Fun With Low Light Photography

"Even as a child, she had preferred night to day, had enjoyed sitting out in the yard after sunset, under the star-speckled sky listening to frogs and crickets.

 Darkness soothed. It softened the  sharp edges of the world, toned down the too-harsh colors. With the coming of twilight, the sky seemed to recede; the universe expanded.

 The night was bigger than the day, and in it's realm, life seemed to have more possibilities."

~Dean Koontz

Midnight

I was going through my folder from last month, and found some photos that really pleased me. They are dark, and have a presence that is true to the beginning of winter, and the cold darkness that comes with it. This week, we are getting the first of the El Nino storms. It's dark, as you might expect, but the sky just opens up, and DOWN comes the rain. Fiercely so! The snow pack in the Sierra range is at 139% of normal totals, which is awesome, but again, it's dark outside, and I am kinda loving it! I am not a day person, at all, I don't really begin thinking clearly until the late afternoon, and that has been my whole life.

 Alan snores. LOUDLY. And while there are other rooms I can go to, if my Fibromyalgia is particularly painful, or I just happen to need a little extra sleep, but most of the time I stay in the bedroom with him, and watch TV, or read, while he sleeps. I like being near him, snoring and all! And like I said, it has been a life time pattern for me to not sleep at night. I basically keep vampire hours. I cook, and clean, and tip-toe through the archives in search of a photo I might have overlooked. I have found many promising photos that way. Bring on the darkness! As long as El Nino is here, I might as well enjoy it!

Low-light photography. In natural lighting, and otherwise, has always intrigued me, so I am going to concentrate on that this winter. I know I will doing a lot more photography in and around Stockton, because of the storms on the way, which is nice, because I need to venture out around here. I love the mixture of rural and city here. It's quite unique to the rest of the Bay Area. Shrug. Darkness, in all the best ways is the goal. I hope you find the next series of photos pleasing, comments and opinions are always appreciated!

 You knew I was going to sneak in a photo from the last of the leaves... right? It's just that the last of the Dogwood had a poignant kind of beauty to it, as the last of the colorful leaves rested among the dark and dead leaves. There was something strangely pretty about it.

I tool this photograph out my kitchen window,

 using the screen as a filter.

 I kind of like the grainy effect. Thoughts?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Foggy Autumn Morning In Stockton...

"In nature, everything has a job. 

The job of the fog is to beautify further the existing beauty."

~Mehmet Murat ildan

The Central Valley is very foggy during certain times of the year, and yesterday morning was one of the densest since we moved to Stockton! As we drove home from Hayward, at a little after 6:00 AM the fog really began to thicken, as usual, just as we came down from the Altamont Pass, into Tracy. But when we merged onto HWY 5 north, the visibility went down to under a quarter of a mile. I was absolutely thrilled! I love doing photos in the fog, it makes everything take on a much softer tone, and gives everything within it a mysterious, yet gentle vibe. I am going to be doing a lot of photos in the fog this year, hopefully, because I enjoy the challenge, and I like how it makes my photos look. 

We had fog in Berkeley, of course, but it's not the same as in the valley. For one thing, in Berkeley, the fog tends to flow off the bay in ribbons, rather than one big blanket, although it would simply blanket as well, just not as often. Also, the fog in the East Bay seemed to burn off by 10:00 AM, where here in Stockton you might have it around for most if not all day! Again, a happy situation for me, because I want to experiment with autumn light under foggy conditions. I am looking forward to perhaps doing some snow photos in foggy conditions later in the winter, but it's still a consideration, nothing has been decided. All I know is I am happy... the chance to do some photos in the early morning fog made me very happy!

A Foggy Day In Stockton

Leaf Of The Day

December 9th 2015

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

I'll Follow The Sun

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing in the Universe to do."

-Galileo Galilei

A couple weeks ago, while on my way to Nevada, I had a chance to see the sun come up for the first time in months. I am usually asleep most mornings around dawn, as I usually go to bed at 5:00 a.m. or so. I had forgotten what I had been missing. The sun makes me feel good, and there is nothing like it's soft, golden radiance on a chilly late winter morning. Close your eyes, and imagine it for a moment. If you did close your eyes, were you able to actually feel the morning sun, shining on you?

Try it again, sit back in your chair, close your eyes, take a long, deep, cleansing breath, and imagine you are sitting in the warmth of the early morning sun. Now tell me, when you opened your eyes, were you smiling? Frowning? Did you feel warm inside? Try it one more time with me. Close your eyes, take two long, cleansing breaths, only this time, tell me what you see, feel, hear, touch, and taste in your imagination. Be aware of where the sun takes you, and let yourself feel it. REALLY feel it.

Did you just create a memory? Did you relive a memory? Did you picture that sunrise where you are right now, or did you transport yourself to another place and time? There is nothing like taking a moment, to clear the mind of clutter, and follow the sun.

I'll Follow The Sun
The Beatles

One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
And so my love I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you know, oooh
One day you'll find that I have gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Yes, tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
And so my love I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you'll know, oooh
One day, you'll find that I have gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun.

"I love the sweet smell of dawn... our unique daily opportunity to smell time, to smell opportunity...each morning being a new beginning."

-Emme Woodhull-Bache

-OndineMonet
"Looking East"
March 15th, 2007
Early Morning