Uploads from Natalie Bell, with geodata

The Funderful Wheel Of Color

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:16:45 -0700

I'm still trying to get used to the cluttered interface on our new landing page, and I'm really disappointed that they released this design in what seems to be an early stage of development, but I'm not leaving yet. Unless all of you find another site that's clean and easy to navigate, then I'll follow.

I know I'm a day late on Disney Flickr Day, but I had to dig through the archives for something I wanted to post. I took this with my 105mm macro last July.

Phal In Profile

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:40:48 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

An exploration of the perfectly placed petals on an unusual flower

Southern California Winter

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:36:34 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

As a So Cal girl, this is what winter is to me. Crisp air, blue skies, orange foliage and 55 degree weather.

One Last Look - EXPLORE

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 01:13:05 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Since I won't be able to return before they take down their seasonal decor, this is my last image of the holidays at Disneyland Resort. One last glimpse of the wintry hub with vibrant poinsettias around the Partners statue to hold me over until next October when the snow starts mysteriously appearing on Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Winter Castle In The Woods - EXPLORE

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:46:29 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the 9th wonder of the world, THE BACK SIDE OF CASTLE! Or the front side, I hear it's interchangeable.

In any case, Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle looks just as lovely from Fantasyland and especially during the beginning of blue hour. The crowds were relatively light, and a good thing too, because I took this photo at about 5:30 pm. If it were any busier, I would have had all kinds of heads and faces in my frame.

Christmas At Flo's - EXPLORE

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 03:39:24 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

I know I'm a bit late on the holiday photos, but in all fairness, I've only had the opportunity to take photos once this season, and it was during a short trip. This pano was taken with my new-to-me Sigma 30mm 1.4, and I think this didn't turn out half bad considering that I didn't have a tripod, the lens doesn't have VR and the AF needs to be re-calibrated!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Alan in New Orleans Square

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:36:35 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

I'm bouncing back into the world of photography after being mostly exhausted from life in general. Before I took my little hiatus, a friend asked me to do a maternity shoot for her and I had so much fun with it that I decided my next lens should be portrait worthy. I decided on the Sigma 30mm 1.4 because the reviews said the bokeh was considerably smoother than the Nikon 35mm 1.8. At first I was put off because all my images were soft and the AF was neither precise nor fast. I need to calibrate the AF but I'm thinking that the larger issue is with the motor inside my camera. I was having problems with manual focus as well, until I really paid attention to what the image looked like through the viewfinder compared to the image on my computer screen. The entire image is so crisp inside the lens that I wasn't noticing the subtleties in the focus and although the distortion is slight, it's enough that you need to be mindful of it. Obviously I was able to get this image in focus, and I'm getting better but I'm still pretty frustrated with missing the focus when it's dark. Oh and I'm not used to using a lens without VR. That will definitely soften an image if you're not used to being without it. I am noticing more chromatic aberrations than my Nikkor lenses generally give, and I left them in this photo so you can see them if you're curious. But that's a simple fix in post. Overall I'm quite happy with the image quality.

Keep Moving Forward

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 03:23:54 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

The end of August held one of the most memorable sunsets of the year for me as a symbol of promise broke out of the clouds and spanned the skies above Tomorrowland.

"A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements...a step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come.

Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals: the Atomic Age...the challenges of outer space...and the hope for a peaceful and unified world."

Walt Disney
July 17, 1955

An Afternoon At Lake Baldwin

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:06:17 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Hello friends! After vacation, moving, getting sick and going through some new treatments for my health problems, I finally have time again for photography! I've only had to set it aside for about a month but it seems like so much longer. It's funny how out of touch a person feels when they're not tasked with keeping up with flickr on a daily basis.

My last visit to the LA Arboretum had me wandering along this side of the Baldwin estate and in that afternoon light, all I could think of is "Lucky" Baldwin indeed. What a beautiful place to live.

Looking To The Future

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 05:28:08 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

From Tomorrowland, the sun's descent isn't a closing point so much as another step towards the marvels of the future.

Glowing Green - EXPLORE

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 03:26:11 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

I had an excellent afternoon/evening in the parks today. The skies were FANTASTIC and I saw my first rainbow inside Disneyland! Unfortunately I won't have time to process those shots until after I get back from vacation in Sacramento. But I do have a SOOC I took during the AP preview of Fantasmic! Glow with the Show. I'm loving these ear hats, even if they are a bit bulky and hard to wear.

I'll be joining the meetup on Sunday so drop me a note if you're going to be there

It's A Jungle In Here!

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:01:50 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

This is the LA Arboretum's Tropical Greenhouse which houses a beautiful collection of rare and exotic orchids.

Mad As A March Hare - EXPLORE

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:46:38 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

The March Hare rocks the bass for the Mad T Party Band at Disney California Adventure

Golden Perch

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 02:11:43 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Colorado Boulevard is known to locals partially for the assortment of shops but mainly for the bars and nightclubs that are lined up from the 210 to Los Robles Ave. Naturally it would have been an obvious choice for New Years Eve, except the Rose Parade thing kinda gets out of hand. When I was a kid my parents took my brother and me to spend the night on Colorado so we could get a decent seat without splurging for the expensive bleacher tickets. It was the coldest night of my life and my brother and I were so exhausted that we slept through half the parade! Even if you have everything planned out, the traffic is unbearable. Needless to say, I stay as far away from Colorado Blvd as possible. So on the last day of 2012, my husband and I took in the sights of fresh flowers at the LA Arboretum. The air was nice, the winter scenery was lovely and I got some photos in as well. We only had to deal with traffic for a little bit on our way home (there are floats parked on our block of Huntington), but aside from that, we had a lovely night in.
I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the new year!

Mamma Loves Chrome

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 21:13:53 -0800

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Chrome exhaust pipes with tail lights and baubles. How awesome is that?
While I was photographing the chandelier from the side, the CM who was working the door told me a bit of trivia. There's a sweet spot in the center of the entryway where the acoustics act as an amplifier. If you're having a personal conversation, do NOT stand in the middle of the room :P After trying it out myself, the CM let me lie down in the middle of the floor for this up-facing shot of the chandelier. Too bad I only had my 30mm on me, this would have made an awesome wide angle shot.

Sipping On A Spiny Succulent

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:08:06 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

I finally got myself a set of extension tubes because my 105mm macro lens wasn't getting close enough to the finer details. As soon as they came in, I rushed off to the Arboretum to test them out. This photo is at the far end of my focal range and let me tell you... this is close enough! I'm not normally phased by bees, but having them magnified in such great detail and SO CLOSE to my face while hearing them dive bombing around my ears was enough to get me jumpy! I'm going to have to ease into the super macro bug world and spend more time working with controlling the DoF with inanimate objects at home.

This print is available at RedBubble

Backlit Brugmansia

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 05:14:14 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

The Brugmansia, better known as the Angel's Trumpet, is a very tall flowering shrub that produce beautifully scented flowers. I found this Brugmansia in the LA Arboretum's Prehistoric Forest.

Transmissions From Above

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:50:14 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Friday night after work, a group of friends and I took a drive up to Mount Wilson to catch the Perseid pre-show. They saw quite a few more meteors than I did because I was fiddling with my camera, and although I didn't capture any meteors I really enjoyed the view.

These antennas on the peak are easily visible in the San Gabriel Valley and broadcast TV and FM signals to the greater LA area

Wake Up Pretty Girl!

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:39:49 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

Well, I think that could be a female. All I know is that the lorikeet on the left was asleep, and the silly one on the right started nuzzling her to wake her up and then started dancing and cooing until she was paying full attention to him. Birds are so much fun to watch :)

Moonbeam Ballet

nobody@flickr.com (Natalie Bell) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:15:49 -0700

Natalie Bell posted a photo:

A moon jellyfish delicately propels itself around a tank at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific