Give Thanks...Seeing The Good Through The Bad

It's not the best example of perspective...a bit of a stretch, actually. I didn't think about it until I got home and looked at the photos of the sunset I took returning home last week. The sunset looked to be another classic. Of course, you have to see how a sunset turns out. 

Turns out, it was a good one.

As sunsets sometimes do, this one became more stunning as time passed. When possible and whenever it was safe, I snapped a picture from time to time as the colors increased, the light transformed from captivating to breath-taking. Since I wanted to get home, I didn't check the shots I took until I pulled them up from my computer and checked them out.

My favorite shot was not perfect, as far as the qualities that make a good photograph good. The beauty of the sunset can be seen through a dirty car window, the angle of the sun greatly highlighted the dirt. Still...

It was beautiful.

Life is like that. You can use technology to "remove" the dirt, eliminate the bad leaving only the a false presentation of reality. I suppose I could have used some program to show only the incredible sunset. Life, however, has dirt...has problems. The trick is to see through the dirt to the beauty beyond.

I'm thankful I could see the sunset, watch as it developed. I'm thankful that there's dirt because without the dirt, it's harder to appreciate the beauty.

Sometimes, When You're Photographing Clouds, You Get...Lucky

 I saw the cloud rising in the eastern sky while in the backyard with the dog. It rose above the house, and because of the time of day, the sun lit up the whites in the cloud like a lighthouse. I took a picture of it, because I thought it looked like the Matterhorn. After bringing in the puppy, I decided to check out the cloud, but from an unobstructed viewpoint. What I saw, well...

It was sort of amazing.

The cloud had changed, morphed, evolved, until it became a mythical creature, a dominant force exploding over the mountain, an etherial overlord of all below. I took out my phone and snapped more pictures.

Sometimes, you get lucky.

I posted one of the shots on social media identifying a dragon overtaking Tremonton, Utah. I saw the dragon, the head, even the wings clearly visible. A friend said to him the cloud formation looked like a pegasus. I can definitely see it. 

It was fun capturing the evolution, seeing it form almost in front of me. There's been many times when I'm driving and I'll see a cloud formation above, and because I'm driving, I can't photograph it. It's still a joy to see the shapes that remind you of something, be it an animal, a person, a building, or if you're lucky...

A dragon...

Or a pegasus.

I Miss The Sun Setting Behind A Mountain...

I went driving last night, at sunset, with my son. As he drove on a small country road, the sun set behind the western mountains...

It was beautiful.

Something I miss.

I have been blessed almost my entire life to see one of the most amazing sights witnessed by humans...sunsets, but not just any sunsets. For decades I lived on the eastern slope of a mountain. From that height, we watched the sun set behind Antelope Island...not the highest mountain, but high enough. I took picture after picture of those sunsets, and when photography went digital, I went nuts.

Thousands of photos of sunsets from my house on a dead-end street.

We moved to another hill. Now we're on the north side of a smaller mountain and to the west of us we have...

Homes...

We still get amazing sunsets, many of which I have photographed, but there's something about having a natural boundary behind which the sun sets. It's special. It's the way God intended.

As we drove last night, I took out my phone and I snapped a couple of pictures. I miss mountains and sunsets. They're a wonderful combination. I've been blessed to have seen thousands in my life. Last night's view was one more.

Maybe The Best Phone Picture I've Taken...Of The Moon

 I've commented several times on this blog about how there are some things I cannot photograph that turn out as good as what my eyes see. The moon is one of those things. I've got a nice DSLR camera and a lens that brings the moon to show up nicely in the frame. But, when I click the shutter, the finished product fails to impress.

Bummer.

I can't seem to capture the shadows on the moon, the craters, the Sea of Tranquility. I'm sure if I did a little research on how to photograph the moon, and more importantly, spent a ton of money on photographic gadgets, I could do it. I'm sure I could, but I haven't, so my moon photos don't look that good.

Last night, the skies above our valley were stunning. As the sun set, I spent a lot of time trying to capture what I was seeing. I also noticed the waxing moon in the southern sky so I snapped a picture. In the photo I can see craters and a texture to the moon. I call that a success.

My phone is a few years old, and I'm sure it's going to be with me for a few years more. The camera was almost state-of-the-art when my phone was new. It's nowhere near that, now. Would I love a newer phone with better cameras? Sure. Do I need one? Nope.

It was fun to go through my photos from last night and notice the photo I took of the moon. And even though it's not great, I'm pretty sure it's the best one I've ever taken...

Of the moon...

By phone.

The Sunset Last Night Was...Breathtaking

Yesterday, I walked outside into a cold January evening and snapped a few pictures of the sky. I then returned outside a minute later as the sky above became alive with color. With sunsets, you never know what you're going to get...will the first tinges be all there is, or will it develop, grow, mature into something that takes your breath away?

Yesterday, it was the latter.

Last night I kept leaving the house to get more pictures as the colors deepened. Of course, you never know how they'll translate to a digital image until they're downloaded and manipulated (at least, a little...).

It's been a crap week for my family. We had planned to meet up, the three families and have Sunday dinner the day after New Years Day. We were to meet at my sisters. That dinner never took place, unfortunately. We did gather today, for an entirely different reason.

For the past almost fifty years, I watched the sunset from the end of a cul-de-sac. The hill and Farmington Bay provided the most amazing vantage point to see the brilliant colors. Where we now live, it's different. The entire sky seems to open up, and the sunsets encompass us. They surround us. I used to think where we lived before that the sunsets could not get any better. I no longer think that. I'm a convert to what's possible.

Last night was a gift. It was as if the sky knew things. It teased with some light colors on the eastern mountains which drew me outside, made me forget for a moment the week we'd had. Then, it rewarded me with more perspectives, more colors, more...hope. No, the day did not turn out how we planned, but what I saw in the sky was breathtaking.

Tonight's Photohike...

There's a thing called "Photowalks" and many people participate in them. I, however, have not. They look fun, but I don't do a lot of activities like that. We're kind of homebodies, except when I'm doing shows, or at conventions, or with writing groups, or working second jobs.

Tonight we had beautifully clear skies, and by "clear" I don't mean "cloudless." I mean without skies that pollution haze we get occasionally. The rain and wind cleansed everything. We did have big rolling clouds, so clean air, big clouds and a setting sun usually translates to an incredible sunset. I grabbed my camera (both lenses...) and my cellphone and I headed up the hill.

I decided to do a Photohike.

As far as sunsets go, it was so-so. Orwell might say it this way, "All sunsets are beautiful, just some sunsets are more beautiful than others." As I waited for the sunset to develop, I tried getting interesting shots of other things. 

Though hard to see, I did get a picture of a herd of deer I spooked.

I also took pictures of 100 North in Farmington.

As well as 325 East.

And I even got a shot of my shadow on a rock. I really should get up to the mountain more. Of course, it was just a few weeks ago that when I took these pictures had several feet of snow. I don't know if I'll do more Photohikes, or if I'll even to a Photowalk. But, hey--anything's possible.

Last Tuesday Night's Sunset...

Almost a week ago in the skies above the Salt Lake Valley, the firmament became a sea of colors. It was stunning. I was checking out some random Instagram photos this weekend and there were a lot of pictures of the same thing I saw. The sunset moved them to the point where they had to capture the moment on their phones and cameras. It also affected them so much, they had to share.

And so do I. For some sunsets, I'll take out my phone. For others, I'll grab the Nikon. And for the best sunsets, I'll not only get the Nikon, but I'll swap lenses. Last Tuesday night I did all three.

The phone pictures didn't really turn out as I hoped. When the entire sky's aflame, I try and get a panoramic shot. It's too bad it didn't work.

And the other phone pictures didn't fare much better. I couldn't capture the colors. I also don't do a lot of editing with the computer. I'm kind of a "take a picture of what I'm seeing, not what the computer can make amazing" kind of photographer, even though the art created by computers with the talents of others is incredible.

But the Nikon came through. The50- 200 mm zoom sees things that are unreal. The sky was so orange and red when I used that lens. 

But this sky needed the regular 55 mm. I set the perspective to catch as much sky as possible. I snapped a few pictures. I am grateful to live in a place that allows me to capture such beauty, and for a way to share.

A Camera, A Mountain, And Douglas Adams...

I began a new audiobook today, Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Universe. I'm assuming many, MANY of you have read this book. Needless to say, it's a classic.

As the sun was setting in the west, I decided to go for a hike and see what I could capture on digital film. I hate to say it, but it's probably been a couple of years since I've set foot on the mountain that is literally in our back yard.

Hiking and snapping pictures while witnessing amazing scenery and listening to smart literature is pretty great. Here's some of the things I saw.

So, here's to climbing about a thousand feet up a mountain at sunset while listening to a great book. I think it was worth it...

Orange...You Glad There's So Much Orange Out There?

I spent much of the day writing and because of that, I didn't take many pictures until this evening. I threw on the micro lens and took some close ups of some roses, dinner, an unwanted guest, and another brilliant sunset.

 

It wasn't until I downloaded the photos that I noticed orange--a lot of orange--in the shots. Even the spider has some orange in him...her...it. And, I know, the pasta isn't as orange as the rest, but it's in there.

Taking a picture of the spider was a little tricky. The screen on the back of the Nikon does not show the picture in the viewfinder until after the shot is taken. I had the camera within an inch of the thing when I took the picture. Had it moved suddenly, I would have freaked out. My kids would have gotten a kick out of that, I'm sure.

Of course, with digital, I took many many pictures tonight. Some good, others...not so much, but that's part of the fun of photography. It's unreal just how much beauty is literally a few feet from where we are, and the sky...it's amazingly beautiful almost all the time.

Flowers, Sunsets, A Wedding Reception And A Broken Bowl Thrown In...

Today was one of those days when I took a couple of pictures of different things and now that the day's over, I'm not sure which photos to include in the blog. So, I'm just going to put a lot in.

My son broke a bowl today and it broke in such a cool way, I just had to take a picture of it.

The sun came out for a little while in the afternoon so I put on the macro lens and snapped a couple of pictures of flowers and a nail.

Tonight we went to a wedding reception for my friends's son. His friends decorated their car in a way I had not before seen.

And, because of the clouds we've had in the valley for the past few days, the sunset was incredible. Such was my day in pictures.