Los Angeles skyline at sunset

5:44 p.m., .6 second exposure, f/22. 
 

5:49 p.m., 1.6 second exposure, f/14. 
 

5:53 p.m., 3 second exposure, f/14.

More on these photos after the jump.

Composing a photograph: keeping it simple

Been trying to work on really basic, easy compositions. 

Silhouette of a bee

Kind of an interesting shot from a couple weeks back. I was actually aiming for a better shot of the bee, which was floating in and out of view. 

Finch, color versus black and white

My big Xmas gift from my partner: a new finch feeder for our backyard. The idea is to attract birds that let me practice taking pics and, in particular, practice my focus skills. 

The coldest beer in town

Always wanted to shoot this sign. Such a bold promise! Color version after the jump.

Wild parrots in Pasadena

These guys were in a tree outside my house. Shot the photo at ISO 400 and gave the photo a big crop and there's some noise as a result. Not sure how to best clean that up without losing sharpness in the birds. 

There are huge flocks of wild parrots all over Pasadena and South Pasadena -- they're not tiny birds. 

My photos are available as prints at very reasonable prices, including mounted options that are ready for hanging. More info here. Please feel free to check out my SmugMug site for all my work.

--S.H.

All photos above are ©Steve Hymon and may not be used elsewhere without my advanced written permission. All rights reserved.

Remnants of the Station Fire

My partner and I spent the day hiking Mt. Waterman and were making the long twisty drive home as it was getting dark out. Then two things happened...a gorgeous sunset erupted and we made our way through a section of forest that had been especially scorched by the Station Fire in 2009. 

The goalie

This isn't a pose or portrait. I shot it during my team's game (I sat it out) when one of the opponents was rushing our goal. I got two pretty good shots -- this one and the one after the jump that shows why our goalie was getting ready to make a stop. 

San Gabriel Mountain front range

The San Gabriel Mountain front range. Looks better larger. Click here. That's the Angeles Crest Highway slicing across the left side of the image. 

Bird eating fish in the Los Angeles River!

I was running some errands Saturday in Glendale and decided to go for a stroll along the Los Angeles River, the mostly concrete-lined catheter that drains the area. The bottom of the river was never paved in the Glendale Narrows section, so there is considerable vegetation -- and along with it, lots of birds and (unfortunately) trash. 

I knew there were fish in the river but had never seen one -- until I saw this cormorant dive and return to the surface with a big carp. It's not the best pic -- I was completely surprised -- but it's fun to have a photo of fish in the river, which city leaders here are trying to revive. 

Some other pics:

 
Looking north toward the Hyperion Bridge.



Another cormorant.

 
A blizzard of sea gulls.

 
I still need to identify these guys.

 
Too much trash in the river! 

My photos are available as prints at very reasonable prices, including mounted options that are ready for hanging. More info here. Please feel free to check out my SmugMug site for all my work.

--S.H.

All photos above are ©Steve Hymon and may not be used elsewhere without my advanced written permission. All rights reserved.

Portuguese Bend Nature Reserve

Taken from the Burma Road trail in the reserve, located in Palos Verdes at the very end of Crenshaw Boulevard. 

Surfer at Abalone Cove Reserve

Surfer at Abalone Cove Reserve in Rancho Palos Verdes. Click above to see larger. 

The Devil's Punchbowl & the Devil's Chair

See those white rocks at bottom right? That's the "Devil's Chair" in the Devils Punchbowl Natural Area in the high desert north of Los Angeles. If you click above and then look closely you'll see fencing on the top of the upper slab of white rock -- it's a 3.8-mile hike from the parking lot to an overlook atop the chair.

I like the photo for the shapes -- five ridgelines, each a little different than the others with a hint of the Mojave Desert floor at the very top. The photo was taken with my Nikon D5100 and the Nikon DX 35mm 1.8 lens, which is super sharp.

Great horned owl closeups

Extreme closeup of a captive great horned owl taken with my Nikon DX 85mm micro (as in macro) lens. A couple more shots after the jump.