Central Park Landscape Photography

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph great destinations outside of my normal Southern California beaches.  If you have the opportunity to view my portfolio, many of the shots I have featured are focused on these magical Southern California beaches.  I do not think anyone would question why not.  These beaches are so picturesque and colorful that nature’s perfect backdrop makes for stunning backgrounds.

As I also mentioned in another post, I recently spent time in North Carolina shooting, but this was after I departed from New York City.

And when you have the opportunity to photograph in New York, how can one not stop at Central Park at sunrise to capture one of the most iconic places in the city that never sleeps.  The early light in the Central Park plays off the city’s buildings.  It’s captured in a yellow/orangish hue that helps to light up the darker path.

©Charles Harris Photography

These shots, not taken long ago, shows in both the picture above as well as the shot below that there still was snow on the ground in March, 2013.  In fact, the city was dusted with snow while I was there and that proved to be an additional incentive to reach Central Park before it all melted away.

©Charles Harris Photography

In the photograph below, I wanted to capture the feeling that you were crossing the bridge into the heart of New York City.  The early morning light helped to illuminate the city buildings.

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

I have shot this Central Park bridge before (below), but never at sunrise.

©Charles Harris Photography

 

North Carolina Photography

I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to my landscape photography.  While my passion for taking photographs has not waned, the time I have had to write and showcase some of my favorite work has escaped me until now.

Recently, following a business trip to New York, I was able to spend a weekend in North Carolina.  It was my first visit to this region and while I have traveled through most of America’s 50 states, I have no idea why North Carolina escaped me until now.  After seeing and witnessing its beauty, I regret not coming through here years ago.

©Charles Harris Photography

This first shot, shown above is one of my new favorites that I will be showing for a long time.  I have titled it, ” A Deer, a Duck and a Small Red Roof.”

The red tin roof and the duck are easy to spot.  The deer not so much.  I must have sat in this location for about 30 minutes trying to capture the perfect time of day.  Dusk is my favorite light and I was rewarded by this peaceful pond.

In North Carolina, there are no shortages for bridges and it seemed I was shooting bridges and water at every turn.  The photography below is called “Chapel Hill Bridge.”

©Charles Harris Photography

Another bridge over calm waters…..

©Charles Harris Photography

And one finally that had no water.

©Charles Harris Photography

I could not help but capture the photograph of the couple below, enjoying the afternoon sun by a bridge, in a garden.

©Charles Harris Photography

The final photo in this set is a more well-known bridge over water.  Can you name the place?

©Charles Harris Photography

The red bridge should give away the place, if you have ever visited it before.  It is, of course, the Duke Gardens on the campus of Duke University.

Charles Harris Photography – Video Montage

Each one of the photographs I take sets a scene and tells a story from a moment in time.  This week, the flu hit me hard and knocked me out of work for a few days.  I hate not being in the office and confined to my home, but tried, when I had the energy to make it productive.

The following video is a brief montage from the photographs I post on the Charles Harris Photography (On Smugmug) website.

The difference is, this time, I set it to music and added a bit of motion to a few of the photographs.

Newport Beach Neighborhood

Once upon a time, I lived in Newport Beach while attending school as an undergrad at the University of California, Irvine.  32nd street to be exact. The environment and landscape in the area was so captivating that I never wanted to leave my surroundings.  If I only had my Canon camera back then….

I recently found myself back in the same area on an early Sunday morning with time, the right lighting and great views to take a few photographs of my former Newport Beach neighborhood.  It was right round 8:00 a.m. when I parked the car and walked to the bridge overlooking Lido Isle, where it seems everyone has a private dock, boat and a multi-million dollar home.

©Charles Harris Photography

I could not capture a perfect reflection in the clam water as a small group of birds continued to cause a ripple effect that is shown in the water’s tree line.  They were just playing in the shallow end of the water and these ripples caused the small waves in the water.

Eventually, I moved to the Newport Beach Pier, where I planted myself under the pier itself and set up for a few photographs.

©Charles Harris Photography

While I think I should have been here at sunset instead of the early morning, the blue sky was as clear as I could remember.  At this spot, birds gather by the dozens as fishermen bring in and cut up fresh fish they catch during the night.  It took a while (photo below) to get most of the birds out of the shot but it was well worth it.  The endless pier made this a great way to end my time in Newport Beach.

©Charles Harris Photography

First Light, Last Light

When it comes to shooting landscape photography, I have quickly come to prefer two times of day to pull out my Canon camera:  First Light and Last Light.  Translation:  Sunrise and sunset.

The way the sun cast these early and late shadows just makes all the difference when capturing the mood, shadows and overall feeling.

Not one to ever sleep much, I am often up before the sun rises so I head to the closest beach to see what I can see.

©Charles Harris Photography

I especially like the photo above, where it shows the sun creeping through the grass as it begins to wake up the West Coast.

©Charles Harris Photography

The above photo was one of the first I took, when I arrived at Crystal Cove State Park.  I could just imagine a warm summer’s day picnic.  The clouds in this photo are especially clear right between the pillars, providing a magical experience to the shot.

©Charles Harris Photography

The two rocks in the foreground of the above photo enjoy the colorful skyline, here with a pinkish hue before the sun brightens up this portion of the world.

Finally, I leave you with this last photo, what I call the “Tiered Sunrise.”  The clouds add an effect of two different colors as the sun creates a yellow and orange-ish color to them.

©Charles Harris Photography

I have been asked if I use some sort of editing program like Photoshop to alter the photos.  I do not.  I have not yet learned how to use Photoshop.  The only editing tool I use in my photography is iPhoto.

I Chose the Road Not Taken

While this might be the first time I have ever quoted a poem, it is applicable none the less.  ”The Road Not Taken” a poem by Robert Frost published in 1916, seems appropriate for today’s entry.  Literally.

For as long as I can remember, it seems, I have been driving to my favorite small city to take landscape photography.  I can visit the same small beaches in Laguna Beach and always find new angles to make the photographs look as if they are from a different destination.

Last week, I chose to change when I took the road not taken.  Instead of turning left on Pacific Coast Highway and driving into Laguna Beach as usual, for some reason I turned to the right and headed to neighboring Corona del Mar instead.

Oh, how was I rewarded.  I know Corona del Mar, but not the small streets.   I started to experiment with some of these tree-lined roads hoping for a great view of the pending skyline and came up empty.   was chasing the sunrise which including the moon just hanging over the ocean.  The morning light on this day way amazing and the pinkish clouds did not hurt either.

Finally, I was rewarded when I stumbled on a very small beach.  After easily finding a parking space, I ventured down the walkway, then ramp to a magnificent little beach with an amazing view.

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Look closely and you can see the moon in the distance, against the rocks.

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I liked the area so much I came back a few nights later, this time at sunset and captured a very different setting.

The picture above has become one of my favorites.  You can see a young man pictured in the right-hand portion of the shot, who could actually be part of the rocks itself.

And Finally…..

We are all creatures of habit and breaking out of those habits can lead to even better experiences.

Tag and Find Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

Charles Harris, photographer.  It has a nice ring to it.  When I first started posting my photographs on the net, I also did a quick Google search to see how many other Charles Harris photographers there were on the Internet.  I knew right away my name and passion could not be that unique.  I soon found out it was not.

There were bound to be other Charles Harris’ who enjoyed and maybe even had a passion for photography.  So I soon asked myself, how do I stand out from these other folks who were also branding themselves?

There are two things I think of doing when it comes to standing apart not only for any other Charles Harris who has a camera but from other photographers.  One seems obvious, the other not so much.

Take Great Photographs: It seems so obvious and maybe it is, but the better my work is, the easier is if for others to discover your eye on the world.

Use Tagging in Photos:  Choose your platform… Flickr, Instagram, Mobli or a personal website – each allows you to add a hashtag (#) and “tag” your photos.  Why do this?  The key words you add to each snapshot will then be searchable by others who are looking for the theme or tag you provide.  I have done this for each photo on my photography website.  It is a bit time consuming, but if you wish for others to discover your work, it is well worth the investment.

I aslo started tagging the photos with #CharlesHarrisPhotography.  If you do a Google search for Charles Harris Photography, my pictures are now being indexed by the popular search engine, so now my work will hopefully have better access to my photography.

Here’s Why I Use Instagram

Not long ago, I eagerly jumped on the Instagram bandwagon and started posting some of my photographs on this popular online application.  Instagram for those of you who are not familiar, is an easy way for people with smart phones and tablets to share their photos.

So why did I join Instagram when I have a dedicated website where I showcase the best of Charles Harris Photography?  Well, while people will naturally find this site via the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques and cross-platform promoting I do in order to introduce new people to my work, I also have to actively appear where people congregate and that’s on Instagram.

Look at the sheer numbers.  According to Quora (and Mashable), Instagram, as of September this year, totaled 100 million accounts.  I would like others to discover my work and I have to fish in the waters where the fish actually gather.  On my Instagram profile, I certainly link back to my website but if I do not post some of my art there, then I am losing an opportunity to introduce my work to new people.

For the record, my name on Instagram is sportsinfo101 (another story and another blog of mine) and if you use this service, you can certainly follow my photography there as well.  What you will see from me there, moving forward, is a more experimental tone with my photography.  For example, in one recent picture, I captured water drops on fresh cucumbers at the grocery store (pictured below).

I have not yet made it a habit of shooting food, as my passion is clearly focused on capturing landscapes.  That said, Instagram offers a weekly contest where it challenges users with an assignment and that week it was photographing water droplets.  each Monday editors choose their favorites and showcase them on the Instagram feed where thousands of people are then introduced to the winning pictures and people behind them (through their user name).

This platform allows me to try new things, even if it is using my iPhone instead of my Canon camera, which I prefer.

If you use Instagram and want to know how to join in their weekly challenges, the first thing you need to do is to follow the Instagram feed on their app.  The second step is to look for their posts, usually on Friday, when they issue these challenges.  In order to enter, you just need to take photographs and then tag your picture with the # sign and then the name they provide you for that week.

This week, the challenge is to photograph your hometown, and the tag is #WHPMYHOMETOWN

Photo taken from Instagram posting

I hope that by focusing on new assignments I will challenge myself to become an even better photographer.  If you use the app, my user name again is sportsinfo101 and you are welcome to follow my journey there.

Sunset Sail in Newport Beach

This weekend is a bit dark, cold and rainy so I have chosen this post to look back on a photograph I shot last weekend.  I call it Sunset Sail in Newport Beach for obvious reasons.

I often pass by Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach and it just so happens by Canon camera was in the backseat last Sunday, just as the sun was setting in Orange County.

The evening sky has been putting on quite a show of late and was glad I took time out to capture this sail boat coming back into Newport Bay.

©Charles Harris Photography

 

My goal was to place the boat between the palm trees in the distance.  However, the sail and the angle they came at me did not allow me to create perfect symmetry for this shot.  That said, I am very pleased with the vibrant colors in the sky for a November dusk evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Mother Nature Delivers #Skyporn

I recently viewed a photograph on Instagram where someone listed the beautiful shot with the hashtag #skyporn.  I laughed out loud as I both admired the photographers shot and the thought that mother nature can deliver #skyporn.

Having never seen this reference before, I Google’d it on the Internet and learned of its definition via urbandictionary.com

“A term often used as a hashtag on social media services like Instagram or Twitter when accompanying an image showing extraordinary picture of the sky.  Usually the image will feature unusual or spectacular cloud formations or an impressive sunset.”

Okay then.

Well, here are two of my submissions from photographs I took in Manhattan Beach, California, looking out towards the pier.
Here is the Charles Harris version of my skyporn.

©Charles Harris Photography

Second shot….

©Charles Harris Photography

Magic in Laguna Beach

Recently, I started lugging my camera with me, just in case a wonderful opportunity presents itself.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been somewhere, only wishing I had a professional level camera at my side.

Yes, I have an iPhone, but I prefer something a bit more sophisticated when I really want to capture the moment.

I got lucky recently during one of my frequent visits to the beach.  As the title suggests, I captured what I think is a bit of magic in Laguna Beach.  The sky lit up shades of purple and pink, magical colors I could never make up if I tried.  It was really nature’s magic show.

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

A short while earlier, before the colors turned a beautiful shade of pink, there was this photograph, a mystical shot of the sun before it descended below the horizon.

©Charles Harris Photography

I called this photography Beyond.  It speaks to me in a much different way than the previous two.  My work — Charles Harris Photography — is to capture something that will last.  With this photo, I think I have done so.

Fall in Laguna Beach

The three day Labor Day weekend allowed me to head off to my favorite photography spot in Orange County, Laguna Beach.  I have been to this seaside city many times over the years, but the stops never get old and I always find something new to photography.  So this weekend, it was Fall in Laguna Beach.

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

An Orange County Sunset

There is a spot that I have come to like, not far from my home.  It is the Crystal Cove State Park, right off Pacific Coast Highway at the edge of Laguna Beach/Newport Beach in California.  I took the camera and returned this spot where I settled in for the end of summer sunset.

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

©Charles Harris Photography

Yosemite in Black and White

Yosemite is one of my favorite national parks to visit.

No matter how many times I go, there is always something new to photograph.  I feel that I am only getting started in a place Ansel Adams made famous.

Most of my photographs of Yosemite and not processed and saved in a black and white format.  They are in color.

However, this one struck me more as a black and white photo than color.  I believe it to be more dramatic.

©Charles Harris Photography

It was taken during the morning for an 11 mile hike.  I must have been with some 50 people and they walked right by this spot.  bringing up the rear in the group, I took my time.  What struck me so much was the burned out base of the tree, still nestled in the ground just to the right of this seedling that had begun to grow.

In the background is Yosemite Valley, with wonderful cloud lines that makes this photograph much more complete.

When we fail to pay attention to the smaller things like the new vs old tree, then we often miss the bigger picture in the valley.

Below, just to show you a bit of the difference in the way Yosemite in Black and White vs color appears in my portfolio, I have also included a morning photograph of half dome.  Enjoy!

©Charles Harris Photography