Figueroa Mountain – 04-20 Weekend

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Figueroa Mountain - 04/20 Weekend

The weather couldn't have been more perfect! The hillsides a deep green except on Grass Mountain and the surrounding slopes that were exploding with poppy orange. It has not peaked yet as the lupine was just starting to bloom and its fragrance beginning to float through the air so if you have the chance, take a drive and enjoy some of the most beautiful spring scenery that there is.

Other than enjoying the outdoors and doing some photography, we were there to join our good friend Ben, for his birthday celebration along with several of our friends. Good food, wonderful company and perfect spring weather made for an awesome weekend.

I spent many hours outside and hiked several miles this weekend as the healing quality of nature was high on my list. I worked on just two compositions with both the Fuji GFX 50s and the Chamonix 4 x 5. The images above are from the GFX as the film from the 4 x 5 is on the way to the developer. I will post those after I get the negatives back.

The first, 'Rock and Tree Spring Light', was a composition that caught my eye as I hiked up from below last weekend while working on a composition in black and white using the 4 x 5. I should be receiving those negatives in a few days. Unfortunately by the time I got set up to make the image I started to lose the light that was creating those wonderful lines of light and dark down the slope to the tree. I may have captured the scene but in the rush I'm not sure so I made a plan to return and give myself plenty of time to make the photograph. The light was a little different last weekend as the sun was behind a high cloud just above the horizon that provided some nice diffused light. On Sunday, it was clear skies which made it difficult as I had to shoot into the sun which usually doesn't work out so well. I had a half grad filter to bring the highlights down and played with the aperture till I was able to minimize the flare that invariably presents itself when exposing the lens to the sun. I am happy with the image as it fulfills my vision for this amazing scene. A bonus that I didn't notice last weekend is the small oak on the right that was lit up against the dark shadows which creates a nice balance to the dramatic edges of the rock on the left. The best part was spending time enjoying this magical location with Lisa.

The second photo, 'Merging', is a composition from Fir canyon and one that both Lisa and I spotted the previous weekend. I found it again and liked the scene for an intimate landscape. I love the different textures and colors. Lisa looked in the ground glass of the 4 x 5 and commented that the small rocks appeared as a galaxy to her. I look forward to seeing how the exposures on film came out but I really like the quiet feeling this scene inspires in me.

I hope you enjoy these and if you would like a print, please enjoy this coupon to save 20% on any one print, 420fig (expires 05-06-18) See the latest prints for sale here.

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Thank you for taking a few moments to enjoy these photographs!

Jim