Look above the San Diego County beaches and you won’t have to wait long for a flock of pelicans to pass overhead. In graceful flight, they travel back and forth along the shoreline in formations. They’re fun to watch, but don’t get right under them. You know what can happen, so wear a hat just in case.
It was the annual Easter sunrise service atop Mt. Helix, in La Mesa, just a few miles east of San Diego. Everything went as planned, except for the lack of the sun and the threat of rain, but that didn’t matter. The meaning of the service was not lost on those who came to worship and rejoice in the true meaning of Easter. More Photos.
San Diego is home to a yearly menu of races. Just about everything from the Marathon to 5Ks. They all attract thousands of people from all over. Having shot them many times offers the knowledge of what the lay of the land is, but also presents the challenge of how to be different. Getting a clean finish line shot of the men’s and women’s winner for the sports pages is a must. After that, almost anything goes. I like to take these opportunities to experiment and see what I can do to be different than the last time I shot the same race. The exposure was 1/8 of a second at f8 on ISO 50 with the lens set at 35mm. The camera was panned left to right during the exposure. More Photos.
I’m a sucker for big airliners, time exposures, and the angles that offer different points of view than we see in San Diego. While on a visit to Los Angeles, I ventured to LAX where everything with wings and engines departing and arriving to and from all parts of the World can be seen and heard day and night. It had rained almost continuously for the two days prior to my visit, so the air was clean and clear. Just a few blocks away from the airport is a neighborhood on a hill that overlooks half of the airport, so it was just a matter of setting up the camera on a tripod, playing with the exposure until I got what I wanted for the light streaks, and then waiting for the right opportunity to fly by. The exposure was ¼ of a second at f5 on ISO 400 with a 300mm lens. I followed the plane as it took off and kept firing the camera continuously. Only one or two frames with the right light streaking, sharpness and silhouetting was the result.Howard Lipin
