Uploads from Ralph Combs, with geodata

Bitterwater Valley Rolling Hills and Oak

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:48:46 -0700

Spring in southern San Benito County. Grass is turning and the trees are leafed out. Not too many wildflowers up here this year. Was in the area for work last week and finally got a chance to shoot some images. It has been a while. Almost forgot how to turn on the camera...

Yosemite Falls Rainbow

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:54:48 -0800

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

A sunny mid-morning Christmas Eve in the Valley. Quite a lovely sight.

HDR combination of two images just to spread the colors out a bit and bring out more detail in the rock.

Bent

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:15:51 -0800

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Snow covered trees on the Merced with an icey fog, Yosemite Valley, December 2012

I'm quite pleased with how this came out as it captures the scene and feeling well. Thanks for viewing!

Yosemite Winter Reflection

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:39:51 -0800

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

A winter scene on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, December 2012

Spent the Christmas holiday with my family in the Park. Got mixed snow and rain, mostly equaling slush, but had some good opportunities, especially with the morning fog rising off the river. More to come.

waiting in the rain

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:54:01 -0800

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Rain on a chilly November evening, LACMA, Los Angeles

Golden Tones in the Bitterwater Valley

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 13:22:57 -0800

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

A dry fall in central California's Bitterwater Valley, October 2012

St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Long Beach

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 22:27:05 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Reflecting the beautiful pinks and golds that color this iconic church in the beautiful sunset light.

Small City, Big Lights

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 22:27:00 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Downtown Long Beach Civic Center area and the Breakers on a warm fall night with the remnants of a stellar sunset. I hope everyone got to shoot the sunset sky, because it was a stunner.

Desert Grassland and Light

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:54:05 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Namibrand Desert, Namibia, April 2012
Trying my best to capture the light and detail in this scene of the beautiful light and grass covered waves of sand.
Thanks for checking it out. Hope everyone is enjoying the changing light of September.
More Namibia

Erongo Mountains - Sunset and Hay Bales

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 22:25:53 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

I shot this as I made my way back to Omaruru and central Namibia after 9 or 10 hours of driving on mostly gravel. I had finished my time in the desert after an epically stunning morning in the Namib. This was such a great surprise sunset and fitting end to a magical couple of days. It was a pleasant surprise to come across these hay bales just as the sky was peaking. I hopped on top of the truck, set up, and enjoyed the moment. Reminded me of Wyoming and Montana.

Trying something different here with the crop. The landscape in Namibia is so wide, I thought it would be interesting to try a 15:5. I have a few like this and I like them. A pano would of been better, but I didn't think of it as I absorbed the scene. Plus it's not a good idea to drive in the dark in Africa, alone, on dirt roads, in the middle of very sparsely habited areas, with big animals on the road. But it does make you feel adventurous. :-D

Thanks for checking it out, I still have a few more Namibia to post.

Shot with a rented 5D Mark iii at 70 or 100mm. Reversed ND grad + another ND maybe. I think I might have accidentally had lense stabilizer turned on from earlier. Oops.
More Namibia: flic.kr/s/aHsjzGR7Bg

Still Morning, Owens River

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:16:40 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Just another typically peaceful, warm, still, summer morning on the Owens River, California.

Reaching

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:30:57 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

The northern sky over an ancient Bristlecone Pine in the Sierras. A half moon lights the tree nicely and the sky is reasonably good at 10,000 feet elevation.

Spent the weekend in Bishop. Had a lot of fun shooting with a couple of buddies from work, but not that great of conditions. This is the first time in ages I've seen these trees. Looking forward to going back in the fall.

20 secs at f/4.0, ISO 1600 with the wide angle on a rented 5D MarkIII.

Zebra Family / Patterns on the Plains

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:57:20 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

It is very interesting to watch how protective zebras are of their calves.

Erongo Region, Omaruru, Namibia
April, 2012
Equus zebra, ssp. hartmannae

Layers of Light, Shades of Red

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:21:26 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Morning light and dunes in the NamibRand Nature Preserve, Namibia, April 2012.
I wish I could describe in words the emotions I felt while gazing at this landscape.

Sand Dune and Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:12:18 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

NamibRand Preserve, Namibia, April, 2012

This sand was wonderful to run around on in your barefeet.
An HDR image with a whole lot of flare going on. Too much?
Thanks for checking it out and any feedback.

Young Giraffe with Mother

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:19:04 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Erongo Region, Namibia, April, 2012

Ostrich in Gold and Green Tones

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:40:49 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Erongo Region, Namibia, April 2012
Struthio camelus australis or the Southern Ostrich, is found south of the Zambezi and Cunene rivers in southern Africa.

Trying something different with the processing here. Not sure if it works, kind of think not, but I do like how the grass tone and the feathers contrast.

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks peoples!

A landscape dreams are made of...

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:38:17 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Sand dunes, grassland, and mountains; Namibrand Nature Preserve, Namibia
April, 2012
At least in my dreams of Namibia, this is what I wanted to see. Subtle and dramatic. Wide open, big and intimate.
You really need to view this large to see the detail in the plain. Those circles are bare sand - they call them fairy circles since scientist have yet to decide what causes them.
Getting rain in the desert was a real treat and it made for some great skies one evening and morning.
Thanks for checking it out, more to come.

Hartmann's Mountain Zebra

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:44:12 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Erongo Region, Omaruru, Namibia
April, 2012
Equus zebra, ssp. hartmannae

The mountain zebra is considered fairly rare, with a wild population distributed between Namibia, Angola, and South Africa of about 4,500 animals. They are listed by CITES as endangered (www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html) They are also very wary and protective of their younger foals (as a few later images will show). They are fun to watch as well.

I can't decide on a treatment for the wildlife images I have chosen. While the bronze / sepia / chocolate monochrome lends itself well to African wildlife, it is often used...like here. I am trying to come up with a bleached / faded tone that still holds the contrasts and richness but gives a feeling of the harsh sun and never ending openness of the country. Guess we will see what I can do. For now, enjoy and thanks for checking 'em out.

The Universe in the Desert

nobody@flickr.com (Ralph Combs) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:32:57 -0700

Ralph Combs posted a photo:

Star trails time lapse taken in the Namib Desert, Namibia, April 22nd, 2012

Possibly the clearest and most beautiful sky I have ever experienced.
More Namibia to come! Great landscapes there.

20 second exposures x 120 images layered in Photoshop

I updated this image from the previous version correcting the white balance and restoring some of the highlights. More better now!

Thanks for checking it out. Appreciate it!