A Magical Moment ( 夢幻時刻 )

Classic View of Golden Gate Bridge Veiled with Fog. San Francisco, CA.

A very popular composition but still a personal favorite! The bridge tower looks so huge when viewed from this vantage point, it felt like I can touch it by just reaching out my hand! I have been trying to capture this view of the bridge with low fog. Came here 3 times recently, but did not get the fog level and/or density I wanted on my first two attempts. This morning's high clouds with silky smooth deck level fog finally made this image that I had in mind came true! I also like the gap in the foreground fog which allows the foot of the North tower to be visible and showed more height to the scene.

The optimal light lasted for merely few minutes, but watching the fog danced around the bridge during those brief moments were really magical! Hope you like it!

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Remnant of a Glorious Past

Shipwreck in Point Reyes. Marin, CA.

Sunrise on that morning did not show any interesting color. But, the subtle texture in the sky and on this shipwreck made this suitable for black and white. What do you think?

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Golden Tunnel ( 黃金隧道 )

The Subway. Wilderness Area of Zion National Park, Utah.

Situated deep in the Zion Wilderness area, this small section of the canyon dubbed, “The Subway” has amazing tubular shaped walls which when viewed from inside this small chamber makes them look like as its name suggests, a subway tunnel! At the right time of day, reflected light from nearby canyon walls shines through the hole and into this tunnel giving it a nice golden glow that you see in this picture.

Getting here requires quite a bit of route finding, river wading, creek crossing, rock hopping and scrambling up and down boulders! On paper, this is a 9-mile hike, but with all the work to overcome those obstacles, it felt more like a 15-mile hike to me! And as if all of that was not enough, the last stretch of the hike out which involved a steep 400-foot climb was gruesome to say the least. The 97 degrees weather that day did not make it any easier for sure. Nonetheless, after seeing this unique scene in person for the first time, all the effort spent to get here was worth it! Definitely one of the most interesting hikes I have done so far and I am glad I did it!

Due to some storms the week before, the place was left with a lot of debris and the pool water a bit murky. Thus, compositions were quite limited. I guess a second visit in the future is in order!

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Morning Tranquility ( 碧水映丹霞 )

Sunrise at Bonsai Rock. Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

On my first visit here a few years back, the serenity of the scene captivated me instantly. After I got into photography, I always thought to come back here to capture this the way I first saw it. Unfortunately, conditions never exactly lined up on my numerous return trips. Not to be denied, I made another attempt on one ordinary evening when I saw that calm weather and cloudy sky were forecasted. I drove tirelessly for 5 hours to get here before sunrise. Standing still in cold ankle-deep water, I waited anxiously for the "moment" as I observed the tranquility of my surrounding. As the sun rose, patches of clouds started to illuminate with colors while the lake water mirrored the hues above it. I hold my excitement and triggered my shutter happily, realizing that I have finally captured the shot I had in mind for a long time!

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Golden Passage

Raging water of the Virgin River cuts through this narrow canyon, with reflected light providing that ethereal glow on the sandstone cliff wall. The Narrows. Zion National Park, UT.

While I have been to Zion numerous times, this was my first time to hike the Narrows. My friend and I waded in waist deep water for several miles to get here. Along the way, we admired the beauty of canyon sceneries as light moved through from one side of the canyon to the other.

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Horseshoe Bend ( 馬蹄灣 )

Horseshoe shaped meander of the Colorado River. Page, AZ.

I have the opportunity to revisit this popular tourist location on my last Southwest trip for 2 consecutive nights hoping to get some good sunset light. However, sunset colors were muted on both nights as dark clouds took over the sky. This was from 40 minutes before sunset on the second night and was the best light I got. Not sure when I will pass by this place again, so this will have to do for now. Hope you enjoy this nonetheless!

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Rock Saddles

Alien Looking Hoodoos in the Southwest.

After shooting at a few popular destinations during my last trip to the Southwest, I went to search for this location and was very much delighted to have it all to myself when I found it!

A semi-remote and precarious location that features some of the most amazing, alien shaped pedestal rocks that I have seen thus far. These hoodoos, seemingly defying the law of gravity by balancing their enormous tops in acute angles give this place an otherworldly feel. Getting here requires a 4x4 or by hiking in soft sand trail. I went in by foot! Encountering some desert mice, rabbits, and weird looking lizards on the sandy trail provided some interesting "amusement" during the hike.

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Cosmic Canopy ( 宇宙的天篷 )

Milky Way Arches Over Glacier Point. Yosemite National Park ( 優勝美地 ) , CA.

A panoramic view of Glacier Point in Yosemite with the milky way arches directly over it and the foreground bushes mirroring the milky way above. This image is composed of 18 frames from my Nikon D800 stitched manually and blended in Photoshop. The resulting image is about 122 megapixel in size!

Updates: This picture was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2014 Bay Area Photo Contest sponsored and organized by Pashadelic Landscape Photography, and Tamron USA.

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Enchanted Forest ( 迷霧森林 )

Sun Beams Shining Through the Misty Redwood Forest. Redwood National and State Parks, CA.

The light beams came out of nowhere during my hike in the dense redwood forest, and was gone just as quickly as it came. But during that brief two minutes, this forest looked truly magical!

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Moonlight Jazz

Full Moon Rise Over Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco, CA.

Full moon rising over San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge during twilight hour illuminating the surrounding thin clouds in the sky. The tip of TransAmerica building is also perfectly aligned with the North tower as seen from this vantage point.

As I was shooting, a plane briefly flew in front of the moon and cast a shadow at the bottom left which I thought was kinda cool, so I am keeping it as-is.

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Storm Watcher

Storm clouds covering the sky at Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Nature's Firefall

Horsetail Falls. Yosemite National Park, CA.

For less than two weeks in a year, the sun aligns perfectly with this waterfall to lit up just the falls while keeping the rest of the rock wall shaded, giving this waterfall a surreal orange glow during sunset hour. With the drought in California this year, I almost did not make it to Yosemite for this event. However, a rare rain storm passed through the area a night before and gave us enough rain to make this waterfall flowing again. I made a last minute decision to come up here to witness this magical phenomenon, and I am so glad I did.

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Paradise ( 世外桃源 )

Valley of Wild Calla Lilies ( 山谷中野生马蹄莲 ) .

You know Spring has arrived when you see wild flowers blooming on empty fields. This valley that is in the middle of nowhere is an amazing place to visit during the season. With the sunset glow setting the mood, one can easily be mesmerized by the abundance of these flowers surrounding you. This year, I was able to capture this during the peak bloom of the flowers. For a short time in a year, white, tall calla lilies filled the entire valley floor and turned it into a paradise scene.

Although these calla lilies are done for the season now, I sure hope to come back again next year!

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In Midst of Mist ( 霧鎖金門 )

Foggy Golden Gate Scene with a Bay Bridge Tower Peaking Through at the Back. San Francisco, CA.

A black and white rendition of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge engulfed by the morning fog. Please pardon me for being lazy to write today, but I hope you like this image nonetheless. I will try to share something more interesting on my next post. Have a great week ahead!

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Pathway to Light

Waves rushed through sea stack channel. Santa Cruz, CA.

This spot is notorious for its slick rock surface that you can see from this image. Getting to this photo spot and moving around here can be quite dangerous. Even rocks that look dry are deceivingly slippery. I have heard of several accidents happened here - from people falling into that channel to minor incidents like dropping their cameras or accessories here - and had witnessed a couple of incidents first hand as well. What's not obvious here really is just how deep that crack is. It quickly dip to at least 6-12 feet deep in that channel as far as I can see when the water retreated. Personally, while I'd never encountered any danger while shooting here (knock on wood), I have had a camera taken by these waves and buried underneath this crack. That's why I wanted to come back to get this shot.

When I saw thin clouds covering the sky, I knew my opportunity has come. I quickly drove to this area and was delighted to see nice subtle cloud texture in the sky with diffused sunlight illuminating these rocks, eliciting that orange glow from both sides. The usual strong surf from this area created some nice rushing wave patterns through that channel and the alignment of the setting sun which can be seen for only a few weeks in a year completed the scene!

This is my redemption shot...Hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do. :)

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Rodeo Sunset

View of Sea Stacks in Marin, CA.

The Bay Area has finally gotten some much needed rain in the last two weeks. This was taken at the tail end of the first storm that passed by the area. Seeing the storm was going to tail-off right at sunset time in the North, I went to this beach in Marin to check out these famous sea stacks. Things looked promising when I arrived. The clouds were getting some nice orange glow from the setting sun. I setup and took a few shots. Unfortunately, the light faded very quickly soon after I took this as thick dark clouds won over the sky. This was the best I managed to get that evening. Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying the rain!

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Colored Dream ( 晨梦色彩 )

Sunrise at the Pier in Santa Cruz.

As it was my first time to visit this location, my friend and I wanted to come early to look for the place. In the process, I left home in a rush and forgot my coffee on the counter top. Without my morning coffee, I drove to meet up with my friend feeling half asleep. We managed to arrive really early and there was not another soul on this beach. When blue hour came, I took a few frames and my pictures showed what looked like an overcast sky with dark patches of thick clouds near the horizon. I started to doubt our decision and felt uninspired. Even with several waves rushed in to almost knee deep high, it was not enough to keep me awake. I was in a hypnagogic state at that point. My mind wandered away then all of a sudden a hint of orange light started to lit the underside of the cloud blanket! As I noticed bigger portion of the sky turning pink and orange, my adrenaline kicked in and I became more awake than any coffee can do for me!

This would turned out to be one of the best sunrises I have witnessed in recent memory with my camera on hand. The colors lasted for merely few minutes, but it was enough for me to make a few shots and found one that I like. The peak condition couldn't have come at a better time with the deck lights still on.

On this morning, no coffee was needed and I woke up to a colored dream! ...Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Until next time...

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Nature's Fireworks

Sun Beam Lighting Up the Sea Splash. Big Sur, CA.

For a few weeks in a year, the setting sun aligns perfectly with this Tafoni sandstone arch to cast a light beam through the portal. When combined with the right tide level and surf, sun rays will light up the splash from the waves making it looks like fireworks. While all of that was happening during the shoot, a bird decided to participate and stood there acting as my instant model. Even though the light show ended early that day when the sun hid behind the incoming marine layer, I definitely had a fun time at the beach shooting this scene.

Updates: This picture won the 7th place in the 2014 Bay Area Photo Contest sponsored and organized by Pashadelic Landscape Photography, and Tamron USA.

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.

Heart of San Francisco

There are certain things in life that are better seen or appreciated from afar. Such was the feeling I got looking at this view of downtown San Francisco on this night. I have been to the city for countless times over the years. On most trips though, I felt rushed and stressed out - may it be due to the traffic, some reckless driver cutting into my lane, fighting for some precious parking spots, or just simply the hectic pace of busy urban life - and that kinda got me preoccupied and prevented me from appreciating the beauty of the city up close while being there.

As I stood here waiting for the sky to get dark, I got to observe just how vibrant and alive the city was. I was also particularly attracted to the S-curve freeway that nicely led cars in and out of the city center (thus the title) and conveyed a sense of how busy the city really is at any given time. The holiday lights topped it all off just like makeups being worn by a lovely lady.

Hope everyone had a great holiday break, and may 2014 be as bright and "vibrant" to you like how the beacon shined in this night sky!

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Please Do Not Use or Copy Without Written Permission from Wilson Ng.