A Tarantula At Our Front Door

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

The other night I found this cute little tarantula at our front door. I used to see them often around our house, but this is the first one I’ve seen in several years. I think that climate change and city growth may have reduced the tarantula population. It’s nice to know they are still around.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Eclipse – October 14, 2023

Published / by adminjc

I hope you were able to see the eclipse. I couldn’t get the special solar glasses, but life provides.

This image of the eclipse was provided by a bush just outside our front door.

And this image was created by the slots in our blind over one of our windows. Nature is truly amazing.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Tracking Fall Colors 2023

Published / by adminjc

Global Warming could make this an interesting season for fall colors. With the flooding, excessive heat and numerous wild fires, I’m not sure what to expect. Hopefully, the reds, yellows, oranges and other colors will be popping up soon, so grab your camera and take some great photographs of Mother Nature’s big show.

Click to enlarge

To help you get the most out of your shooting, I’ve updated my annual list of links about fall colors and where to find them. Since I live in Arizona, I’ve put together a special section for my state. But I also have an extensive listing for the rest of the country and a listing for Canada. There are also links to articles to help you take great photographs of Nature’s display of color.

As you go to these websites, you will often find many links to other sites. You could easily spend an entire day following link after link, or just go to the main pages I have listed here.

I hope you get some fantastic photographs this year. Feel free to leave a comment with a link to your images of changing colors. I’m sure everyone would love to see them. And if you have a favorite place to shoot that’s not on my list, let me know.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Leaves changing color
Click to enlarge

Arizona

  • Fall Colors on the Coconino – This Coconino National Forest site explains why leaves change colors, what trees produce what colors, and hikes to see this wonder of nature.
  • Fall Colors in Arizona – Links to sites for fall colors, broken down by the month they change color.
  • Leaf-ometer – It tells how the leaves are changing around Flagstaff.
  • The Pinal Mountains near Globe offer several trails with maples, sumacs and sycamores that change color. Colors usually peak in late October. Check out the Ice House Canyon trial, Six-Shooter Canyon trail and the Pinal Mountain Range. Ice House can be hard to find, so get directions from the Ranger station in Globe.

The Rest Of The Country

There’s a National Fall Color Hotline too, 1-800-354-4595. Call this number and choose the area of the country you’re interested in and get information on leaf color, scenic drives, peak times for the colors and other fall activities.

Aspens on the Kachina Trail kachinatrail-0098
Click to enlarge

Canada

Articles

Photo – Agave Leaf

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

I’ve always liked Agave plants. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and their bloom, a long stalk that grows from the center of the plant, can grow almost one foot per day.

Agave leaf
Click to enlarge

This photo was taken at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California about one hour before sunset, which gave nice directional light to the image.

As you can see from this image, leaves can make an imprint on the leaves around them as they grow. That’s because the leaves at the center of the agave are tightly packed until they eventually spread out.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Photo – Red Hand Pictograph

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

ancient red hand print
Click to enlarge

This red, ancient, Native American hand print is near Flagstaff, Arizona. I came across it on a hike, and found several other pictographs next to it. It’s amazing to stand there and realize that someone, maybe 1,000 years ago, created this, and I can still see it today. You feel a bond between some person you never met, and realize that all people are connected across time and geographic locations. It was a humbling, and unifying, experience.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Photo – Rough Eucalyptus Bark

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

This is a photograph of the rough bark on a eucalyptus tree. I’m always on the lookout for textures that I can use with my photographs. A texture can really add a special look to some photographs. Give it a try.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Photo – Water Lilies

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Here’s another photo I took last year at one of the fountains at the Huntington Library and Gardens in southern California. I really liked the tranquil quality of the lily pads, water lilies and water.

water lilies in a pond.

The ripples in the water gave a feeling of movement, yet the water was still smooth enough to reflect the water lilies, adding more of their vivid color to the scene.

This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.

If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

You can purchase ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz or sign up for a free 14-day trial.

ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.

Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.

Have Fun,
Jeff

P.S. Due to a medical issue, this will probably be my last post until sometime in July. I’ll try to post sooner than that, it just depends on how everything works out.

Video – How I Processed This Image – Aspen In Fog

Published / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Check out my latest video, “Aspen In Fog” and learn how I created this image, then processed it using ON1 Photo RAW https://youtu.be/J3D6jz0Za4U

You can see all of my videos on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcd8nqgH0CiaveaIlKbE1mA

Aspen in fog
Click to enlarge

I process my images with ON1 Photo RAW editing software. You can visit ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz Using this link will give me a little money, costs you nothing and lets me keep making videos.

You can also use my 20% discount code: colburn20

This discount code is not applicable to subscriptions and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions.

ON1 also offers a 14-day free trial and 30-day money back guarantee.

Have Fun,
Jeff