Wimping out on sunrises

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 Tigerotor77WBlue moon, Charleston Marina, Charleston skyline, clouds, Cooper River, lightning, marina, Mt. Pleasant, Sunset3 Comments

Impeccable timing! I had just written a post boasting about the serenity of dawn, and a week later (photography time, not real time) I end up actually leaving work “early” to catch the sunset and the blue moon. There are two definitions of a blue moon, but in this case, the full moon was the third in a season (rather than the second in a month). It’s been a long time since I’ve explicitly gone somewhere to watch the moonrise (the last time was in 2007 on Tolmie Peak — after work on a Monday!), but whether from a mountain or a dock, it’s always impressive how quickly the moon rises over the horizon and shrinks into a tiny dot.

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Well that took a while

August 18, 2013August 18, 2013 Tigerotor77WAngel Oak, Canon 6D, Edisto Island, Firefly Distillery, Sunset, Wadmalaw IslandLeave a comment

I typically don’t have a sweet tooth but I admit that sweet tea is a bit addicting. A bright mind took this refreshing Southern staple and “added” alcohol, culminating in sweet tea vodka. Firefly Sweet Tea vodka was thus officially born, and about half an hour away from Charleston (on Wadmalaw Island) is the distillery where the drink has its origins. And they have tastings! Not being comfortable taking pictures of the bar or bartender, my only proof of having been there (apart from two bottles of their stuff) is a picture of the trees around the distillery. The forests are so green around here.

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Giddy to travel

July 14, 2013July 27, 2013 Tigerotor77WAutobahn, fog, Mt. Rainier, Munich skyline, SunsetLeave a comment

The first half of 2013 has been a bit rough. Charleston is a charming city, but its charm is — in my opinion — best experienced with friends rather than alone. Working somewhere around 50 55-hr work weeks (which doesn’t include meal or commute time!) in the span of a year isn’t conducive to a healthy social life, so I’ve gradually begun to develop a case of Wanderlust that I so happily nurtured in 2011. Luckily, I have always had an overzealous shutter finger to remind me of easier times and an overactive imagination to dream of when I can do this again.

Germany

The Autobahn and good drivers, the happiness and fun-loving nature of Munich, and a sunset in a small village not so far away from Stuttgart.

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When it doesn’t rain

October 3, 2011November 2, 2011 Tigerotor77WBachalpsee, Bernese Oberland, First, Hegau rest stop, Hotel Silberhorn, Kleine Scheidegg, Lauterbrunnen, rain, smog, Sunset, SwitzerlandLeave a comment

I was hoping to go to Oktoberfest in one of the previous two weekends, but timing proved difficult. Long story made short, I chose to go to Switzerland instead of drinking beer. The weather was right for hiking, and the long weekend was right for finally doing some more “extreme” photography.

First, I have to make a plug for the hotel I stayed at. As is usually the case, I started by looking at booking.com and saw that the Hotel Silberhorn was decently rated and priced. I called them to ask if they had availability — and they quoted me an even better price than what I had seen online. When I arrived, the owner (the hotel is family owned) asked if I would be able to attend breakfast, and I told him I’d probably be gone an hour before it started. He offered me a sandwich, but in packing it also packed me a lunch sandwich, bottle of water, and an apple. He did this the next day, too. Parking was free, breakfast was included, and the hotel was literally a three minute walk (across the street and up a small hill) from the Lauterbrunnen train station. I usually don’t writing glowing reviews about hotels, but this one was fantastic. The room even had a balcony. I could gush on about this forever, but…

As I wrote a long paragraph ago, the weather was right for hiking. In fact, it’s been nice for a few weeks now — maybe to make up for the dismal (i.e. cold and wet) July and August. While this seems perfect for picture-making, rain helps bring down dust in the air, which otherwise gets in between a camera sensor and the intended subject. This was especially evident in Hegau. 20 km before exiting the A81 autobahn for the Swiss border, there’s a rest stop with a decent dinner selection. A month ago, right before my second trip to Switzerland, this is what the sunset looked like.

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Hope and Expectation

August 30, 2011October 20, 2011 Tigerotor77WEggum, harbor, hiking, Norway, sheep, Stamsund, Sunset, Unstad1 Comment

Sleep had come naturally, though in fits, while I was aboard the M.S. Trollfjord. When I awoke, it was clear it had rained overnight.

Throughout my three days in Tromsø, it hadn’t rained while I was outside. It had sprinkled a little on my last day (the museum day), but not like this; most of the mountains on either side of the boat remained shrouded in fog and clouds during the rest of the trip.

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The creative “vision”

October 10, 2010October 10, 2010 Tigerotor77Wclouds, fiery, photography, sky, Sunset, textureLeave a comment

There are widely publicized notions of what photographers are like at various stages during their careers. Some liken the transition to how they look at light; others, at how they think of their equipment. I’d argue that another analogy is that some of the most interesting photographers are always able to find subjects — whether they’re on vacation, on location, or just wandering about, they’re able to find things to shoot. By this definition, I’m on the very beginning end of this continuum. When it comes to finding shots, I can do it if I know what and where it is that I’m shooting. Planning the sunrise shots around Grand Teton National Park, for instance, is natural to me, as is thinking about what to shoot when doing a flyover of Champaign-Urbana. And don’t get me started on Mt. Rainier; that’s natural, too.

When it comes to a new location, however, I don’t always find the urge to discover completely new locations. Michigan actually has really beautiful spots, but some of the ones I really want to see are in the Upper Peninsula (I’m by Detroit, currently). There are, without doubt, things to photograph here, but I simply haven’t been on the lookout for them — and, importantly, nor have I made the effort to really seek them out. Maybe this is an indication of something larger than photography, but regardless, I haven’t made an emotional connection to subjects around here for the most part.

This one day, though, I was watching TV and decided randomly to walk outside because it had been nice all day. What greeted me astounded me — the sky was simply incredible. I didn’t have the time to go find a vista with a grand overview of the sunset, unfortunately, but still, the colors were unreal and the texture in the clouds even more otherworldly. I tried a few weeks later to make it to the coast to grab shots of lighthouses, but I ran out of time and headed home instead. Soon, though, I’ll start venturing out more often — the foliage is already starting to pique my interest — but suffice to say, I have a long way to go before I get anything of merit here in Michigan!