Hidden Worlds Beneath Our Feet

This morning I set up a bowl of beach sand in the early morning light next to one of the sunny windows on the east side of our living room. Next I grabbed my tripod, trusty camera, a macro lens and a set of extension tubes. After setting up the camera I placed the bowl on a chair. Then I ran upstairs and picked up a piece of white foam core to bounce some light onto the sand. It's amazing how cool sand looks close up. There is an incredible world hidden right beneath our feet! This image was created with a Canon EOS T1i camera and a Tamron 180mm macro lens along with a a set of Kenko Extension tubes. It was supported by a Manfrotto Tripod with a Bogen ballhead. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F11.0 for 2 seconds. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

Graffiti

One of the most beautiful countries we visited this last summer in Europe was Poland. The city of Gdansk with its beaches, architecture, parks and forests were amazing. Even within that beauty there lurked some ugliness. While sitting at the beach I noticed this old seawall marked up with graffiti. Which by the way I saw very little of in the areas we visited. There was this odd juxtaposition on the seawall of the shadows of two children playing next to a Nazi swastika. The final image seems to have a sinister quality to it. May God bless you richly, chrisThis image was created with my handheld Canon 7D MkII camera and a Tamron 18-200mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 16.0 at 1/640th of a sec. #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron

I Need a Vacation

This morning the fog rolled in and covered the forest in a soft pillow of warm beautiful light. My camera sat beside me as I looked back through my image files. I think I need a vacation! Here is a sunset silhouette from last summer in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. God bless, chris Image created with a handheld Canon 7D and a Canon 17-85mm lens at 38mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400 F5.0 at 1/2,000 of a sec.

One of My Favorite Birds

Earlier this week we made a quick trip out to the coast. We went during the middle of the afternoon so naturally the lighting wasn't the best. But the great thing was when we walked down onto the beach there was a small flock of Black Oystercatchers probing for crabs in sand. When bigger waves would come in they would fly up to the rocks that were fairly close to us. I had a merry old time photographing them. They are my favorite bird to photograph whenever I go out to the coast. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens.

Mostly Foggy Day at the Coast

Lenore and I spent the day on the Mendocino Coast. We went for a bike ride on the Coastal Trail. We went down to Glass Beach. We finished the day off by going down into Noyo Harbor to Silvers at the Wharf for iced tea, steamed clams and a bowl of chowder. Lots of beautiful sights to see and photograph on the North Coast! God's light and love to all, chris all images created with a canon 7D and a Canon EF-s 17-85 mm lens.

Serendipitous Sunset

Sometimes images fall right into your lap when you least expect them. While on our vacation we went to a street market in Oceanside, California. Shortly afterward while walking along the road next to the beach I spied the sun going down behind the pier. I thought. Hmmnn... that would make a nice image with all of the people lined up on the pier watching the sun go down. Then I spotted the bicycle and I realized it would make a much stronger image. Such a beautiful Southern California sunset. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Catch a Wave

Photographing surfers is a lot of fun. Whenever I'm in Southern California I always make an attempt to spend some time photographing them. Luckily most California beaches are perfect for photographing in early morning light. It's still a hit or miss thing depending upon the morning fog.One morning I got off to an early start and went to Cardiff by the Sea worked my way northward to Swami's and Grandview and I finally settled on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas due to the fact that it has a great beach break that is close in and is perfect for photographing with a 400 millimeter lens. It was wonderful that there was no shortage of surfers. It was nice to see a lot of young kids surfing as well. One young man in a green and black wetsuit was exceptionally good. I must say I had a superb time. God's love to all, chris

Beachcomber's Daydream

Both Lenore and I have coin collectors within our families so it stands to reason that we have a few old coins floating round our house. Nothing major of value. Yesterday Jay came in and told me he'd found an unusual coin in his room. It turned out to be a zinc copy of a CAC Brasher Doubloon, America’s First Gold Coin, There were many copies made of this coin that sold in the 1960's in tourist spots in Florida and other locations along the east coast. An original gold Brasher's Doubloon sold for over seven million dollars in 2011. I decided to create an image a beachcomber would have day dreams about.If it were real that is! God bless, chris 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Mathew 6-:19-21

Young Man and His Dog

For Easter we decided to celebrate by driving up the coast to visit my son Jay at college.It was great to see him and talk about college life.I'm really proud of how well he is doing at school.We went to church together and then drove up to Clam Beach. On the ride up Jay sat with our dog Badger. He expressed how nice it is to have an animal to pet.They aren't keen on dogs in the dorms. When we arrived at the beach we tossed around the frisbee and then gave up due to the wind. As we were getting ready to leave Jay took off with Badger down to the waters edge. When he was running back I took several images of he and Badger running towards the camera. These were my favorite images from the trip.Just a great look of sheer joy. God's love and blessings to all, chris