Descanso Gardens Part 1

Descanso Gardens is a 150-acre botanical garden located in La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles County, California. If you’re not sure where that is in the Los Angeles Metro area, it’s in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains northwest of Pasadena. Descanso has a fascinating history dating back to 1937, more information here.

Every holiday season, as do  many botanical gardens, they have a beautiful light show at night for guests. I have been lucky enough to see a number of botanical garden light shows, but I have to say this is the most incredible night show of lights I have personally seen. I have heard about this over the years, but until this year never went to experience it. Our daughter and her husband took their daughter to see it last year and all they could talk about was having us go this year with them. Our oldest daughter and her husband were flying down from Seattle to spend Christmas with us, so opening night (Monday before Christmas) our LA daughter, her husband and our granddaughter (plus a new grandson born this year) hosted all of us to a night at Enchanted Forest of Lights in Descanso Gardens.

I was absolutely not prepared for the incredible beauty of the evening. I loved their use of fog machines throughout to enhance the look and experience. I took some photos, but not on a professional level. Using just my I-phone I wasn’t able to get truly great night photos. Having said that, my son-in-law had his new I-phone 11, which does do night photography quite well. All of that being said, I wanted to share a taste of what we experienced. The photos I am sharing in part 1 are his (with his permission).  Part 2 (next week) are a few of my better ones that weren’t duplicates of his. I hope you enjoy!!!

Descanso Gardens 1

Descanso Gardens 2

Descanso Gardens 3

Descanso Gardens 4

Descanso Gardens 5

Descanso gardens 6

Descanso Gardens 7

Descanso Gardens 8

Descanso Gardens 9

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year 2020

I look forward to the start of a new decade and go into the New Year with Faith. We start a new decade and I have to say, I can’t believe it was actually 20 years ago we celebrated the start of a new century.

I try and look at the positive in everything and find that it actually isn’t as hard as one might think. It starts within each and everyone of us to focus on the positive. Life does through us curve balls, that’s the nature of our existence, but through those curve balls if we stay positive, we grow through our faith. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year!!! Here’s to a great 2020!!

Faith

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Out-Takes 2: Seattle Snow

No hiker in these out-takes, but it is from the same snow event (Christmas 2017). I have attached four captures from that shoot.  The first three were in the finals for the project I was working on and the fourth one was just a random shot that made a first pass and then got eliminated. But, heck I figured all out-takes are fair game…..

As we head into the final week and a half leading up to Christmas, I wanted to go with some more seasonal captures for the Holiday Season. What keeps pulling me into these shots is that it was one of those snows that produces large fluffy flakes that stick to all of the trees and plants. There usually isn’t any wind involved and a serenity takes over as the landscape quietly changes to the fluffy white look. Two particular times in my life come to mind anytime I have the priviledge to be in one of these snows. The first one that comes to mind was the first snow of the season during one of my college years in Iowa and walking across the college campus I was attending during one of these events. There was such a sense of peace and tranquility and the sheer beauty of it all. The other time that really resonates with me was coming out of a late Christmas Eve service when we lived in Denver. The snow had been falling during the service and had changed the look of everything. Again, talk about peace on earth….it was so beautiful and so quiet…true serenity!!

Seattle Snow 1

Seattle Snow 2

Seattle Snow 3

Seattle Snow 4

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

 

 

Abstract Tropical Sunsets

From the winter forests of the Pacific Northwest in last weeks post, I take you all the way down the Pacific Coastline to Carlsbad, California. Carlsbad is located in the northern coastal area of San Diego County. The two sunsets I am featuring this week were along the coastline of Carlsbad just south of the downtown village. Carlsbad is probably best known anymore as the home of Legoland. The actual irony is that the featured prints were created from a photo shoot I did in February, so I’m actually still keeping the winter theme going……

For those of you that follow me, you know I like color and abstract techniques in my creation of art prints. These two were created using an abstract watercolor technique that highlights the bold colors of the sunset.

For this first print I kept the sun behind one of the palm trees for a not so typical rendition of a sunset over the coastal ocean.

“Sunset Behind the Palm Tree”

This second one is more typical by centering the sun between the palm trees. I also added pedestrian walkers in the left portion of the scene.

“Sunset Between Two Palm Trees”

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

Out-Takes: Christmas Hiker In The Woods

From last weeks post, the picture comes from a surprise Christmas Day snow (2017) in the Seattle area. As I’ve mentioned before, when I do a photo shoot I take a plethora of shots and use only the ones that past my personal muster. That being said in picking the snow scene I wanted for last weeks post,  I was reviewing all of the shots from that shoot. I had totally forgotten about these two. My son-in-law and I came across this “hiker in the woods” . We both had a good laugh over it and to this day have no idea who or what put this hiker in place and so thoughtfully decorated him for Christmas. I mentally put them in my “out-takes file” as I wasn’t going to use them for the project I was working on. I did want to share them as I thought they were a good kick-off post for the Holiday Season.

Christmas Hiker 1

Christmas Hiker 2

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale

 

Thanksgiving 2019 – Thankfulness

As the United States celebrates Thanksgiving next Thursday, I take the time to reflect with  gratitude on my heart for all the blessings I have in my life.

Thankfulness

Thoughts?

Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $50.00 – free shipping!)

Follow my work:

Facebook: TheWallGallery by Kirt Tisdale. (Page likes are always appreciated!)

Twitter: KirtWallGallery

Instagram: Kirttisdale