Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 184 ( El Capitan Photo – Better)

Jeff

A better photo of El Capitan

A wider view of El Capitan

The photograph of El Capitan above is certainly more visually pleasing than the photograph posted yesterday as part of YOY Day 183. The differences are obvious. The trees can be easily used as a “yardstick” to gain a sense of scale. The orientation of the frame, i.e. portrait mode accentuates the vertical height of El Capitan.

This is not to say that this is a dramatic photograph of El Capitan, but it is certainly better as a measure of the strength, size and grandeur of the mountain.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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STATUS QUOtes — 20170111

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“There is no sauce in the world like hunger.” — Miguel de Cervantes

“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” — Oscar Wilde

“Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.” — John Wayne

“Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that.” — Ellen DeGeneres

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 183 (El Capitan – OK Photo, Not Great)

Jeff

El Capitan from the meadow

While hiking the meadow area, El Capitan appears and reappears in many places

The picture above is anything but an awe-inspiring image of El Capitan. Part of the problem is, once again, the context of the mountain. We can see that it is large, but it is lost among the tops of the trees. There really is no clear definition of where the ground is and thus we are left to intuit how tall the trees are.

The full height of El Capitan is not appreciated. Because the trees are in the foreground, they look relatively large in comparison to El Capitan. This could serve as a picture of record to explain the jaggedness of El Capitan along with other physical features, but it does not present the monolith as the huge presence it is in the valley.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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STATUS QUOtes — 20170110

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“Never confuse the improbable with the impossible.” — Burke’s Law , 1963

“Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave ’em all over everything you do.” — Elvis Presley

“Don’t be afraid of the answers. Be afraid of not asking the questions.” — Jennifer Hudson

“A fool and his money is a friend indeed.” — Unknown

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Video – Bird Frozen to Fence Saved by Warm Breath

Jeff

I have an affinity for birds. I think they are magical, beautiful and graceful creatures. I have documented some of my attempts to photograph and/or identify the birds that I see during my travels.

The video below captures one man helping a finch that had become frozen onto a nearby steel fence. As you watch the video, notice how he massages the feet of the bird, then uses his breath to “defrost” the area around the bird’s feet and finally releases the bird. Who knows what might have happened to the bird under these circumstances if it was not released in such a kind way?. This was one lucky and happy bird.

Here is the note from the YouTube Video page:

Published on Jan 1, 2017

Rescue of bird frozen to fence.

While feeding my horses on New Year’s morning I noticed a solitary finch perched upon the steel fence near the water tank. The tank is heated to keep it from freezing. It is not uncommon for birds to drink from the heated tank. Apparently this unfortunate bird had gotten its feet wet and, while making its exit, had become frozen to the fence in the prevailing near zero Idaho temperatures. First, I attempted to warm the feet of the frightened bird by pressing my palm against both the fence and the birds feet, while also gently restraining the bird’s flapping wings. It then seemed that warming the birds feet with my warm breath would bring quicker success. Gentle sideways motion with my thumb brought freedom for the frightened bird and a smile of satisfaction to my face… a delightful way to start a new year.

 


See previous Vide-Ohs HERE

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 182 (Sentinel Rock from the Meadow Area)

Jeff

Sentinel Rock

Sentinel Rock as seen from the meadow area

One of the amazing features of Yosemite National Park is that it offers so many perspectives of the wonderful natural formations. As we have been discussing, perspective and context tend to influence how we perceive something. This picture (above) of Sentinel Rock taken from the meadow area presents a much different view of the spire than the views from above the valley where it tends to get lost among the other mountain tops.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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STATUS QUOtes — 20170109

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“When your outgo exceeds your income your upkeep is your downfall.” — Unknown

“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.” — Maya Angelou

“I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of my continuing to manage the portfolio after my death — abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term thinking outside the box.” — Warren Buffett

“I try not to break the rules but merely to test their elasticity.” — Bill Veeck

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 181 (Half Dome as Waldo is Found)

Jeff

Half Dome a closer context

Showing Half Dome with more context

In yesterday’s post, I tried to demonstrate how the context or environment in which the main subject or focal point of the picture is placed has much to do with defining that main subject. If it is too small, or without other elements to lend perspective, the photograph is likely to be less successful.

Context, i.e. the surroundings of the object, helps to stress the main interest when the composition is well done. In addition, making sure that the main subject is large enough and distinguishable enough increases the overall effectiveness.

In the picture above, there is a leading line going from the bottom left angled upward to the right to Half Dome. This leads the viewer’s eye toward the main subject.

You can see yesterday’s picture of Half Dome and how insignificant it appears in the composition and context. Click HERE

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

***********************************

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STATUS QUOtes — 20170108

Jeff

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

“Success in the end erases all the mistakes along the way.” — Chinese Proverb

“Don’t beat yourself. That’s the worst kind of defeat you’ll ever suffer.” — John Wooden

“All that we do is done with an eye to something else.” — Aristotle

“Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren’t British, and to the British that we aren’t Americans that we haven’t had time to become Canadians.” — Helen Gordon McPherson

 

JBRish.com originally published this post

See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Video – “One Shot” Photographing the Olympics

Jeff

As a matter of course, I follow Olympic Photographer Jeff Cable. He is a super guy and an excellent photographer. Jeff is not strictly a photographer of the “games” as his skills and creativity go way beyond such a narrow scope. You can see some of his work, including Olympic shots, at his website:


Jeff Cable Photography

If you hurry on over, you can catch his new slide show which is captivating!


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The YouTube Video below, One Shot, documenting the harried and stressful business of photographing the Olympic games gives the viewer some insight into the pressures of the job. One of the photographers interviewed explained that when he started covering the games twenty years ago, it would take a minimum of forty minutes to get a picture to the “editor” and now that same shot can be sent through cyberspace in 68 seconds.

If you like the Olympics or Photography or both, you will certainly enjoy this YouTube Video:

From the YouTube Video web page:

‘One Shot’ Photographing the Olympic Games’ offers a unique behind the scenes look at photographing the Olympic Games, from the photographers themselves, but also from the operational perspective of the organising committee and the host city.

‘One Shot’ is built around the 100m men’s final in Rio de Janeiro and features Lucy Nicholson (Reuters), Bob Martin (Sports Illustrated/SilverHub), Tsuyoshi Matsumoto (Yomiuri Shimbun), Tim De Waele (Freelance), Denis Paquin (Associated Press) and Ken Mainardis (Getty Images). This short version of what will be a 25 minute feature was created for the Rio Debrief held in Tokyo in December 2016 and premiered at the PyeongChang World Press Briefing in Korea.