Greetings from my yard to yours 
Baby Desert Cottontail
Chuparosa
Parrys Penstemon
Brittlebush
Goodings Verbena
Desert Marigold
|
|||||
|
Is that noise or are they stars? This came up during our trip to Joshua Tree this week. One of my photo companions handed me his powerful binoculars and directed me toward the Milky Way. I could hardly believe it! There were many more stars than we could see with our naked eye. So what I had assumed was noise in my images turns out to be mostly stars! Grab some binoculars and check it out for yourself. Here’s one of the last night images I took this week. Is there noise?…sure…but stars rule Starry, starry night at Joshua Tree Joshua Tree is an extremely well laid out Park providing easy access for photographers of almost any fitness level. Amazing photo ops are available right from your car, very close to the road or within 1/2 mile or less from your car if you’re not inclined to hike. The best part is that the Park is less than 5 hours from Scottsdale! We’re eager to go back. Arch Rock is 1/2 mile round trip from the parking area
Joshua Tree National Park is perfect for infrared so my converted 5D got a workout this week. Today’s image has a glow courtesy of Lightroom’s Clarity slider. Blue skies come from Lightroom’s HSL sliders and Photoshop’s Hue/Saturation. (Nik or Topaz might have been faster but they tend to add too much noise).
Capturing stars is a challenge! The most challenging for me is staying up late
Like Death Valley, I had a preconceived notion that there was only a lot of the same thing in Joshua Tree. Click image for short slideshow (edited on laptop) Shooting in Joshua Tree National Park this week. Here’s my first attempt at capturing the night sky.
Canon 10-22mm at 10mm. ISO 800, 30 seconds, f/4. (Wide angle 2.8 is ideal but I don’t have one) There’s a nice showing of Desert Chicory on the Ringtail Loop Trail (128th st off Via Linda). Like almost all Arizona Wildflowers, they are surprisingly intricate so take a macro lens or a magnifying glass with you on your next hike for the best view! I scouted for wildflowers on the Toms Thumb trail yesterday morning. With the temps climbing, there are now lots of blooms and many species on the verge of blooming. In bloom were: Combseed, Fiddleneck,Cryptantha, Arizona Popcorn Flower, Storkbill Filaree, Blue Fiesta Flower, Deer Vetch, Lacepod, 2 kinds of Mustard, Miners Lettuce, Yellow Throated Gilia, Chia, Birch Leaf Mountain Mahogany, Ragged Rockflower, Perennial Rockcress, Lupine and POPPIES! Here are just a few photos: Poppies Stop! Did you see that?! The answer from the drivers seat was no. What caught my eye was the amazing green and other colors in the rock so we backed up to get a closer look.. The time of day wasn’t ideal, the snow was too deep and there was fence keeping us from getting really close but I documented it anyway with plans to go back in October.
Section enhanced with Topaz filters. Oooo…can’t wait to see that again! The definition of conifer is a shrub or tree that bears cones. Have you ever looked very closely at a Mormon Tea? Surprise! It’s a conifer. Look even closer at this time of year and you’ll see the cones sprouting with blooms. Extreme Close-up of Momon Tea Blooms Close look at Cones A few common names for this plant are Mormon Tea, Joint-pine and Ephedra. Whatever you call it, take a magnifying glass with you on your next hike. Not just for the Mormon Tea but for all the tiny things blooming right now. The details are amazing. Mormon Tea Shrub in Bloom Tech info for extreme close-ups: Canon SX1. Super Macro setting, ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/1600 second. It was windy and I was hand holding so even at 1/1600 sec, there’s still slight movement. |
|||||
|
Copyright © 2010 ezpixels photo a day (almost) - All Rights Reserved 
|
|||||
