Cypress Tree Tunnel, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is a photo of a place in Point Reyes National Seashore called the Cypress Tree Tunnel because the road leading to an historic RCA site is shaded by a row of cypress trees on each side of the road and they grow over the road forming a tunnel-like appearance..

This is a view of the driveway leading to an historic building that was used by RCA long ago to communicate with ships in the Pacific. It’s somewhat famous for the cypress trees along the driveway because they form a tunnel leading to the old building. When I drive by this spot there are usually one or more people standing there taking photos.  As a person who is primarily a wildlife photographer, I’ve driven by there hundreds of times in the past 15 years and never stopped to photograph the tunnel. Recently, I decided I ought to do that some time.  A month ago I was driving by and no one was there. So, I stopped and took a few quick held-held “snapshots” with a not-ideal 100-500 mm lens (at 100 mm) just to be able to look at some photos at home to see if I should bother to go back for some more serious photos with a wider angle lens on a tripod, at sunset.  Maybe HDR.  I’m surprised that the photos, like the one above, were fairly good.  That makes me want to go back and try for better results.    

Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is a photo of a coyote at Point Reyes National Seashore at sunset.

I photographed this coyote yesterday just before the sun set  I spotted it about fifteen or twenty minutes before sunset and stayed with it until the sun actually set.  It’s my favorite time to photograph wildlife, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.  I assume the light is just ad good at sunrise, but it’s a heck of a lot harder spotting anything to photograph in the dark.

Corinthian Island, Tiburon, California

This is a photo of Corinthian Island in Tiburon, California, taken during the blue hour.

Here’s another photo I took in Tiburon, California.  It’s of the west side of Corinthian Island.  I took this photo during the evening blue hour.  The blue hour is my favorite time for landscape images.  The evening blue hour begins a little after sunset.  There is a blue hour before sunrise as well.  If I were to shoot the island’s east side, I would shoot it before sunrise.

According to Wikipedia, the blue color spectrum “is most prominent when the Sun is between 4° and 8° below the horizon.  When photographing during blue hour it can be favorable to capture subjects that have artificial light sources, such as buildings, monuments, cityscapes, or bridges.”

While I’ve never timed it, my recollection is that the blue hour starts about 15 minutes after sunset and fades away 30 to 40 minutes later.