Thursday, September 18, 2014

Ralph B. Clark Regional Park

Ralph B. Clark Park straddles the Fullerton / La Habra border in Orange County, CA. If you are driving into the park, there's a fee. Walking in is free, and street parking is usually available except during peak hours. I walked in yesterday late in the afternoon, camera bag with various lenses and tripod in hand. My goal was to photograph some of the thunderhead cloud formations I had seen earlier in the day, but by about 7 PM, they had really started to dissipate.
I like the way the shot above was framed by trees on either side!
A few heavy clouds late in the day, but not nearly as spectacular as they had been a few hours earlier.
There were a few hardy souls running around enjoying the park in the triple digit temps, but for the most part, it was pretty empty. At the far east end of the park, there are some steep hiking trails bordered by split-rail fence. At the very top of the trail, there are some benches to sit and enjoy the view. I used this as my base camp to set up my tripod and watch the sun set!
As the sun was setting, I came across this gentleman very focused on doing squat exercises at the top of the hill behind the bench. He didn't even notice me standing behind him taking his picture! I positioned the sun directly behind his head, so it gave his silhouette a nice glow.
Even this little dog was enjoying the golden glow!
And it's an excellent vantage point to watch the sun sink on the horizon...




Lugging my camera with telephoto lens attached, tripod, and backpack with extra lenses back to my car, I noticed this young lady walking in front of me. A perfect opportunity to put my camera on the tripod for a long exposure shot to get some motion blur.
400mm lens, f/11, 0.8seconds, ISO 250
Oh, and finally, a decent opportunity for a fence shot! Seems like most of the fences I see around here are chain link!
Linking with Skywatch Friday and Good Fences. Thanks for stopping by!

39 comments:

  1. lovely colors and variety in these! love the classic lost shot and those beautiful skies!

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  2. Fabulous photos! I'm particular to the dog one and the motion blur, but they are all terrific! Thanks for your visit to my blog!

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  3. Wow, what a collection of images, all stunning and creative, beginning with your blog header photo! I like your doggie photo too, so adorable!

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  4. This was a delightful post. Loads of gorgeous photos. Loved the 2nd one, the photo of the bench, the dog and your last fence shot.

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  5. Wow, terrific light and colour in these captures!

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  6. These are all awesome images.. I love the man's silhouette and the puppy dog... Beautiful sky captures. Have a great weekend!

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  7. These are gorgeous photos, and I love the beautiful colors in the second photo!

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  8. These are some great pics and that is a sweet dog.

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  9. Great series of shots.

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  10. What a delight to come to your blog and see all these great images! Love that bench shot and that dog is so cute.

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  11. I feel like I have been to a dozen different places with you, each special in their own way. I love the way you have processed each of these to bring out the best. The image of the bench against the colourful sky is my favourite.

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  12. Stupendous photography!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= . <3

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  13. Fabulous colours in these shots. Happy SWF!

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  14. These are terrific and the fence shot is the winning one.
    Have a great weekend!

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  15. Wow - gorgeous golden glow and fabulous shots.

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  16. hey thanks so much for your comment at my blog, I'm loving your photos here, looks like my type of place to visit - beautiful!

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  17. I know this area very well, because I passed it to bring my kids to school. Always thought it was a piece of undeveloped beautiful land (since I know it from a decade ago when there were no houses were standing there in that area at all!) and didn't know it was a park:) Love the pic with the doggie!

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  18. Very pretty colors, pure beauty in these delightful compositions, excellent photos !!

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  19. WOW! SO MANY GORGEOUS CAPTURES! LOVED THEM ALL!

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  20. I love the colors coming out of your camera. The light has certain great qualities in your part of the world.

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  21. Nice, I think you got the most out of your stay at the park. I love the bench shot.

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  22. Maybe the clouds were not as spectacular as you hoped and expected, but still you are presenting a wonderful serie from the beginning untill tje end.

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  23. A very nice sequence, I particularly like the bench and the fence, HDR?

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  24. Amazing Pictures... loved it ...:)

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  25. Super photos!!! I have a hard time picking a favorite. Love that header photo!

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  26. Gorgeous gorgeous colors! And while I know after fall comes winter but I do envy people who get to see fall every year!

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  27. Great photos.. Hope the temps moderate and you get some rain

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  28. It amazes me the temps are in the triple desert in the west. That seems unbearable to me, but then y'all don't have the humidity, do you? But, it still think I wouldn't like it. The vivid shades of orange & blue are almost surreal. Did you use special filters on your lens or is this natural? Either way the shots are gorgeous! Excellent #SWF photos!

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  29. These are all excellent! I like that first shot, and the one of the girl running on the lawn is fantastic. The dog picture too :^) Stay cool out there, I heard it's really hot in California at the moment!

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  30. Lots of great shots. I especially like the storm clouds in the second photo. - Margy

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  31. Great colours - and thats a nice use of a long exposure.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  32. What a wonderful series!!! I cannot choose a favourite from the lot!!!

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  33. such a nice set of images. Love what you captured as well as your digital processing. :) Great work!

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  34. You really did climb a long way with heavy gear. I have been told a tripod would help my photography and your captures verify that :) So many stunning shots here. The light around the "squats" guy is spectacular and I loved the motion shot.. the base camp bench is another.. I could go on.. and on....

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