Pacific Grove: Butterflies & High Surf

The photography club held a shoot-out at the Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary. This is a small, protected grove of trees and bushes that Monarch Butterflies are free to use for a little R&R. At times, there are thousands hanging and flitting around, but on this day, there were only a few hundred. They were not easy to spot. It took a long time and many people pointing before I finally spotted this next one.

I had a 400 mm lens and still could not fill the frame.
I think I will have to go back when there are more.
I'd like to get a photo of a cluster hanging in tree.

As it happened, there were high surf warnings along the coast on this day: another great photo opportunity. We left the sanctuary around 11:30 and headed for the coastal drive. The day was beautiful, the waves were tremendous, and the place was crowded with people and cars. Parking was at a premium because all the normal parking areas were closed due to the dangerous surf.

Pacific Grove is beautiful any day of the year,
(See my previous posts in April & May.)
but this day's combination of blue sky, big rocks, and high surf
made it especially photogenic.

As I photographed, I kept a look out for that rogue tidal wave
that always shows up in the movies, like this one.

To see more of my photos of Pacific Grove,
click "My Flickr Site," under Favorite Links
or copy/paste this URL

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Full Moon Rising

The moon is full today, Monday,11/2. Last Thursday I followed the almost full moon to this spot in San Martin. I liked the trees and rolling hills in the foreground, but I was much closer to the hills here (than in previous shoots), so I went back on Saturday to find out how long it would take the moon to rise over the hills. After scanning the sky for over an hour past the horizon moonrise time, I thought this might be the first time ever that the moon failed to rise. But patience finally paid off and I learned exactly where and when it was going to peek above the hills. I was ready to return on Sunday for the most favorable photographic light, when the moon's appearance coincides with the sun's set.

The clear, blue November sky provided a perfect background
for another magnificent full moon.

The moon rises fast. I spent a lot of time preparing for the optimal 10 minutes that the moon is big and within touch of the hills. But I'm a lunatic, so I'll do it again next month.

Happy Halloween

I drove by this poor, misguided witch on several occasions on my way to San Jose and thought she would make the perfect photo to share for Halloween, so one afternoon, on the way home, I stopped and captured her plight in pixels.

This red barn is on the same road as the witch. I've had my eye on it for awhile also. With the bright blue sky in the background, this seemed like the perfect day to photograph it.

Which photo do you like better?