The Elm Tree at Cook's Meadow

The Elm Tree at Cook's Meadow, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Bridalveil Cascades

Bridalveil Cascades, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." - Rachel Carson

There are many pictures out there of the famous Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite. Here are the cascades that run at the bottom of that waterfall.

Upper Yosemite Falls

Upper Yosemite Falls, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

I recommend it in LARGE.

At 2425 feet (739), Yosemite Falls is the highest measured waterfall in North America. What you are seeing here is the upper section of it, which is a 1430-feet drop.

I took this with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8. I think this image nicely shows the sharpness you can archive with this quality of lens. I'll have a more detailed review posted shortly.

The End of the Day in Yosemite Valley

The End of the Day in Yosemite Valley, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

We just got back from three days in Yosemite National Park. We are lucky to live just 200 miles away from it, when most visitors travel thousands of miles into this magic place.

This is a famous view of the valley (the Tunnel View). I have an image by Ansel Adams taken from the exact same spot at my desk at work to help me relieve stress when needed. I, of course, had to come back there and create my own version as well as to share the moment and the view with you all. You can see the famous El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls from left to right, all in one view.

If you have not yet been to Yosemite, you have to visit it before you die.

Spring Time in California

Spring Time in California, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

You see the trees blossoming all over the place here in Northern California right now.

The Edges of Nature

The Edges of Nature, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

#51 Brian Campbell

#51 Brian Campbell, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

To celebrate the start of the battle for the Stanley Cup, here is another hockey player that plays for the Sharks. Brian Campbell arrived in San Jose in February from Buffalo Sabres, on the day of the trade deadline. He's done very well in his role on the defense and the offense and the Sharks transition game has been nothing but outstanding.

He's got an interesting pre-game ritual where he skates around and juggles the puck in the air ala Tiger Woods.

To see his NHL career stats, click here.

By the way, the Sharks are 1-1 in the series against the Flames.

Beacon in the Night

Beacon in the Night, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

One more night shot of the Oakland Temple. As I mentioned before, the size of the building and how it is lit makes it hard not to notice anywhere in the Bay on a clear night.

This image is dedicated to my Flick friend DanielKHC and his superb digital blending work, which works excellently for night exposures. I've used that technique for this image by blending differently exposed parts from three images to produce single better-balanced exposure, though Daniel got so good at it he now uses 14 exposures! I have a lot to learn, but I like this technique for the ability to make realistic-looking but nicely exposed images.

The Oakland Temple

The Oakland Temple, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

If you ever landed in Oakland Airport at night, you most likely would have seen this large well-lit LDS temple standing on the East hills of Oakland. It's a good site both during the day and at night.

The Spouting Horn

The Spouting Horn, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

This natural wonder lies on the South shore of Kuaui island of Hawaii. Every time water rushes under a lava shelf, it bursts through a small opening at the surface. Every wave produces another spray. Spouting Horn frequently spurts salt water 50 feet into the air.

Most of the images of the Horn you will see are actually taken from a view point above it. I took this standing few yards away from it. I did not know that and just went straight down the hill to get closer. I had to watch my steps carefully, as a wrong move could have easily pulled me into the angry Pacific ocean. I almost lost one of the tripod legs there as well, as it got stuck in this lava rock. When will I learn or stop taking risks for a shot?

The only thing I am irritated with is Flickr's resizing procedure. As this picture was resized during the upload, I lost some detail in the rocks.

News Update

With busy schedule at work and with a friend of mine visiting for a week, I had no spare minute to shoot anything recently, let alone to blog. However, I should have more free time in the upcoming future, so I will fill that void. Meanwhile, here are few tips and links for you.

-- If you want to be inspired, go ahead and spend a few minutes visiting a web-site of an excellent landscape and sports photographer Don Smith. Here is the link. I found myself lost in time at the time I found his web-site, and his skill and passion is obvious when you look through his work. He also happens to live not very far away from me, and looking through his work made me look differently at my surroundings. Finally, he's one of the official San Jose Sharks photographers, so I often see him at games.

-- If you haven't heard yet, Adobe released a beta version of a brand new Adobe Lightroom 2.0. I'm excited about extra features, such as much improved printing module, or better cropping, dodging and burning and I will go ahead and try it out this week. The official release notes from Adobe are here, and the comprehensive review of new features by Lightroom's expert Matt Kloskowski is here. While the beta is out, you can use it for free.

-- One of my most favorite photography podcasts is the Candid Frame that interviews different famous photographers every two weeks. If you have not subscribed to it yet, I'll recommend it one more time. Here is the link.