April 15, 2012

  • PhotoPost: Asst. Cloudscapes

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    It’s been raining a mite. We’re in the middle of two SoCal storms. I didn’t have to leave home to see some magnificent cloudscapes, so, for your viewing pleasure.

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    Time for a PhotoPost!

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    Some of these were taken yesterday, and some just now, a little before 6pm here on the coast. 

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    All are taken right outside my house, in the mobile park. I was going to take the tall ladder and go up on the roof but then I thought, why bother? The views from the ground are good enough, and I didn’t want a gust of wind to knock me down. It’s the weekend after all, wouldn’t want to spend it rushing to the E.R. 

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    Hmmm. Managed to get my car in here somewhere. Oh well. 

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    Since I have a small home, I do have a back yard. Don’t spend too much time hanging out in the yard. (The pool is down by the clubhouse, and just as a gauge of how strange the weather has been lately, it was nearly 90 degrees last weekend and I began work on my tan.) This weekend after the storm passes, temps are only scheduled to be in the high 60s. (I plan on perhaps driving up to the mountains and take some snow shots for ya’ll.)  Just trimmed back the bouganvillea two weeks ago, and it’s already in full bloom. 

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    God’s playground in the sky.

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    Another shot from my backyard.

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    I love cloudscapes.

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    This looks like the photo I just presented  but it’s another angle.

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    Looking the other way. 

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    These photos are a mix of regular resolution and wide screen resolution. 

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    This one is my desktop background on my computer right now. 

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    I don’t know if the vapor trails are really aircraft trails or just weird skinny clouds. Since they’re pointed toward Edwards AFB, I’ll surmise the former. 

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    Storm clouds literally on the horizon. Enjoy your weekend. 

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    EDIT: 8:45pm pdt. I think two folks enjoyed the last photo “storm clouds on the horizon” best. After I took the first group, the sun started to go down, and the wind (which is “literally” whipping up a storm” right this moment) began to blow the clouds into all sorts of interesting shapes. I had cut my walk short when I got home because it started pouring rain, but the clouds were being chased toward the horizon by the wind. I decided to take my walk, and bring my 3.0 megapixel camera with me. Here are three of the 100 or so photos I took on my walk, as sunset fell.

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    Our electricity is underground, and so I don’t have to drive down to the beach, or up in the hills, like I used to do when I lived down the street with Joel (Cancerboy) to get the “full sky effect” without ubiquitous phone lines in the way. Neat, eh?

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    The bright disc that is our sun is right behind the oil pump on the right. (The park is on an oilfield, and the homes and pumps share the same area.) The Wilmington Field, which also accounts for the “Oil Islands” 15 miles away in Long Beach, is the third largest oil field in the U.S.

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    Sorry, two more. Here are two of “The Seven Palms” in back of our pool down by the clubhouse. This is an interesting shot, don’t you think? Notice the bird.

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    And last but least, the pool I never tire of talking about. I’m shooting “wide” but my Olympus doesn’t have the “wide angle lens” I use with the Sony Cybershot, so couldn’t get the tops of the palms and the pool in the same shot. Tomorrow (between rainstorms hopefully) we’re having our swap meet at the clubhouse. Last year I got some Betty Boops to add to my collection at really cheap prices.

    EDIT: 4/15/12 7:15 am pdt. I’m working on a Sunday. I’m still not really “socializing” here, and I really appreciate the response I always get from longtime readers. I must say, I had surmised this Photopost would get some recommendations. (Thanks Donna) I know these are just photos I took while taking a walk around our mobile home park, but at least three of them are downright inspiring, from my point of view, and they aren’t just snapshots. I consider myself a photographer, and have over 8000 photos online, with a ranking of #6 of California photos on Webshots. Just for giggles, I visited the “front page” to see what passes as “top blogs” nowadays. 1. A Theologian’s Cafe question. (no surprise there) 2. What looks to be a ”photodump” blog entry, around a theme. If the images were actually photographed by the blogger, good. 3. Yet ANOTHER metablog about drama on Xanga.(guaranteed top blog there!) 4. A thoughtful entry about the existence of Heaven 5. A pretty good “Sunday Funny” (The Starbucks logo almost ruined the post, but it’s a good joke. (I recommended the last two entries) And yet more blog entries containing copy/pasted images from around the web. A good reason why I don’t use this service that much anymore, and will announce to my readers when I finally just install a blog element on www.allthingsmike.com, is that I create art and literature. I’m a “content provider” not a copy/paster, and am frequently bamboozled that a lot of what I present is shuffled in the back pages of Xanga. Oh well. MFN/ppf

    Posted: April 13, 2012 5:54 PM

Comments (10)

  • Great shots, I love looking at the clouds. I never feel like photos really capture the true hugeness of them, but I’ve been known to try on occasion. Hope you stay dry and off tall buildings during your storms! :)

  • I got caught this afternoon driving the freeway when a downpour occurred — wipers on high, and I couldn’t see a thing!  These are lovely, and more typical of all but 5 minutes of my drive!

  • Nice last shot. 4 layers, the tall palm in the trees, the rollin’ in storm clouds, the filled in clearing, the clouds draggin’ their tails

    Did you take this looking west, is the storm coming in off the Pacific?

  • You saved the best one for last!

    I think we see a lot more cloud action here than you do; they are not my favorite sight, but that last shot has an exotic mystery to it.

  • the clouds look cool on the background of clouds.  like the shot of purple too.

  • Isn’t it too cold to swim? Tonight I figured it was not too cold to take a walk with the lovely senorita. Yes I was too busy being with her and not taking pictures.

    Be careful when you drive up into the mountains looking for snow. It will be slippery.

  • I like the storm clouds, the pool shot, and the tree in bloom. Bravo.

  • I love cloudscapes, too, Mike. That’s a beautiful  bouganvillea, too. Thanks. ~~Blessings ‘n Cheers

  • i agree with @leaflesstree – clouds are tough to capture in terms of magnitude and scope – i do like the commentary at the end though…  lots of truth in that!  

  • GREAT pics, Michael!  Seeing your blog update in my email this afternoon made me smile and remember… a lot. Wish I was there working on my tan with ya!  If you get a minute, come by my Facebook page and take a look at the recent pics of my yard here in AR. 

    Hope to re:connect more regularly!
    -Steve

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