The Rhino Lounge

 

Most wildlife photos involve a good deal of luck, and this was no exception. While this was taken at the San Diego Zoo, it was still a matter of being in the right place at the right time to capture a great photo. As I walked up to these rhinos, each had its head on the ground and both were facing away from me. As I stood there for a few minutes, the one on the right started moving its head around and finally rested it on the other rhino.

The strong side lighting draws the viewer's eyes down the back of the rhino on the right to its ears then horn, showing the detail of the hair on the ears and adding a great highlight to separate the rhino from the background. I chose to shoot this image in close of just the heads/shoulders to make sure the viewer is locked in on the two rhinos as the subject, and to make sure anything extraneous is removed. If I would have shot it of both rhinos' entire bodies, there would have been a lot of dead space in the photo that would have detracted from the action and detail in the rhinos' heads.

The Caboose Motel

 

Believe it or not, this is a motel in Dunsmuir, CA, in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. We came across this place while driving down to San Diego and decided to stay there for a night on our return trip. This photo was taken by the light of a full moon and the reflected light of the moon does a great job illuminating light colored surfaces. In fact, the combination of the full moon and the snow on the mountains in the background is what allows you to see those mountains.

The Railroad Park Resort has a couple dozen cabooses and boxcars that have been converted into motel rooms and it's a fun place to stay. I enjoyed it so much that I'm hoping to make it back there in the summer to do some climbing on the mountains in the background, which are part of Castle Crag State Park.

The Trail Crew

 

I figured it was about time to publish a people photo, and I happened to take this yesterday while doing trail maintenance with the Washington Trails Association. Most of this group of characters works together on the trails every Thursday. This photo was taken during the crew's lunch break and I love the variety in the image. Just the facial expressions and body language of each person gives the viewer an idea of the personalities. This image reminds me think of the poster of workers eating lunch while sitting on an iron beam at the top of a skyscraper.

Another thing to note is that it was gray and raining almost the whole day. Typically the cloud cover produces a flat light that tends to make a photo bland, however, I think the wetness of everything and the shade from the trees really helped with the color saturation. There is good contrast between colors, too - look at orange of the hard hats against the green of the vegetation.

The Farmers Market

 

So, Pike Place Market has to be one of the original farmers markets, as well as one of the original tourist traps. You can't go to Seattle without going there. That being said, you also can't beat it for great photo subjects. Whether it is the original Starbucks storefront, guys throwing fish, or local artists' stuff for sale, there is always something or someone interesting to photograph. The thing I love about this is how stationary and seemingly unoccupied the upper floors of the buildings are, with the contrasting flow of people and light at the street level. Also, adding the element of time with the clock on the sign confirms that it's the end of the day and people are picking up something on their way home from work.

Although I've only lived in the Pacific Northwest for 9 months or so, one thing that I've found is that the light here is fantastic. Obviously in this photo the neon adds a cool dimension, but the light I'm talking about is the rich morning and evening light that you get in the hour or two after sunrise and before sunset (like the deep blue sky above the sign here). Fortunately, in the Pacific Northwest, that light lasts longer because of the higher latitude and the lower angle of the sun.

The 11th Street Bridge

 

This is an image of the 11th Street Bridge that spans the Foss Waterway in Tacoma. It is an old drawbridge that is no longer in use. The bridge currently is only accessible to bikes and pedestrians, however, there are plans to retrofit the structure to once again allow vehicular access.

I took this while out on a military landing craft tour, of all things. To me the image is timeless - there is no distinct characteristic in the image that tells when it was taken. Also, I find the bridge itself visually fascinating.