In the Morning

                                             "In the morning when the moon is at it's rest
                                              You will find me at the time I love the best
                                              Watching rainbows play of sunlight
                                              Pools of water iced from cold nights"

                                                                              The Bee Gees

                                                           https://youtu.be/i8dMlfDtEe8

I was out early morning in my kayak on the last day of the 2018 year.  I always enjoy the transition form night to daylight.  Nature is quiet and just coming to life.  The stillness clears the mind and refreshes. 

Terlingua Cemetery

This image is from a series I have been working on with nighttime photography.  This image is comprised of two images blended together in Photoshop.  With the first image I use a light painting technique to light the crosses and grave sites.  This exposure was around five minutes giving me enough time to navigate around with my flashlight and paint in the areas of the scene I wanted lit.  It was a full moon night and the stars were not visible.  I made a separate night sky exposure of just the open sky on a later date when the sky had plenty of stars.  The first exposure on the full moon night gave plenty of detailed to the distance mountains, giving depth to the image.  Making these kind of images takes some planning.  I usually scout out the location in the daytime to plan my composition and lighting for when I am there in the dark.  Once I am at the location at night I first make a test exposure at a high ISO to see the composition and make any adjustments that are needed.  I use a Sony mirrorless camera and with the live view and manual focus features, it makes determining my focus point fairly easy.  Night photography can be fun with some proper planning and being carful when moving around in the dark.  If you have any questions about this technique contact me and I will try to answer your questions. 

Thoughts and dreams in Iceland

Iceland is a fascinating place with extreme weather conditions.  The light is always changing as is the mood of the weather.  It is not uncommon to have sun one minute and rain the next.  The wind can blow hard and then quit moments later.  The Arctic sea is always battling the coastline and creating wonderful clouds that come ashore and rise up over the mountains.  It is a quiet and remote land where the everyday world vanishes.  I enjoy quiet places where the land is in its nature state, showing no signs use.  It gives time for reflection and a focus on the real values in life.  It seems our technology has imprisoned us and we have become separated from fundamental things in life.  In someways the technological world has become our real home and the nature world is foreign to us.  Sadly I see most young people living their lives 12" from their nose staring into a screen focused on meaningless information.  So much life and youth can be squandered with such constant distractions. I am not immune to the technology trap we live in, but thankfully I have a greater desire to explore the nature world and seek out the wonders that exist there.