Flowering Prickly Pear

Jewel of the Lowland Cacti

May of 2012 the temperatures have been so warm, creating a profusion of blooms with the Prickly Pear Cactus.  The Prickly Pear or Opuntia is a member of the Cactaceae family.  It is the most cold-tolerant and wide spread of the lowland cacti, with the genus name derived from the ancient Greek city of Opus.

Growing in dense clusters, the flower blooms from the tip of the cactus nodule, which will ripen into a delicious red fruit called "tuna".  Care must be taken to harvest the fruit because the Prickly Pear has two defense systems: long sharp spines and smaller hair like projections, "glochids” which stick to anything that comes near.

The beautiful two inch, 5 cm, flowers of the Prickly Pear  are short lived and only last for one day.

For more information on the Prickly Pear:
http://www.desertusa.com/magoct97/oct_pear.htmlhttp://www.desertusa.com/magoct97/oct_pear.html

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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The 2012 Solar Eclipse from Walker Lake, Nevada

Playing Hide and Seek with the Sun

On Sunday, May 20, 2012 around 17:30 or 5:30 PDT the moon was to be passing between the Earth and the Sun, creating an annular solar eclipse.  An annular solar eclipse occurs when the smaller moon blocks out most of the sun's light, creating an annulus ring or Ring of Fire.

Not having the proper solar filter did not dissuade me from trying to capture a photo of this rare event.  I stacked several filters on my 35-70mm 2.8 Nikon lens including a Tiffen Neutral Density #3, a Nikon Circular Polarizer and a Heliopan Split Neutral Density.  With camera on tripod and electronic cable release attached, I ventured out to get the photos without looking at the eclipsing sun.  Contrary to some myths, it is not safe to look at the sun even though it is 99 percent covered by the moon.  That one percent is still bright enough to cause eye damage. 

What I was hoping to get would have been something like this:

However, nature was up to playing hide and seek with the sun as a layer of clouds moved in right over the Wassuk Mountains where the sun would be setting.   Since I was set up, I took some exposures of the sun behind the clouds on manual setting at f/22 with the shutter speed at 1/4000 second.  Some interesting results were produced from lens flare.

After processing the RAW photos in Lightroom, I noticed the reflection of the eclipsing sun down below.

Around 18:22 or 6:22 PDT the clouds were hanging close, but it was fun to just watch the earth grow dark with a calm stillness everywhere.  Even the noisy birds grew quiet.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Supermoon of 2012

Moon Glow at Walker Lake

On the evening of May 5, 2012, at 8:34 p.m. the biggest and brightest full moon of the year shined across Walker Lake. Called the Supermoon due its elliptical orbit passing closer to Earth, our celestial neighbor was 15,300 miles closer and appeared to look much bigger especially when it was low to the horizon.

  A shutter speed of 1/4000 second and spot metering brought out the details in the bright moon and also the stars in the background.

As the Supermoon reaches higher in the sky, it becomes brighter since the sun light has less atmosphere to travel through.

 The red or yellow coloring of the moon is caused from the amount of  dust or haze in the air.  The weather in Northern Nevada has been so dry and windy that our Supermoon appeared with a gold cast.

Getting photographs of the full moon when it appears in the dark sky is difficult due to the difference in lighting between the bright moon and the dark landscape.  Exposure and fill light were adjusted in Lightroom to bring out the details in the water with this photo.

The morning after, the Supermoon shines bright in the west sky as it sets over the Wassuk Mountain Range.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Mother's Day Gift

 In Appreciation of Mother's Day

As a first time promo with my newly revised website shopping cart, I am offering a free digital download in celebration of Mother's Day.  The high resolution 4"x 6", signed photograph of a hummingbird sipping nectar from a lily flower is available to everyone for just creating a new account with Bonnie Rannald's PhotoGraphic Expressions.  The photo may be printed or used as a screen saver.

UPDATE:  The Free Download time has expired however, to see what image was used, please follow the link below:

Click here to view or purchase download

Check back for more exciting offers that are coming in the near future, like my free e-book and informative videos on YouTube.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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