Recommended Viewing On Black

Back in 2003 I traveled to Yellowstone National Park with one of my first
digital cameras, an Olympus C5050Z. I had recently read on the Internet
about a guy who had stitched together a 1 Giga-pixel image and since my
field of view was limited I thought I'd try my hand at it. Needless to say,
when I got home and tried using his technique my results were less than
stellar. A shame since the scenery was so stunning. While browsing the
old images and thinking man, I wish I had my Nikon D300 back then. Then I
remembered that I had been having considerable luck stitching with newer
versions of Photoshop. Piecing the images together wasn't easy as it is
with my Nikon images but with a lot of work it finally started to come together. Back when I took this I was still new to digital photography and shooting in Program Mode so needless to say, none of the images matched exposure or metering. A bit
more work in Photoshop and finally it started to look like an image. I
still wish I had the Nikon back in 2003 but it's equivalent (or
approximation of what was available at the time) would have cost more than
my car.

So here, hopefully for your enjoyment, is the finished result of the storm that blew in over Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park. This is actually the lower Yellowstone Falls. The upper falls are just around the bend and out of sight. The
lower falls drop in to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the name is
fitting. Bright yellow and orange rocks surround the falls and steep canyon
falls. It's not hard to understand why this became the world's first
National Park. The lower falls is a 308ft drop. The blue green river
water is a stark contrast against the yellow rocks. The roar of the falls
can be heard clearly from where the picture was taken. More than 63,000
gallons of water flow over the fall every second in the spring time. The
image was taken from the famous Painters Point which is a small outcropping
that extends into the canyon providing one of the most awesome sites you
will ever see. The only place that has perhaps moved me more than this
view is that of coming through the tunnel at Vista Point in Yosemite
National Park. The two parks are in stark contrast. Yellowstone is carved
by fire while Yosemite is carved by ice. Two places I would put at the top
of any nature lovers list of places to see in your lifetime.

I hope you enjoyed the image and if you read this, the story behind the
picture. Because technology continues to improve, I never throw out any
digital image. Storage is cheap. Loosing this image would have cost me
much more.

Darv
LiquidMoonlight.com
© Darvin Atkeson
California Photographer

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Please take a moment to view the image at Full Size to see the details of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco behind it. I posted it large so you could see the details. Or View On Black

Story behind the shot...
I arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge just in time to get some great shots of high fog
moving in over the bridge and San Francisco.

HOW THE SHOT WAS MADE:
Initially I sat up on the hill in the image just to the left of the north tower but the moon was too far away from the bridge so we moved on up to the very top of the Marin Headlands so that we could get the moon more to the center. I originally hoped the moon would be in the center of the bridge but I see now that would have been a mistake and at any rate wasn't possible.

The light blue tint under the moon came from the distant clouds above the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. In the shots prior to this image that was all I had. The golden glow was from fog dropping down over the hills Marin Headlands from behind us and if you look closely you can see that fog in the blue of the sky. I was worried that the fog would cause problems by blocking out the distant clouds but it actually added to the shot and gave a yellow to orange glow to the top side of the moon that wasn't in other shots. In total, I took about 30 shots at a few different settings. Any one of them would have been a good shot but this one really caught my eye due to the addition of the fog.

If you view the large size, you will see perfect shadows of the cables in the water on from the north tower (left). If you look close at the city you can make out Coit Tower, Alcatraz, Trans America Tower, Fort Point and several other famous landmarks of San Francisco.

Ever look for shapes in the clouds?
My wife commented that the clouds reminded her of a birds head with the full moon as they eye. The beak trails off to the lower right with a wing on both sides.

I always think I have the best image I will ever get of the Golden Gate Bridge
and then something totally new and remarkable comes along. Thus far, this
is my favorite shot of the bridge at night. People have also commented it looks a lot like a volcano. Sometimes I resist going to the bridge thinking I will over do it but it has so many moods I doubt that will ever happen.

-Darv
LiquidMoonlight.com
© Darvin Atkeson
California Photographer

Tags:   San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge California Marin Headlands Full Moon Golden Gate Night Moon Darvin Atkeson Darv LiquidMoonlight.com LiquidMoonlight High Resolution Wallpaper Sizes California Photography California Photographer Francisco Marin Oakland Clouds Fog 5PHOTOSADAY platinumphoto ABigFave grouptripod Bay Area West Coast Coast Highway One Landmark Famous World Famous Landmarks Suspension Bridges Bridge BEJ* Moonlight moonrise City by the Bay City Skyline Fort Point Treasure Island Alcatraz Coit Tower Bay Bridge Coastal Ocean Pacific AlemdagQualityOnlyClub FlickrsBest GoldStarAward SOE TheUnforgettablePictures AnAwesomeShot betterthangood SuperShot Award Tree DiamondClassPhotographer UltimateShot Gli Abruzzesi GoldDragon USA U.S. America

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The fog was flowing quickly over the hills of the Pacific Coast as a herd of elk grazed. I had taken many shots but it was just too gray a day at the Point Reyes elk reserve. I was stalking a large bull elk trying to move slowly closer. He was about to disappear over the hill when the setting sun began to show though the fog. You know the type of day where you can look direclty at the sun and see the crisp clean outline though the fast moving clouds and it gives you an unreal since of movement. You could see the fog blowing very quicly over the crisp disc of the sun and I knew the fog would soon move back in and block the sun if I didn't move quickly. My sudden movement caught the bulls attention and he looked back at me just as I snapped pictures. A second later he had disappeared over the crest of the hill and the fog quicly moved in to cover the sun.

It was one of those moments when what would be a bust for the day just came together for just a few brief seconds and for once you are ready. Sometimes all you get is one good shot. But that's what makes it worth all those hours of effort.

Thanks for all the comments.

Darv
LiquidMoonlight.com
California Photography

Tags:   Elk Point Reyes National Seashore California Coast Coastal Preserve Antlers Darvin Atkeson California Photographer California Photography Fog Sun Northern California High Resolution Wallpaper Darv LiquidMoonlight.com LiquidMoonlight Elite Photography platinumphoto Sunset setting sun setting dusk deer buck Pacific AlemdagQualityOnlyClub Quality Pixels RubyPhotographer GoldenDiamondBlog Landscape USA U.S. America 美国加州 カリフォルニア州 캘리포니아

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I saved the best of the USCG Eagle for last. This was my favorite shot we got of her as she passed Alcatraz. The Alcatraz lighthouse is clearly visible in the image. Her sails are full and the massive American Flag can be seen flowing in the San Francisco breeze. A small Coast Guard boat passes by preventing sail boats from getting too close to the massive Tall Ship. The ship will be in port the remainder of this weekend if you want to get a glimpse of her. The last time she visited San Francisco was over 10 years ago so now is your chance.

The USCG Barque Eagle is a three-masted sailing Coast Guard Cutter with 21,350 square feet of sail and is currently stationed in New London, Connecticut. She is one of 5 similar ships built in Germany. Her sister ships are known under the names Mircea of Romania, Sagres II of Portugal, Gorch Fock of Germany and the Tovarich of Russia.

The ship was originally commissioned by Germany as the Horst Wessel and at the end of WWII she was taken buy the US as a war prize. On may 15th 1946 she was recommissioned as the USCG Eagle being the seventh ship to serve the Coast Guard bearing the name Eagle. The first ship to bear the name was commissioned in 1792 for the Revenue Marine Service which was the forerunner of today's Coast Guard.

__________________________________________
Stats:
__________________________________________
Length - 295 ft
Beam 39 ft 1 in
Draft 17 ft 6 in
Foremast - 147.3 ft
Mainmast - 147.3 ft
Mizzenmast - 132.0 ft
Displacement 1,784 LT full load
Max Speed under sail - 17 knots
Max Speed under diesel 10 knots
Max Range - 5450 miles
Complement - 12 Officers, 38 crew & 150 Cadets.
Mission - Training USCG Cadets
Commissioned - May 15, 1946
__________________________________________



-Darv
LiquidMoonlight.com
© Darvin Atkeson

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All up and down the state of California are these California Oak Trees.
They can be found all up and down the Costal Range which is where this tree
is located and along the Sierra Nevada foothills. The trees have complex
twisting branches and make for good subjects. This is one of my favorite
images I have taken of the California Oak Trees. This tree can be found at
the base of Mount Diablo in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This image really represents the area I live in and most of the outter bay area.

-Darv
LiquidMoonlight.com
© Darvin Atkeson
California Photographer

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