Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm bringing my camera with me to the Bay Area and hope to do some photography while I'm home over the holiday. Til then, here's one of my favorite Autumn images, taken in Reading, Vermont.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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Golden Gate Bridge | Sunrise, Moonrise

I grew up in Marin County, California and I took these panoramas over Easter weekend this year when I was home visiting my family. One of my favorite places in the world is the Marin Headlands, where these images were shot from. I liked the symmetry of these two together.

I'll be heading home for Thanksgiving and am hoping to get some photography in while I'm home.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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A Clear Day in Pasadena | The Rose Bowl

It's rare to get such a beautifully clear day in the San Fernando Valley. I felt like I could reach out and touch the San Gabriel Mountains behind the Rose Bowl.

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Los Angeles in Infrared

I first discovered infrared film as a high school photography student and loved its surreal, beautiful, and unpredictable effects. As a digital photographer, one can't use infrared film, but there are a few other options to recreate the effect digitally.

(1) You can recreate the effect in Photoshop, though I have yet to see the effect recreated perfectly using this method. Generally this involves converting your image to black and white using mostly the 'red' channel and applying glow and grain to the image.

(2) You can replace your dSLR's sensor with an infrared sensor; however, this is expensive since you need another camera body and have its sensor swapped out. You can learn more about this process here.

(3) You can use an infrared filter. This is the method that I decided to try out, and I purchased a Hoya 72 Infrared Filter. I've tried it out a few times and haven't been too impressed with the results, but I'll keep trying to iron out the kinks. I shot the image below of the LA skyline.

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For comparison, here is an image I shot with real infrared film on a manual SLR back in the 1990s. The filter seems to create very grainy images without the lovely soft glow of the infrared film. I'll work on recreating the true effect in Photoshop and keep you posted :)

Christy | Bridal Portraits | Balboa Park

Christy was a gorgeous bride, and I felt so lucky to photograph her. Here are a few of my favorite images from her wedding and the day after.

You can see more of Christy and Scott's wedding photos in my post here.

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Believe it or not, this was pretty much candid. Christy was dressed and waiting for the ceremony to begin in a few minutes.

A couple of quick, simple portraits before the ceremony began:

Hello, Vogue model!

I love her sweet expression in this one:
I love these next two, taken in the cactus garden in Balboa Park.

Los Angeles Moonrise | Griffith Observatory

The full moon is one of my favorite subjects. However, it's actually pretty boring on its own, so I always try to juxtapose it with an interesting landscape or cityscape. Here's last night's full moon rising behind Griffith Observatory. The sky was a bit hazy last night, so I was lucky to get beautiful pink sunset light.

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Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4, 1/6s @ f/6.3, iso200

How Many Trees Do You Have? | Sequoia National Park

This morning I was listening to NPR on my way to work and heard about an interesting study by a NASA scientist. Using satellite imagery, Nalani Nadkarni estimated that there are approximately 400 billion trees on Earth, or about 61 trees per person. The conversation that followed was about whether this was a lot of trees per person, or few? I think it's too few, especially at the rate that we consume wood-based products -- lumber for our homes, furniture, disposable chopsticks by the billions, and especially paper. As they pointed out on the show, though, trees are not like oil; they are a renewable resource. We'll have to be very careful to ensure proper conservation of the Earth's trees. Even though they are renewable, they are an invaluable resource.

Here are a couple of my very favorite trees: Sequoiadendron giganteum, or Giant Sequoias. These were taken in June in Sequoia National Park. I was there as part of a habitat restoration project so I didn't have much time for photography. When I go back, I'll look forward to shooting early in the morning or late in the day for the best light; exposure is tricky in the forest with bright shafts of light and dark shadows from the trees.

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Unconventional Views | The Hollywood Sign

I really enjoy shooting familiar landmarks in unconventional ways -- such as from a new angle, with a unique juxtaposition, a different time of year, or interesting light. With these images, my goal is for the viewer to think, "Wow! I haven't seen a photo quite like that one before!"

Here are a few of the iconic Hollywood Sign. Click on the images to view them larger.

With wispy clouds in summer:

Did you know that there's a vineyard in the Hollywood Hills?

Classic California.

Framed by wildflowers in summer.
Up close and personal.

Looking down on LA from behind the sign.

Bathed in sunrise light from Griffith Observatory.

"OHLLYWODO" - A strange optical illusion from the Hollyridge Trail.

More Baby Suki!

As promised, here are some new photos of Suki. It's amazing how quickly babies grow! I love Suki's soulful, dark eyes.