While filming the sunset over Black Rock desert, I wasn’t expecting the moon to come up behind me. In other words I was not planning to shoot past sundown (being aware of the bright moon) but unaware of moonrise time. The unmistakably bright reddish near full moon over the mountains to the east was a very pleasant surprise and memorable moment to end the day’s shooting.
Tahoe
Clear blue from above
The dust storm
A white haze filled the gap between two mountain ranges, visible immediately after getting of the highway on our way to the desert playa. Thought it might be a good opportunity to record a timelapse sequence but the tripod fell sideways to a gust of wind about sixty frames in. We continued driving through the storm until we saw clear skies. Now protected by a series of tall hills next to the playa I wait for the sunset.
Tangerine
Limestone towers (Tufa)
Two hours past noon I wasn’t sure if I wanted to drive two and half hours south for a sunset. But if you know me well and have heard about adventures (and misadventures) from years of traveling, you might have guessed this was an easy decision…
Besides a somewhat dangerous slippery road down the hill to the lakeside, the day was immensely enjoyable. Patience is key when waiting for vermillion skies after sunset: if you are early it’s too bright and if you missed the peak, the clouds might have turned into silhouettes. While these two photographed (taken with an iPhone) does not present the best example of patience it was nonetheless a beautiful sunset over the tufas on the south rim of Mono Lake today.
Back in the wide open desert
High elevation, dry air with a hint of salt and long straight highways. Here’s day one of a week in the desert, in search for inspiration for the next project and a break from the insanity called quarantine.
Deception Pass
North head light
Stormy Sunday afternoon by the Pacific coast
2020 AD: A year in photographs
2020 will go down in history as the most interesting (for lack of better word) year, at least for my generation who didn’t fight any major global conflict. Here’s a montage of this year in twelve photographs off my cellphone backup.
January
The year started off very dry (uncommon in the Pacific Northwest) and pleasant, I recall spending time watching and photographing beautiful sunsets over the Puget Sound. Then came the biggest snow storm of that winter around mid-January.
But the most significant memory of this January was the day I was hoping to show the future father-in-law (Dave) the ring I bought for my future wife - Emily. The plan however fell through when Emily decided to join us for the happy hour. Nevertheless we had a great evening in Stack 571 burger & whiskey bar.
No masks and no lockdown, COVID was just another old world disease we thought would not cross the Atlantic and the Pacific.
February
Emily and I got engaged, while traveling through Europe. The winter felt unnaturally pleasant even on the other side of the Atlantic.
Still no masks on the faces although overall tourists’ presence seemed to have started to diminish. I recall reading about the new flu mutation on my phone while sitting in the hotel lounge in Copenhagen, getting ready to fly to our next destination within Europe.
March
Last day in 2020 I was physically at work. Work from home was initiated ahead of the mask up directives. In fact, I recall CDC telling us masks were not effective in arresting the spread of the virus. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer were available at least through the first half of March.
In amidst the start of panic of lockdown, I found Animal Crossing New Horizon. Social gathering became a thing on rehabilitated remote islands run by Mr. Tom Nook and his minions. I did not know back then how many hours I’d put into this game but I will tell you now - it was worth it, every fucking hour of it.
April
The spring after a very mild winter felt like a premature summer. But instead of going for camping we were grilling meats and BBQ in the patio. It was the beginning of a long nice warm weather streak that would spread over months.
May
We began making long road trips looking for opportunities in photography. For a moment, I felt the global COVID crisis was a bad dream. It felt real only when you read the news, no one in my acquaintance had died of COVID yet.
June
Back to Utah after many years, shooting time-lapse and chasing storms. Restaurants were open for dine-in while most of the west coast had already shut down under new laws. The hotel we stayed in probably had less than ten other parties staying overnight, breakfast was served in to-go boxes and only alternate rooms in any given floor were open/available. The National Parks however were packed with people although they disappeared after dark.
Later on after the trip, I accidentally deleted all RAW files from the memory cards, thereby loosing all the photographs from the trip.
July
Topical temperature checker helped certain business gain confidence in allowing customers come in. In other news, NEOWISE comment appeared over the northern horizon, I was thrilled to have an excuse to drive into the mountains and distant places to photograph (my favorite) night sky.
August
More nights in the mountains, away from people.
September
Besides being my birthday month, we got married in September, we had a very intimate wedding with a few other guests. Immediately after the wedding, we drove up to Glacier National Park, spent a few days in a small town outside the park.
October
Not the best Fall I have seen in the Northwest but was nice to see foliage amidst everything else that was happening. I feel lucky to live in a small city in the evergreen state where maple trees are in abundance.
November
The weather continued to be nice (dry) at least through the first half of the month, enabling us travel far and wide within the state for sunsets and night sky. Unlike summer, fall weather feels a lot nicer for hikes and outdoor activities and the sunsets have more colors.
December
Few sunny days in the second winter gave us the opportunity to hike, discover new trails.
Reanimation
It has been years since I started capturing timelapse videos, learning along the way both techniques as well as creative composition. Reanimation is a montag...
Helsingør
Don’t recall how long it took us to get into Helsingør from Copenhagen via train but it was a very wet day and I wasn’t looking forward to get out of the train station. This wan’t the first time: We have been to this city over a hundred times in the past, in all seasons spread across a two years period of exile in South Sweden. But, considering this in many ways a nostalgic trip, had to stop by the cities and places we have roamed in the past.
In the breaks between downpour from moving clouds wind blew through the narrow streets of the city, sometimes gusts of wind from the sound strong enough to deter walking. If I recall it was early morning (courtesy: jet lag) on a weekday therefore, the city seemed desolate. A typical midday would look much crowded, especially with tourists and locals frequently from Sweden who buy tobacco and alcohol products in the city market.
About twenty minute ferry ride connects Helsingør with Helsingborg (Sweden) where I worked for two years. After walking around the city we sat in the ferry deck and sailed back and forth a few times across the waters to rest our feet, before returning to Copenhagen via train.
A day away from Copenhagen
Over the past several centuries we have built remarkable cities and have made every attempt to make each one look unique and reflect the culture of the people living in it. But more than the significance of these creations in human history, I admire and prefer what lies outside and often out of reach for most part, throughout our existence, the Earth in its nascent form.
Sixty minutes driving south of Copenhagen starts to look like sixty minutes driving outside of most of the cities in upper northern hemisphere: The farmlands, trees, wide open land, crops, windmills, barns. I would not call it as attractive as any national park or preserve but it was a relief to get out of the city for a change, after we rented a car for the final two days of the trip. While I have been in and around Copenhagen over the past, had never been to the island of Møn before. As any other adventure, this was not planned for months or weeks - it was a fifteen research on the internet the night before, in attempt to find something new and different to do in Denmark before flying back home, and also a destination the weather forecast approved my not weather-sealed Sony photography gear.
And so I picked Møns Klint - a six kilometer stretch of tall chalk cliffs over Baltic Sea.
We picked a short hike that takes one through a prairie to steep stairs winding to the seaside with the white cliff to the back. At the end of the hike, there were no trail markers in a foreign language, nor buildings or structures to indicate the location of the place on the planet. For a brief moment, I felt I was not too far from home.
Brugge
We missed the train out from Brussels Airport because we took the last flight from Copenhagen, arriving a few minutes after departure of the last train for the night. I could have planned it better, perhaps. Fast forward an hour and half checked in to the hotel, unpacked, and ready to start the next day explore the city of Bruges (or Brugge). The excitement could not keep me from falling asleep for we were dead tired from lack of sleep and jet lag since a few days before the short hour-something flight and another hour-something taxi ride.
I did not know about this city until we watched In Bruges ten years ago. Medieval canals and bridges, brick roads, horse carriages and ancient towers: things one would expect to see in the European south. But here is the catch: You are not in the south, you are close (or might as well call it inside) Scandinavia - clean, less chaotic, less crowded part of Europe in the west. It seemed to me as the perfect spot to get away and unwind especially in winter when nobody is around.
And, I wasn’t disappointed.
It never came across as a city I would want to photograph rather the appeal was purely in terms of getting out of town and relax. So naturally I did not pack an array of lenses and photography gear for this trip. It is possible I am slowly embracing mobile photography over using pro gear, for several reasons but the most important one being portability.
One evening however, we got into bed early so we can wake up before the morning hustle and take a few photographs of the city before sunrise.
The weather was perfect, sunny in the morning with occasional drizzle through the afternoon and then cold night time, often below zero and sometimes a little bit of snow. The city core is small enough to navigate on foot in an hour, or even less if you do not stop every corner to take photos like we do.
Would I travel again to Bruges? Perhaps I would but perhaps with a wide lens next time.