Capturing the Moment

Vermont House lit up and reflected   I haven't spent much time in Vermont during the fall season. It was something I was hoping to remedy after seeing all the pictures of the changing of leaves and crisp weather. Now that I am here at the end of October I can say that fall is definitely a nice time to be in Vermont.    What I didn't expect was downright warm temperatures this late in the year. This, combined with clear dark nights, gave me the idea to head outside and do some star photography. I was hoping to see some meteors since this was during the Orionids meteor shower but only one shot across the sky during the photo shoot. Star Gazing in Vermont   Using a long exposure (30 seconds), I was able to start capturing the milky way streaking across the night sky. A little bit of light pollution and some low wispy clouds added a bit of color and drama to the sky. Then as I walked around the pond down below the house I got the idea to include the reflec...

Looking back on New Zealand Hiking Mt Cook Mt Cook- We finished up our boat cruise through Milford Sound with the weather still clearing and the need to put some miles behind us. Milford is the end of the road and the farthest point from our departure city of Christchurch. I thought about heading the four hours back to Queenstown but it was such a beautiful day and driving in New Zealand is such a pleasure in itself we just kept going. As the sun was setting we turned off the main highway towards the tiny village of Mount Cook.   The mountain itself loomed in the distance, getting ever closer. Even in summer it is covered in snow which feeds a lake of pure turquoise water. We had to stop at several overlooks to take it all in. The picture postcard scenes here in New Zealand just keep getting better. Our hostel was one of only a few buildings that comprise Mt Cook village. It is a jumping off point for hikers and mountaineers. Wanting to take full advantage of the lon...

Reflection of Twin Falls, Maui Sometimes when you live in a place like Maui finding inspiration for pictures can be quite easy. Twin Falls at dusk, a perfect time to have it all to yourself. I enjoyed playing with long exposures with the fading light. This also happened to be the calmest and lowest water level I have ever seen here which gave the pool a mirror like quality casting not only the reflection of the twin water falls but also giving a transparent quality not often seen here. 

This beautiful red-margin spanish dancer nudibranch ( Hexabranchus pulchellus) put on a show in this shallow tide pool. Named after a flamenco dancer's skirt, these 'nudies' whirl and undulate as they swim through the water. This spanish dancer swam near the surface sometimes touching its own reflection.    Even though this nudibranch looks like it might be very toxic with its bright coloration it only has slight toxin in its tissues. They are able to absorb some of the toxin from sponges that it eats. It certainly does not rely on camouflage to remain hidden from site. Instead spanish dancer nudibranchs are nocturnal, coming out at night when visibility is low. The egg masses of a spanish dancer look like velvet roses attached to rocks around the reef. The egg mass is protected from predation since the adult passes on the toxins to the mass.   While most nudibranchs are very small, this one can someday grow to an amazing 15 inches! Our tidepool find happened t...

 Heidi and I made an amazing discovery in our favorite tidepools the other night, something we have been searching for time and time again, a nocturnal nudibranch called a Spanish Dancer. It has a similar name to the spanish shawl nudibranchs that we were used to seeing in California but this nudibranch can be over a foot long! However this night was very special, because our spanish dancer happened to be a juvenile. The colors on the juveniles are so vibrant. This animal personifies what makes nudibranchs so highly sought after. They also share a certain skill with the spanish shawls of California...the ability to swim! As this one undulated back and forth through the water I was able to snap a picture just as it reached the surface of the tidepool, making it look like it is kissing its reflection. Reaching out to its reflection