Ever since I moved to the US I've been wanting to find a hummingbird to shoot. Unfortunately they aren't very abundant where I live, so I'd kinda given up on it. Great was then my please when I today realized there's a pretty little one nesting in a bush outside of my apartment entrance!

 The last two pictures are of todays sunset. Someday I will master HDR, just not yet...

Enjoy!

As can bee seen below, the hummingbird is very close to impossible catching hand-held, manually focusing. Shy indeed.

California Guys

Good evening (or morning, all depending on your placement on this big round thing). I've been getting busy with photography these last couple of days. It is often said that getting a better camera doesn't make you a better photographer, well, at least it got me to photograph some more. 

Surfing is getting better with each passing day, not only due to increasing skill (maybe least due to that..), but because the water is warming up, and my wet suit I now realize was not sold at a discount price, it was simply too thin for anyone even remotely aware of such limitations as neoprene thickness to purchase. The first three images in this set were taken with my Olympus compact, which has been in almost as much saltwater as me soon. It should be noted the camera has the advantage of not swallowing the water, an ability which I, unfortunately, am deprived of.

The rest of the pictures are taken with my new K-7 combined with the 16-45mm and 105mm lenses. I find the K-7 to be working very well, although it leaves me wanting some of the high iso capabilities of the K-5, but that will have to wait! 

"There's nobody out there. Wonder if that's good or bad..."

 

Pacific Beach sunset

Since I'm probably getting my new camera tomorrow (depending only on the level of precision of USPS' estimates), I decided to take my old camera for a stroll along the boardwalk in the sunset. I did receive more than a few quizzical looks when skating along with a tripod-mounted camera, but they're amateurs, they do not understand the urgent importance of being "over there", "right now", because the light looks better there... It would seem that yes, I have taken the final step on the road to becoming a photographer; appearing a raving lunatic in public is no longer so much a barrier as it is a motivation to me. Either that, or I might simply be losing my mind, but that is of lesser importance. The only one gaining of this impending lunacy is, as fate would have it, you!

Today I tried to make some HDRs, but once again failed miserably. If anyone feels the call to teach me HDR mastery, they shall forever hold their peace, or speak now. I also experimented with some filtering effects, but not quite happy with it. Would be interested in what you think about the color versions compared to the black white ones!

Spring Break!

As the aspiring Americans we are, we had to venture out on a spring break. As soon as our finals had been handed in, we loaded a rental car and headed north along California's coastline. The trip would prove more demanding than anticipated, due to some heavy rains on Highway 1. The people over here are not used to rain as we are, nor are their roads, as we would find out. Long story short, rotten rock mixes badly with rains, resulting in closed roads where we wanted to go. Fortunately, California is not a western Norwegian municipality, so there's more than one road linking south and north.

We had a great time. We travelled along the coast. We visited the famous attractions of San Fransisco. We confirmed that LA is too big for a day and a half, and we established that there is such thing as brilliant wine during our stay in Napa Valley.

Hope the pictures portray at least some of the fun we had in our trip!

One of the first stops along the way was the magnificent castle of media founder William Randolph Hearst. A gentleman extraordinaire, he built and lived in these modest quarters around the 1920s.

A Panoroma of Hearst's roman-inspired pool

The trip went on to San Fransisco. This particular photo is taken from a vantage point over the city.

San Fransisco is a diverse city. It has everything from cozy resident areas, to a bustling city core

We stayed in Berkeley, 20 minutes outside of San Diego. This is from the reputed University there.

Also from Berkeley.

A lone seagull at Alcatraz, with the Golden Gate bridge in the background.

The legendary Golden Gate Bridge. Not sure why it's legendary, because in truth, it's just a bridge.

One of many San Fransiscan piers. This one particular has Norwegians in the foreground and Alcatraz in the background.

For the interested reader; I have purchased a new camera, to be sent to me anytime soon. It comes with a new lens as well. Guess I'll be saying bye to my entry level dslr for now..