Uploads from danielpivnick, tagged d800

A Peaceful Evening

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:21:46 -0700

This past weekend on Saturday, I made the decision to head down to Big Sur. It had been several years since last time I paid a visit, and I was interested to check out the redwoods as well as McWay Falls. When I arrived at the falls around sundown, the viewing trail was packed with tourists. I stuck around until after the sun had set, and had the place to myself. This photo was taken after the sun had gone down behind the horizon, but there was still enough light picked up by the camera sensor to make it look earlier in the evening than it really was. By the time I walked back to my car, it was quite dark, and there was not a soul around. A strange feeling considering how busy this place was just one hour before.

Grand Vista

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:27:42 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

A beautiful day overlooking Lago Pehoe and the Cuernos and Torres. Those green bushes that look like marshmallows are deceiving, as they are really 100% thorns!

Unspoiled Wilderness

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:56:11 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

As I was exploring the area around the Perito Moreno Glacier, I noticed an incoming storm. You could even see the rain pouring down in sheets as it made its approach.

For this photo, I tried to balance the foreground trees with the slope of the distant hills. Not long after I took this shot, the rain began pelting me.

In a Far Away Place

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:13:24 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

The peak in this photo is Cerro Torre. After doing a little reading up on it, it appears to be one of the most difficult rock climbing routes in the world. I spent almost a week in the El Chalten area of Patagonia, and did a lot of hiking around this peak as well as Mount Fitzroy. Both peaks are notoriously hard to see, as they are often shrouded behind clouds. On this morning, I had a rare view of both peaks, but decided to focus in on Cerro Torre. Even though there is no dramatic lighting, I'm still happy with the image, as it eluded me for several days in a row before making an appearance.

Stuck in Time

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:29:45 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

After I had wrapped up my week in Torres Del Paine National Park, I drove back down to Puerto Natales, which is a wind blown town nestled against one of the many straights that make up with Patagonia. As I walked along the water, I came across these old pilings that must have supported a pier at some point in the past. It looked like a nice composition, with the storm clouds in the distance, so I set up my camera and used the Lee Big Stopper to smooth out the water.

Foggy Sunrise above San Francisco

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:35:19 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Last week was a great week for low fog and high clouds. It seemed like every day I was waking up to the fog horn and the bridge towers piercing through the Marine layer. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take advantage of all of the sunrises because of work. However, on Thursday I had a little extra time in the morning to venture over to the Marin Headlands. The fog was much higher than I had anticipated, but it still presented a nice view of the top of the North tower as well as downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. Much to my delight, as the sun rose, brilliant shades of pink and red began to appear in the sky surrounding the Bay. It had been several months since I had been up in the headlands for a low fog morning, but this morning brought back all of those fond memories.

Sunrise on Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:14:39 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

After having such a good first sunrise on the dunes, I decided to return for a second morning. When I went to bed the night before, the sky was cloudless, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up and see clouds making their way across the valley. I enjoyed another hike into the dunes to find some sweeping lines.

I've been experimenting with a Bamboo Stylus and touch pad for my last few photos, and I'm growing to like it. I did not use a mouse at all for this image. The stylus is tricky to get used to, but once you do, it allows you to focus on very small areas.

Out Of This World - Death Valley

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:59:30 -0800

danielpivnick posted a photo:

I made the long and slow drive up to The Racetrack Playa to visit this dried up lakebed.

The road is probably the bumpiest I've ever driven down, and several times, I thought it would tear off the underside of my vehicle. Luckily I made it without any issues.

I was hoping for some nice clouds at sunset, but they never materialized. Instead, I thought including a sunstar would provide for a unique take on this stark and barren landscape.

Sunrise on Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:43:09 -0800

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Death Valley has been on my list of places to visit for over a year now. Last month, I decided to make the long 7 hour drive down to the valley, and take a long weekend to explore.

I arrived just as the sun was setting, and only had a few minutes to figure out where to hike into the dunes before it was dark. The next morning, with flashlight in hand, I set out in the pitch black dark (there was no moon in the sky) to find a composition I liked before the sun rose. Being on the dunes alone is a soothing experience. There was utter silence; the kind of silence where your ears ring.

As the sun began to rise above the horizon, it graced the side of this dune with the most beautiful warm light, and the ripples in the sand came alive. I walked away from this morning photoshoot with a sense of excitement as to how incredible this place is.

Ice Age

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:17:03 -0800

danielpivnick posted a photo:

As I made my way through Patagonia, I eventually crossed over the border from Chile into Argentina. I headed towards the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is actually still growing. Rather than going to the upper viewpoint of the glacier, I decided to walk along the shoreline. As I made my way around a bend, this scene unfolded. The mountain in the background has such an odd shape to it, yet it is so visually pleasing, at least to my eyes. I also liked how the foreground angled into the scene and created a little bit of symmetry with the ice wall of the glacier and the mountain.

Light Beams & Fog

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:16:28 -0800

danielpivnick posted a photo:

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago on one of the low fog mornings we had around San Francisco. I was walking back down the road from Hawk Hill when I spotted some really nice light beams coming through the trees below.

I took a bunch of close ups of the trees and came up with some nice results. This wider angle view was just a quick haphazard shot at the end, but I actually liked it. If I had known it would turn out ok, I probably would have made some more attempts to expose for it properly and turn the sun into a more picturesque sunstar.

View my webiste: www.danielpivnick.com

Under It All

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 07:15:33 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Sunday morning I was up early in the Headlands taking low fog photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunday night, I paid my first visit to this really cool spot underneath the Bay Bridge.

I did the hike up from Treasure Island and then made my way down the hillside next to the bridge. What a view it is once you get to this point!

I wanted to get the city of San Francisco, painted in Orange for the Giants. You can see a bit of the color if you look closely, but I didn't quite get the dramatic orange glow I was hoping for.

Either way, this is a really interesting perspective of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge, and I'm glad I finally got to check it out.

View my website: www.danielpivnick.com

The Road to Nowhere

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 09:38:45 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Yesterday afternoon, as I checked the weather conditions, I had a hunch that this morning would be ripe for low fog conditions. I woke up at 6am and looked out the window, and sure enough, I could see the tops of the bridge towers.

I jumped in the car, headed over to the headlands, and parked below the locked gate. I was a bit surprised to see only two other cars parked up there, as usually it is a party on low fog days. I suspect that this low fog caught most people off guard.

I hiked up to the top of Hawk Hill, and really enjoyed watching the sunrise. I've been trying to find new compositions around Hawk Hill, and while this has probably been photographed before, I thought it was a beautiful vista. I lined it up so that the back side of Conzelman Road leads into the sea of fog below. As I fired off several photos, I couldn't help but smile as I listened to the utter silence, which was only interupted by the waves crashing below and a distant fog horn. :-)

Out to Sea

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 07:41:58 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

A container ship heads in the direction of a beautiful sunset, leaving San Francisco and the Bay Area until it returns from the high seas.

Last Light on the Golden Gate

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 08:58:58 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Looking for a new angle to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge, I climbed over the guard rail on the back side of Conzelman Road, and made my way down to this little outcrop of a hill that has a more straight on view of the North Tower.

The sun was about to set, but it graced the bridge and the city of San Francisco with one last beam of warm light. If you look closely, you can also see a patch of fog that is hovering near the North tower of the bridge.

Sunset Over Point Bonita from Hawk Hill

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:55:53 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

This photo is a result of patience. I got up to Hawk Hill around 4pm yesterday afternoon to attempt some long exposure fog photos. Within minutes of arriving, the fog enveloped the entire hill and left me wondering if I should return home. Instead, I stuck around, and sure enough, the fog almost completely cleared showing some promising high clouds.

I scrambled down to a little hill off the back side of Conzelman Road and looked West as the sky exploded. I chose to silhouette the foreground hills to simplify the image, since I felt that some of the details were detracting from the scene.

View my website at: www.danielpivnick.com

Slacker's Ridge Low Fog

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:23:46 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

This was my second Sunday morning in a row where I was up at 5am to capture the fog and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I hiked up to Slacker's Ridge this time, and came across a huge group of people up there. I'm amazed at how popular this spot has become with photographers as of late. I remember when you could go up there and be the only person.

I chose to work my way farther to the right of everyone else. I kept the hillside very dark... almost black, so that the car tail lights below would stand out.

While I love Slacker's Ridge, I think I am done with that hike for a while. I'm looking forward to exploring other opportunities in the area during the next good fog day.

View my website at: www.danielpivnick.com

Conzelman Road on a Foggy Morning

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 08:29:52 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

I just got back from taking photos in the Headlands after another low fog Sunday morning. The above image is from last weekend's trip.

I was perched on the side of Conzelman Road, when I noticed that the sky was showing some nice colors to the North of where I was focused. I swiveled around and thought that the river of fog, combined with a silhouette of Slacker's Ridge and the sunrise colors would make for a different perspective. This one was a tricky image to process due to the wide range of dark to light in the scene. It was still very dark where I was standing, but the sky was quite bright. This is a 4 photo panorama.

View my website at: www.danielpivnick.com

Light Trails on Twin Peaks

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 08:55:46 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

Here is one more photo from the other night. You can see my other one in my photostream. This one was taken later in the evening, after it had become much darker. It is difficult for me to decide which version I like better.

View my website at: www.danielpivnick.com

Light Trails & Sunset on Twin Peaks

nobody@flickr.com (danielpivnick) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:58:24 -0700

danielpivnick posted a photo:

When I looked up at the sky yesterday afternoon, I could tell that the sunset was going to be one to remember. I just needed to figure out where I could go to capitalize on the incredible cloud display.

I thought about heading to the beach, but it looked like most of the clouds were East of the coast.

I ended up choosing Twin Peaks, as I thought it would make for an awesome photo if I could get a brilliant sunset combined with car light trails bending around the hill.

What a day it was. It started off with the Space Shuttle Endeavor's farewell flight around the Bay Area, and then this sunset capped it off.

View my website at: www.danielpivnick.com