Near and Far - Part Two

Vina Incendio

The Ephemeral Divergence

This is the 2nd of 3 posts entitled "Near and Far" where I show something near my home and then something a little farther away. The above two images have been long awaited by me as I have wanted to photograph this spot for some time. This is in Napa Valley just south of the small town of Oakville on the Silverado Trail. The winery on the left of the top image finally has finished their expansion. The area had looked like a construction zone for some time but I knew when they were finished the area would be photo-worthy and that I needed to be here at a very special time.

We had a series of storms come through and on this day the sky was filled with wonderful dark clouds in the category of "partly cloudy" as the weather person would say. Well that also means partly sunny with a chance the setting sun might create some magic.

I got here early which gave me some time to try different compositions to see what might be best when the anticipated light show starts to happen. Then it was time to wait.........and wait.........and wait. The waiting is the not-so-exciting part of landscape photography. There have been many times I've anticipated a fantastic sky, gotten all set up, waited and then it simply gets dark, I pack up and go home. Not so this night !!! The sky was one of the most amazing I've seen in a long time in the valley. To make the scene even better was the wonderful yellow and orange of the post-harvest autumn grapevines.

Vintage Autumn

This image and the one below were taken about a week before the storm shots above. I had come out of the office headed for lunch. I looked at the sky and said "forget lunch" and headed out into the vineyards for the wonderful shadow-play the overhead clouds were giving me. Needless to say I was late getting back to work.

The above photo is from an often photographed semi-iconic spot here in the southern portion of Napa Valley. As I was setting up for this shot a woman rode past on her bicycle behind me and yelled "best view in the valley" I would agree it is certainly one of the best. Click HERE to see all six new vineyard shots larger in the gallery.

Shadow Dancing

Tufa Island

I passed through Mono Lake on my way to Zion National Park in Utah. There was wonderful late afternoon clouds in the sky in which I was able to get a few good shots of. It also allowed me to try out my new panorama tripod setup. The panorama shot is a compilation of 7 vertical images stitched together. It really deserves to be viewed much larger HERE.

I did not have time to stay for a sunset shot but as I was driving away I could see the clouds moving away also so I felt I got the best shot under the circumstances and was not disappointed.

Mono Lake Panorama


Stay tuned to part 3 of "Near and Far" which I promise will come a little sooner. Until then, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.