Sunrise over the Valley

I got it in my head last week that I wanted to find a spot to take sunrise photos.

I love sunrises and sunsets.  I love seeing how the sky changes color.  And how vibrant it can get.  I love how the opposite horizon is affected as well.  And how it's different EVERY time.  No two sunsets or sunrises are the same.

This time of year is great for sunrises.  It's late enough in the morning that I don't have to get up at completely ungodly hours.  It's still warm enough that pants and a sweatshirt are sufficient.  The bay area gets some really iconic fog that makes for fantastic photos - especially with the sun reflecting off it or shining through it.

We live in a valley and really can't see much of a sunrise or sunset.  Gotta climb some hills to really get to a good spot to see one.  Or stand on a freeway overpass.

Friday morning came and I had totally forgot that I wanted to go.  Annie came in the room at 6 and I remembered.  The sun was starting to come up.  I grabbed flip flops and Annie and we ran out the door and went to find a location.  My first location was way up high on a hill.  Unfortunately it was so foggy Friday morning that I couldn't see anything.  I drove down the hill a tad and grabbed a couple shots, but was just barely on a shoulder of a 2-lane road and couldn't really stay there.

So we drove some more.  I saw a road go up a hill and decided to follow it.  It went around a bend and at the top of the hill is a school.  And a parking lot.  And a small field that overlooks the valley.  I parked and Annie and I both got of the out car and we watched the sunrise.  It was fun.  I got a couple decent shots - especially of a really thick patch of fog.  But I felt like I missed the best part of the sunrise.  So I decided to try again the next day.

Saturday morning came and I couldn't sleep.  I was afraid of missing it again.  I grabbed my phone, my camera, my tri-pod and a soda and left.  This time I took the time to get dressed.  I drove off to the same place as the day before.  I was up earlier and knew where to go, I was sure to get some better photos this time.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the fog that I had the day before.  So the photos weren't as mysterious and glowy.  But the sun was neat.

Watching the sunrise made me feel like the neighbor boy from The Incredibles.  Mr. Incredible says, "What are you waiting for?"  The boy replies, "I don't know!  Something AMAZING!"  Yeah ... that's how I felt.

Stood there waiting.  Snapping a photo here and there.  Then watching and waiting.  How was the light going to change?  How were the clouds going to reflect the light?  What color would it be?  Will I get "God-Rays?"

It was absolutely gorgeous.  I loved it.  Spectacular.

I only hope my photos did it justice.

The fog from Friday Morning's outing

Sunburst from Friday 

Sat AM Panoramic - built in Photoshop Elements, processed in LR

I love this one.  I love the way the mist and the light make it feel like the Serengeti or somewhere ominous.  Anywhere. Can't see the city.  Can't see the field. 

(I'm struggling with editing/processing sunrise and sunset photos in LR.  Trying to get the colors right and to get the right balance of light and dark.  I tried a bracketed set for HDR, but it didn't work right.  Also have a hard time remembering what the light looked like to properly process in LR.)

Fireworks....

Warning, this post has several photos.


Fireworks are legal in our city.  We are the only city in our region of the bay where fireworks are legal.  These become HUGE fundraisers for nonprofit groups and the city really brings in a lot of money.  People come from all over the region to set off fireworks.  And the residents have a blast.  So instead of going to a professional fireworks show, which I thoroughly enjoy, we (along with our neighbors) hang out at home and watch the at-home displays.  I don't care for setting them off myself, so I just watch.  Our neighbors put on quite the display.  (in past years, cops have been stationed just outside our neighborhood waiting for the illegal fireworks to come out; this year our neighbors toned it down some).


The girls were both asleep, so I took the opportunity to sit outside and take some photos of the fun.  It was a great experience to shoot in low light and need a fast shutter speed.  And to really figure out the proper exposure for something so obnoxiously bright with a black background.  Because the fireworks happen so fast, there isn't much time to figure out the proper exposure.  This is one area where I'm very thankful for a digital camera, because I can see if my exposure is accurate before I shoot 50 pictures over or under exposed.


Some of my neighbors really know how to do it right.  They set up two tall ladders and placed a plank across them and used it as a stand for the fireworks.  It made for some neat angles for shooting pictures.


The following are some of my favorites:

I love how you can see his smile, which expresses the pure joy these kids get out of doing fireworks.  He's getting some great summer memories. 

the street on the following morning

the street on the following morning

As an aside, I'm amused how some of these photos look like space photos when viewed out of context.

Relay for Life ---- in Manual Mode!

This past weekend I was asked to photograph my husband's band, "Northern Static," play as entertainment at a local Relay for Life event.  My two daughters were in attendance, and some friends came by to watch also.

I was very excited to get to take some fun pictures and try to really capture the moment.  Sometimes photographing a band can be difficult, because it all looks the same, so every picture is the same as the last.  At least to a later viewer.  One challenge was to get new shots that were exciting and different from the last.  Another challenge was the lighting. The band was on a stage under a canopy.  It was "dark" to the camera, relative to the surrounding light.  Metering the light on the stage from various angles was challenging as well.

It was fun to also capture the excitement of the event.  The children playing.  The walkers walking.  The tents. The workers.  While not all of these photos were "artsy" and super duper fantastic photos with lots of wow-factor (enough adjectives?), they were important in capturing the day and what the event meant to people who were walking.

My daughter (middle) and her two friends from church.  I love how they looked so captivated by the music.

This "behind the scenes" look was the only one that I really had a chance to get.  It was challenging with the light peaking through from the other side of the stage.  

I didn't realize it when I snapped this photo, but the backlighting provided a great "glow" to her already gorgeous red hair. Because she was back-lit, I kept the exposure the same for her as I did for all the shots on stage.

The walking, rounding the bend.  I was going for a "story-telling" image with this, but only had my telephoto lens with me when I went up the bleachers to capture these shots.  I think it still captures the feeling from being there, though.

Another "story-telling" image.  This one of the center of the field with the stage.  You can  see how dark the stage is  with the shade, relative to the outside.  This provided a great deal of metering challenges.

Probably my favorite photo of the bunch.  I was attempting a leading lines effect.  I like the out-of-focus people in the background. I'm not sure what story this image tells, but I know it's telling something.

Another "behind the scenes" shot of one of the musicians taping his set list to the floor.

The awesome drummer going to town. I love the slight blur on the drum stick , implying the motion that he's moving super fast.  This is a technique I'd really like to work on, and in fact have tried a few times already, but can't find the right shutter speed.

Again, you can see the drastic lighting differences.  I opted to overexpose the light areas and properly expose faces and instruments. I love the images of the musicians really jamming and rocking out and enjoying what they're doing.

 I'm not sure any of these photos jump out as real zingers, but for my first "photo shoot" in manual mode, I am very pleased with the results.  I snagged quite a few fun shots of the kids at play.