Backyard Redux 2016

The sloping backyard has always been a problem with regard to mowing the grass and as I get older its more of a concern. Since the drought we have let the lawn die and it’s been looking pretty bad. Sandy had the great idea of extending the lower wall, leveling it off and planting sod. It looks great but I’m not looking forward to the water bill as we have to keep it wet til the roots grab hold.

June Lake 2016

Our neighbors Paul & Brenda were nice enough to invite us up to their cabin in June Lake again. This year they took us to Bodie State Historical Park.

We also got to see Devil’s Postpile and short hike on over to Minaret Falls.

One of my favorite spots Mono Lake.

You could see the stars at night.

We did have some down time so we were taught the finer points of a game called howzit hanging.

Sylvia

I haven’t shot a portrait in awhile and I’ve been wanting to shoot Sylvia for some time now. We scouted a location right across Pier 29, that way we can eat breakfast right after the shoot. It also gave me a chance to test my Westcott XL 36″ Rapidbox & Flashpoint Streaklight 360. I ended up wasting about half an hour fumbling with my exposure, when I hit my frustration threshold I decided to ditch it and go back to my tried and true Canon 600EX-RT. That’s when I discovered I forgot to remove the metal bulb protector (Doh). In the process I forgot to reinstall the outside diffusion panel on the softbox that gave me a band of hot light on the bottom of every frame which I didn’t notice til I got home. So most of the 1st location shots got thrown out.