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Tag: nepholography

September projects and play

The calendar took all month but was only one of my September projects.  I’ve also been working on the Shop 4 Jewelry, looking for a job, working on photos, spending way too much time online, and dreaming of play and travel. At the beginning of September I asked, where did the summer go?  Somehow it doesn’t feel like I’ve gotten anything done since returning from my July vacation.

collage of pendants 4 SaleI picked up a project begun at least four years ago, setting up an online store for all the jewelry 4 sale.  It’s a rather huge and daunting project and the previous ecommerce plugin was not very user friendly.  Thank goodness WooCommerce automatically adapted to the old plugin’s data so I picked up where I left off and a lot of it is intuitive so far.  Taking photos of product is a whole new arena.

lightbox in house Yarnell ArizonaAbout a year ago I bought a portable lightbox kit with cube and lights.  The box opens and closes like one of those ornery windshield sun screens.  Opened it is a 2 foot cube.  Rather large for RV life.  Yet I made a place in the house to set it up and began the struggle of shooting product.  With a tripod and without, flash or no flash, both cameras, and even the phone. Any item in the “Shop 4 Jewelry” with a white backdrop is recent.  Black is from the first attempt.

jewelry 4 sale Yarnell ArizonaPlus, the jewelry item has to be polished before the photo as part of this process.  Years of tarnish buildup has slowed me down.  It’s not as easy as I thought it would be so I’ll keep plodding along on this project.

Looking for a job is another ongoing project.  But I’m picky.  Real picky.  First of all, there are no jobs in Yarnell.  Hell, there’s only a few businesses here.  Couldn’t be more than two plus the Dollar Mall actually open seven days a week.  I’m not interested in driving 30-60 minuets to Wickenburg or Prescott for some probably minimum-wage retail job.  I’ve been applying for the Park Ranger jobs I’m interested in and qualified for.  For winter season they are few and exceptionally competitive.  Nothing yet.

Gaelyn photographing reverse sunset clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 Arizona by JoannThanks Joann

reverse sunset clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaDid get a few good sunset shows worth driving part-way down Yarnell Hill followed by weeks of typical Arizona blue skies.

red flowers sage garden Yarnell ArizonaI dreamed of a road trip to Flagstaff to shoot flowers with maybe a loop drive through Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments.  But no.

Weaver Mountains Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaYarnell is at the top of the hill

I started a Nepholography group on Facebook because I love to photograph clouds.  Feel free to join.  So that’s something else to add to September projects, and beyond.

Weaver Mountains sunset clouds crepuscular rays Yarnell ArizonaI’ve had lots of time to label, process, and upload photos to several different sites including my own.  Sold a print of the lightning at Grand Canyon last month, thank  you to somebody in Colorado.  Haven’t quite made a dollar off digital downloads on ShutterStock.  This is a fun project and I keep track of what photos go where.

trees sunset clouds moon Yarnell ArizonaI’m barely two months behind labeling photos and having just started the last “vacation” makes me long to be on the road.

Date Creek Mountains sunset clouds crepuscular rays Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaYet another ongoing project is backing up data and photos at least twice on external drives.  This lead me to bring the big PC from the 5th-wheel to the house (Have I mentioned how I live from three places right now, like an oversized house with outdoor hallways.) and attach it to the huge TV with an HDMI cord.  Haven’t seen that PC in almost a year.  Sure is cool to see photos on this 2×3 foot TV screen which must be pretty high resolution.  Hey, I finally found a use for the TV.

Country Fair old school Peeples Valley ArizonaI attended the Yarnell/Peeples Valley Country Fair, a fund raiser for Meals on Wheels, at the historic school house.  Friends were drumming, painting, playing and trying to win the funny hat contest.  I bought six tickets for $5 and ate a three-ticket hotdog and a three-ticket desert, the last piece of Jane’s delicious and award winning zucchini pie.

boulders Weaver Mountains sunset clouds Yarnell ArizonaEver since, I’ve been dreaming of a Dazzos Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich found in Wikieup a couple hours away.  Would make a great day trip driving in a loop via Bagdad and Kirkland back home.  Hasn’t happened, yet.

Weaver Mountains sunset clouds Yarnell Arizona

full moon rise tree Yarnell ArizonaAfter weeks of blue skies, clouds come in, temperatures drop a bit, a light rain falls, petrichor.  Fall really is on the way with the Autumn Equinox celebrated.  More lovely sunsets.

Gaelyn photographing butterflies Yarnell Arizona by Jim

Queen butterflies on white flowers Desert Bloom plant Yarnell ArizonaJim texted me one morning that he’s watching a bush covered with butterflies.  At first I dismissed it.  But then drove over to look.  OH MY WOW!  He wasn’t kidding about the six foot Desert Broom bush being almost literally covered with butterflies.  At first thought to be Monarchs.  Yet turns out the majority are Queens, just a little smaller than Monarchs and slightly different pattern.  Others were attracted to the flowers like American Snout and Painted Lady butterflies, plus bees, tarantula wasps, flies and of course me.  Some neighbors rode past on their bikes and returned with cameras.  This went on for almost three days.  Then the first of the rain preceding Hurricane Rosa thinned them out and we don’t know where they went.  Queens don’t necessarily migrate to Mexico and are residents in Tucson.    

grasses brush trees dry wash Weaver Mountains approaching storm clouds Yarnell ArizonaNow I’m waiting for the calendars to arrive so I can get shipping them out.  I probably drove you crazy last month asking for advice on the final calendar photo selections.  I truly thank you.  Now just put those orders in if you haven’t already.

Gaelyn with purple hair selfie Yarnell ArizonaOn the first of September I asked myself, where did the summer go?  Of course, being in Arizona it will still feel like summer for a while, and I’m just fine with that.  I love, and could happily live with a perpetual, summer.  And now it’s the first of October and I’m asking, where did September go.  I really want to take a trip and see fall colors.  I must need a new photography project for October.

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Nepholographer chasing sunset clouds

As a nepholographer who hasn’t been traveling lately I find myself chasing sunset locally while enjoying the changing show which brings out my pareidolia.  To me, sunsets are best with clouds.

Gaelyn Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulonibus clouds SR89 Arizona by JoannPracticing the art of nepholography, Joann’s photo of me shooting sunset

Funny how about three years ago I started “chasing” for photographs instead of just taking pics of whatever and wherever.  This new attitude towards photography changed my game, and I think helped improved my photog skills.  Ultimately, chasing also reduced the number of photos taken, at least a little bit.  I found myself not carrying the “Big Girl” Nikon with me everywhere I went.  Over time I missed some opportunities and shots.

approaching storm Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulus mediocris clouds SR89 ArizonaPhotos are really a way to document life and help create memories.  Good photos are really about catching the light, along with composition and a whole lot more.  I like both.

trees Weaver Mountains sunset cumulonimbus clouds Yarnell ArizonaBeing I’m not much of an early morning person I don’t see or capture many sunrises.  But I’m all over a good sunset.  Fortunately there are several locations nearby.  Been a little bored with the neighborhood view of what is now becoming a familiar balancing boulder.

Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cirrocumulus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaLens flare is not part of being a pareidolia

So instead I’ve recently been going at least part way down the Yarnell Hill.  Joann and her granddaughter Perci picked me up one evening and we stopped in several of our now favorite locations safely off the highway.  I am getting better at using the tripod yet need to start using the hood to reduce lens flare, which I sometimes like more than others.

Perci Date Creek Mountains sunset glow cirrostratus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaPerci is a fun kindergartner, very talkative, a bit precocious and definitely a pareidolia.  Plus she shared stories about what she sees in the clouds.  I usually try to avoid people in my photos but am learning it’s OK, especially for perspective.  And it really is special to share sunsets with friends.

Sierra car roof Weaver Mountains altocumulus clouds Yarnell Arizona

sun lit cumulonimbus clouds crepuscular rays Yarnell ArizonaThat doesn’t mean I get out every night even though no two sunsets are alike and can change in a second.  Plus it’s still monsoon season in Arizona.

Gallery sign shed nimbostratus storm clouds Yarnell ArizonaOne night’s storm swirled clouds overhead as thunder followed lightning all around dropping over an inch of rain in about an hour.  No colorful sunset that night.

trees clouds Yarnell ArizonaThe next night rain started right before I left to pick up Joann for a drive down the hill for sunset.  Best show in quite a while and I just couldn’t stop shooting.  Get ready for photo overload.

road Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulus mediocris clouds SR89 ArizonaThe rain was perfect to provide reflection on the glowing road, a shot I’ve been wanting for a while.

car reflection Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulus mediocris clouds virga crespuscular rays SR89 ArizonaJoann taught me to use the wet car roof, now known as Lake-roof, for reflection.  Try that one out, it’s fun.  Don’t you just love learning something new?  Now I need to learn how to stack images in Photoshop so I can change settings for both focused foreground and the sky.

Weaver Mountains reverse sunset cirrocumulus mammatus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaI also try to pay attention to the edges of the frame and not cut off an integral part of a shape or leave in that bit of branch or road which can sometimes be cropped or edited out later.  Did you ever get home, load your photos onto the computer, and as you review them think, “why didn’t I step over a few feet?” or pull back a bit to catch something or zoom in to lose something?  I do this all the time.  Once the night is over there are no do-overs.  Maybe I need a checklist.

Date Creek Mountains sunset glow cirrocumulus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 Arizona

Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset altocumulus clouds rain sunrays SR89 Arizona

Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulonibus clouds rain sunrays SR89 ArizonaPlus I find it difficult to focus when it gets dim to dark out.  Not sure if it’s my eyes, which are not great, or the camera, I hope not either way.  So much learning to this hobby keeps it interesting.

reverse sunset cirrocumulus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 Arizona

sunset cirrocumulus mammatus clouds SR89 Arizona

sunset cirrocumulus clouds SR89 ArizonaAnd when the sunset is this grand, I remind myself to turn around.  I should also remind myself to check for a level horizon line.

Valley sunset cumulonimbus calvus clouds rain SR89 ArizonaI’d say there was a squall in the valley towards Wickenburg

car reflection Joann sunset cirrocumulus clouds SR89 ArizonaEye candy everywhere.

Weaver & Date Creek Mountains sunset cumulonibus clouds rain SR89 Arizona

Date Creek Mountains sunset altocumulus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaI try not to run off after the sun has dropped below the horizon.  Good things happen in the sky before and after the sun sets.

broken TV sunset Yarnell Hill old overlook SR89 ArizonaThe night of full moon I picked up Joann and parked at the first turnaround and old overlook on the Yarnell Hill SR89.  We watched the almost cloudless sunset.

full moon rise Yarnell Hill old overlook SR89 ArizonaThen I set up tripod, attached the 70-300mm lens in an attempt to make the moon look as big as possible, and waited.  Seems like I waited for a whole lot longer than I got to shoot with the moon at the horizon.  And sadly the focus was off.  I still have a lot to learn about night photography so may just stick with nepholography.

reverse sunset cirrocumulus mammatus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaI am fascinated by clouds.  Cloud talk:  First shapes – cumulo means “heap” like a pile of cotton candy; strato means “layer” like a blanket; and cirro means “curl of hair” so that part’s easy.  Then it’s about the heights of clouds – cirro also means high like above 20,000 feet; alto means mid or middle at 6500 to 20,000 feet; and stratus for low.  Nimbus = rain.  These Latin root words are put together to name clouds.  Yet sometimes dragon, bird, cat, or angel can work just as well if you’re a pareidolia.  If you hoover over the images I’m trying to name the clouds.  Please feel free to correct me.

This is by no means a photography lesson, more to remind myself as I continue to practice and self critique to improve plus reinforce the cloud names.

reverse sunset cumulonimbus clouds Yarnell Hill SR89 ArizonaThe phone has a wider lens

What kind of clouds have you been looking at lately?  Probably see a world-wide variety at SkyWatchFriday.   Also check out the Nepholography page on Facebook.

Just in case you haven’t looked it up yet, “nephelococcygia” (ne-fee’-lu-koe’-ku-jee’-u) as the scientific terminology for “cloud watching” and a person who photographs clouds is a nepholographer.  Nephos = Greek for clouds.  A pareidolia sees shapes in rocks and clouds.

I’m thinking about photos for the 2019 calendar.  Think any of these are worthy?

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If you have problems commenting try this:  leave the cursor after the last word of your comment, then use the Tab key to move the cursor to the Name, Email, and Website boxes before you click the submit key.  Otherwise, feel free to comment at https://www.facebook.com/Geogpsy , use the contact form found below the header shot, or send an email.  Please know I appreciate everyone who lands here and stays long enough to read.  I really do like comments and try to respond to them all.

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BTW, you can now shop for photo prints directly from this blog by clicking on the ‘Photography’ tab under the header image.  Digital downloads are available at Shutterstock.

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And if you’d like to make a donation to #keepthisgypsyrollin you’ll notice an image of the camper on the side bar.  Just click it, and you’ll be redirected to my PayPal account.

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