What I've read about photography this week

Online articles, galleries and blog posts on photography that have caught my eye in recent days:

Nikon's photo contest winners for photography through microscopes -- amazing images.

Shooting the spooky Southwest backroads, Flickr blog. Night + colors = original images.

The full-frame debate, bythom.com. Do you really need to go full-frame? Probably not, says Thom Hogan. Do I want a full-frame cameraanyway? Probably so, says me. :)

Mono Lake South Tufa Reserve, CaliTrails. Good writeup and some great photos of a hugely popular landscape photo area. I've been there!

JFK: A bystander's view of history, International Center of Photography. Snapshots of JFK's motorcade through Dallas on that fateful day.

Update for night photography gear, David Kingham Photography. Nice rundown and explanation of cameras and lenses that David recommends for shooting the stars.

Artful, aerial views of humanity's impact, New York Times lens blog. Amazing aerial views of the Earth including some on how we're mucking it up.

North Korea in widescreen, National Geographic. Stunning panoramas taken in a nation few outside cameras get to see.

Horseshoe Canyon pictographs and photographs, Calipidder. Nice write-up and images from a visit to an off-the-beaten-path spot in Canyonlands National Park.

Lost in the Golden Horn, Leica Camera blog. Some great photos from the streets of Istanbul.

I'll try to do these kind of posts on a weekly basis -- God knows I read enough photo-related stuff and it's always wise to share the good stuff.

Big sea, little sailboats

Forgot about this one, taken earlier this fall at Will Rogers. 

I was playing around, trying to see how low I could get my camera to the surf without it actually getting wet. 

Sunset and moonrise over McGee Canyon

And it's back to photos I took earlier this month in the Eastern Sierra. Above is a great sunset + moonrise that came out of nowhere while we were hiking out of McGee Canyon. (The glorious sunset part came out of nowhere; the moonrise was on schedule!) 

Gray day at Will Rogers Beach

What to do with a cloudy, chilly day at the beach in So Cal? Go minimalist! 

El Comedor, downtown Los Angeles

I was doodling around in downtown L.A. and stumbled across this joint that seems a little out of place, even by the standards of DTLA (which is mostly parking lots and old buildings in various states of disrepair).

Geese at sunset

Caught this one on my first night in Mammoth Lakes (Calif.) earlier this month. Geese were circling, the sunset took a turn for the better and I fired off a bunch of shots using my 70-300mm telephoto, hoping to catch the birds in an interesting formation. 

Fall colors in the Eastern Sierra: on the trail in Lundy Canyon

Continuing my calvalcade of fall photos from the Eastern Sierra. This one was taken in an aspen grove in Lundy Canyon that was holding just enough snow to really make the colors pop. (Lundy Canyon is 40 miles north of Mammoth Lakes, btw). 

Eastern Sierra fall color: Convict Lake, a different take

Convict Lake is one of the infamous places to take photos of fall color in the Eastern Sierra of California. Here's a decent shot from 2011 -- it obviously would have been better if I had shot in the image with the sun at my back. 

Eastern Sierra fall colors: the Sherwin Range in Mammoth Lakes

Another photo taken earlier this month in Mammoth Lakes. I know this sounds bad and like I'm a total lazy-ass but...I shot this one of the Sherwin Range from my condo's parking lot. 

Fall colors in the Eastern Sierra: Lundy Canyon

I know. That's a lot of yellow.

My partner and I were on our way to the Lundy Canyon trailhead in the Eastern Sierra when we passed this campground road. We at first went past it and then wisely turned around. 

Never assume good light is going to last. 

Fall colors in the Eastern Sierra; Laurel Creek

I just returned from a few days in the Eastern Sierra, where fall colors are peaking in many places. And, of course, Yosemite is back open -- just two days after I left. Thanks John Boehner! 

The above shot was taken near Mammoth Lakes of the aspens lining Laurel Creek. I had taken a photo of the creek in autumn in 2010, but was never crazy about the results due to poor light midday lighting. 

Fall colors, Hipstamatic style

Took this one at Convict Lake using the Hipstamatic app for iPhone. Leaves against blue water is a nice combo. 

Looking forward to seeing what kind of pics I got with the big boy camera...headed back to lala land tomorrow. 

--S.H.

Nice fall colors in far northern L.A.

Still in Eastern Sierra taking pics, hiking and fishing!

--S.H.

Lundy Canyon open during government shutdown

Looks like John Boehner missed a spot: the outhouse at the U.S. Forest Service's Lundy Canyon trailhead was open for business today (Oct. 11). And a ton of people were parking and hiking there and no one was issuing citations. 

In fact it appears a lot of the forest service land around Mammoth is accessible. Not sure about Reds Meadow Road yet -- no one seems to have any info. But I think it's going to be a good weekend with fall colors peaking. 

From my iPhone: 

Lot of pics already on my big boy camera I'll download at home next week. 

--S.H.

Dog in the park at sunset; how to use flash compensation

Fun practice session with my dog Sammy tonight at Lacey Park in San Marino. I got lucky: a very nice sunset popped while I was in the midst of trying to persuade Sammy to look at the camera.

The result is above.

Sunset at the beach in Santa Monica

 

Just screwing around at the beach in Santa Monica at sunset yesterday -- working on composition and exposure. With photography, it's always good to practice.