Golden sunrise light on Pyramid Mountain – Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I waited for nearly two hours to get this shot. It wasn’t a spectacular sunrise, but eventually, first light lit up the side of Pyramid Mountain for a few minutes. I love catching first light on mountain peaks mirrored by a perfectly still lake surface.

There is a sense of separation in this composition: the distant cloud formation seems to mimic the rock formation under water, and a piece of driftwood serves as a lone element connecting with the distant trees on the other side of the lake. The ethereal light on the mountain is the force that binds these displaced elements together. As I wrote in my previous post, light is what you see. I hope you see what you seek.

PS: Perhaps this scene looks familiar? It is the same location where I shot Every Man Should Paddle His Own Canoe.

Golden aspens awaiting first light as the morning mist rises from Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park – Alberta, Canada

I shot this image about fifteen minutes prior to my previous photo, Layers of Stillness. From this view, turn 120° left to see the alpenglow on the Triden Range. Patricia Lake is small and easily accessible, but when those aspens turn colors on a crystal clear lake water surface, this place is incredibly photogenic. Throw in a moody cold Autumn mist rising under a colorful sunrise sky, this place can take one’s breath away. The best part about this beautiful morning sunrise? I saw only two other sunrise watchers enjoying this scene in silence. Out on this small lake, I found my own space and time, and I loved the absolute stillness of this quiet sunrise. This was one of those rare intangible moments that I can’t described nor captured with my camera. I think of myself as a “light chaser”, but it is not just about the light, it’s about finding those “pauses” that make time stands still. “Light” is what you see.

Last week, I took my camera gears to the mountains, hoping to shoot new photos, but for three days, I saw 50 inches of fresh snow and no sun. A day later, I was back on my local beach watching this beautiful scene unfolded right in front of me. What a difference a day makes: from a whiteout blizzard at 8000 feet to a colorful sunset at sea level.

As for the tittle of this shot, I could write a long post about it, but I am leaving possible interpretations to my viewers.

Pre-dawn colors and reflections at the Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton National Park – Wyoming, USA

I decided to dust off my camera and spent a few days in Grand Teton to find the motivation and inspiration to return to photography. I shot this image during my very first sunrise at this classic Grand Teton location, the Oxbow Bend on the Snake River. This is a fifteen seconds exposure made before first light reached Mt. Moran.

I love to photograph colorful sunrises and sunsets, but on this occasion, the quietness and the stillness of this scene resonated deep within me. I wasn’t looking for brilliant colors; I wasn’t looking for dramatic lighting; I was searching for a place that I could loose myself, and I found it. On this cold Autumn morning, although I shared this river bank with a few other photographers, I felt like I was the only one out there on this misty Snake river, breathing the cold morning air, watching the pre-dawn pink sky slowly revealing the surrounding landscape on a perfectly still water surface. I exposed a few different compositions, then sat down and waited for first light. In front of me, autumnal aspens waited for their turn to bathe in the warm morning sun. Above me, a late moon-set lingered on a muted pink sky. As first light struck the mountain peaks, I returned to my camera. Soon after, the river wildlife awoken and broke the silent dawn…

PS: I am still going through the selection process to decide which images to share. I don’t have time to post every day, but will do my best to post more often.

A surfer heading out during a summer sunset on a Southern California beach.

I recently lost another friend to cancer. I attempted to put up a tribute post two weeks ago, but decided to keep it private. Photographically speaking, I am hitting a motivational wall. My camera is sitting in a corner collecting dusts. I don’t even want to turn on my computer when I get home from work. This image is from my 2009 photo archive. This picture reminds me to get out there more often as I always find my escape and my balance on this beach.

Thanks for visiting, and have a wonderful summer should I don’t post again until the fall.

A 100 seconds twilight exposure of a Southern California beach shot with a BW ND110 filter.

I haven’t been out on the local beaches as often as I did in the past years. I really missed shooting these shoreline twilight scenes.

Last Friday, I left work early and went straight to the beach. During my rush, I left my remote cable release and Lee filter holder at home. I ended up hand-holding a Lee GND filter with one hand and pressing down on the shutter release button for 100 seconds with the other hand. I wanted to make a longer exposure, but had to cut my exposure time short because I knew that I couldn’t make a sharp enough exposure without my remote cable release. I underexposed this shot by about 1 stop. Thanks to RAW and post processing works, I am able to salvage this shot.

A 110 second winter twilight exposure on a Southern California beach.

This long exposure shows the cloud movements and the small pebbles rolling around the sand with the tides.

I shot this over a month ago during my experiment with ND110 filter. I also used a 2 stop hard-edge GND filter on this shot. The BW ND110 added too much saturation to my long exposures. The sky was colorful, but not that intense. The actual scene was much darker. I thought about toning down the colors, but decided to leave it. When I get a chance, I’ll post another version shot without the ND110 filter.

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[Edited 3/1/2010]

After the above long exposure was recorded, I removed the ND110 filter and took a 1/6 second exposure of the same scene at the same aperture (F16) and ISO (200). These two images were shot about 3 minutes apart (counting the 2 minutes exposure time for the first shot). Both raw exposures were converted to JPGs using identical steps.

Today’s sunset – first time that I saw a nice sky in months! It felt good to be out in the warm summer water and to breathe the fresh ocean air again. It’s been one stressful summer, and I can’t wait for the fall.

I don’t have time to write much since I’m packing for a short trip to San Diego for a friend’s wedding. Have a great weekend.

PS: This is a vertorama composite of two horizontal images shot a few seconds apart using the same exposure settings and focal length.

Took a long beach walk last evening. Saw a dramatic sky after the sun went down. Spotted this small rock on the sand rolling around under the tides. Decided to catch the incoming surf with a slow exposure time.

Ever felt like there’s no where to run and no where to hide? Knowing that a storm is coming, but there is nothing one can do but to brace for what’s to come …

An oil platform just off the Southern California coastline.

Renewable energy (energy generated from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat) vs Non-Renewable energy.

As usual, I sat on the beach and waited for the evening sky to turn red. The sky was a little dull and lifeless for a while, then it lit up for a few minutes just before darkness came. This is one of my favorite things to do: hang out on the beach and wait for those red skies.

The title for this image might be a little unusual, but it reflects my thoughts while shooting this scene. I sat there and thought, one of these days, those oil rigs would turn into wind and wave turbines covered with solar panels. By then I could beach without having to remove all the tar on my feet when I get home. I’m sure the protected snowy plowers on this beach would love that too.

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PS: I spent last weekend cleaning up this site. The four major sliding panels (navigation, flickr badge, exif info, and comment) now remember their state(open/close). I’ve been wanting to fix this for a while, but never got around to it. I also did a bunch of other smaller fixes and added preview thumbnails for the next/prev link on my onblack page.