Looking back over photos of the past month or so, I realized that I have several photos I’d like to put up for documentation. There was a mishap that ended in okay-ish photos and some that I rather like.
My sweet wife offered to handle the kiddos for dinner and bath time one night to let me take sunset photos. I went to the mountain district of Saguaro National Park for a short hike at sunset. I have a habit of hiking an average of about 0.75 mph because I keep stopping to take photos. This is good when there are toddlers in tow as their feet move at a comparable rate but bad when there’s a nice view somewhere and I’m running late. This evening I decided to leave the camera in the bag and hike most of the way before touching it. When I finally pulled it out of the bag, I realized that it was unable to wirelessly transmit photos to the memory card lying on my desk at home! That night, I had to settle for photos from my phone. As mad at myself as I was, I had to take something back home. I’m rather happy with the photos that resulted. I admit that they are pretty much left how Google thought they should be. I did very little editing.
At the beginning of December, we took a family trip to the state trust land in the neighborhood. We found a little hill the kids could ride their bikes down and I could putter around trying to get some photos. I found a composition I was fond of. The sky did me plenty of favors that night as there was a pretty dark storm to the north right at sunset. The sky here is edited some but not much in the way of colors – mainly just contrast. I like how this little Cholla sits in the frame with the Saguaro.
I found a new app that is supposed to predict sunset colors. As I was evaluating it, I noticed it was predicting some nice colors for a day after work. I left work too late and stopped at a place I had never been before. I’m learning that this is not a recipe for success. By the time I got to the top of a hill with a view, the sunset was just about finished. I managed these two photos. I like how there is a line of saguaros leading the eye back into the distance but I don’t think I quite got the right composition. Next time I will have to arrive earlier and take advantage of the pink color the sunset casts on the mountains.
Recently I was really hankering to get out and take sunrise photos. I found a spot about 30 minutes south and decided to do it all wrong. Show up to a brand new place early in the morning when it’s still pitch black outside. I’d hike up a steep mountain to a peak I knew I’d never make it to due to my knee and expect to take award-worthy photos. On top of all that – I decided to bring a dog with me. I knew this was probably a recipe for disaster so I was able to tame my expectations a little. We arrived just as planned, in the dark. I got my backpack out, got the dog leashed up, turned my headlamp on, and started hiking. All went fine. However, about 3/4 of a mile up the trail the dog kept turning around about every 15 steps to look at something that I could never see. What an unnerving feeling when the only light you have is a few LEDs strapped to your head. Luckily, I was able to keep my Sig holstered and had a lovely morning. I wish I had found a better composition for the sunrise. I also wish there were less wind. My ISO was high to keep the foreground from blurring. I think the mine below made for a nice monochrome photo, especially with the light rays poking over the nearby mountains.