sunset

My First 1st - 'Pole Position' Takes Top Spot In National Park Service Photo Contest!

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My First 1st - 'Pole Position' Takes Top Spot In National Park Service Photo Contest!

So this is a quick one, but wanted to post an update to the National Park Service's annual "Spirit Of The Mountains" photo contest I threw a couple entries into last month. Well, on November 2, they announced the winners. There were 4 categories, and my image "Pole Position" tied for 1st place in this year's challenge category, "Variations On Light." It was quite thrilling to see that ribbon and hear renowned photographer Tom Gamache's positive critiques. Thank you to all who showed up and all those who supported me in this thing. I can't express how happy I was to get my first 1st place ribbon in a photo contest. (And special thanks to my Arcanum cohort for

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Hoorah! The Samsung Imageloggers (Including Moi) Took Over Rangefinder Magazine.

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Hoorah! The Samsung Imageloggers (Including Moi) Took Over Rangefinder Magazine.

So this Samsung Imagelogger journey has been an extremely unexpected ray of light that just keeps shining brighter as the months go on. In addition to the cameras and gear (as if that wasn't enough), another huge benefit of this thing is the ridiculous exposure and opportunities we get. Some of us got to go to Photokina on Samsung’s behalf, some of us gave away free NX30s in Times Square a few months ago, some of us had our images used in promotional material and ads, some of us ended up on a safari. Well, this week, some of us had the humble pleasure of taking over a full special issue of Rangefinder Magazine, a pretty influential magazine in the photography industry.

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Get 1 of 100 Limited Edition 36"x24" Prints Of My Image "Pole Position" From Angeleno Artistry For Just $40

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This is sweet!! There's a new company that just launched called Angeleno Artistry, who focus on showcasing 5 artists from the Los Angeles area each month, and they offer limited edition prints of a piece of work that we've created for them. Well, I am humbled to be one of September's five showcased artists, as a matter of fact, one of their first 5 artists ever, alongside the crazy talent of Marilee Spencer, Stephen Paul, KFiSH, and JD Higham. If you want 1 of 100 limited edition 36" x 24" prints of my piece 'Pole Position,’ and any of these other artists’  work, check it…they’re selling at AngelenoArtistry.com. They make GREAT gifts (yeah...that's coming...). They're only $40 bucks each. Pass it on…

How To Perform A Quick Minor Composite In Photoshop

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How To Perform A Quick Minor Composite In Photoshop

As I was standing in Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows a few weeks ago, awaiting the sunset, I was on a sandbar off to the north side of the Tuolumne River east of bridge leading towards Soda Springs. As I stood there framing the shot, I got the elements I liked, and the light was just about to be perfect. The focus of this one was the light dancing upon the top of Cathedral Peak and Unicorn Peak and the trees on the ridgline below it. As the light started to bounce off those treetops and the peaks, I began to snap a few frames. I was delighted.

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Why You Should Stop Paying Attention To The Focal Point Of Your Images

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Why You Should Stop Paying Attention To The Focal Point Of Your Images

I recently found myself standing in front of a stunning vista in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was June 21, 2014. The Summer Solstice. And the sun was just about to set behind the mountains, leaving a beautiful show of colors and clouds and reflections and highlights and vivid shadows in it’s wake. There was another group of photographers at the other end of the overlook and they were doing what most photographers first instinct is to do…pay full attention to the focal point of their image, the subject they wish to draw attention to, and everything else came secondary.

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A Few More Summer Solstice Gifts From The Hills - A Phone And A Desktop Background

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A Few More Summer Solstice Gifts From The Hills - A Phone And A Desktop Background

Here are a couple more images from the Summer Solstice sunset in the Santa Monica Mountains last weekend. Perfect for your mobile phone, tablets, and desktop computer wallpaper. Figured I'd throw 'em your way! Just right-click on the image, and choose 'Save Link As' for the 2400px version.

Happy Summer 2014 everyone!

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A Santa Monica Mountains Summer Solstice Sun Sets

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Just wanted to share a couple of images of this year's Summer Solstice sunset from the Santa Monica Mountains and wish everyone (in the Northern Hemisphere...) a happy wonderful Summer 2014. Thank you all so much for joining me on this online photographic journey over the past 18 months. I am forever grateful. To learn how to get shots like these, check out my post How To Photograph Sunsets, Silhouettes And Starbursts For Your Summer Snaps!

For more of my madness: Instagram: @wasimofnazareth Twitter: @wasimofnazareth Google+: www.Google.com/+WasimMuklashy Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WasimOfNazareth

How To Photograph Sunsets, Silhouettes And Starbursts For Your Summer Snaps!

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How To Photograph Sunsets, Silhouettes And Starbursts For Your Summer Snaps!

Being in Southern California, we get a lot of wonderful light during the final hours of most days, so naturally, a lot of my photography happens during that time. Consequently, I find myself in position to photograph sunsets a lot, many of which can prove to be quite spectacular, and one of my favorite effects is to catch sun stars (also called starbursts) and silhouettes during this time. I’ve been asked more than a few times what my methods for sunset photography are, so figured I’d share a few tips to help you catch those perfect sun shots during your summer adventures. Click past the break here to see the tips.

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Pole Position On The Pacific Coast Highway.

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So this one is not a big story or intricate post, just a quick and simple one with an image I thought was pretty neat. A friend and fellow photographer was over this weekend and we figured to take a little drive through the hills above Pacific Coast Highway in the late afternoon to see what we might find. I've lived in and explored these mountains for half a decade, yet, somehow, have never run across this vantage point. This is overlooking a small portion of PCH just south of Point Dume State Beach, California. We got there just in time for dusk and managed to snap a few images. The above image is a 30 second exposures taken on my now trusty Samsung NX30. I likey. I hope you likey. Bye.

Photofocus Does It Again - Notch Up Another Point For The Samsung NX300

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Photofocus Does It Again - Notch Up Another Point For The Samsung NX300

I'm absolutely humbled to have my second Featured Image on the Photofocus homepage. This is crazy. Thanks to Melissa Niu, Scott Bourne, Richard Harrington and the entire Photofocus team for this ridiculous honor.

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Let The Topanga Gradient Take Over Your iPhone!

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Let The Topanga Gradient Take Over Your iPhone!

Every now and again I throw out an image I feel fits well as a background for the iPhone, and now is one of those agains. Here's an image I captured last week on the Samsung NX30 as the sun was dropping behind this Santa Monica Mountains ridgeline overlooking Topanga Canyon, California.

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California Finally Got Rain And Left Us With A Gift – Another Perfect iPhone Wallpaper!

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Wasim_Muklashy_030314_Los_Angeles_CA_NX300_SAM_2836_iPhone5Parallax

So I was out on a job on Monday afternoon, and it was the day after Los Angeles finally got a bout of MUCH needed and necessary rain to break the spell of the drought, and the Southland's citizens weren't the only ones happy about it. The skies and trees and flora and fauna went kinda nuts as well. So here's a capture taken on the Samsung NX300 that's optimized for iPhone 5 parallax fantastica, and, as always, if you'd like it for a different device, let me know, I'll be more than happy to size it for that as well. Anywho, just right click and save the source image. If you missed my last few batches, here are some others that might work for you:

A Fresh Selection Of iPhone 5 Parallax Wallpapers If You Wanna

Happy iOS 7 Day! Here’s A Fresh Wallpaper For That Parallax iPhone Action!

Happy iPhone Day! Here’s Some Teasers & iPhone Stuffs

Some Autumn Themed Parallax Wallpaper Madness for your iOS 7 iThings

It's Official! I've Been Labeled! And I'm Totally OK With It!

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Worth The Climb_Topanga_Canyon_California_Sunset
So this is kinda neat! Remember that beef jerky company from last year that licensed one of my images for their label? Well, they're now at market!!!
If you're a beef jerky fan (as I most certainly am), you'll love this stuff. I've had several batches of it and it's the perfect consistency and toughness. None of that soft madness, and not so tough it's like biting through leather, it's right in between.
And tasty.
And juicy.
And spicy.
And gluten-free.
And you even get a free flosser with each pack (clever...).
If you're around Los Angeles, you can pick it up at Topanga Fresh in Topanga Canyon and a few more stores that I'll list here soon.
If you're not in the area here in Los Angeles, you can order directly from the website, www.TopangasFinest.com, where you can also see the image on the label!!
Can you tell I'm sorta excited about this...

Far Meadow - Yup. A Photo Trip. (Part 2)

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Far Meadow - Yup. A Photo Trip. (Part 2)

And tonight…I write by candlelight…

So yeah, the power on the trailer went out so I'm left with a few candles and just enough charge to offload today's photos and jot down today's haps, so, again, I'll try to keep it as short and sweet as I can and hopefully let some of the images do the talking…

I must say, waking up to a symphony of birds singing, mist evaporating, and the soft golden sunlight beaming through decades old redwoods, bouncing poetically across wildflowers outside your window…does. not. suck. 

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Pines to Palms

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Palm Springs_Aerial Tram_Wasim Muklashy Photography

So spent Easter with the family. Was really nice. We don't get together all that often, and decided this time we'd take a day trip and just kinda cruise around. Headed to Idyllwild up in the Anza Borega Mountains (I think…), had some coffee and beef jerky (don't ask…my love for the stuff got revived in Yosemite earlier in the month), then headed through the mountain range along the Pines to Palms Highway just south of Mount San Jacinto. After a crazy Jurassic landscape drive through mad boulders and twisty madness along the Pines to Palms Highway , it threw us out into Palm Desert, where we continued into Palm Springs and ended up at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

We got to the ticket center and all of us were deciding whether or not it was worth the 21 bucks each to ride the thing. We've never even heard of it, but apparently it's been around since 1963, some crazy rich guy's dream and he made it happen. I figured if we were to look sobriety test.back on this day in 10 years, this would probably be the thing that we'd remember, so when I said that, everyone agreed. Let's do this thing. A rotating aerial tram that climbs up about 6000 feet in less than ten minutes up through the craggy rocky prometheus looking mountain to the peak of San Jacinto Mountain, overlooking the entire Coachella and Palm Springs Valley from the peak of a snowy mountain top. Had dinner, watched the sunset, snapped a couple of photos, including the one you see in this post, and headed back down. Easter with the family was a success. And discovering this aerial tram thing was a heck of a bonus. Well worth it and will definitely be back.

And I think I may have had a bit of a photographic breakthrough on this one…while we were driving through that valley, it was some of the most beautiful landscape I've seen in Southern California…like a time machine into old ranches and half lit trees and mountain tops and crazy cloud formations…usually, I'd be pulling over every half mile snapping away like a madman, and still filled with anxiety that I'm not getting anything. But not this time. The folks even said, if I wanted to stop at any point, let them know, but something inside of me was telling me that I didn't need to snap everything I saw, sometimes I'm allowed to just sit back and enjoy and appreciate it. This time, I just wanted to appreciate it the same way the rest of my family was appreciating it.

The other thing was, I like to think it's my confidence building as a photographer, but I figured that no matter where I ended up, I'd find something that I can make a photograph out of. I didn't have to think about the shots I was 'missing,' and was more focused on being in the moment…and then when I had an opportunity, I can think about the shots that I was getting. Sometimes it's just nice to just be. This was one of those times.

Anyway, in the midst of this post is the crazy Pines to Palms Highway road, and at the top and bottom of this post were the views from the top.

try the salmon. Palm Springs, California. Aerial Tram. Wasim Muklashy Photography

prometheus. Palm Springs, California. Aerial Tram. Wasim Muklashy Photography