Father & Son Road Trip

I've been wanting to visit and explore Bodie Historical State Park (Semi-Ghost Town) for some time and I finally made it happen with my son.   My don and I made a road trip up highway 395 to Bodie, making a stop at Mono Lake and Yosemite during our trip.  We had a very nice time exploring Bodie and visiting Yosemite, a place we haven't been for approx 10 years.

This first shot was taken while driving through Lone Pine on highway 395 during the first day of our road trip.  Love the open field with all the yellow wild flowers growing.

A stop I wanted to make to take a look was Mono Lake.  The sky was clear and it was very windy, which made my shots somewhat limited.  A sunset might have been pretty cool, but both of us were ready to get to Bridgeport and have some dinner.

Below is my favorite shot from Mono Lake.

Day 2 of our road trip was going to be spent in Bodie Historical State Park.  While driving towards Bodie the scenery opened up and gave us this view, which of course I had to stop and get a shot of.

The next several shots were taken while exploring Bodie Historical State Park.  Bodie isn't officially a Ghost Town as some of the park rangers who work there and offer tours actually live in some of the structures.  I do plan on making another trip out here to explore and photograph more.

My son and I

 After spending our second night in Bridgeport we made the drive through Yosemite, Yosemite Valley, and then Glacier Point, before heading to Fresno to spend the night.

This first shot is on highway 120 just after leaving Lee Vinning and before entering Yosemite National Park.

During this time of the year some of the water falls are dry as they develop from snow or rain fall at the higher elevations.  This also meant that Mirror Lake was dry, which was a bummer, especially with the drought California has had.

The below scene is usually a small lake that reflects the mountains in the background.

This shot was from an overlook as we left Glacier Point, I should have waited longer for the sunset to watch it develop more and get some shots, but I am very happy with this shot.

After leaving Yosemite and heading towards Fresno my son and I were watching the sunset develop.  Just at the right moment we came to a turn off, which allowed us to stop and get a shot.  It's a good thing we stopped.  Just after taking this shot the colors quickly faded away into darkness.

It was a great trip and glad my son could enjoy and experience it with me.

Chanse

Its been awhile since I've had a senior portrait session, but when my sister-in-law asked, of course I said yes.

I sort of handle my senior portraits like I handle my sports.  I bring my gear, show, up, and let things happen as they do.  I go with what I feel and try to make things work in a visual sense.  This time was a little different as I had a new addition to my gear I've been wanting to try out.  I recently bought an Einstein strobe, along with an octagon soft box so I can raise the level of my work.  I was hesitant to use it during this shoot and fell into my normal routine, but I then came to a point where I just had to use it and you'll see why below.

Oh I should add these were all shot with my 300 f/2.8.  I'm going to start a new trend for senior portraits with that 300.

These are my favorites from the shoot, please enjoy.

James & Daphnie's Wedding

Let's start this post by saying I don't shoot weddings, which as you can see isn't true because you are looking at wedding shots as you read this.  The reality of it is I prefer not to shoot weddings and honestly if I had my way wouldn't ever shoot one, but because I am who I am and I believe one should do things for their family, here I am sharing pictures from my nephew's wedding.

 

Yep - when your nephew comes to you asking you to shoot his wedding you don't say no, well I don't say no because I do things for my family.

 

After its all said and done I do wish I would have used a flash, but with shooting sports, which is my expertise, I tend to avoid the flash and simply increase that ISO, which is what I did here.  Are these the best wedding shots your going to see, simply put - HELL no, but do they show two young people who love each other very much coming together - yes.

 

They haven't seen any shots except for the interior church shots, so I hope they are happy with what I have.

 

Now to the pictures, I loved the church they choose, which was easy for them as the brides father is the Pastor there and presided over the wedding ceremony.  Once I saw the church I knew I had to get some HDR shots of the interior, which are the first two here.  My daughter loved the light coming in on the second shot and to be honest I love it as well.

 

Enough talk, now enjoy the shots.

 

 

 

 

Turning 50

Recently a very close good friend, one I've know since 1st grade, and myself turned 50.  We brought our family and friends together for a great bbq.  It was nice seeing some friends I haven't seen in quite some time.  With growing older our kids are now having kids and they had a blast playing in a dirt pile in my backyard.  Usually parents will prevent their kids playing in the dirt, especially while at a bbq at a friends house, but this time it was different, which I loved.  I feel kids need to be kids and should spend their time playing.  There is plenty of time for them in life to become serious, but not this day.

 

I spent a good amount of time just sitting in the grass capturing some shots of the kids playing and running around.