Planning and Executing a Moonrise Over Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

A 76% Moon Rises Behind Hearst Castle, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States.
Sony aIII (converted to 720nm IR), Sony 200-600mm, 800 ISO.

I love photographing moons. Until this week, I had always planned my moon shoots around the full moon cycle, then searched for locations that would allow me to photograph a rising and/or setting moon around sunset/sunrise in color.

I also love photographing with my 720nm Infrared-converted Sony aIII. About a year ago, it dawned on me one day that a daytime moon (something I have never before considered photographing) just might look good captured with Infrared B&W. The main reason is that blue skies record dark at this nanometer of the light spectrum.

Now it was game on. What would look good with a moon rising behind it in the daytime? Well how about the most famous castle in the United States – Hearst Castle which is nestled in the coastal hills above San Simeon, California?

What was more intriguing is that the castle is only a short 30-minute drive from my home in Morro Bay, California.

Next came the planning stage. I went immediately to The Photographer’s Ephemeris and started experimenting with different dates. I started to lock in on March 19. My test day would be March 18.

The Photographer’s Ephemeris

One of the great things about using this software is that it calculates in the elevation gain of where the moon will appear from the area you are standing. This worked perfect for me as I would be standing alongside famed Highway 1 at almost sea level (see red pin) and shooting up to the castle which is near a 1600 foot peak.

A few things were going to have to work in my favor to pull this shot off. First, there could be no fog to obscure the view. A pretty sure bet this early in the year but not a given. Second, there could not be clouds above the castle or the moon would not be visible.

I found this out on Monday, March 18, when I went for my test shoot. This was the day before my planned day but it helped me to get a visual on the moon in relation to the castle. It would be rising north of the castle and sadly there were a lot of cirrus clouds hanging in over the castle. Nonetheless, I could make out a faint outline of the moon and it was enough to confirm that the next day, it would be rising directly behind the famous castle.

As you can see on the screenshot above, the secondary grey pin is what is called a Geodetic pin. You can see that at exactly 2:38pm Tuesday afternoon, March 19, The moon would begin rising directly behind the castle. I am so comfortable using this software that I was certain I would see it and sure enough, it appeared right on the minute according to my iPhone. It still blows me away when I question myself if my calculations were done correctly a minute prior and then BAM – there’s the moon! It’s a real thrill.

Also note that the actual moonrise began at 2:13pm, but shooting on the west side of the Santa Lucia Range, the software allowed me to determine when I would actually see it.

67% Moonrise Over Hearst Castle, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States.
Sony a7III (720nm converted Infrared) + Sony 200-600mm + Singh-Ray Neutral Polarizer.

The image above was captured on Monday, March 18. As you can see, there were a lot of cirrus clouds hanging out that day and I really could not get a good image until the moon started exiting the clouds. Thankfully, the next day, the wind had kicked up and blew away most of the clouds so I had a solid blue sky to work with.

Hearst Castle was built by William Randolph Hearst and is now managed by the California State Parks System.

Hearst began building the castle on his ranchland in 1919 above San Simeon. He called it “La Cuesta Encantada” – Spanish for The Enchanted Hill. Tours run daily and are highly-recommended.

76% Moon Rising Over Hearst Castle in Santa Lucia Range, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States.
Sony a7III (720nm converted Infrared) + Sony 200-600mm + Singh-Ray Neutral Polarizer.

My final frame I captured Tuesday afternoon shows the moon over the near peak to me of the Santa Lucia Range. This peak is a little over 2,000 feet and with a clear blue sky, I could process it black to get the moon to really pop.

I really love planning and pulling off these types of shoots. A straight color shot would not have had the same impact as stark Infrared.

Lastly, Tuesday’s sky was clear but right behind me was an approaching marine layer which in-turn put a lot of water particles into the sky. Compressing all of these particles with a 600mm lens made it hard to get a tack-sharp image.

Thanks to the Dehaze filter I was able to remove much of this but it is still not optimum. Not sure just how big I can enlarge these images.

Let me know if you have any questions… I’ll be in beautiful Big Sur this upcoming week guest teaching for Out of Chicago. Should be a lot of fun!

Play Your Hunches – You Just May Be Right

Clearing Winter Storm Over Eastern Sierra and Mt. Whitney, Alabama Hills, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 24-105mm, 1/6th, f/16, ISO 200, Singh-Ray Neutral Polarizer

So much of creating meaningful images for me is in the planning and anticipation of a potentially epic event.

Having been home for a week with a bad knee that popped walking down a hotel staircase in Oslo, Norway, I was told by the orthopedic doctor here in California to start using my knee. There was no structural damage but I was still walking with a noticeable limp and could really only get around on flat surfaces.

I can remember watching the local news one evening and the lead forecaster was talking about an arctic storm coming out of the Gulf of Alaska that was going to dump upwards of 10-15 feet in the Sierra. Well that got my attention in a hurry.

Grabbing for my iPhone, I immediately opened my National Weather Service bookmark and typed in Lone Pine. For those of you not familiar with the small Eastern Sierra town, it sits at the base of the largest mountain peak in the continental United States, Mt. Whitney, which stands prominently at 14,505 feet.

Double Rainbow Near Barstow Along Highway 395, California
Sony a7RV + Sony 14-24mm

What I was watching for was when the storm was going to break over this portion of the southern Sierra Range. According to the NWS, it was going to start breaking sometime during Saturday night creating a potentially amazing clearing storm sunrise opportunity for Sunday.

A potential negative was the predicted high winds in the area. Wind gusts of 70+mph were predicted for Lone Pine and I was going to be shooting above the town in the famed Alabama Hills at an elevation of 4500 feet.

As for my knee, I did not know how it was going to hold up. As of Friday night, I went to bed with a wait-and-see attitude.

Saturday morning, I awoke to more rain pounding down in my hometown of Morro Bay. Once again I opened the NWS site and checked the forecast for Lone Pine. It was still holding that the storm would break sometime during the middle of the night.

Beri asked me what I was going to do and I said I would like to go but was concerned how my knee would respond. She had been over to the Alabama Hills before and knew that Movie Road (a dirt road through the other-worldly rock formations allowed for one to pull-off virtually anywhere. She said, “why don’t you go and setup your tripod right next to your car?”

Overturned tractor/trailer rigs still littered Highway 395 early Monday morning just south of Lone Pine, California due to high winds

Without much more thought, I showered, packed and off I went. My one concern was making it over the Tehachapi Pass with an elevation of 4064 feet without a lot of snow. That far south, it was still raining so that eliminated that concern.

The next potential problem was the high-forecasted winds. I indeed discovered overturned tractor/trailer rigs littering Highway 395. Electronic signs were posted warning to not drive through this area of highway but most of these rigs were more-than-likely headed for Los Angeles. I just hoped that the drivers were alright.

I finally pulled into Lone Pine, got settled into my room, then headed up to check on conditions and find where I was going to shoot in the morning. Good thing I did as a detour was still in place on the way up Whitney Portal Road to the Alabama Hills that took me 15 minutes off my planned route to Movie Road.

I did shoot some images but the majority of the mountain was still shrouded in clouds.

Evening Light, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 24-105mm, f/11, (3) frames focus-stacked

The next morning I arrived just as dawn was starting to break at a location I found the evening before that put me directly in-line with Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak to the left (south). Mt. Williamson (14,279 ft) is too far to the north of my composition to be included.

When I first arrived, the storm was indeed breaking but Whitney was still shrouded by clouds. With fingers and toes crossed and my iPhone out to check the time, I knew I still had roughly 20 minutes before the first splash of color would paint an elongated cloud that stretched over a good portion of the range.

Official sunrise time that morning was 6:19am. From past experience, I knew I’d see the first glimpse of light on the tip of Whitney (if it was indeed to appear) roughly 5-6 minutes prior (6:13am – 6:14am) so I set my composition with my 24-105mm at 105mm.

Then I waited and prayed. At approximately 6:09am, Whitney began to emerge from the clouds. Wind gusts were hitting me on and off and appeared to be blowing snow all around the peaks.

Right on schedule, the cloud bank above Whitney began to light pink and I knew it was go time! I shot through the entire alpenglow lighting and Whitney and Lone Pine Peak fortunately stayed out.

Once confident I had my main composition captured, I switched to the Sony 200-600mm and shot tight frames of both Lone Pine Peak and Mt.Whitney.

Lone Pine Peak Bathed in Sunrise Light, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra, Mono County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 200-600mm
Sunrise Light on Mt. Whitney, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra, Mono County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 200-600mm

After the color began to lose its warmth, I packed up and continued north along Movie Road looking for interesting rock formations and shadowed foreground light.

The shadow was cast by the relatively low sun angle and the slope to the east of me. It is important to allow some of the shadow to paint the landscape so the brighter light on the Sierra Range pulls the viewer’s eye through the composition.

Blowing Snow, Eastern Sierra, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 200-600mm
Blowing Snow at Sunrise, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 24-105mm
Cottonwoods and Sage Along Eastern Sierra Range, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 24-105mm

Later that afternoon, I grabbed my Sony a7III which I had converted to 720nm Infrared and returned to the Alabama Hills. I had read that afternoon winds in the Sierra Range were to be blowing upwards of 190mph!

My goal was to allow the afternoon sun to backlight the blowing snow and create some dramatic black-and-whites.

Once again, my hunch paid-off!

Blowing Snow on Mt. Williamson, Eastern Sierra, Inyo County, California
Sony a7III (converted to 720nm Infrared), Sony 200-600mm
Blowing Snow in Eastern Sierra Range, 190mph winds, Inyo County, California
Sony a7III (converted to 720nm Infrared), Sony 200-600mm

The following morning I drove back out to a familiar area where I visited an old Teddy Bear friend!

Sunrise On Mt. Whitney With Teddy Bear Rock, Alabama Hills, Eastern Sierra, Inyo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 24-105mm

Would love to hear when you played a hunch. Did it work or was it a bust?

In summation, I would have to say that this past Sunday just may have been one of my most productive days in quite a while. So happy Beri encouraged me to go and that this area allowed me world-class views from my car!

It’s Time To Think About Spring Wildflowers – Get Your Macro Ready And Get Down And Dirty!

Bermuda Buttercup, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 90mm
macro, f/2.8

If you have been following my social media posts you’ll know that my Lofoten Islands, Norway workshop trip got cut short before it even started as something loud and painful popped in my right knee while walking down a flight of stairs at our Oslo hotel. Fortunately, my partner Ron Modra stepped-up big time and along with two local guides/photographers, ran the show in my absence.

Thankfully there is no structural damage to my knee in regards to bone-on-bone but an MRI is scheduled and each day my knee is feeling better.

Enough so, that yesterday evening I was able to limp out to a nearby field of wildflowers and create some macro images with my Sony 90mm macro. I handhold my Sony a7RV when capturing macro images as it makes me more mobile (and I deal with a tremor that I’ve had since college). I’m either laying down or sitting for capturing all these images. I know if I can do this with a tremor in both hands, then you can easily do it! TIP: Use Manual Focus.

Macro of a Red-Seed Dandelion, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 90mm, f/
5.6

For the most part, I love to shoot wide-open at f/2.8. This image (above) was an exception as I wanted a little more depth-of-field for more sharpness. My ISO is set to Auto and all I have to do is pay attention to the shutter speed (most were captured at 1/100th and aperture). Over the years, I have grown to love Auto ISO – especially when capturing wildflowers.

Funny to think that all of the (4) images accompanying this article were captured in a 3′ x 5′ section of the edge of the field. It was located along the edge of a road and cars going by were creating wind and moving the flowers. I would wait until they settled down and became stationary again.

Lone California Golden Poppy, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Sony a7RV, Sony 90mm, f/2.8

As you can see, I love capturing just the edge of a wildflower or in the case above, just the edge of one petal.

Vision studies in regards to paintings/photos have repeatedly proven that the eye will gravitate to the area of sharpest focus.

I like focusing on the edge of a petal because I want the background to be really out-of-focus and just a wash of color. Guess you can say I am a color freak!

You can see a soft blob of yellowish-green color just under the left petal. In the RAW file, that was bight yellow and a real distraction so I painted it down with surrounding green color to eliminate the distraction (see processing tips below).

Processing Tips

I start all of my processing in Lightroom with basic tonal corrections and lens corrections. I save the heavy lifting for Photoshop and the TK9 Panel (get 15% off with my code Don15 at checkout).

I love painting with color to make any bright or colorful distracting parts of the image diminish somewhat.

If you have the latest version of the TK 9, click on this triple blue-line icon and you will find the new Guided Frequency Separation panel created by Allyn Saroyan.

Click the blue button
First Click “Start FS,” then click “Add Color.” The Color Picker box will open. With the eyedropper, click on the color you wish to add, set the brush opacity (30%) is a good starting point, then paint in color.

There is also a Frequency Separation Action in Tony’s Action Palette, but this one is far easier to use in my opinion.

Just remember to click “Finish FS” when done and all the layers created with this action will close up into a tidy group.

If you wish to change the color while painting, just click the “I” key on your keyboard to get the Eyedropper tool back up and sample from another color. Also remember you can always change the opacity of the brush tool at any time.

Mission Bells, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Sony A7RV, Sony 90mm, f/2.8

Lastly, I’m always on the lookout for color contrasts and harmonious colors. This plant (above) is a poppy plant.

We are so early in the season that Poppies are just starting to sprout. You can see one growing in the top right of this plant with the yellowish tip.

I just loved the plant with its warm colors against the blurred green background and the darker green stems. There are really no rules – just move around and see what catches your eye.

So, are you ready to start crawling around? If you don’t own a macro lens, telephotos or inexpensive extension tubes (I use FotodioX Macro Extension Tubes) will also do the trick.

As soon as you start to see wildflowers where you live, get out with you camera and start creating!

NOTE: Would love to have you share your tips. Please leave them in the comments below!

Traveling And Bored? Grab Your Smartphone And Go Make Some Art!

Rest Area, Oslo International Airport, Norway.
iPhone 14 Pro Max

Thanks to a Lufthansa strike, my trip to Norway was rescheduled a day early on Swiss Air. It began Sunday night at my home-based San Luis Obispo Airport in a driving rainstorm.

Well, suffice it to say, a combination of the bad weather, runway construction at San Francisco International and a maintenance issue, I was not getting out.

Thankfully my incredible wife Beri drove me to SFO the next morning (a 6-hour roundtrip). I flew that evening from SFO to Zurich, then connected to Oslo – arriving one day ahead of schedule. That day is today and after a hearty 8-hour sleep and breakfast, I decided to take a walk with my iPhone.

I’m staying at the Raddison Blu which is located just across the street from the airport – super convenient.

My workshop partner Ron Modra arrives this afternoon and tomorrow we both fly to Evaneos where we meet clients and begin our Lofoten Island Workshop this Friday.

Colored Ropes, Oslo International Airport, Norway.
iPhone 14 Pro Max

I decided to take a walk after breakfast with my iPhone. What better way to pass time than staying creative. I know these images are not my bread-and-butter landscapes, but they were fun to capture nonetheless.

I’ve found that airports have a bevy of photographic opportunities if you just let your mind wander and open up your creative valves. Not only was I getting my exercise but I was having a lot of fun! So can you…

Oslo International Airport Escalators to Train Station, Norway.
Slow Sutter Camera App (1 second) with iPhone 14 Pro Max.

I play with a ton of apps on my iPhone. One I’ve had for years is Slow Shutter.

This little app requires a tripod or very steady hands (which I do not have), or, find a place to steady the phone (as I did on a railing here). It allows you to set a desired shutter speed (from 1/8th to 60 seconds to Bulb). I used one second for this image (above) to blur people getting onto escalator to train station.

After playing for about an hour, I walked back to the Raddison to process my images and write this blog.

As I mentioned, it is right across the street from baggage claim and as I walked through the covered walkway, I captured this image with a 2 second exposure as I kept walking. So much fun!

Walkway to Raddison Blu, Oslo, Norway.
Slow Shutter (2 seconds) with iPhone 14 ProMax

If you are bored, regardless of where you may be, get out and create. It is so good for your soul!

How to Tame Those Landscape Hot Spots

Setting Sun and Grass Covered Sand Dune, Vestrahorn, Iceland.
Sony a7RV, Sony 12-24mm, f/22

As good as sensors are nowadays they still aren’t on par with our human visual system. We see in contrasts from blacks to whites and our eye/brain can see the full range of tones.

Sensors are limited with how much contrast they can capture. When measuring tonality in sensors, we refer to it as dynamic range.

This image that I captured on Gary Hart and my recent Iceland Winter Workshop demonstrates perfectly just how contrasty light can be. My foreground was this grass-covered black sand dune and I was shooting towards the setting sun.

I have recorded a video where I show you how I processed the RAW file to finished image ready to print. The key IMO is the technique I share in the video on how do deal with the blown-out sun.

I hope you enjoy and learn:

Would love to hear your comments as to how this technique worked for your hot-spotted images!

I’m heading back to the Lofoten Islands in Norway starting Monday… back to the arctic blast!

Please join Gary and I next Jan 28 – Feb 6 as we head back to Iceland for Winter Sights and Northern Lights!