Badland Moon

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Moon rising over the badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Moon rising over the badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

I hadn’t planned on returning to this location yet again on this trip – but couldn’t think of a better place to photograph the moon then this lunar looking landscape.

This was actually Wednesday night, the night before the actual full moon.  The night or two before it is full is the best time to photograph the moon because you can capture it while there is still enough light from the setting sun to light up the landscape.  On the actual night of the full moon, it usually appears after it is too dark.

Alaska Photo Tour – whales, eagles, bears and glaciers!

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Kenai Fjords, Photos, Travel 1 Comment

Photos all from Kenai Fjords National Park and / or Seward, Alaska.

Photos all from Kenai Fjords National Park and / or Seward, Alaska.

Imagine waking up anchored in front of an amazing tide water glacier – a glacier you watched and heard calve large ice bergs through out the night!   Off to the side is a beach where we often see bears walking to and from the nearby salmon stream.  Passing by us is the occasional harbor seal or bald eagle.  And, all this is surrounded by magnificent mountains.    And, this is just one morning of an amazing 3 day trip!

At other times during this trip we spent hours hanging out with whales – we did that on numerous occasions.  Or, we spent time with sea otters or at sea lion haul outs.  At one point we spent time at an island full of nesting puffin and numerous other sea birds.  We stuck the bow under a water fall that plummeted hundreds of feet down a granite cliff straight into the ocean.   Another night was spent in  spectacular Northwestern Fjord.

I could go on and on as this is really an amazing trip.  Did I mention the nesting bald eagles, the other active glaciers, waterfalls and amazing scenery?

I offer the only overnight photo tour into KFNP where you are accompanied by a professional photographer who can offer tips and suggestions and will make sure we are at the best places for the best light.  Not only this but I am the least expensive overnight option available.

To learn more, check out this page: Kenai Fjords Alaska photo tour scroll to the bottom to see more photos from the trip and of the research vessel I use.  You can feel free to contact us with further questions.  If you would like to see more photos of the place the Travel Channel named one of the 10 natural wonders of the world, here are more photos:  Kenai Fjords National Park photos.

Anza-Borrego Workshop

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Mike, Frank Sandie, Lauren, Dennia and me in a slot canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Mike, Frank Sandie, Lauren, Dennie and me in a slot canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Just completed a great workshop last weekend in Anza-Borrego.  It was really fun thanks to a wonderful group of passionate photographers!  I enjoy the chance to talk photography and share some of my favorite places with a group like this.

This is the 5th workshop I have done here over the years.  I would have thought by now I would have a routine down, but it has worked out to be just the opposite – every workshop ends up being very different.  On a couple I have had heavy rain, on others lots of wildflowers – and so on.  This year we had very nice weather with temps in the mid 80’s along with some wonderful early morning and late evening light.  We didn’t have too much in the way of wildflowers, but that allowed us to see some of the other cool areas around Anza-Borrego such as this slot canyon.

I had calls right up to Friday inquiring about availability or other weekends and unfortunately this year I only obtained a permit for one weekend, so I apologize for the lack of more options, but I’m pretty sure I will be doing one or two more next year at this time.

 

 

Country Extra

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Kenai Fjords, Photos, Shameless Self Promotion, Travel 14 Comments

Janine's article in this months Country Extra!

Janine's article in this months Country Extra!

 

Janine's article in this months Country Extra!

Janine's article in this months Country Extra!

We both work equally hard on our photography business, but as the photographer, I get most of the recognition.  So, that is why I’m so excited to share Janine’s first published article in the current month of Country Extra!

Country had contacted us awhile back looking for whale photos for an upcoming article and asked if we would be interested in writing it.  From the early days of my career, the advice I heard over and over is the best way to get your photos published was to write articles.  Problem was, I don’t really enjoy writing and I’m not all that good at it – I’m sure the two are related.  This blog is about my limit.  🙂  But, Janine has had an interest in writing, and with the intent of creating articles she took a college writing class a few years ago.  But, we are so busy keeping up with day to day operations, it seems there isn’t time for such activity, that is until a good client like Country floats the idea out there!  Well, now that I have made a short story long – told you I’m not much of a writer – we jumped on the opportunity!

So above are a couple of images of the article.  I still remember the thrill of having my first images published and now can share that thrill with Janine as her first words are now published!

 

Anza-Borrego Wildflower conditions – 2012

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

Font's Point, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Font's Point, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.

Every year when I get down this way I start getting inquires about the famous desert wildflower bloom – so I thought I would provide an update.  The fact I’m not posting a photo of wildflowers probably says it all.

I have had my running shoes on and have been exploring many of the canyons and past “hot spots” over the last few days.  I have found a few blooms here and there, some chuparosa, a few cactus, desert agave (century plant and lots of oc – just enough options for my workshop this weekend), but by and large, there really aren’t any wildflowers this year.  The sign at the visitor center sums it up well.  The water year begins here on July 1.  For the last two years, the year to date rainfall for this area has been right about 7.5 inches.  This year it sits at just over 2 inches – and about 1/4 of that has fallen since we have arrived which is probably too late.

For those that are adventurous, there are a few wildflowers near water sources, mainly Borrego Palm Canyon and Coyote Canyon.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other things to see and photograph in Anza-Borrego beside just the wildflowers!

Dinosaur Night Sky

Ron NiebruggeAnza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Dinosaur sculpture against a night sky, Anza-Borrego, California.

Dinosaur sculpture against a night sky, Anza-Borrego, California.

Last night I set up a couple of simultaneous time-lapses of the night sky here near Borrego Srings.  It was a perfect, warm, moonless night for such activity!

This is a single frame from one of the time-lapses.  This was shot on a moving 6 foot ramp made for just such purposes.  I had a second camera in a stationary position – so from the camera I have a time-lapse, and I can stack the images and make a long star trail image.  At some point I will probably do both, but don’t know that I will try them while working from a laptop on the road.

Empire Polo Club

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Players at the Empire Polo Club, Indio, California.

Players at the Empire Polo Club, Indio, California.

Last weekend we drove up to the Palm Springs area to visit a group of friends from Alaska.  We were looking for things to do when someone suggested we check out the polo games at the Empire Polo Club.  Admittedly, I know nothing about horses, and even less about polo, but I’m always game for a new experience.  Well, I’m glad we went – really was a fun way to spend some time in the sun!  Seeing the horses up close, running at full speeding, cutting, turning – really impressive.  And even better then seeing them up close was hearing them up close!  The sound of a group of horses running at full speed is really something – a dull thunder that really gets your attention.

Now I know what you might be thinking – Polo is only for the rich – and the Bentley parked out front only added to that impression.  And I’m sure playing polo takes a large investment in time and money – it’s not like you can just throw together an afternoon pickup game with your buddies.  But, to watch the polo games at the large, beautiful grounds at the Empire Polo Club was completely free.  Heck, they didn’t even charge for parking which is kind of standard procedure in California.  So if you find yourself in the area and looking for something different, check it out.

For the photo, I decided to use a slow exposure in part to hide a busy background, but also to help show the power and grace of these beautiful animals.  I varied my aperture to keep my shutter speed at around 1/15th to 1/30th of a second.  This image was with a Canon 7D and a 70-200 f/4 with a 2x converter set at 238mm.  The exposure was 1/15th of a second at f/45 and iso 200.

Since I was enjoying the day with friends I didn’t spend much time with photography – I would love to go back for some more serious photography.