Katin Pro/Am

Ron Niebrugge California, Orange County, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

A surfer emerging from the "green room" during the Katin Pro/Am surf tounament, Huntington Beach, California.

The 14 year old surfer Kolohe Andino emerging from the "green room" during the Katin Pro/Am surf tournament, Huntington Beach, California. His young age and amazing abilities have already earned him appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surfing conditions have remained great, and the addition of some of the best surfers in the world thanks to the Katin Pro/Am surf competition keep me busy.  Watching such phenomenal surfing was a real treat!  I may have to go back for the finals today.  Here is a post of the winner of the Katin Pro/Am.

 Below is surfing vetran Rob Machado who has twice finished ranked number three in the world.

Rob Machado

Rob Machado

.

Surfing

Ron Niebrugge California, Orange County, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

surfing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With big waves hitting Southern California yesterday, I had to go to the place known as Surf City USA – Huntington Beach, California!

Water is one place that seems to consistently fool in-camera meters.  What I usually do when photographing around water is switch to manual mode.  Here, I set my ISO at 400 because I needed the speed.  I then set my aperture wide-open, which was 5.6 with my lens, because again, I needed maximum light.  I have my camera set to blink when I over-expose and blow out any whites, so I began trying different shutter speeds until I blew out the whites, and then increased the shutter speed just slightly until I didn’t have any “blinkers” , in this case, 2,000th of a second.  This method gives me the maximum possible exposure, so that the surfer doesn’t turn to a black blob, and yet the whites don’t get blown out and lose detail.

Had my shutter speed been a number below 1,000 – I would have increased my ISO setting a little more in order to get a bit higher shutter speed to help freeze the action.

Avalon, Catalina Island

Ron Niebrugge California, Los Angeles, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Avalon, Catlina Island, California.

Avalon, Catalina Island, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier this week we moved over to campground in Newport Beach, just in time for a favorable, warm, off-shore weather pattern.  I say favorable, because the off-shore winds blow much of the air pollution often found in this area out to sea, providing clearer then normal views of the buildings, surrounding mountains and bright blue skies.  We have been running around like crazy taking advantage of this situation.  We have hiked the hills around Irvine searching for cityscape locations, been up to Griffith Park on the other side of LA, and spent the last two days out on Catalina Island. 

I’m running a bit behind on the blog, but decided to jump ahead and post a photo of the town of Avalon on Catalina Island becuase that is such a cool little town on a pretty island.

Favorite Photos from 2008

Ron Niebrugge Miscellaneous, Photos, Travel 13 Comments

Jim Goldstein had a good idea where he suggested photographers post their 10 best photos from 2008 on their blog.  I keep putting the post off as we are busy with our travels – but it did sound fun, so last night I made the time even if I am too late for Jim’s blog.   I have no idea which photos are my best or worst, so I just picked out my 10 favorites.

Since so many people receive the blog via email, I decided to limit this to small thumbnail sized images as to not over-load anyone’s email account.  I do have a link to a much larger size version next to each image.  Well, here it goes.

 

Just seeing this wild lynx in Denali National Park was the highlight of the year, having a photo from the experience made it an easy pick.

 

 The two Grizzly bears  in the fall Denali landscape don’t show as well in this small thumbnail, but are easy to see in the larger version. 

Horned Puffin, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.  These colorful birds were a blast to photograph.  This one made the list because I really liked the flowers above the bird.  I have some with mouths full of fish that were close honorable mentions.

 

Seeing the shorebird migration along the Copper River Delta, Alaska was another peak experience for the year.

A sow grizzly teaching a cub how to dig for clams, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.  We felt honored to watch such a tender moment between such powerful animals.

 

Desert Bighorn, Moab, Uath.   I really liked the setting for this Desert Bighorn image.

Wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.  Given I spent almost two months chasing beautiful wildflowers, you know at least one will make this list!

Mountain biking the Slickrock Trail, Moab, Utah.  A fun place to photograph and ride!

Breeching Orca, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.  I had to have one from my own “back yard”!

Sea Otter, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.  He was too cute to leave off this list.

I really wanted to include a photo of the nesting great horned owls, or some of the rain forest grizzly bear images I worked so hard on near Seward this summer, or a few more desert landscapes, or even a desert tortoise, but I gotta stick to 10 – I hate to play favorites.

It is interesting to see 8 of the 10 are wildlife images as I did make a conscious effort to spend more time pursuing wildlife this year – photographing wildlife has always been something I really enjoyed, but in recent years, I had gotten away from that a bit.  Wildlife can be really tough because it can involve a lot of time, and can provide little in return.  It would have been interesting to see what the mix of images would have been from earlier years, or for next year!

Salvation Mountain

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This part of our visit to Slab City was sure a colorful surprise!  This 50 foot high mountain made of straw, adobe and lots and lots of paint is constructed into a hillside near the entrance to Slab City.  It is amazing what can be constructed with enough time and effort.  This mountain is the creation of Leonard Knight.  We were able to meet Leonard while we were there, he was very friendly and passionate man who was nice enough to take the  time to give us a nice tour of Salvation Mountain.  For a photographer like me who is attracted to bright, bold colors, this spot was a dream!    Below is a photo of Leonard while leading the tour.Read More

Slab City, California.

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, Travel 16 Comments

Slab City, California.

Slab City, California.

Personally, I think those rims are a bit over the top, but that’s just me.  🙂

Slab City  is an interesting place.  It is a formal military base not far from the Salton Sea.  It really isn’t a city, there aren’t any services, utilities or city government, it is pretty much just a collection of snow birds and squatters who are attracted to the free parking, and, well the lack of government.  I have a friend from Seward who told me he used to hang out here.  Now that I have seen the place, I have lots  more questions!  There were some interesting things there, but photogenically speaking, it was Salvation Mountain that really stood out – but  I will save that for tomorrow.

Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon

Ron Niebrugge Anza-Borrego, California, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon, California.

Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon, California.

To continue on yesterday’s post on the Kiboko Bag – this was our final destination.  This slot canyon is off of Butte Pass Road in the central portion of the park, and is listed in most visitor guides.  It may not have the rich reds of a Utah or Arizona slot canyon, but it still has interesting geographic formations, and wonderful indirect reflected light.