Thomas D. Mangelsen - Images of Nature, La Jolla California

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I was in La Jolla the other day, and stopped in to see the Images of Nature Gallery by Thomas Mangelsen. I originally walked in to see what the big deal was about a few photos of wildlife, and left in awe of what looks to be a lifetime of achievement. What impressed me the most was how large the prints were of 35mm slides and digital photos. Now they were grainy as one would expect, but they had a very nice quality to them. I am not one to purchase other artist’s work, but his prices were very reasonable, and if I were one to purchase photography, I would definitely be proud to hang one of his pieces in my home.

If you are not familiar with Thomas Mangelsen, then have a look at one of his most recognizable pieces, and you may remember seeing this photo somewhere.

Thomas has several galleries, and I would recommend that you visit one of them sometime.

Tags: mangelsen, thomas mangelsen, images of nature, la jolla

Jun

29

Shooting fireworks

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I saw a fireworks show last night near my home. Naturally I could not resist bringing a tripod and camera to "possibly" catch a good fireworks shot. As it turned out, we were not close enough to the show to get good wide shots, so I was forced to get in tight with a zoom lens to avoid the street lights, and parking lights in the foreground.

Here is what the foreground looked like:
By the way, the correct way to shoot these is shoot wide open ( I used iso 100) and vary the shutter speed (start at about 2 seconds or so). The shutter speed will not effect the intensity, but it will effect the length of the streams. The aperture will effect the brightness. You should try wide open first, then close down if necessary. Focusing is very tricky in the dark. I would suggest getting there when it is still slightly light and focus on the launch area, and use that same focus to shoot the fireworks. Don’t forget to disable autofocus, shoot in all manual mode, and use a remote/cable release. You can shoot without a remote release, but you risk shakiness in the shot.

Here are my shots from last year…I did a little better

This was taken last year near the Pechanga Indian Reservation in Temecula, California

More advice here

Tags: fireworks

Jun

27

The Gliderport at Torrey Pines

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This is a seven frame stitched panoramic. This location is one of my favorites in the La Jolla area, and as I was walking in the other day, I tried a quick hand held seven shot pan, and it came out ok… I think

Tags: torrey pines gliderport, la jolla, stitched panorama, stitched, panorama

Jun

25

Great wedding location… if you are looking

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I was at the beach the other day with my daughter, and it looked like they were setting up for a wedding, or something similar. Looks like a nice place to get married. I have geotagged this photo for those of you that may be looking for a place to get hitched. The original jpg file has the gps coordinates

Tags: wedding, la jolla, beach

Jun

23

Torrey Pines Gliderport

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I was at the Torrey Pines Gliderport the other day, and it was very foggy and overcast. I left my house and it was over 100, and I get down to the beach, and it was 75 and cloudy. I stopped at the Torrey Pines Gliderport hoping to catch a few gliders doing cool things, and instead I watched them struggle to take off.