photographer friend asked if I would tell her the settings I used to take this photo, and how I achieve focus from foreground to background.  Below is my response:

Yes, but first a disclaimer. I am impatient when it comes to learning techniques and probably know less than a forth of what my camera can do, so I hesitate giving out technical info, not because I want to keep it secret, but because this is not my strong suit, and there are many photographers on this site who will tell you there are far better settings or ways to do what I end up doing. I'm mostly motivated by composition and color so feel more confident talking about those areas. Now, about the near to far focus, first let me say, I am not hugely concerned that my landscape or nature images with great DOF are tack sharp because most people normally don't see a sweeping landscape tack sharp from the foreground to the distant mountains...unless you are 10 years old!  If distant backgrounds look too sharp, it looks unnatural to me. (Personal preference.) So if I have believable focus that pleases me, I am good. (In this case, if you were to look at the full resolution file you would see that the background cliffs are a bit soft, but when I look at the entire image, that doesn't detract.) I can usually achieve acceptable focus fairly simply. I use a good wide angle lens (10-24mm), with an f stop usually between f/16 and f/22. I tend to like the closest foreground object, like a flower, to look larger than normal, (personal preference), and I achieve this with the wide angle lens and by positioning my camera so the flower takes up a fair amount of composition 'real estate', and typically within one or two feet of where I am standing.  Where to focus is the tricky part. One rule of thumb to get maximum DOF is to set your focus point approximately 1/3 of the way into the scene. In this case, I probably focused on some of the back flowers. But this varies with every situation. It's hard to determine the focus in this shot because the wind was blowing, causing some of the flowers to be somewhat blurry. Honestly, I take many shots of a scene and experiment with various f stops and various focal points. The more shots I take, the better my chances are that one or two exposures might work! How's that for confidence! I do know there are far more sophisticated ways of achieving perfectly sharp focus foreground to background, such as focus stacking. This is where you take numerous shots, each one focusing on a different point throughout the scene, then combine them using a computer program. I'm not sure it is possible to do this without using a tripod. So far I'm too lazy to do all this! 

Iris

Iris planted in front of a stucco wall.  

Photo taken on on overcast, shadow less day with my Lensbaby soft focus lens.  

Super Moon April 2020

 'When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain'

Jeff came home last evening and said "Have you seen that moon?" 

I totally forgot about the super moon so I grabbed my camera and found the best composition I could find close to home. 

I pulled off the side of the road, (behind Harmon's in Santa Clara), and used the hood of my car as a tripod.

Little Pleasures

Coming home just before sunset, I spotted this little colorful plant on Santa Clara Main Street, so I had to stop. Since I was almost laying by the side of the road to get this shot, I'm surprised somebody didn't stop to help the elderly lady who it appeared had fallen off the curb!

Spring means Lilacs

Spring means the heavenly fragrance of lilacs in the air. I always look forward to these blooms, however, they are much more common in northern Utah than in the St. George area. But yesterday I spotted a small bush by the roadside and right in front of a block wall. I couldn't resist stopping to breathe deep and take a few photos.

Pink & Orange

Pink Blossoms in Snow Canyon

One usually goes to Snow Canyon to enjoy a beautiful landscape of red and white cliffs, black lava flows, cacti and other desert vegetation and critters.  But there is this one flowering tree that I look forward to photographing in the Spring.

Stay Positive!

Beautiful Spring!

Stay positive! When Spring comes to your neighborhood, walk outside and commune with nature. You can 'safely' smell a flower, feel the sun on your back, listen to the buzzing bees, look up into the beautiful azure sky..... and know that God is in His heavens.

Early Spring in Ivins, Utah

Every year starting about January 1, I eagerly anticipate the arrival of Spring!  This year, however, my excitement is tempered by the destruction and loss of life caused by both severe storms and the coronavirus.   Hope both end soon and we can more fully enjoy this beautiful time of year.

Snow Canyon in Winter

Snow Canyon, Utah In Winter

A great place for photography after a storm!

After the Storm......

Fire Lake

Ivins, Utah

Last Colors of Fall - 2019

Gunlock, Utah

The setting sun seemed to be saying to me, "Look, I'm spotlighting the last of these beautiful fall colors for you to enjoy today, because tomorrow they will be gone for another year."

Pals!

Penny - Watson

When it came time for family portraits during our Lake Powell family vacation this year, these two cooperated better than anyone else!!

Mesa Arch

 Mesa Arch

Canyonlands, Utah

Tourists and other photographers crowd around me in front of this smallish arch and wait quietly in the dark, some of us for many hours. Finally, we notice a faint glow on the horizon, and then the rim of the sun peaks up from behind the distant mountains.  Immediately the underside of Mesa Arch turns a brilliant fiery red.  Within a few minutes a slice of sun creeps far enough over the mountains to cast a soft hazy light that silhouettes the canyon and pinnacles below.   And finally, the sun makes a grand entrance and bursts into view, its light rays revealing the beautiful hues of oranges, corals, reds, rusts and browns in this awesome landscape.  I love living in Utah!  

Better Butterfly Photos

A few days ago I spent a couple of peaceful hours at the new Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point.  Butterflies are often hard to photograph for the obvious reasons.  They move quickly, they blend in with flowers and foliage, they're small and have tiny patterns, etc.  Below I've posted some of my favorite shots from the day along with some tips about taking better photos of these beautiful creatures.

1.  First and foremost, be patient and plan to spend a lot of time just observing and waiting.  

2.  Plan on taking hundreds, if not thousands of photos to get a few that you like and are in focus.

3.  Use any lens you have, however, for the photos below, I used a telephoto lens.  

4.  Look for a monochromatic background that coordinates and/or contrasts with the colors in the butterfly to make an interesting composition. 

5.  Fill the frame with the butterfly, (zoom or crop),  to show intricate shapes, colors and textures.

6.  Try to isolate the butterfly a good distance from the background and surrounding foliage to make it stand out.

7.  Coordinate the colors of the butterfly with a color in the background for a pleasing composition.

8.  Create a small depth of field that blurs the background so the butterfly is not competing with other objects surrounding it or behind it.  (Small f number.)

9.  Often we view butterflies from above, looking down as they sit on flowers or foliage.  Find different points of view, like this one that shows antennae and profile of head.

10.  Look for unique compositions that will be eye catching and interesting.

My goal was to make the butterfly in each of the above photos the focal point and subject of the images.  Below is an example of a photo that is alright but did not meet my goal  This is more of an environmental nature shot where the scene is as important as the butterfly.  It is not as impactful if the subject is the butterfly.

   

Rainbow Over St. George Temple

Rainbow Over St. George Temple

I was in front of the temple waiting and hoping for a pretty sunset, and looked behind me and saw this amazing rainbow. I was disappointed it wasn't over the temple. Then I realized if I hurried around to take a shot in the opposite direction from the back of the temple, I might see the rainbow. Sure enough, it was even more intense and beautiful! I don't think I've ever taken a photo of a temple with a rainbow.

Summer Beauties

I love flowers! 

And I love to find interesting ways to photograph and present them to show off their beauty, color and unique qualities. This time of year I have to get my 'flower fix' in before they disappear until next year.....at least in my little corner of the world.