Even though fireworks were invented by the Chinese centuries before Europeans came to America.

Even though tons of fireworks are used year-round at fairs, amusement parks, and sporting events.

Nothing says America to me so much as ...

On a recent trip back to the little town where I grew up, it happened to be Mother's Day.

OK, it wasn't really that much of a coincidence. Since Mother's Day and my Dad's Birthday happened to fall a day apart this year, I kinda planned my trip that way.

The point is my parent's living room had several large flower arrangements around the great room. (From my dad, my sister, and other friends and ...

To quote Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet!"

It has been a long time since I have written one of these missives, and it corresponds to my return of posting new photos to my gallery.  ...

For those who have yet to hear the whole story, the first week of November, I was scheduled to go to Yosemite on my annual fall photo pilgrimage. I was particularly excited because I saw they had re-instituted the Sunday Buffet Brunch as the Ahwahnee Dining Room.

I drove up that Sunday with a friend and went straight to the Ahwahnee. I got out of the car and got halfway to the dining room before the shortness of breath I had ignored for a month (because it was my Birthday. I had things to do!) caught up with me, and I had to sit. 

Nothing new.   ...

The pieces I added to my gallery these past two weeks have had me thinking of ingenuity and determination.

And how much of the wealth and prosperity of our country has come from having an extensive interconnecting rail system.

I am not about to wax nostalgic about how wonderful the people were who owned (own) these large systems. They were rat bastard capitalists in all the worst senses of that term from the 19th century. They exploited their workers, often to the point ...

Tracks diverge at the Concord Naval Weapons Station.

I often take inspiration from the Robert Frost poem "The Road Not Taken". But what do you do when both paths are less traveled by? I am flummoxed.

I am also baffled by the reaction to this picture on social media. Nearly 3,000 people have recorded some responses on Facebook, over 100 comments, and shared close to 100 times. I was expecting some reaction to the Robert Frost reference. But, most have been reactions to the location or insistence by railfans that anything having to do with rails should be preserved and used.

....

Time has a way of getting away from us.

I was initially surprised to learn that this engine in a museum was actually operating as "recently" as 1998. Until I counted up that was 24 years ago. An entire generation has gone by since this engine last ran.

I recently saw a meme that pointed out that 1978 is as far away from 2022 as it is from 1934. And I remember 1978 (mostly). That was the year I graduated from college. And I know that in 1978, if something happened in 1934, it was OOOOOOOLLLLLLLLD. . . .

This post is part of a series I am doing on the techniques of composition:  what they are, when to use them, and when to ignore them.  I am calling the series "Shoot Better Pictures in Auto Mode" because these are all techniques you can use without having to leave automatic shooting mode on your camera.

This is the third of the series, and the first to cover a specific technique. The other two already published are about shooting with intent, and an overview of composition and why it is so important.  If you haven't read them yet, follow those links and take a look. 

Today's technique is called the "Rule Of Thirds."

The "Rule" of Thirds

Simply put, the rule of thirds divides the space in your photo into ...

There is a lot of photography education out there.

And a lot of it focuses on "getting off auto."  As if somehow auto-mode is the thing that is stopping you from making great pictures.

i will let you in on a little secret:  It's not.

You see auto-mode on your camera takes over certain functions and performs them automatically.  It controls the shutter speed, the aperture size, the sensor sensitivity, and in most cases the focus.  All of those functions are about the technical aspects of the exposure of the picture.  And frankly, most cameras, including those on your cell phone, ....

Have you ever heard the advice "You first have to decide what you are taking a picture of"?

You haven't?

PAY ATTENTION. I say that all the time.

Today I am going to talk about the selections you make when composing your picture (yes again. In case you missed it, composition is important). The three shots below were all taken ...

Sometimes we miss the little things in life because we focus on the obvious.

This picture features the immense, obvious Yosemite Falls. Which really was a treat for me. I usually only make it to Yosemite during the fall. With the continuing California drought, almost no water has been coming over the falls at that time of year.

But this February visit, it was gushing like gangbusters, leaving ice all over the cliff face.
And for me, the little details like the ice on the cliff behind the falls make this image enjoyable. The few individual trees standing up on the rim. The marking in the granite. The play of light and shadow across the cliff face.

Even the one dead tree . . .

It seemed strange to me that this train found itself upstairs.

I mean, sure, it's a museum and all that. But a train upstairs?

I went to the California State Railroad Museum in Old Town Sacramento (finally) over the Fourth of July weekend. There is an entire floor dedicated to toy trains among the many impressive displays, exhibits, and, yes, trains on display.

I had a small HO gauge set when I was a kid. And I still remember lusting after my uncle's much larger (both in scale and completeness) O gauge set ...

This is a story about a harmless old locomotive. It is also the story of a well-aged man (because I have to make everything about me).

The featured image is a long-retired diesel locomotive that sits as a static display outside the Western America Railroad Museum. It is a faded yellow, and it is legitimately scenic, in my opinion as a photographer. And it is controversial.  ............

Even though I skipped one this past weekend, I really like photo walks.

There is something special about the fellowship of walking through a neighborhood with a group of like-minded people, explicitly looking for the imagery and beauty unique to a place.

I must admit, it also kicks in my competitive nature.

Although I am about as middle of the road, white bread, American white guy as you can get, I still like to think of myself as an oddball, a bit of a rebel. Indeed as ...

I have a whole house full of things I have held onto long beyond their original purpose.

Just like this bolt.

It was likely set into the concrete 125 years ago. The threat of the Spanish American War caused many artillery batteries to be installed at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay to keep the shipping lines open.

Because it takes gold to run a war.

And it held steadfastly to whatever frame was bolted to it until 46 years later when the battery was decommissioned and salvaged. And the bolt was left despite having no further purpose.

And there it remains.  ...

Sunrise is such a special time of light.

When things are just waking up and the scariness of night is chased away. Every time I am up for a sunrise, I feel my energy returning with the power of the light.

The only problem is, it comes so early in the morning! Especially during the cold winter months without daylight savings time.

But I will let you in on a secret.  ...

​Have you ever noticed that you see different things at the end of the day?

The classic metaphor for having the brightest light to reveal the most things is 'noonday sun.' Still, it is sometimes only when the sun is setting or rising that it creates that unique perspective that illuminates a different feel and meaning.

This plaza of palm trees stands just across the street from the SAP Center in downtown San Jose. I was there with the Behind The Lens photoshoot group #btlphotomeet. This scene of long sharp shadows cast by the naked palm trunks created a repeating pattern of leading lines headed for the perfectly parked line of scooters caught my eye.

To catch more images from this shoot, go to my Ron Olcott Portraits page.

The sun's low angle, the dark shadows of the trees, and the grey concrete almost made this picture black and white before I even shifted it to that color set. And the lighting reveals ...

One of the things my SLOOOW drive through Yosemite in February reminded me of is the excellent job the designers and engineers who put together the roadways did, particularly on the main floor of the valley.

It seems every little twist and turn reveals a new striking feature.

One such point is crossing Sentinel Bridge. Usually, I can sense my destination by the time I get to that bridge (either the Ahwahnee or the Village Store). I don't give it more than a casual glance. But this trip, I decided to stop and see what everyone was walking back for.

You park in a small lot just over the bridge, which offers magnificent views across the meadow to Yosemite Falls. Then you walk back a few yards to get on the bridge itself. And right there from the center of the bridge is the clearest shot ...

Sometimes, it takes some righteous self-anger to change things for me anyway.

I took this image during a workshop I had signed up for. The workshop was on black and white photography. Up to this point, I have treated black and white as an after-the-fact option. I never really tried for black and white shots. I just tried some of my shots as black and white when I remembered them.

But I could not finish the workshop for two reasons: .....

It is not every day that I am stuck in traffic in Yosemite National Park.

That's because I usually know better. I go during the off-season, in the spring or the fall. And usually, winter is pretty empty too.

Except during February when the Horsetail Falls Fire Fall happens to one degree or another for about 2 1/2 weeks. And this year, the peak viewing days happened to fall on President's Day weekend. So I decided to casually drive up on Saturday, get some shots, stay over until Sunday and get some more before returning to the Bay Area.

I'm not saying it was a mistake, but...

The end of a day. Whether on vacation or just doing the grind, it is always satisfying to get there.

The day end shown here happened to be in Yosemite Valley, making it more satisfying than many.
It was taken during my annual birthday sojourn to Yosemite. October turns out to be a pretty nice time to visit the park. You get the fall colors. From a photography point of view, I have been fortunate to not have rain or snow until this year. (Not so lucky as a California resident as we continue to experience drought).

But regardless, sunset always marks a particular transition. For our ancestors, it meant the end of toil and the beginning of tribe. Humans are not particularly good in the dark compared to many other animals, including some pretty scary predators. Sunset is when we gather ...

An ominous Saturday morning in Yosemite National Park. Of course, all the features were there but seemed darker and more threatening with the impending winter storm.

And all of this a week before Halloween.

Ooooh, scary.

Ominous skies cast grey shadows. A grave foreboding. 

. . .

It is always settling to me to walk among the stone giants of Yosemite National Park.

And I am not really sure why.

As you may have heard me mention, I go each year for my birthday and spend some time in Yosemite National Park. The visual draw is obvious. There are so many ...

Traipsing around in cultivated orchards helps people feel like they are getting closer to their food chain. And they are to an extent.

83% of the U.S. population live in areas classified as “Urban.” And that figure is expected to grow to 89% by 2050, according to the “United Nations (U.N.) Population Division (2018) World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision.”

That is 9 out of 10 people who are not regularly exposed to the processes and impacts of how their food, lumber, clothing, and other agricultural products are produced.

Climatologists love this trend. One study found that ...

I usually write this blog based on your response to a picture I have already shared.

But since I missed almost two weeks with my vacation, I will be writing this on a picture I won't share until next week. But it is still a fitting picture because I want to talk about why I go to the mountains every year for my birthday.

The last few years that has specifically meant Yosemite National Park. ...

I always love going to Felton and wandering through the redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park. There is something just good for the soul to connect with these giants.

I have shared before how growing up in the Catskills, and working summers in the Adirondacks honed my affinity to mountains and hills. I found it very "grounding" before anyone put a new-age mysticism around that term.

It is a large part of why I am leaving tomorrow to go to ...

I have mentioned before that I am constantly amazed at the tenacity of nature in a city.

This particular location is an abandoned basement between Chinatown and Jack London Square in Oakland, California. A full 10-15 feet below street level, a veritable jungle of vines and weeds and pampas grass has taken over.

It is a thriving community of non-native invasive species for California.  

Meanwhile, a block away, cars whiz by at 70 MPH on a major freeway. The penultimate sign ...

I took my photography up to Reno for Hot August Nights this year.

For those of you who aren't surrounded by the classic car scene, Hot August Nights is a largely outdoor festival where thousands of restored classic cars, mostly from the late 50s to late 60s, roll into Reno, Nevada for a four day celebration.

How do I know about it?  Am I a classic car buff?  The second answer is NO.  While I do enjoy classic cars, I don't normally go out of my way to see them.

As far as the first question goes, ....

If you seek serenity, go sit next to some water.

In the year 1978 (AD, not BCE) I graduated from college.  My very first job was in Lexington Park, Maryland.

If you are unfamiliar with the area (and too lazy to look it up on a map), Lexington Park is in the southeast part of Maryland in St Mary's County.  The northern boundary of the county is the Patuxent River.  The southern boundary is the Potomac River.  The eastern boundary is the Chesapeake Bay.

That's a lot of water. ...

There is something special about a healthy competition between siblings.

Now nothing officially says these two are siblings, but that is what it brings to mind for me (Isn't art wonderful like that).

What is your favorite ongoing sibling rivalry?

Me?  I only had the one sister.  And I suspect the rivalries were more on my side than hers.

I was a bit of the black sheep of the family as

Always look for the "OTHER" thing.

Everywhere you go, there is something. There is always that one thing that is the focus, the fame, the reason for being. And those are worth seeing. That's why we go there.

I am not suggesting you go to Yellowstone and skip Old Faithful Geyser. Nor should you visit Paris without taking in the Eiffel Tower. Those are amazing things (I will have to take other's word on the Eiffel Tower since I haven't been to France. Yet.) They are unique and ...

When something woke me up at 5:30 on a day when I had no alarm set, I knew I had to get out and take some pictures. 

Somehow my life has made me an early riser by nature.  I am not sure how that happened.  Like many things, I blame my late ex-wife.

I have been threatening to take some Golden Gate Bridge pictures for over a month now. But I know that during the summer, the bridge is often enveloped in fog. So I didn't hurry ...

Consider the curve.

It is one of nature's most pleasing and relaxing shapes. Something in our brains connects curves with meandering, going somewhere different, taking the scenic route.

But almost nothing curves without some form of stress. Something got in the way, or bent it, or twisted it. It could be engineered, like a bridge support.  It may be natural, like this picture. Invariably, some force was applied to the randomness of nature to make that shape.

I must admit, I shuddered a bit when you all paid the most attention to this post .....

This piece explores the idea of how we strive to interact with nature, even in our most urban settings.

The setting is Union Square. We are in the heart of high-end retail shopping in a high-end city. Surrounded by such luxury names as Tiffany & Co., Williams Sonoma, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Not to mention a five-star hotel with a legit Presidential Suite.

The most recent iteration of Union Square incorporates many green areas, providing much more of a park-like feel around the edges than the site has had historically. It is a nice addition. It softens the rather bleak landscape of the otherwise broad flat gathering space.

The green areas themselves are not very formal. Not like a French country estate. But they are all raised beds. Fenced in with retaining walls that are not insurmountable but also not conducive to wandering.

So again, nature and humans must be kept separate from each other to prevent harm, inadvertent and advertent, to each other.  ...

It is incredible the variety of colors that flowers come in, from bright orange like California Poppies to the saturated yellows of tulips like "Next Generation" through blues and reds and greens and everything in between.

The California poppy is one of the few native species that still flourish here in the state.

I came across these while searching for the world's largest outdoor monopoly board in Discovery Meadow Park in San Jose. We found it. It was not that impressive, and ...

Sometimes a bad thing is a good thing. There was supposed to be a Landscape Photography workshop at Ellis Lake Park this particular morning. Except the instructor got sick.

So good thing number one, I got to explore the small "lake" (my uncle had a pond back east about that size) by myself for 2 hours.

Ellis Lake Park has turned into quite a godsend for me.   ...

The name of this piece is "Nifty Nook." A small bouquet of cut flowers is set into a niche in a dividing wall in a vast estate garden. The objects in the foreground are part of a wrought iron gate that closes into the arch I had just passed through.

As with so much of what I do, I cannot take full credit for spotting this gem. I was visiting Filoli National Historic Preservation Site in Woodside, California, with a friend. My friend is recently retired from a career as a graphic designer and has a very honed skill in seeing the big picture AND the details. It is interesting going places with her because ...

I recently had my first visit to Filoli National Historic Preservation Site in Woodside, CA. This historic estate and gardens sit on the San Francisco Peninsula on the Bayside at the foot of the spine of hills that runs the length of the peninsula.

It is a magnificent, beautiful spot. The entire estate covers 654 acres and encompasses 5 different ecosystems. It has been a continuously working estate for over 100 years. The original owner saw it as a self-sufficient retreat with fields, livestock, and orchards. Living off the grid, before there was a grid.

But for many, the crowning feature is the formal gardens around the house. (I never did get in the house. My knees were too sore from walking the gardens). When I was there in April 2021, the tulips ......

Just a shaft of light coming through the trees.

Sometimes the things that crystalize in our memories seem like random odd occurrences. There really is nothing strange or unique about a shaft of light hitting in the forest.

So let's start with the mundane. There is (or maybe was, I will know better this weekend) a short, flat loop trail among the redwoods in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton, CA. It is wide, well-groomed, and a safe place to walk during ...

This week we pass one of the natural borders of our year. Saturday, March 20, is the vernal equinox.

It marks the beginning of spring.

Now "vernal equinox" may sound fancy, but when you break it down, "vernal" is Latin for "spring," and "equinox" is Latin for "equal night." It is just that day in the spring when the day and the night are equal.

Its passing is important for several reasons.

For one, it is the first day of spring, and that is always a good thing. In many civilizations,  . . . . . . .

I must be feeling old or something. I am sure it has nothing to do with restarting my exercise.

At first, this may seem like a depressing photo—a disgusting old leaf on a dried-up vine.

But when you consider what makes that leaf different from all the other leaves that simply fell off and were returned to the soil from the same vine, you realize it is a vision of hope.  Sure, it would have been easy to give in to the call of nature. 

"Lay down, well done, your watch is over"

But this leaf did not go quietly into that dark night.  It decided ...

Is it a cookie or a nut?

There is a hint in the name.

I shot this at a roadside pullout on the road from Wawona to the Tunnel in Yosemite National Park. This acorn looks so much like the peanut butter cookies my mom used to make that ....

What is it about boys and big machines?

It was such as thrill to be mere feet from trackside as this glorious old machine showed off its paces on the first of many photo-passes that day.

I may be the least mechanical person on earth. My sum knowledge of cars is which end to put the gas in. I consider it a large event when I can change a light bulb.

But there is something about being around big pieces of mechanical equipment that shouts to my soul. And from the faces around me, I could tell I am not the only one.  ...

Pigeons, like many birds, travel in flocks.

So do many people. Or at least they used to before the current health care crisis.

And that lack of "flock protection" for a year now has thrown many people off their stride. Oh, they hold it together in front of the spouse and the kids. Still, there is a growing sense of isolation and sometimes depression from our social support separation.

This is understandable and predictable. ...

So often, people think of a full moon when they think of taking moon pictures.

But there is only one day out of 28 that the moon is truly full. Does that mean we can only be in love one day a month? Can you only enjoy the wonder of a moon-lit sky every other fortnite?

I say thee nay! ...

Sometimes beauty lies in the details. Other times beauty lies in the simplicity of the whole.

This shot of a cupola at Rockaway Beach, Pacifica, CA, falls into the latter.

It is impossible to overestimate the impact of the railways on the development of the United States.

The ability to move raw materials and finished goods around the country quickly and cheaply was the key to the industrial revolution's success in this country. Moving goods along rails dates back to the 18th century before there were even self-propelled engines to pull them. Powered by horses and mules, these early rail lines were often short and temporary.

In the early 19th century, the first steam engines were imported from ...

People who know me know that I am not good at being conventional.

I have always been the oddball, the goofy one, the black sheep.

Falling in line like these geese marching across a parking lot is not what I would typically do.

But these are strange times.

The other thing people who know me will tell you is ...

It can't be springtime all the time.

This piece's name is "Not Spring Any More," a play on the fact that the flower is called Spring Malia. Clearly, this was not taken in the Spring. It was taken near the end of October at the new Mariposa Grove Welcome Center in Yosemite National Park.

But with "Spring" baked right into its name, you would think it would be vital forever.

But that is not how things work.

Here is the thing about Spring. It is not that great a time.

Sometimes we have to keep things in perspective.

This picture shows the Oakland Skyline. It's those little bumps along the horizon.

Some 430,000 people call the city home—the 3rd largest in the Bay Area, behind San Jose and San Francisco.

Until last year, they proudly claimed no less than 3 professional sports teams.

Life is full of disappointments.  And then you live.

I am a prototypical Scorpio in that I like to have everything planned.  I like to know what is happening next.

It is an act of physical restraint to stop myself from looking at the last chapter of a mystery so I know how to interpret what's coming in the whole book.

But life isn't like that.  We don't get to know what is next.

Sometimes being where you are is more important than where you are.

If you saw this morning's post, you know I really don't know what part of Yosemite Valley this is a picture of. From context (other shots around it), I think it is El Capitan.

My point is that the name and exact location are not important.

OK, technically it was a comet, not a star.  But I did chase it.  And I caught it.

Little did we know when we set off on that foggy morning that we would stumble onto something magical.

After technical difficulties in the morning, in the evening I introduced 5 new pictures, discussed Aperture and how it affects your photos, and showed the 2 most used menus on my SONY a6000.

Watch as I overcome seemingly insurmountable technical problems with my broadcast and draw a winner for the April Print Giveaway of "You and Me, Kiddo".

Four new pictures, an introduction to the Exposure Triangle, and features of the SONY a6000 Mirrorless Camera.

I talk about the 5 new pieces for the week, using a Tripod to get a sharper picture, especially in low light, and the factors that went into choosing the camera I currently shoot with.

A February visit to a Lunar New Year Festival is a fun event but frustrating for photography.

In the second episode, I covered:

• Four new prints for the week:  "I Know What You Are Thinking", "Sand Grass", "Aztec Dancer 3", and "Then He Just Walked Into The Ocean"
• Hold to hold your camera (or smartphone) to get a steady shot.
• A review of why I selected the Canon Powershot SX720 HS for my trip to Europe.  (https://amzn.to/2y8SAoU ) That is an affiliate link, meaning I will get a few pennies if you order through that link.  It doesn't affect your cost at all

Sunday Morning Live with Ron - First Episode.  I discuss 5 new pieces being added to the gallery today.

When I dismay of capturing the wonder of everything that surrounds me, I start to zoom in.  As if by capturing the parts I can evoke the sense of the whole.  This is the story behind one of those images

Should you ever buy something as subjective as fine art for your home or business online?  Here are five resounding reasons the answer is YES!