skies – widening rings…

Color Therapy

As I sifted through my recent photos looking for inspiration, a vibrant shot of pink caught my attention. It was the sky at sunset last Friday night.

It doesn’t feel like it’s already been a week since then, but time sort of blurs together when you don’t feel good.

Even when I’m tired or hot or I don’t see anything particularly fascinating to photograph, I NEVER regret going outside. It is something that I think is always worth doing. When I’m stuck indoors for any length of time, I appreciate my memories and images of outings all the more.

At the moment, I am reveling in this sky. It gives me immeasurable comfort to know that there is this kind of wonderfulness out there.

Oh, did I forget to mention why I went out to photograph the sky that night? Perhaps some of you may remember that last Friday was the 12th and it was a full moon. I’d already been out for a short walk earlier in the evening, but when I looked out my window and saw that beautiful glow peeking over the hilltops, I couldn’t help but put my shoes back on and walk back outside again…

*Savor the moments of simple beauty and joy.*I truly believe they have the power to heal and bring happiness.

Harsi / August 19, 2011 / skies / 0 Comments

The Remains of the Day

What is it about watching the sky go from daylight to sunset and then dusk to twilight? Any time the clouds are moving, I enjoy looking up to watch (camera in hand), ready to capture the loveliness as it passes by. But the unfathomable yet reliable transformation of light to dark as the day ends — and then the same miracle played out in reverse at sunrise — is something that always holds me in thrall. I find it hard to tear myself away from the spectacle until it is complete. A song that feels unfinished until the last few notes fade out…

When I went out for my evening walk yesterday it was hot and muggy. It didn’t matter! The sky had been beckoning me all day and now I was ready and waiting to enjoy the symbiosis of clouds and color. The quickly changing light transformed the hillsides such that I could stand in one spot and create several pleasing variations of the same image…

When the moon finally showed itself it was a delicate waxing crescent. One last sliver of light as the rest of the canyon succumbed to darkness…

Guess what? This is my 100th blog post. (!!!) I just wanted to take the opportunity to say what a joy it has been to share my photos and thoughts with you all. I do cherish the solitude of my outings, but I love the connection and communion that I feel in getting to share those moments with friends that value and admire the natural world as I do. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and participation. Your encouragement and enthusiasm means the world to me.

*blissful smile of gratitude*

Harsi / August 3, 2011 / hillsides, skies / 4 Comments

Farewell to July

When I opened my eyes this morning, it took me a moment to reconcile the sound.

Rain?!

That didn’t seem very likely… I sat up and let the fog of sleep drift further away.

It is rain! What the heck? It’s raining!

Not a lot, mind you… Just enough to dapple the brown earth and make the air smell moist and alive. But, here in the canyon at the tail-end of July, any rain at all is a rarity and I was grateful for it. I’m quite certain that the wildlife shared my elation as well.

The sky was overcast and lovely for much of the day, but by late afternoon when I finally got clear of the “to do” stuff on my list and went out for a walk, the big clouds had mostly retreated and were accumulating over the peaks of the San Gabriels.

I walked down to the oak woodland area that parallels the road. It was hot and humid and the bitey flies were out in force looking for a meal. (I’m not sure if we are as tasty as the main course — the local Mule Deer — but that certainly doesn’t stop them from sampling.) Fortunately, I had good company and was happy to be out despite the constant waving and swatting.

Previously, I had mentioned that our seasonal creek has completely dried up in several spots. I thought it might be interesting to illustrate this and so I searched through my photos to see what I could find. The picture on the left was taken in early February of this year. This spot along the creek forms a large, slow-moving, shallow pool that is always a favorite congregating spot for the breeding Coast Range Newts (Taricha torosa torosa). The picture to the right was photographed just last week, and as you can clearly see, the ground is little more than damp now.

Tomorrow’s post will feature a bunch of pics of the Mule Deer who can (with increasing frequency) be found resting and browsing for food in the relatively cooler, shadier areas around our cabin. In truth, I meant to share them with you today, but (like the female pictured below) I ran out of steam and decided to take it easy instead. I hope everyone else is finding ways to beat the heat and still enjoy some time outside!

Harsi / July 31, 2011 / hillsides, mammals, skies, water, weather / 2 Comments

(mir)ror im(age)

I was thinking that I really liked this image I made of a sunset from last January…

I wondered what it might look like if I flipped it horizontally…

I decided I didn’t like that as much. But, then I thought… Maybe you need both! So, I decided to see what they would look like side-by-side…

Actually, what resulted was sort of a happy accident. I had intended on putting the two images together in a manner similar to the image I shared here with a thin black border between. I happened to place them too close together and (fortunately!) I saw this marvelous pattern and shape appear. I love when you can do something in a graphics program with your photo that manages to retain its essential nature but also adds a new dimension or element. In this case, it was already so fantastical and surreal that I thought I would go just one step further and turn the image upside down…

Now, I had originally planned at this point to tell you how excited and impressed I was by the figure that appeared to me when I stared at this last image… But then I thought it might be more fun (à la the interactive-cloud-gazing post) if I asked y’all: What do you see?

*grin*

[P.S. When I was trying to come up with an interesting name for this approach (technique?) (style?), a few of the words that I was playing around with were “mirage” and “mirror image” as both terms seemed apropos. It dawned on me that the first word was contained within the letters of the second. I thought that was nifty! Though, perhaps there’s no great surprise in this as apparently the words “mirror” and “mirage” share the same Latin root — mirare, meaning “to look at, to wonder at”.]

Harsi / July 29, 2011 / fun stuff, photography, skies / 5 Comments

‘Scuse me while I kiss the…

I scrolled past this photo in my archives and it got me thinking about the beautiful skies of Fall — not too much longer to wait!

This stunner is from the end of September last year.

Harsi / July 26, 2011 / lyrics, skies / 2 Comments

Both Sides Now

People are sometimes described as viewing the world with either a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” perspective.

So…

Do you see this as a “sky half cloudy” or as a “sky half clear”?

Harsi / July 16, 2011 / skies / 7 Comments

My July Sky II

More images and thoughts from my walk at sundown yesterday…

Everywhere I looked the sky was doing something different.

Washes of color and fast-moving clouds.

Swallows dancing through it all.

Tearing myself away from the views above, I found plenty of interest down on the ground.

Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes) — such beautiful creatures.

After approaching slowly and gradually, I was duly rewarded with an amazing series of shots.

I made sure to say “thank you” when we parted ways.

The Phainopeplas (Phainopepla nitens) are so numerous this year.

Everywhere in the bare branches are crested pairs — I imagine their nests are hidden in the foliage below.

Quail sputtered loudly from the stands of dry thistle and brush as I passed.

The shrill begging cries of a newly fledged hawk demanded my attention over and over again.

I think (as I have thousands of times before) that birds are pure magic.

Even after the sun had set from view, the sky remained drenched in lovely shades.

I took the opportunity to photograph some stunning plant silhouettes.

From left to right: Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) and White Sage (Salvia apiana).

It was almost 8:30 PM when I neared home…

Just enough light to still make out the potential dangers while wandering around in the hills.

Not quite enough light to get the camera to achieve focus though.

Not to worry… I like the soft, brush-stroked look of this rattlesnake rendering.

Harsi / July 4, 2011 / birds, hillsides, plants, reptiles, skies / 2 Comments

My July Sky

While it has been my general observation that the sunsets in the months of April through August are not nearly so impressive as the remainder of the year…

…today was a spectacular exception.

This was the amazing backdrop for my first decent outing in more than a week. It felt incredible to be walking my familiar path again.

I did way more than I should have today and my body is exhausted. But my mind and my spirit are soaring once again! I truly am not at my best when kept indoors for too long.

Tomorrow there will be more photos from this walk. Promise.

Harsi / July 3, 2011 / hillsides, skies / 0 Comments