Upscale

Frog Sculpture - Los Angeles  2017

Agaves, Front Yard - Los Angeles  2017

Walking around my old neighborhood in Los Angeles. Yup, going upscale, way beyond what it was in the 50's.

Melrose Avenue #58: Wings

Wings Painting - Los Angeles  2017

Wings Pose - Los Angeles  2017

. . . painting on Melrose Avenue, top, and pose, bottom.

Melrose Avenue #57: For Your Consideration

Sarah Silverman - Los Angeles  2017

Kimmy Schmidt - Los Angeles  2017

Emmy awards time in L.A., as evidenced by these billboards on Melrose Avenue.

Very big push by Netflix this year to garner some awards . . . billboards all over town (unusual for TV shows). Even the New York Times has taken note.

What's interesting is that I've seen both shows referenced in the above photos. No opinion, though, as to their award-worthiness.

LAX

Airplane Arriving LAX - Los Angeles  2017

We recently visited Southern California for a quick days-long trip.

Photo taken while standing in the Hertz pickup lot. We got a nice little Toyota Corolla . . . very miserly as far as gas usage went, but pretty tiny once on the freeway.

Monday Deer Blogging (Vernal Fall Video)

Vernal Fall, May, 2017 from Mike Mundy on Vimeo.


Deer were not about to get out of my way. Video shot using a Canon G5X.

Yosemite Fall

Yosemite Fall, Merced River - Yosemite  2017

Merced River very full. Taken using a wide-angle lens.

Taken at my standard viewpoint. But no special clouds this time. Maybe I'm reaching the point of diminishing returns as far as Yosemite photos go. (?)

Forest

Forest, Merced River - Yosemite  2017

My Olympus camera (EM-10) has an HDR (high dynamic range) setting which I've rarely used. (Requires a tripod.)

Here's one example.

Tenaya Creek

Dogwood, Tenaya Creek - Yosemite  2017

Tenaya Creek - Yosemite  2017

I always head for this spot: 2013, for example. Or 2014.

Old Toll Road - 2

Fence Post - Mariposa County  2017

Digger Pine - Mariposa County  2017

Black and white conversions using a Photoshop adjustment layer.

Old Toll Road - 1

Old Toll Road - Mariposa County  2017

Oak, Gate - Mariposa County  2017

I was wondering . . . was there ever really a toll collected on the Old Toll Road? Don't know. Nowadays it's virtually deserted with very little traffic. Although, the Google car has been through!

I was using an Olympus E-M10 with a 14-150mm lens . . . I wanted to take some landscape photos that also included a human presence.

Return to Hornitos

Church (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  2017

Last Hurrah (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  2017

Donald L. Sanchez (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  2017

St. Catherine's Catholic church. The weather was slightly more clear that it was last year. As usual, I wandered around the cemetery in back. Also of note: a 1948 photo of the church by Minor White!

Below, my 35mm photo taken in 1995.

Church (Hornitos) - Mariposa County  1995

Monday Phoebe Blogging

Phoebe 1 - El Portal  2017

Phoebe 2 - El Portal  2017

Busy swooping out over the Merced River, catching bugs.

Photos taken using an Olympus 75-300mm lens.

El Portal Campground (Video)

El Portal Camping, May, 2017 from Mike Mundy on Vimeo.


Dry Gulch Campground near El Portal. Special Baggy Pants edition. Shot with a Canon G5X.

El Portal Campground

Tent, Merced River - El Portal  2017

The Merced River is running very high this year. The noise was a continuous rumble although my tent was perched safely above the water.

Dead Trees - Update

Dead Trees - Sierra Nevada  2017

Dead Trees - Sierra Nevada  2017

This is a follow-up to last year's Dead Trees post.

Most of the trees have lost some, or all, of their needles. This is making the problem less conspicuous as they are starting to resemble the snags left after a fire. Certainly they are going to provide fuel for future forest fires.

I have heard an unconfirmed report that, over time, the pines will possibly be replaced by cedars. Will have to keep an eye on that.

El Portal Lupine

Lupine, White - El Portal  2017

Lupine, Merced River - El Portal  2017

To be honest, because of the wet season I thought that there would be more flowers than there were. But these are nice.

Photos taken with an Olympus E-M10 and a 14-150mm zoom lens.

Mariposa

Mariposa Sign (Mariposa) - Mariposa County  2017

Churches (Mariposa) - Mariposa County  2017

Return to Mariposa, on my way to the campground in El Portal.

I've shot the churches sign before, but this one was taken from close-up, so we can see the various churches in greater detail.

One of the churches in photo below. I used a Canon G5X for the photos.

Circle of Hope - Mariposa County  2017

More Snow

Pine Branch, Snow (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Branches, Snow (Boomtown) - Nevada  2017

Snow kept falling on my head off overhanging pine tree branches while I was walking around Truckee. Hmph.

After Thursday's storm, bare Nevada branches were coated with cool-looking clumps of snow.

Monday Duck Blogging

Duck, Ducklings - Sonoma County  2017

Make way!

Spring Storm (Video)

Spring Storm, California - Nevada, April, 2017 from Mike Mundy on Vimeo.


Mostly taken with an iPhone, with some Canon G5X footage.

Boomtown Casino

Shadow Diamond (Boomtown) - Nevada  2017

Colossal Wizards (Boomtown) - Nevada  2017

No trip to a casino would be complete without some slot machine photos. From what I could observe, playing on these things would seem to be unbearably tedious. It would for me, anyway.

The lady in the top photo was semi-animated and definitely met the criteria for the uncanny valley hypothesis.

Spring Storm

View from Hotel, Evening (Boomtown) - Nevada  2017

View from Hotel, Morning (Boomtown) - Nevada  2017

We were resting in our hotel room Thursday afternoon when I happened to glance out the window.

Snow! Randomly swirling around, then being driven horizontally by the wind. Then, legitimately coming down quite heavily. By evening, we had a unique view of the arid Nevada landscape covered in snow. The weather had cleared next morning with a view of the distant hills, yes, covered in snow.

Truckee - 5

McDonald's, Snow (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Truckee River, Snow (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

By the time I ended up in a McDonald's parking lot it had started to snow. Heavily . . . I wouldn't know, not having that much experience. Not that great for still photography, however.

Truckee - 4

Truckee River, Buildings (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Buildings, Trees (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

This was a unique opportunity: snow-covered landscape scenes, just hours away from the Bay Area.

Top photo: iPhone. Bottom: Olympus E-M10.

Truckee - 3

Large Building, Snow, Clouds (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

West End (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

I drove the Toyota to a less high-end part of town, where I could park for free.

Small Building, Self-Portrait (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Monday Dog Blogging

Dog (Sausalito) - Marin County  2017

Waiting in front of Drivers Grocery, where Mike goes for cinnamon rolls and coffee when he's in Sausalito.

Sausalito

Walkway (Sausalito) - Marin County  2017

Walkway (Sausalito) - Marin County  2017

Top shot is an iPhone panorama. Bottom taken with a Canon G5X.

Art Show Pix

Little Boy, Clouds - Marin County  2017

House, Clouds, Window - Marin County  2017

Two more shots taken during the recent Open Studios event (held at the Marin Society of Artists' space).

iPhone pix.

Truckee - 2

Trees, Snow, Clouds (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Branches, Snow (Truckee) - Sierra Nevada  2017

Truckee snow sightems, taken with an Olympus EM-10.