Lilly's First Visit

We took my Granddaughter out to Joshua Tree National Park last weekend for her first visit. Although only 14 months old, she loved it! Thankfully, she seems to enjoy anything having to do with the outdoors, regardless of weather conditions. She's a real trouper!

It rained all day Friday. Rain in the desert is something to be celebrated! Before going into the Park, my wife put Lilly in the stroller for a ride. Everyone was ready to go except the chihuahua... can you see her tugging on the leash in the photo above? She didn't like the idea at all, but once underway, she seemed to enjoy it.

Still not technically in the Park, but very close to the north border, I put the stroller in 4WD and took Lilly out for a walk. The sky was impressive... if there is a Skywatch Friday post this week, I will link to it! (there may not be due to the Thanksgiving holiday).

Above I am introducing Lilly to a desert homestead cabin. She seemed less than impressed, but hoping she will be as fascinated as I as she grows older!

It was a great day for photography, and it has been a while since I was able to get out and take some photos. The fog was drifting in and out of the area followed by brief glimpses of blue sky, so every photo is a little different. I used Photoshop to add a little texture to most of these photos, which helped bring out the sky.

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving holiday and Happy Hanukkah!  Click on Skywatch Friday to check out interesting skies from around the world!!

Hoop Dreams

We've had some really incredible skies here in S CA recently. Just happened to catch this one while on a walk at the local elementary school across from my house (taken on my iPhone).

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!

Moonshadow

I was trying to think of creative ways to combine two areas of photography I enjoy... pics of my granddaughter and Skywatch Friday photos. Impossible, you say? With a little help from Photoshop, I used a recent photo I took of my granddaughter, added a beautiful moon shot from my last Skywatch Friday post, and added a long exposure shot of the Milky Way I took a couple months ago. Shake gently and presto!  Hope you like it.

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

Moon Set / Moon Rise

My ability to find time for photography has been greatly diminished. That's OK, other priorities in my life right now. Since I don't have much time for photography, posts may be a little sporadic for a while. Anyway, we were out in the desert a couple weeks ago during the big full moon. I happened to step out of the house around 7 AM and noticed a huge moon slowly dropping to the horizon.

10/19/13 @ 7:25 AM. Taken in 29 Palms to the northwest.  F11, 1/200 sec, ISO 125, 400mm focal length.

The moon was scheduled to rise about 12 hours later, so we drove out to Wonder Valley to find a secluded area for a moon shot. We found this old outhouse, lit it up with the car headlights, and waited for the moon to rise!

10/19/13 @ 7:10 PM.  F11, 4 sec exposure, ISO 400.

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!