Captured this image as it neared sunset from my flight over the high sierra along the Californian-Nevadan border. I’ve been flying this route since February, but this is the first time that it was light enough to see at that time of day.

Pow Pow Platter from Jude Tibay on Vimeo.

On Saturday, March 6, 2010 – a group of friends arrived at Copper Mountain for (almost) first tracks on fresh pow – 4″ inches of dry, pristine fluffy powder.

I am always looking to evolve my photographic skills, and always looking to prove that I can be more than just a landscape photographer… mission accomplished.

I had set out one Friday for the Colorado mountains with my camera, tripod and two strobes (a.k.a. speedlights or flashes). Earlier in the afternoon I scouted the resort town of Breckenridge in Colorado’s Summit County, and had stumbled upon this forgotten wooden shed behind a closed down historic museum from the late 1800s. The wood was very aged and showed lots of character. I returned later that evening as the snow began to fall again. The strobes enabled a fast shutter speed and bright light to capture the snow falling and to bring out the colors and texture in the wood grain.

Lessons learned? I’ll bring my snowboard next time.

Snowboarding Tahoe | Squaw Valley from Jude Tibay on Vimeo.

Some footage of my team mates snowboarding in Tahoe’s north lake resort Squaw Valley. Not the most exciting riding you’l ever see, but the scenery (and hopefully the soundtrack selection) makes the vid worth watching.

Just about every Monday morning at 6:00 am, I take a flight from home in Denver, Colorado to work in San Jose, California. On this particular morning, rain and snow blanketed most of the scenic colorado plateau so most of what was visible from 30,000 feet above sea level was cloud cover. But they parted for several minutes revealing this wintry mountain scape. Unfortunately, I couldn’t determine if this was over the Watsatch mountains of Utah or the high Sierras over Nevada and California.

Exposure: 1/125 sec @ f/8.0

No photoshop on this photo. Honest! A smoggy haze hangs over Salt Lake City during temperature inversions in winter months. This traps dust and other pollutants low over the city. The orange glow comes from the orange glow of the setting sun being diffused through the smog. I’ve never seen anything like this in other mountain cities. Taken after snowboarding on a foggy day in Utah’s Snowbird ski resort.

Moonrise Project

This photo is flawed. It’s blurry and obviously cropped from a much larger photo. Yet, this is the best photo I’ve ever taken of the moon!

Why am I so happy? After several failed attempts – admittedly spontaneous without really thinking through the science of the shot – I finally achieved some decent amateur results as pictured. Though blurry, you can discern the big grey basins and white impact craters, that you can sometimes see with the naked eye.

By the end of 2010, I hope to photograph the moon during each of its phases. Despite having access to billions of Terabytes of information via the Internet, what I discovered through undisciplined trial and error are the following factors for success:

1. Tripod to steady the camera
2. Telephoto lens to fill as much of the frame as possible; the moon is relatively a small object in the sky
3. Small aperture to maintain contrast; the moon is surprisingly bright
4. Short shutter speed; blurring from the moon’s movement revealed for longer exposure
5. Low ISO of 100 or lower; again, moon is surprisingly bright
6. Timetable and Calendar of the Moon’s rising, setting and phase – to avoid venturing out in the night only to find out the moon rose at 9am or that it’s a new moon

Moon Resources

• Moonrise & Moonset Schedule
• Moon Phase Calendar

Midtown Manhattan a Sunset

Thanks to Karin and MJ who separately inspired me to shoot New York City, and venture out and prove I can do more than just nature photography.

[View with PicLens]

123►