Wai'oli Hui'ia Church, Hanalei, Kauai, Hawai'i

Didn't have a clear idea of the composition I wanted when I arrived at the church, pretty early in the morning. It was all dark, so as the sun rose, i tried all sorts of angles. Can't decide which one i prefer between the two shots below.

The Taro fields of Hanalei II, Kauai, Hawai'i

The Taro fields of Hanalei, Kauai, HI

On my way back from shooting the sunrise at the old pier of Hanalei bay, I stopped to capture this peaceful scene.

Hanalei pier sunrise II, Kauai, Hawai'i

Hanalei pier sunrise, Kauai, Hawai'i

Hanalei sunrise, Kauai, HI

Kicking off a series of posts on Kauai with this view from beautiful Hanalei Bay, at the north of the island.

Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco skyline with fog

Splitting

Catching up

Arrowhead

Stairway to heaven

Foursome II

Breaking free

Good things come in fours

Foursome

The "blue angels" are coming to San Francisco this weekend. Awesome air show.

Sausalito sunrise over San Francisco

I came back to this spot (where I had been almost a year ago) because I wanted to get some more clouds in my shot. The day before, the sunrise was just gorgeous, with fluffy clouds all over, so I figured I'll give it a try. When I woke up, I could see there were not that many clouds, but decided to go anyway. When the sun rose, I noticed that it was reflecting nicely on the houses on the right side of my initial composition, so I decided to leverage that, and zoomed out a little. Visually, I like how the San Francisco skyline, where lights had just been turned off, is now right in the middle of two layers of light, one on each side.

Filter ND3 (B+W #110)

High Sierra #2 - Yosemite East entrance

High Sierra - Yosemite East entrance

Half-dome and red 1969 Ford XL convertible

Mono Lake - South Tufa

Mono lake sunrise - South Tufa #5

Mono Lake sunrise - South Tufa #4

Mono Lake sunrise - South Tufa #3

Backlit sunrise at Mono Lake.

Mono Lake sunrise - South Tufa #2

Mono Lake sunrise - South Tufa

I like how the water reflects the clouds, yet is also transparent enough that one can see the bottom of the lake.

San Francisco Bay Bridge

San Francisco summer sunset

Full moon over the San Francisco Bay bridge #3

Full moon over the San Francisco Bay bridge #2

Full moon over the San Francisco Bay bridge #1

Golden Gate bridge and crashing waves

Golden Gate bridge from Cavalo point

For the record, this picture was taken during the last solar annular eclipse, on May 20, 2012. The light was beautiful.

Window seat please

This picture, taken on the flight back from Las Vegas to San Francisco, ends my "grand circle" series - a road trip in the southern part of Utah.

The sky too is on fire - Valley of fire state park, NV

Don't miss this stop at the Valley of fire state park if you ever drive your way back from Page/Zion to Las Vegas, and vice versa. I was lucky to witness such an incredible sky that day, but the valley by itself is already well worth a visit.

Horseshoe bend, Page, AZ

I'll admit this is not the most creative composition, but hey, I just had to take my own version while I was in Page, just for the sake of it, after seeing so many horseshoe bend shots.

I was mad at the boat on the right side of the river at first, but all in all, I think it gives a sense of scale. This place is really grandiose. It gave me the willies as I was trying to get as close as I could, in order to capture most of it.

Upper Antelope canyon #4

Upper Antelope Canyon #3 - The clam

Upper Antelope canyon #2 - monument valley

Some call this "monument valley" because the shape of the sandstone reminds that of a mitten.

Upper Antelope Canyon #1

Visiting Upper Antelope Canyon between Christmas and New year's eve was definitely not a fun experience due to the flow of tourists - i was obviously one of those - who are gathered in this pretty narrow place at the same time. I even managed to break my tripod, as I was rushing to get a shot before tour guides start kicking me out. All i was left with, was a gimpy tripod ;)
Regardless, the place is really precious. Glad I had a chance to visit.

Lower Antelope Canyon #2

Lower Antelope Canyon #1

Monument Valley #7 - The Mittens and the Golden boa

Monument Valley #6 - 2+2=5

Monument Valley #5 - It's raining stars on the Mittens

Monument Valley #4 - Sunrise and the Mittens

Monument Valley #3

Monument Valley #2

Monument Valley #1

Sand dune arch #2, Arches National Park