Yosemite Valley

Yosemite valley, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

Just back from a whirlwind weekend in Yosemite. Between all the wedding celebrations, I only had time to get in a couple short hikes - mostly in the southern section of the park, around Wawona. I think I saw more fancy cameras than wildlife! I was blown away by the natural beauty of the place, though I don't think I will try to visit on a Memorial Day weekend again. There were just hoards of people everywhere. I look forward to making a return trip during a quieter time of year, when I can spend more time on photography and less time sitting in traffic. =) I still managed to get a few photos that I'm happy with, including a couple of the Yosemite valley as seen from the "tunnel view". Hard to mess up a shot of a landscape like this!

EXIF:

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi (with the EF-S 10-22mm lens)
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 19 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Mare with newborn foal

Hug in B&W, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

I am off to Yosemite National Park in California this Memorial Day weekend for a wedding, and hope to bring some great pictures back to DC with me to share next week. Until then, I'll leave you with this beautiful moment between a mare and her hours-old filly. I've since captured quite a few shots of this foal, now about a month old, some of which can be seen here.

EXIF:

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 191 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Cherry Blossom Festival Photography Exhibition

Fallen blossom, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

A photo of mine was a winner in the Yelp DC Cherry Blossom Photography contest and will be on display at the TangySweet in Dupont Circle for the entire month of May. All of the featured photographs are available for purchase. Please stop by and check it out - it's a great excuse to have some tasty frozen yogurt while you're there!

The "official" opening of the show will be on Thursday, May 14th, from 6:30-9:00pm.

Exhibition details:
Yelp DC Cherry Blossom Photo Contest
TangySweet Yogurt Bar
2029 P Street NW (Dupont Circle area)
Washington, DC
May 1-31, 2009

Middleburg Spring Races

Two-horse race, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

I spent a beautiful sunny afternoon watching the spring steeplechase races in Middleburg, Virginia last Saturday. Our picnic spot was right on the rail just before the turn to the finish line, which made for some exciting duels down the stretch home and plenty of great photo opportunities. I did a little experimenting with panning as well; the most successful attempt was probably the photo above, taken with an exposure of 1/60 second.

A few more of my favorite shots follow below.

Middleburg Spring Races 2009, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

Streamlined, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

The final turn, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

Facing Off

Facing off, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

This was taken during a performance by the Capitol Area Budokai club during the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival earlier this month. I don't know much (anything) about martial arts, but I've been told that this sword fighting discipline is called Kendo and the swords are Katanas. It was interesting to watch!

EXIF:

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Blossoms in Blue

Blossoms in blue, originally uploaded by soleil1016.

I spent an afternoon wandering the National Arboretum recently and found all kinds of fun things to take pictures of. The variety of spring flowers were perfect subjects for my 100mm macro lens.

EXIF:

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO Speed: 200