Capturing photos in Mammoth Lakes, CA

Even a broken jaw can't keep me from shooting. I had a chance to go out shooting with my good friend Moose Peterson, who lives in Mammoth (www.moosepeterson.com) and I wasn't going to miss that opportunity. He is such a great photographer and an even better person. We drove out to a small "town" called Benton, which basically has one building standing, and shot pictures of the old remaining structures. The sky was overcast which was perfect for us.
The great thing about the snow is that I can take pictures of our dog, Bailey. Since he is all black, it is difficult to take good pictures of him, but the snow acts as a giant reflector and helps me out. He loves the snow and I love taking pictures of him. What a funny dog he is.The kids enjoy the snow as much, or more, than the dog. Since I had a broken jaw, I wasn't about to go sledding, but I always enjoy photographing them doing their thing.

Back to Natural Bridges (to get the shot!)

I really liked the butterfly clusters but was not very happy with the "quick shot before the family complains" image. So, I went back to the same spot, this time with a tripod and a Canon 1Ds Mark III camera and captured this image. I used a 100-400mm L lens and a 580EX flash to light the shadows. Even though I took 30 or 40 images, I was happy to come home with this one. Who would have known that I was going to break my jaw playing ice hockey the next night. :)

San Francisco Bay after sunset

It helps to be at the right place at the right time. I was shooting a Bar Mitzvah in the Berkeley Hills (across from San Francisco) and had a break in between shooting the service and the reception. Instead of eating (which I should have done since I was starving) I drove high into the Berkeley hills to capture this shot. I really love the clouds, the deep sunset colors, the deep clue of the water all mixed with the lights of the city. Since this was taken in December, many of the building in San Francisco were lit up for the holidays.