Pelican in flight

Pelican Clear by paulnsheryl

Seeing the poor oily pelicans in the gulf coast saddened me. I got inspired to share a photo of a clean and healthy pelican which I shot back in Santa Cruz, California a few years ago. In this case I put it up on a bunch of functional art items like clothing.

New Images of Lightning

Strike by Paul Hood



Say Your Prayers by Paul Hood

 

Just shot these last night. I managed to get more strikes but haven't edited any of those shots. It was both easier and harder than I thought to get these. I thought longer exposures would be better, but not really, only to a point. I think one of these is a ten-second exposure. When the exposure is too long, the lightning strikes just don't register, much like doing a 30 second exposure and walking through the frame-- you'll find yourself invisible in the final shot. Lightning is bright so it registers better than that, but it's extremely brief in duration, so balancing exposure and aperture to hit "just right" is important. Too short of an exposure and you're simply unlikely to have the reflexes necessary to trip the shutter at exactly the right time. Too long means your aperture is small, and the lightning is too brief to register-- even though you might get multiple lightning strikes in a single exposure, it does no good if you can't see them. Through some quick trial and error I got some acceptable shots in the 8 to 10 second range with my camera resting on a handrail, but next time: tripod. If I remember right I was shooting aperture priority with the exposure compensation at -1 stop with aperture in the f10 range or so. Elsewhere I have read advice to use larger apertures and a cable shutter release set for manual "bulb" exposure: the idea being to trip the shutter open as soon as you see a strike and then close the shutter as soon as the strike or strikes are over. I just didn't take the time to try that.

Harrier Hawk, North of Santa Cruz

Click on the photo to see it bigger

New image up in my gallery. I shot this photo of a Harrier Hawk flying low over a field of tall grass, "harrying" for prey. It was quite the surreal experience, near the ocean , North of Santa Cruz, to enter the domain of this remarkable creature. At one point he came over to check me out, and hovered above me.

Only the right actions are the right actions:

There is one and only one singular set of right actions to bring about the absolute best results.

I don’t think I could arrive at that set of actions through the means of limited-mind, “rational thinking” or “common sense”. No, it needs to be through commitment to divine mind and unlimited consciousness. “Miracle mind” is when a person connects strongly with this source of ultimate intelligence, love, strength, power, the “all good”. This is the “hole in one” in Golf, the last split second full court shot in basketball which wins the game, the lucid moment when Einstein ‘sees’ relativity in it’s full glory, in the instance of a dream.

I am not afraid of color, I am not afraid of color, I am not afraid of color. . .

New treatment of an image I took in Santa Cruz a while back.

Santa Cruz Sahara

Santa Cruz Sahara by Paul Hood

The is my Santa Cruz Sahara image from a while back. I gave it a slightly new treatment and put it back up for sale. I've always liked this shot. Unusual atmospheric and light conditions really set it off. I happened to be walking along West Cliff with my gear, and this image just presented itself.

White tail deer, pelicans and happy sun.

White Tail with Pelicans by Paul Hood
Yeah, that's what it is all right. Pelicans, white tail deer and a happy, happy sun. Shot in Big Sur, mostly.