My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and asking deep questions.
I am a fan of open vistas, sunrises and sunsets. Needless to say this area down here supplies all of them. I will be heading back to Colorado this coming Saturday morning and should arrive Sunday afternoon. I am a bit disappointed in not seeing as much outside of this area but there will be other opportunities.
I was given this image on Peralta Trail near my parents home this morning. After getting back home my dad made a breakfast scramble. He and I are heading for a mocha now. A good way to start the day.
I arrived at my parents home yesterday afternoon about 12:15. I have had some wonderful weather for this trip. But, let me tell you the heat difference driving into Phoenix was a major shift for my body. It was a 100 degrees when I arrived.
I awoke early and could see lightening north of the Superstition Mountains so I jumped in the car and drove out to Peralta Trail. I had to spend extra time on this image due to dust spots on the sensor. Frustrating.
At the corner of Laurel and Howes St. is a median strip with multi colored tulips. I knelt down low so I could just catch the sunrise in the background. Spring is beautiful!
I would not want to be driving into this sun.
A few patches of snow remain on any shaded area where the sun cannot reach. Students are walking on campus and riding the bus with t-shirts and shorts. The blue sky seems bluer. There is only a small patch of ice remaining on the pond. The days are getting longer. This warmer weather this past week is causing a bit of excitement within me. There is a feeling of Spring.
“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.” ― Ernest Hemingway
I have several images of this farm at sunrise. It is a place I enjoy going to and is not that far from home. Here is a link to one of my favorite images of it.
I decided last night to drive out there in the morning and prepared everything before going to bed. I woke before the alarm to the sound of blowing wind. Discovered later those winds were gusting up to 30 mph. I made a mocha latte, put it in my mug and headed out.
Needless to say, way too many images were not usable as it was difficult to keep the camera and tripod steady. For the image of fence below I parked the car on the west side of me as a wind block and then placed my tripod low to the ground to reduce as much shake as possible. I’m down low in the snow, in a bar ditch where most landscape photographers hang out.
Even with nylon wind pants, the wind found ways to penetrate and, as usual, it did not take long for my hands to get cold. I shot everything prior to sunrise and then headed home to warm up, shower and download images. These are the two images I think best represented the morning.
I also seem to have a rather large dust spot on my Fujifilm 18-55mm lens. It’s not a drastic spot and is almost impossible to see it. Only noticeable on light open skies and when you look for it. It has shown up that last few times I’ve used it and gone through the process of cleaning it. This morning I spent more time trying to make sure I have it cleaned. If not I may have to take it in. Stay warm and hang on to your hat.