nature
High Park
Toronto, Ontario
I almost missed the cherry blossoms in their late bloom. It was a overcast day, and I headed to High Park right after work. The park was packed full of families, couples and photographers. I took sporadic shots from below, but never finding the right angle to layer the flowers. This shot was by chance.
Next time, I want to shot portraiture in the cherry blossoms. The complexity and texture of the petals would be an amazing backdrop.
Lands End
San Fran, Cali
By miracle I found THE spot. The place of absolute picture perfection.
At the western end of the peninsula there is a trail called Lands End (fitting for such a mystical place). It some distance away from the city and I came across it in my travel research. Boasting land, water, sunset and hiking trails...I was just looking to fill up my days in San Fran. I'm from Canada, nature scenes are no biggie.
But when I got there...well, pictures to come and speak for themselves. This photo was taken on my 3rd and last day. It was a little past sunset, the drizzling finally stopped and lighting conditions were dim. I saw a groove of interestingly placed trees jutting from the cliff-side and impulsively took the shot. I must have knelt in that muddy trail for hours trying to take a non-shaky picture (really need a tripod). My frozen fingers seemed to make a stable base cause the pictures turned out alright.
Conservatory of Flowers
San Fran
The Conservatory of Flowers is what I imagine a 1900's century solarium would look like. Humid, green and the scent of dirt and flowers illuminated under a great glass dome. It was a pleasant surprise. There was a quixotic romanticism in the flower arrangements and everything looked so lush. I enjoying the muted sunlight for a while before the taking photos.
The photos didn't come easily. The greenhouse was so humid that my lens fogged up. No amount of wiping cleared away the condensation fast enough so I ended up running back and forth between a cooler climate room and the garden. But sometimes, the haze gave the pictures a dreamy effect.
Mountain Range
Colorado?
Truth be told, I have no idea where this is. It was on my flight to San Francisco and at sunset. The light were brilliant rays of red and pink...it was the first time I seen the intense hues that characterize Colorado sunsets (well, Colorado in my mind).
I took a lot of pictures up in the air. Bumped my lens into the windows to find the right angles. Cursed at the airplane wing that blocked the scenery. At one segment, patches of cloud spanned below us and it looked like pink silk blowing in the sky.
This picture was taken in the last moments of sunset. I took out the wing, upped the saturation and sharpened the peaks.
Jungle Island
Miami, Florida
Not going to lie, but I am very happy with the how this picture turned out. It had been a terrible day but this picture was worth it.
It was New Years day, and everything was closed. Jungle Island was one of the few open attractions so I set out with no map, no phone and hope the public transit will direct me there. As it turns out, some locals were friendly...a bit too friendly and a little more than sketchy. Being a lost solo female traveler is never fun.
When I finally hit Jungle Island, the park was surprisingly full. Family and couples milled in enjoyment, once again I was reminded of my...solidarity. I walked around aimlessly to see what I can shoot before coming to Flamingo Lane. The flowers were in bloom and thickly surrounded the enclosure. The colors! The contrast! Luckily the day was overcast so I was able to capture the full scoop of colors.
Post process went quickly. I intensified the saturation and blurred/masked different regions to get the dreamy effect.
South Beach
Miami Beaches, Florida
It was my last day in Miami, so I decided to enjoy sunset at the beach.
Interesting cloud formations circled the skyline and cargo ships looked like toys in the distance. This was a quick snapshot of that peaceful moment before I packed my camera away.
