by Michael Frye | Aug 26, 2020 | Light and Weather
Lightning at sunset, Mono Lake, California
As most of you know, an unusually-strong series of thunderstorms reached California the weekend before last (August 15th and 16th), and dry lightning sparked numerous wildfires. Two of those fires (the LNU Complex and the SCU Complex) have become among the largest in state history. Our hearts go out to those who have lost homes and loved ones in the fires.
The lightning reached the San Francisco Bay Area in the early-morning hours on Sunday, August 16th. Claudia and I were in Lee Vining (near Mono Lake) that day, and things were quiet that morning, but thunderstorms moved into the area from the south that afternoon.
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by Michael Frye | Aug 16, 2020 | Announcements
The Out of Chicago In Depth online photo conference is coming up soon – next weekend! You can now see the full schedule on their website. There are so many wonderful sessions; here are just a few that caught my eye:
• Visualization-Driven Photography: From Idea to Execution, with Guy Tal and Colleen Miniuk
• How to Make Money Making Photographs, with David duChemin and Corwin Hiebert
• From Your Heart to Art: Unlocking Your Photographic Potential, with Ted Orland and Alan Ross
• Photographing Plants and Flowers in New, Creative Ways: An In-Depth Exploration, with Sarah Marino and Anne Belmont
• Don’t Get the “Blues” Over Blue Skies: How to Be Creative Without Clouds, with Jennifer Renwick and David Kingham
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by Michael Frye | Aug 2, 2020 | Night Photography, Travels and Stories
Comet NEOWISE over moonlit sand dunes, Death Valley. 20mm, 16 frames blended to reduce noise, each frame 15 seconds at f/2.4, ISO 6400.
I knew it would be hot. It was July, after all, and Death Valley is perhaps the hottest place on earth. But I was actually lucky; summer temperatures in Death Valley often climb above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, while the high temp on the day I was there was only 113. Practically a cold snap.
What was I doing in Death Valley in July? Photographing Comet NEOWISE of course. I know the internet has been flooded by comet images lately, but I totally get it. The last really photogenic comet visible in the northern hemisphere was Hale-Bopp in 1997. Who knows when we’ll see another one?
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by Michael Frye | Jul 30, 2020 | Announcements
I really enjoyed my experience with the Out of Chicago Live online photography conference in May. With over 800 participants and 60+ instructors, it was a big event, but Chris Smith and his team at Out of Chicago did a great job of organizing it, and everything went smoothly. It was a lot of fun interacting with everyone, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to watch all the presentations from the other instructors.
Now the Out of Chicago folks are at it again, with a slightly different format, for Out of Chicago: In Depth.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 26, 2020 | Light and Weather
Peak and clouds, Yosemite. 32mm, 1/15th sec. at f/11, ISO 100.
Summer is the dry season in California. Typically, in most of the state, one sunny day follows another, for months on end.
But there are a couple of exceptions. Along the coast, summer is the foggiest time of year. Fog can be so persistent that some spots may barely see the sun for days, or even weeks.
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