The Day Ends at Hurricane Point

Last week we've experienced big fires in Santa Cruz Mountains. While I feel sorry for people who had to evacuate out of their homes, or people whose property burned down, I was at the same time glad, since as a result of these fires, the atmosphere in the Bay area got contaminated enough to produce spectacular sunrises/sunsets. Outside of always-overcast Moscow, San Jose has the most unspectacular sunrises/sunsets I have seen. You have to wait for weeks sometimes for some clouds and red color to appear.

And I was right. During the past week, every sunrise and sunset was spectacular. Plenty of clouds, plenty of rich saturated red colors and drama - exactly what landscape photographer is looking for on the edges of the day and night. With that in mind, I took off to Big Sur Coast last Saturday, where I was lucky to witness this drama. Finding a good point to capture some coast and burning skies can be tricky in that area of ever-winding roads, but I decided to settle and shoot a few frames at Hurricane Point, where I captured this image. What you are seeing there is a famous Bixby Bridge in the distance, and from this point, I am looking North.

So there are still plenty advantages of living in Northern California - and one of the main ones is that I live just an hour away from perhaps the greatest stretch of Pacific coast you'll ever find.

Please see it Large.

Vincent Versace, whose book I briefly reviewed below, appeared as a guest blogger at Scott Kelby's blog today, with an article that explores the theme of how to be taken by your photographs rather then how to take photographs. Great thought provoking read on creativity and why of photography, and take a look here to read it.

Gift of Nature + Two Books I am Reading

This image is a result of the recent things that I learned in the process of trying to improve the overall level of my photography. I am currently reading two books that are changing my whole to how I see things, as well as how I post process my images. Let me share a few thoughts on these two books and why I like them.

The first book is Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography by Freeman Patterson. I’m not sure why I did not get this book sooner, but better late than ever. This is not a book on exposure or on the rules of composition. It is much more – it is a book about how to truly see and how to better express yourself through your photography. The book is well written and is accompanied by beautiful images by the author, and every chapter makes you think more deeply about yourself, about the goals you may have about your photography and about what you may want to do next to take it to the next level. It has plenty of good exercises intended to help us develop the artistic vision. The reason why I like this image is because it was taken right outside of our Silicon Valley home (in other words, one of the more boring parts of California when it comes to nature). I passed by these flowers several times every day without ever noticing them, but one day I opened my eyes as directed by Patterson and visualized exactly this image. I am learning that I don’t have to be at a National Park to capture images I like. In fact, Patterson himself have taken good majority of his favorite images in his backyard.

The second book is Welcome to Oz: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop by Vincent Versace. First, take a look at Vincent’s portfolio (here is the link). He’s a brilliant photographer with a very unique style. Second, this is not just another book on Photoshop. Though various advanced Photoshop techniques are covered, Vincent’s goal with this book is to teach you a new approach to seeing the final image in mind. I love his idea of drawing an image map for various adjustments I need to make on my images. Our eyes see in a certain way, and Vincent does a great job of teaching difficult concepts of how to make images more visually appealing. He’s a brilliant teacher, and this book is a five-year work of his that he’s put a lot of soul into. Bottom line - it is a book about creativity. For this image, I used what I learned in the book to selectively adjust contrast, color and light in this image.

If you are like me and are looking for ways to take your creativity to a new level, these books may help you just like they are helping me.

Mt Watkins at Mirror Lake

Mt Watkins at Mirror Lake, originally uploaded by Ivan Makarov.

Chilnuana Cascades

Chilnuana Cascades, originally uploaded by Ivan Makarov.

Please see it LARGE.

Located in the southern part of the Yosemite National Park
(near Wawona), Chilnuana Falls is reached by several mile hike, but the cascades extend into a nice stretch of mini-waterfalls that's only about 10 minutes away from the parking lot.

Merced River in the Morning

Merced River in the Morning, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

What you are seeing floating down the river is the ice from Yosemite Falls. The temperature at night was still dropping below 0C at that time of the year in Yosemite, and part of the waterfall would freeze during the night and then unfreeze in the morning. How nature can freeze part of such a powerful waterfall I do not fully understand.

Lower Yosemite Falls from Merced River

Lower Yosemite Falls from Merced River, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

To see my other pictures taken at Yosemite, click here.

Morning Light Hits El Capitan

Morning Light Hits El Capitan, originally uploaded by IvanoMak.

Please see it LARGE.

To see my other pictures from Yosemite, click here.

Apparently this spot, called Devil's Elbow, was Ansel Adams' favorite view of El Capitan and at least two of his famous pictures of El Capitan were taken here. I can see why.

I decided to change the pattern of my presentation of photos slightly. I want to focus more on projects and interconnected themes, rather than posting random images. Even though I already have new material posted, I'd like to finish my Yosemite images first. I think my work will make more sense when it is better organized and when there is connection between my images.