photography.ionyka.netPhotography by ionyka – Photography, Prints, and Passion!

Photography by ionyka Photography, Prints, and Passion! Menu Primary menu Home About Galleries California Galleries Around SF Bay Area Santa Cruz Mount Diablo Napa Valley Elizabeth Gamble Gardens Pescadero Half Moon Bay Muir Woods Yosemite National Park Georgia Galleries Atlanta Area Piedmont Park Amicalola Falls Cumberland Island Oakland Cemetery Atlanta Botanical Gardens Vacations Mediterranean Cruise New York City, NY New Zealand British ColumbiaSeattle Bermuda Williamsburg, VA Puerto Rico Yellowstone Park Genoa, NV Vancouver, CA Africa 2011 Cape Town Savuti Camp Vumbura Camp Mombo Camp Fireworks Gallery Yosemite National Park Visit Posted on June 3, 2014 by ionyka — Leave a reply Another National Park that I was able to visit this past weekend, which is only a 3 hour drive away. This place has been on my photography bucket list forever and I am so happy I had great weather and great company on this trip. For 3 days we drove around stopping at many places. El Capitan to watch climbers, many views of Half Dome, the falls in the valley, and the windy road out to see the Hetch-Hetchy dam. Of course the camera got full use during my trip and I am yet again amazed at the shots I got. Check out a few of my favs below and then head over to the full gallery ! Posted in Events | Tagged california , El Capitan , Half Dome , Hetch Hetchy , National Park , Waterfalls , Yosemite | Leave a reply Family Trip to Vancouver, Canada Posted on April 1, 2014 by ionyka — Leave a reply I got the chance last week to go along with my family to Vancouver, Canada to celebrate my fathers and sisters March birthdays. Great way to have some family time and explore a new city. I had been near Vancouver on our way into BC a few years back but did not stop and mostly drove around the city. The weather was overcast most days and although it did rain it was light so it did not interrupt most of our plans. However I was excited for the cloudy skies and thought it would be a great opportunity to take some metered shots and do some black and white photography for once. Admittedly I have not explored black and white photography much cause I just love color as a big component of my photographs, but this was the perfect setting. From Stanley Park, botanical gardens to Victoria and the suspension bridge I got many chances to try some different shots and settings. Check out a few of my favs below or head over to the full gallery here ! Posted in Updates | Tagged black and white photography , british columbia , canada , photography , vancouver | Leave a reply My first trip to Muir Woods National Park Posted on November 26, 2013 by ionyka — Leave a reply It is hard to properly express this place without having been there. Much of my family has been to Muir Woods before (visits go all the way back to the 40s) and it was always somewhere I wanted to visit. Having moved to CA recently you would think I would have made a bee line to this place the second I arrived, strangely though it took 18 months and my family being in town to finally make the trip! We stayed on the main path this time so I will be making another trip back another time to get further into the forest however even right as you walk away from the information building they are all around you. These massive tall and beautiful red trees, you find yourself walking looking straight up most of the time, so watch for others doing the same and you won’t run into other people! Here is the whole gallery below, I only got about 150 shots total so I ended up with 12 keepers this time, yes, must make another trip back for sure!!! Posted in Events , Updates | Tagged muir woods , redwood forest | Leave a reply 22 hours in Genoa, Nevada Posted on November 21, 2013 by ionyka — Leave a reply A 4.5 hour drive brought me to a small town called Genoa, which is just inside the Nevada border from California, yesterday afternoon. I went there to visit my in-laws and 2 of their closest friends, they were staying the week at the David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort . So over the next 22 hours I got to visit the oldest bar in Nevada , do some shopping next door to the saloon, we then all took a soak in a hot springs pool (the hot tubes were too hot for me!) and then played a few games of Carcassonne after a home cooked vegan meal. The following morning we all had massages and then had brunch after which I headed out and drove back to that South Bay via Tahoe (which btw, has snow now!). What a great short trip! In the morning before our massages I also got to take a quick walk from the resort towards the main road that leads into Genoa, it was early light and so the sun was on its way up, but cloudy so I got some really neat photos I think. Check out the full gallery here! Posted in Events , Featured Images , Updates | Tagged genoa , hot springs , nevada | Leave a reply Miles the #SFBatKid saves Gotham! Posted on November 16, 2013 by ionyka — Leave a reply I was fortunate enough to be able to attend part of this heartwarming event yesterday in downtown San Francisco’s City Hall (aka Gotham City). Thousands showed up to cheer for Miles, who was diagnosed with Leukemia (recently now in remission!) and was granted a wish by the local Make A Wish Foundation . His wish? He wanted to be BatKid! So when news of this got out to the internet a few weeks ago, and I saw the article about what was going to happen, I just had to be there. Not only did he get to travel to his numerous capers in a donated black Lamborghini, he saved a damsel in distress, freed the Giants mascot and captured both the Penguin and the Riddler. How amazing is that! Read more about his capers: Article by SF Bay CBS Local When he finished ridding the city of all of the villains, he was honored at the Civic Center Plaza, in front of thousands, by the Mayor of San Francisco (Gotham City), members of the FBI, Make A Wish and even the Chief of Police! To top even all of that, President Obama sent him support all the way from the White House! It was overwhelming how much support this city gave Miles and his family yesterday, the Mayor even named November 15th as BatKid Day and the city will celebrate it every year from now on! Since Miles’ wish went viral it has been promoted, featured and broadcasted on hundreds of news sites, blogs, and other social media. Just simply search Twitter for the hashtag #SFBatKid and you will see notes of support from all over the globe. I was so moved by this event, the support from so many volunteers from Make A Wish, the city of SF, Miles and his family for enduring this hardship, I am still tearing up about it. If you are also were inspired by this inspirational event, I encourage you, like I will be doing after I finish writing this, to donate or even start to volunteer for your local Make A Wish foundation . Every kid deserves to have their wish come true, just like BatKid! Some photos I took at the event are below. Have a great weekend! Posted in Events , Featured Images , Updates | Tagged batman , gotham city , make a wish , san francisco , sfbatkid | Leave a reply Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Photo Feature! Posted on November 15, 2013 by ionyka — Leave a reply For the past few months my sister Val has been involved with Nat Geo for a clip in their Nat Geo Wild show Caught In The Act . It is a clip about our family trip to Africa back in May of 2011. See my page about this trip here . It is set to air tomorrow night at 10pm EST on their HD channel NatGeo Wild. About 2 weeks ago I heard an update announcing the air date of the show and also that a local Pittsburgh news paper was doing a story about Val being interviewed for the Nat Geo show. The show will feature her YouTube video you can view here: They did not select any of my photos to go along with the video (sad panda) however the Tribune-Review selected one for their feature image for the article! This is the photo they used: Here is a link to the article that they wrote. Super exciting to hear and...