Three Views of Three Chop Ridge

We have a very narrow view of the sunset over the ocean from where I live in Mendocino County in Northern California. Many years ago I had a fantastic view of sunsets over the ocean but the trees have grown up and have now left us with a little slice. Last night I could tell that it was going to be a pretty good sunset. I walked down our road and made a number if images of slightly different views from the same location. It's always good to work a subject with both portrait and landscape views as well as a variety of compositions. These three images ended up being my favorites of the sunset over Three Chop Ridge with the last one being the one that I liked best. Enjoy the views and God bless, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D MKII and a Tamron 18-200mm lens.

Two Views of Three Chop Ridge

Over the years the trees on the neighboring property have grown significantly blocking my view of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Now all I'm left with is a little slot between the trees if I walk down our road a little bit. Earlier this week Lenore told me to come out that the sunset was pretty nice. I'm glad I did because it was beautiful. I created two views one horizontal and one vertical. which is always a good idea because magazine and web articles tend to use vertical images. Both images were created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII camera with a Tamron 18-200mm lens.Have a blessed day, chris

What is it About Boats and Ships?

There is something about ships and boats that make people want to sketch, paint and photograph them. Is there some deep part of us that wants to sail away on an adventure? Is it the risk of adrenaline of man against the sea. Maybe it is just that we find beauty in their lines and shapes against the water and sky or is it something else? I photographed the fishing boat Pacific Hunter coming into Noyo Harbor in Ft. Bragg, Ca last week. It was a plain image that I felt would look better in B+W. Today i decided to add a texture overlay of the side of a building I photographed in Ft. Bragg and then do a beach bypass filter to give it some of the pop that it needed. This image was created with a handheld Canon 7D mkII anda Canon EF 50mm F 1.8 lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, f 11.0 at 1/80th of a sec. I hope your week is going well. God bless, chris#TeamCanon

Wind, Waves,Flowers and Birds etc.

Way back on the twenty eighth of April I was going to go to the coast early in the morning. When I got up the wind was blowing and I went back to bed. Later on the wind seemed to settle down and I decided to head out to the coast. When I got there the wind was blowing like crazy. Of course by then it was the middle of the day and the lighting wasn't very nice either. I headed up north to the Ten Mile Marine Reserve and found some flowers to photograph. I would click the shutter between gusts of the wind. I also found a couple of sleeping Harbor Seals. It's great when you can photograph them without disturbing their behavior or sleep. They look like big bratwurst sausages! I headed south to one of the beaches after that and I photographed some Black Oystercatchers and some gulls. Later on I went back up north photographed the waves. There were some really big ones coming in too. Their power is most humbling. Anyone swept off the rocks where I was at would stand little chance of survival so I kept well back from the surf zone. Enjoy the images and have a blessed day, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a variety of lenses. #TeamCanon

Surfing

Tamarindo in the Guanacaste Region of Costa Rica is a surfing mecca and a delight. It boasts warm waters, sandy beaches and best of all a steady swell coming off the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. There are beautiful beach breaks to be found everywhere. The town of Tamrindo caters to surfers with plenty of surf shops, lessons and easy access to the beach as the town fronts the playa. Walking around town we saw plenty of surfers carrying their boards to and from the beach. For a photographer even though I am not a surf photographer I was immediately drawn into capturing the action and beauty of surfing. It is quite addictive and harder than I expected to get a great image. You really have to work to keep the surfers composed in the right spot in the frame and make sure the horizon in the background is straight. It is quite challenging and fun. Enjoy the images and have a blessed evening, chris

My Lovely Little Chickadee

Here along the edge of the Pacific Coast in Northern California we have the Chestnut Backed Chickadees. They are gregarious fun little birds. In winter they are probably the most common bird coming to my bird feeders. I just love'em. Last week I set out to photograph them taking off from the perch next to the feeder. This image was my favorite. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 275mm on a Manfrotto 055 PROBX tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead. camera settings used. Manual mode, ISO 1600,F10.0 at 1/160th of a sec. Four canon 540EZ flashes were used at 1/64th power.

Foggy Day at the Coast

The Mendocino Coast in Northern California offers a multitude of photographic opportunities from scenics to flowers and wildlife(Do bees count as wildlife?). Lenore and I celebrated our anniversary out on the coast last week and we spent some time wandering around the coastal towns of Ft. Bragg and Mendocino. We dabbled in a bit of photography along the way and tried a couple of new restaurants that we haven't dined in before and were quite pleased with the meals we were served. Some fantastic chowder down on the Noyo harbor and some incredible BBQ salmon by the bridge in Ft. Bragg.Just a wonderful couple of days. Here are some of the last of the images from our venture. God's love and guidance to all, chris All images photographed with a Canon 7D with either a Canon 1-22 wide angle lens or a 100mm macro lens