View from the top of the Stratosphere.
Talking about a room with a view!
Toby Keith Reflection
A Toby Keith video sign reflecting in a rain puddle on a sidewalk along the Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada.
I rotated this image 180 degrees so that the reflection wouldn’t be upside down like it appeared to me on the sidewalk. I then flipped in horizontally so that what little text that did show would be readable.
A cold, rainy night was a perfect night for photography on the Las Vegas Strip. The streets and sidewalks glowed with wet reflected light, there were all kinds of fun reflections, and there were very few people!
For this image, I focused on the distant reflected image, and not on the much close sidewalk / puddle. I then used a wide aperture ( f /4 ) to limit my depth of field – I preferred having the sidewalk out of focus. I needed a tripod because of the 1/10 of a second shutter speed. I then shot over and over trying to capture something interesting on the constantly changing video screen.
Fresh Snow in Red Rock Canyon
Fresh snow in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was really tough to leave Anza-Borrego with the way the wildflowers were developing. We are spending the last couple of weeks on this trip in Las Vegas – we have some commitments and need to pay the bills, but we are going to make some time for some fun with some Alaskan friends as well.
The sky began to light up during this sunrise, but then faded away – since I didn’t get great light, I may try converting this to black and white after I return to the office.
Dune Evening Primrose
A closeup of a Dune Evening Primrose, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.
When it comes to macro close-ups of flowers, I’m no Michael Brown, but it is still a lot of fun – one could get lost for hours experimenting with the different lines, colors and textures found in just a single flower. Add to that, the different combinations of focal length and depth of field and the composition possibilities are nearly endless. I tend to prefer the broad landscapes, but it is kind of fun to enter the little macro world found at your feet.
Desert Sand Verbena
Desert Sand Verbena, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.
This was captured at sunset last night.
To follow up on my Anza-Borrego wildflower forecast post from yesterday – the more I hike around, the more convinced I am that it will be an excellent wildflower year here. I found numerous desert lily plants and big patches of lupine plants both of which should be blooming within the next few weeks.
2009 Anza-Borrego Wildflower Forecast
Desert Sand Verbena, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.
Well between Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and Vancouver – our last month has involved a lot of city photography. The final couple of weeks of this trip will be based in Las Vegas – with all this city time, we had to make a few days and return to our favorite quiet little desert location; Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
This did give us a good chance to see how the wildflowers are progressing, and to share my finding here. In a word, it is shaping up to be a very good year for wildflowers! I guess that is more then a word, but you get the idea. If I had to pick one word, with due respect to Tony the Tiger, I would say they are going to be great!
We spent a month here last year beginning just about now, and it turned out to be a pretty good year. This year, most places are much greener then even last year, and as you can see by the above photo from this morning, there are areas already beginning to bloom. But don’t take my word for it, according to the Borrego Sun, naturalist Paul Johnson is predicting this years bloom to be better then last with the peak hitting around the end of the month of February. In addition, the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park website is predicting a “good to excellent bloom in the near future”.
We arrived here on Sunday just in time for another inch of rain – this most recent storm should help extend the season. We have commitments in Vegas, but I gotta admit, it is going to be really tough to not be here for this years peak. I may have to grab my tent and sneak back over here for a night!
The above photo was captured with a 100 mm macro lens. I added a 25 mm extension tube which allowed me to focus and move even closer to the small flowers. I then parked my truck in such a way to shade the flowers, and used a gold reflector to add a touch of warm light – not unlike what you might find at sunrise, although this was a couple hours after first light.
Vancouver Olympic Logo
Statue of Vancouver Olympic Logo
Inukshuk rock statues like this one found at the Whistler Olympic Park were the inspiration for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic logo.
We had 4 nights in the Vancouver / Whistler area. With fairly long travel days on either side of those nights, we were only left with 3 full days – so the trip was a whirlwind of activity. I don’t like to do photography that way over a long period of time, but I do enjoy it over short bursts like this trip was. Often it seems I’m most productive when I completely immerse myself into photography – even at the expense of sleep, meals, exercise etc.
Whistler Olympic Center
Whistler Olympic Park or Olympic Center
My favorite Olympic venue was the new Nordic sports Whistler Olympic Park. I’m probably biased because I’m such an avid cross-country skier, or maybe it was my favorite because the new facilities were so beautiful, and the remote mountainous setting was perfect for such sporting events.
These facilities are located in the Callaghan Valley about 15 kilometers from the Whistler Village. The Callaghan Valley is an undeveloped area full of wonderful large trees and surrounded by numerous snow covered mountain peaks. Along with cross-country skiing, this area will also host other Nordic events such as biathlon and ski jumping. Below is the new ski jumping hill.
- Jumping Hills, Whistler Olympic Park, Canada.
Here are more of our Whistler photos.
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