Half-Dome at Sunset

This photo of Half-Dome was taken from Glacier Point as sunset approached. It is an HDR image from a bracket of 3 exposures spaced 2 exposure values apart.

The view of Half-Dome from Glacier Point is one of the most spectacular views I have seen in my life and is a "must see" and one of the most-highly recommended locations for photography in Yosemite in my opinion. Don't miss it if you are visiting Yosemite. Half-Dome rises nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and 8,800 feet above sea level.

See this photo of Yosemite's Half-Dome in the Yosemite Photo Slideshow or in the Yosemite dial-up photo gallery.

Yosemite National Park Series

I spent the past weekend visiting Yosemite National Park and environs. Yosemite is famous in American photographic lore as being the place made famous by Ansel Adams, and the place that made Ansel Adams famous. I make no pretense at these photos being "after" any of Ansel Adams' photographs. But as I poked my lenses about Yosemite, I often felt the ghost of Ansel Adams, thinking and wondering about him hiking the valley with his heavy camera gear, and what effort he must have put in to capturing those images.

Here are the first few images from my recent trip.

Yosemite National Park Flash Photo Gallery

Smaller images can be viewed in this separate dial-up optimized gallery of photos of Yosemite

Lorikeet and Secretary Bird

A couple more birds just flew in from the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. The lorikeet is a multicolored parrot from Australia that lives on nectar. At the enclosure at the park you can buy little cups of nectar and the fearless birds will land on your hand to partake. Which is all very convenient for taking a few photos.

The secretary bird attracts a crowd not because of his colors, which are not very spectacular at all, but because of his gawky shape and the feather quills that stick out from the back of his head. Many sites claim the bird gets its name from these quills and the white and black tunic-like coloring of the bird which is suggestive of a male secretary from bygone-days, but the posting for the secretary bird at the Wild Animal Park's website states that the name of the bird most likely comes from the Arabic saqr-et-tair, or “hunter bird.” Anyhow, the bird struts up and down his enclosure constantly looking for prey, and when he finds a bug or whatever it is he is interested in, he jumps up in the air and stomps on it. Quite entertaining actually!

See these and other birds in the Bird Photo Gallery

Pink-Backed Pelican

Don't you find pelicans a very fascinating bird? I don't know what it is about them particularly that makes them so compelling; perhaps it is that they look kind of comical, and the fact that they can even fly is a surprise in a way as they seem so out of proportion in every way. But on the wing they are so graceful. This is a pink-backed pelican which hails from Africa. I took this photo at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in San Diego County. You can read on their website about all the different kinds of pelicans at the San Diego Zoo and Park.

See this photo of a pink-backed pelican in the bird photo gallery.

Disney Concert Hall Photos Sought by AIA

I had some exciting news this week. I was contacted by the American Institute of Architects about using some of my photos of the Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. for a project they are doing at the moment called The Shape of America. The series of videos features famous landmark buildings of the United States. Hopefully my photos will end up in the Disney Concert Hall piece when it is done.

Walt Disney Concert Hall Photo Gallery