March Full Moon

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If you read my post about the February full moon, I said I was going back to the same location in March.  I returned to the same spot, this time with 20 members of the photography club.  Last month clouds initially obscured the moon, added color to the sky, and covered the entire scene with a golden, sunset glow.  This month the sky was absolutely clear.  The location was the same, but the photos are much different.

 Took this with my iPhone and then...

 

 with a 400 lens plus a 1.4 teleconverter attached to my Nikon.  

 This is the shot I couldn't get last month because of the clouds.

Once the moon cleared the foothills, 

I switched to a shorter lens to include some scenery 

and the reflection in the water.

Full moon shoots don't usually last very long.  The twilight blue sky darkens very quickly, and once it turns black, the photography is over. You can still get shots of just the full moon against a dark sky, but I don't think those are very interesting.  Without a change of scenery, the moon looks the same every month.

A full lunar eclipse is scheduled for April.  

That should be interesting.

Finally Some Rain

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It has been such a dry winter.  While the eastern part of the country suffers through snow storm after snow storm, California suffers a drought.  In early March a series of storms finally broke through the high pressure ridge.  Not enough rain to break the drought, but enough to add a little excitement and add some color to the environment.  All photos were taken with my iPhone.

Uvas Reservoir is at about 5% capacity.  

You can see the dam in the distance.

This is not a Morgan Hill creek.  It's a culvert that flows with storm water under Main Avenue (near Hale) during a storm, and then dries up within a day or two. 

It didn't take long for the Mustard to sprout.  

If you look closely, you can see El Toro 

in both these photos of mustard fields.

 Blossoms were everywhere around town; at the library...

 and the Community Center.

 And finally (FINALLY) the hills turned green.

We still need more rain.

Painting with Light

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Painting with light is just plain fun; a time to be creative and not worry much about how the photo turns out.  With a few colored lights swung in a circle, anything might appear. The photography club held a light painting party.  One person stood in the dark and swung some colored lights.

 A spooky group of photographers

 I painted the house and tree with a strong flashlight

What do you do after dark?

We Need Rain

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Chesbro Reservoir is one of my favorite places to photograph.  This year it is so dry, I could walked out into the middle of it.  It was a little eerie to stand in a place that is usually under water, especially after dark, by myself.

 The dam is just around this bend.

 Terrific sky, but everything to the left of the rocks 

should be under water.

We need rain.  Lots & lots of rain.

Chesbro Sunset

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After an afternoon in San Jose, I took the scenic route home through Almaden Valley, and past Calero Reservoir (so little water) to Chesbro Reservoir (so little water).  The sky looked promising. I wanted reflection in the water so I had to drive fairly close to the dam (so little water). I parked along side the road and waited for the sun to set and start the show.   

Thinking I was done, I climbed into my car and headed home But just around the curve, I saw the  beautiful pink sky to the south.  I quickly pulled over again, hiked down the bank, and took another photograph.

Good thing I always have my iPhone with me.

Full Moon Rising

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I drive by the water ski ponds next to Monterey Road and just past Metcalf Road, every week on my way to San Jose to play Pickleball.  The pond is basically a wide section of Coyote Creek, which for most of its length, parallels the scenic Coyote Creek Trail from Morgan Hill to San Jose.  It finally hit me one day that this could be a good place to photograph a full moon.  I was right.

I had to wait for the moon to clear the clouds, 

which was just as well since the electrical towers were in the way.

Behind me a sky full of clouds and the setting sun

were producing a marvelous light show, 

but I kept my camera focused on the moon.

 The light show added a golden glow to

everything in sight.

 I liked this spot so much, I'm going back in March.

Happy St Valentine's Day

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I potted my amaryllis bulbs way late this year.  Totally missed Christmas, but they all bloomed at once just in time for St Valentine's Day. 

I combined the first two images to create this multiple exposure.

Hope you had a lovely day.