Lone Oak and Clearing Storm

@john4jack: Good morning Jack, as always, thanks for you nice words. I trust all is well in Oregon this morning.

@Eleftheria: Hi Eleftheria - a new camera for Easter! You must have a nice Easter Bunny (or two) in Athens.

@Sergei Z: Thanks Sergei, to hear that my photographs are inspirational to others is very moving. I think that can testify to the power of photography in general.

@Miguel: Thanks Miguel, hope to hear from you again.

@"Marie" :-): Thanks Marie, God has given me many gifts in my life, including all the beauty which surrounds me. It's just a matter of me taking the time to capture it and share it with others. I find beauty in nature wherever I travel, one just needs to look at the right times of the day under the optimum lighting conditions which are generally at the ends of the day or after a clearing storm. Try revisiting a scene you love at dawn or dusk and see if it doesn't change in beauty.

@Judy: Hi Judy, you basically summed-up my feelings as to what drew me to this location. I've said it on this blog before and I will reiterate, we all need to trust our instincts. If something grabs our attention we must pay attention to it. This same scene would have looked pretty dull if shot in the middle of the day, but under the right light, it (light) somehow transforms the image from ordinary to extraordinary.

@Mariana: Thank you Mariana for you nice thoughts. Hope all is well with you.

@Tracy: Hi Tracy, those hills are now starting to turn a tinge brown, another good week or two and that will be it!

@Daniel: Credit the light - saturation happens at this time of the day - naturally.

@Anouk: Thank you Anouk.

@Martine Lapointe: Thanks Martine, no augmentation needed, credit Mother Nature for this one.

@Scott Schilling: Hi Scott, hope you are getting some time to shoot. I'm off again Saturday for the Arizona workshop - go, go go...

@Elora: Thank you Elora.

@Craig: Thanks Craig, again, the color is there twice every day, it was beautiful again this evening and I was at my son's Little League game, even my wife commented on how pretty the light was, just get out and capture it.

@Ana Lúcia: Thank you Ana, my feeling is the same for your work, you have a great eye and feel for nature.

@Jen: Thanks Jen, I don't think we turn the camera vertical enough. There are some stunning compositions to be made in the north to south orientation. Perhaps camera straps should be dangled vertically from camera bodies to orientate us to thinking vertically.

@LauraS: Thanks Laura, it was really all about the color in this image.

@Magda: Thank you Magda, I really believe the camera is just a tool - nothing more and nothing less - true vision is inside each and every one of us if we just take the time to slow down and appreciate what is happening around us. Unfortunately, our world is just so busy and hectic. If you understand and appreciate what it is you wish to capture, then the camera/lens acts as a portal to capture what you are feeling about the scene you are viewing. Hope I'm not sounding to pie-in-the-sky with this response, I just truly feel that way when I'm out capturing images. Thanks for taking the time to write.

@Gary Hart: Hi Gary, thanks and I can't wait to see you and Jackie on Friday!

@DarkElf: Thanks DarkElf, people on Aminus3 seem to like the story and technical data for each image, so I will continue in that vein. Hope all is well with you, and as always, thanks for your nice comments.

@Ivan Makarov: Hi Ivan, had to use the image with me wearing the Sharks hat! Actually, I have very few photos of myself and that was one a friend of mine took at Convict Lake during a fall color trip. Hope all is well with you.