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Photography by David Wilson

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Eureka’s Art Utility Boxes – Harry the Honorable Hound Dog

January 29, 2020 by DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Traffic light utility box painted as Harry the Honorable Hound Dog

Eureka, Humboldt County, California Growing up, I didn’t think of Eureka, California as beautiful. Never mind that I was a kid, and what would I know about that? Maybe I simply wasn’t tapped in to the art scene, I don’t know, but I don’t recall ...

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Vacancy at 4th & E Streets, Eureka

January 9, 2020 by DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

4th & E Street, Eureka - a nighttime empty bench

Humboldt County, California For years, driving by, I would see her lonely figure sitting on the bench. I never stopped, but in time I grew used to her presence there, and I would look to touch base visually when I passed. Huddled inward and ...

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Holiday Magic 2019

December 24, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Life-size wooden Santa window shops at christmas

Humboldt County, California. I’m used to odd things. I especially love when they visit me during the holidays, those special times when people want to do good things, and odd things find a welcome home. These times bring out the magical things; ...

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David’s Favorite Stories

Dancer on the bridge beneath the Milky Way

Late one Night at Cooks Valley Bridge

November 26, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County Line, California I had never met Lula when she approached me about making some photos of her in my nighttime style of photography. But I was game; placing a figure in an image inspires stories in the mind’s eye of the viewer, and ...

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The Survivor

July 4, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX 2 Comments

Ancient Pear Tree in Humboldt County The gnarled old pear tree was struggling to survive, hanging onto the edge of a dried embankment above a little dirt road when my family moved there over 40 years ago. It was small, not much taller than my ...

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Fog filled expanse with Comet NEOWISE in the sky above

Comet NEOWISE Over California’s North Coast

July 20, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX 2 Comments

Humboldt County, California If you have not seen Comet NEOWISE in the northwest skies after dark, then you really must treat yourself. It has rounded the sun in its orbit now, and the farther from the sun it travels the dimmer it will be. Though ...

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Visualize the Night

May 24, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need — roads.” - Doc, Back to the Future II. One of the more challenging visualizations for me is to imagine looking at the Solar System from a point above it in outer space, far ...

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Nighttime beach scene with the silhouettes of two figures.

The One that Got Away

September 12, 2021 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California Less than a week ago I read about a giant fireball, visible up and down the west coast from the Bay Area north to Washington as it streaked across the sky. My photo heart ached to have missed that one; I was probably ...

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Perseid Meteors 2020: A Comet’s Tale

August 22, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California Currently speeding out from the sun after its last visit to the Solar System’s inner reaches in 1992, Comet Swift-Tuttle leaves a trail of debris in its path. Comets are made of frozen gasses, dust, and rock; as sun’s ...

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The full moon rises behind towering redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants in the Eel River valley.

Avenue of the Giants Guardians

July 2, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX 2 Comments

Humboldt County, California The full moon rose over the redwood forests of the Eel River valley, bathing the hillsides in its stark light. It flashed through the redwood tree branches beside me as I drove along the Avenue of the Giants, snaking ...

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Close Encounters on the Avenue

May 9, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California The Avenue of the Giants is as beautiful a drive as you will find. The groves along its 36-mile course line the Avenue with some of the grandest examples of the tallest trees on Earth, the California coast ...

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More of David's Favorite Photo Stories

  • Holiday Magic 2019
  • Lost in Space (Big Dipper over Trinidad)
  • Avenue of the Imagination
  • Eel River Overlook
  • The Survivor
  • Avenue of the Giants Guardians
  • Close Encounters on the Avenue
  • Musings at the Moonstone Cave
  • A Bit of Whimsy
  • Milky Way over South Fork Eel River

More of David's Favorite Stories

Instagram: @David_Wilson_MFX

david_wilson_mfx

Mermaid encounter on the South Fork Eel River, in Mermaid encounter on the South Fork Eel River, in May 2022 (see previous 2 posts for others)...
Saw sasquatch too, but she had to keep moving and couldn’t stay for the shoot.
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makeup/model/stylist @_marynieto / @janes_reflection
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#Humboldtcounty#Eelriver#southforkeelriver#mermaid#sohum#southernhumboldt#magical#goddess#babe#beauty#beautiful#wilderness#travel#maiden#forest#mountains#river#swimming#model#nymph#woodnymph#goddesss#beauty#sasquatch
It's Mermaid season again. You've probably seen so It's Mermaid season again. You've probably seen some yourself recently. I met this Mermaid while hanging out on the South Fork Eel River at the end of May. She was very friendly. This is the best time of year to find Mermaids up the riverways ("riverways" ought to be a word). If Unicorns are magical, Mermaids are the Unicorns of magical creatures. 
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makeup/model/stylist @_marynieto / @janes_reflection
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#Humboldtcounty#Eelriver#southforkeelriver#mermaid#sohum#southernhumboldt#magical#goddess#babe#beauty#beautiful#wilderness#travel#maiden#forest#mountains#river#swimming#model#nymph
When the mind wanders… go with it, or you might When the mind wanders… go with it, or you might lose it. That’s what I did.

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Merperson: Mary Nieto, @_marynieto . Makeup/model/stylist @janes_reflection . I had the mermaid tail.
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#mermaid#humboldtcounty#rain#crystalball#lensball#composite#dof#dephoffield#wet#refraction#spectrum#sphere#river#eelriver#southforkeelriver#sohum#southernhumboldt#benbow#benbowsra#rainbow#rainbows#motion#shutterspeed#prism#refraction#prism#roygbiv#spectrum#visiblespectrum#water#rain#droplet#droplets
What are you looking at? This is a straight photo What are you looking at? 
This is a straight photograph, no compositing; just edited for tonal range/contrast like any photo. Except, what IS it? Take a guess.  Try it! If you guess right, you get to feel *so* smug. How often does THAT happen? Of course, if you look at the hashtags before you guess, you wouldn’t feel so smug, no… you’d have an empty feeling. Try it!
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#whatintheworld#rainbow#shower#showers#rainbow#rainbows#motion#shutterspeed#prism#refraction#prism#roygbiv#spectrum#visiblespectrum#water#rain#droplet#droplets
FIRE HAZARD — this was nearly instantaneous. Cr FIRE HAZARD — this was nearly instantaneous.  Crystal Balls in the sun are FIRE HAZARDS! Don’t set it down in the sun outside OR in the house. 
When you set your crystal ball down in the sun, it is just like a magnifying glass — FIRE! Be careful, because anywhere you set it down in the sun, it will burn the surface it is on, whether outside or indoors on a shelf.

It’ll burn your hand as you hold it in the sun, too — it got me a little, but I was fast.

This was an old tinder dry redwood board.

I wonder how many accidental fires start with a crystal ball carelessly set down in the sun…

The moral: when you have hot balls, be careful!
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#firehazard#crystalball#lensball#magnifyingglass#solarpower#solar#solarenergy#heat#hot#fire#forestfire#housefire#firedanger#firestarter#survival#tinder#redwood#fuel#firehazardreduction
Shot in the dark. What in the World? That used to Shot in the dark. What in the World?
That used to be the title of a column in “National Geographic World” magazine; I loved the magazine and that section growing up. Those were often macro shots, nearly unrecognizable close-ups of usually familiar objects. This isn’t quite the same, but still… what in the world is going on here? I’m not telling, except maybe in the comments. 
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Nikon D850
14mm lens
ISO 64
f/6.3
Shutter: 13 min, 33 sec (13:33)
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#roomba#robot#lightpainting#paintingwithlight#longexposure#latenight#nikon#humboldtcounty#mapping#AI#artificialintelligence#lightstreaks#irobot#roombaj7plus
Chess. . . Technical spoilers: Single exposure li Chess. 
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Technical spoilers:
Single exposure light painting, no compositing. This is a chess board I made in high school in... I forgot which grade it was. Somehow the checkerboard pattern seems attractive in a surrealistic sort of way to me, and painting it in with light using my flashlight shining, alternately, through Red plastic, then Green, then Blue, added to the surreal quality of it. My idea was two environments: Blue vs Warm, the black pieces on the blue side, and the white pieces on the warm side, separated not only by the colors, but by virtue of the fact that the white pieces were only in focus within the crystal ball. The color variations are the result of the different colored light (from the plastic filters) painted into the scene at different times during the exposure. For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about "Queen's Gambit".
Nikon D850
60mm f/2.8 macro lens
ISO 64
f/3.0
118 seconds (it took that long to paint it in).

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. #chess#lightpainting#paintingwithlight#RGB#colortheory#additivecolor#Nikon#D850#longexposure#chessmen#chesspieces#crystalball#lensball #humboldtcounty#queensgambit
A bud growing at Sol Spirit Retreats, which offers A bud growing at Sol Spirit Retreats, which offers cannabis tours and a glamping experience outside of Willow Creek, California. July 25, 2020.

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#MilkyWay #starrynight #nightphotography #astrophotography #norcal#skyline#glamping#glamp#camp#camping #californiasky#activenorcal #Humboldt #humboldtcounty #nightphotography #hottie #california #299 #highway299 #silhouette #universetoday #cannabis #canna #marijuana #dank #buds #outdoor #homegrown #solspiritretreats #southforktrinity #trinitycounty
HOMO COVIDUS, the COVID MAN A new species of human HOMO COVIDUS, the COVID MAN
A new species of human has evolved in response to changes in the environment. Twilight Zonian in appearance, this species walks the world nearly faceless, peering over, and seen through, a mask that erases half of the face. 
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#Man #COVID #COVID19 #N95 #portrait, #Photoshop, #LightroomClassic #Nikon #D850 #Covidmoment  #humboldtcounty #homocovidus #twilightzone #twilightzonian#covid_19#covidman
Streaking between Freshwater Lagoon and the Pacifi Streaking between Freshwater Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, car lights along US Highway 101 illuminate the scene on the coast of Humboldt County, northern California. A fishing boat's flood light can be seen on the horizon right of center. July 28, 2021.
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I posted the uncropped version of this a few days ago, but I dislike the way Instagram’s format cramps horizontal shots into such a narrow space. If only the app allowed for tilting a device (phone, iPad) sideways, then we could see horizontal photos in all their glory. How odd for a “photo sharing” app to make it so difficult to enjoy anything but vertical and square crops. #instagramsuggestion : allow rotating the device to view photos horizontally. I don’t favor this crop, but it fills Instagram’s ultralimited space better than the uncropped version. 
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#Freshwaterlagoon#freshwater#lagoon#orick#ocean#pacific#pacificocean#beach#coast#MilkyWay#starrynight#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#nightphotography#hottie#california#101#US101#highway101#redwoodhighway#fishingboat #oceanfishing#reflection#silhouette#universetoday
A remote river valley and its skyline rest beneath A remote river valley and its skyline rest beneath the stars on the California north coast in Humboldt County. The very core of our galaxy rests above the ridge line. The warm glow is from a nearby habitation. July 13, 2021..
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#forest#skyline#silhouette#fog#river#mountains#mountain#nightlife#glow#MilkyWay#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#nightphotography#californiadreaming#hottie#california#californialove#countrylife
Streaking between Freshwater Lagoon and the Pacifi Streaking between Freshwater Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean, car lights along US Highway 101 illuminate the scene on the coast of Humboldt County, northern California. A fishing boat's flood light can be seen on the horizon right of center. July 28, 2021.
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#Freshwaterlagoon#orick#lagoon#ocean#pacific#pacificocean#beach#coast#MilkyWay#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#nightphotography#californiadreaming#hottie#california#californialove#countrylife#101#US101#highway101#redwoodhighway#fishing#fishingboat #oceanfishing
The Milky Way and skyline reflect in a great water The Milky Way and skyline reflect in a great water catchment pond at Schackow Farms ( @schackowfarms ). 

The distant hills were illuminated by a crescent moon in the western sky (to the right of the frame). Humboldt County, California. June, 2021.
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#canna#cannabis#ganja#marijuana#spliff#farm#farmlife#MilkyWay#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#californiadreaming#hottie#california#californialove#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#countrylife
A young cannabis plant reaches for the stars withi A young cannabis plant reaches for the stars within a wire framework that will help support its branches as it grows. A long exposure allowed the stars to move across the sky as the world turned, exposing the Milky Way along the treetops. Humboldt County, California. June 28, 2021. 

Watch for an upcoming “Night Light” story about the changes in marijuana culture from “pot growing” to “cannabis cultivation.” It’s a weird topic for my night photo story series, but I will do it in a weird way. I have these photos and I have to write *something* when I share ‘em!

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#canna#cannabis#americascannabisheartland #marijuana#farm#farmlife#MilkyWay#startrails #nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#nightphotography#californiadreaming#hottie#california#californialove#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#countrylife
The Eel River valley rests in darkness beneath the The Eel River valley rests in darkness beneath the night sky in this view across the southbound lanes of US 101 from the Vista Point south of Stafford, Humboldt County, CA. June 6, 2021.

It was another good night photographing with @rjf_photo .
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#US101#highway101#redwoodhighway#101#vista#vistapoint#highway#freeway##redwood#redwoods#eelriver#MilkyWay#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#nightphotography#californiadreaming#hottie#california#californialove#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#avenueofthegiants#countryroad#travel
The Super Blood Flower Moon total lunar eclipse fr The Super Blood Flower Moon total lunar eclipse from Kneeland Road. It was fogged over down where I was, so I had to head up the hill. Above the fog, higher clouds threatened, but they thinned out just enough to get this...

I got up at 02:40 that morning to shoot this -- brutal! This was at about 04:20.
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Unnecessary technical details that might spoil the magic, so don’t read them if you don’t want to:
This ended up having to be a two-shot composite. The moon was too bright in this scene — even eclipsed as it was — and was totally washed out when exposed for the landscape like this. To my naked eye, the moon looked like this, but the camera couldn’t capture both it and the landscape in a single exposure. So I took another, darker, exposure for the moon, and used that instead of the too-bright moon.

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#bloodmoon#flowermoon#fullmoon#eclipse#lunareclipse#totaleclipse#totallunareclipse#moon#MilkyWay#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#nightphotography#californiadreaming#california#californialove#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#kneeland#countryroad#countrylife#hottie
@revistathc , Cultura cannábica, Latin America’s largest cannabis magazine, brings some #humboldtcounty flavor  down to share with Latin America on their popular Instagram page. Thank you, @Revista and @aguschicote for reaching out to me and sharing my Humboldt nighttime cannabis images to Latin America! I appreciate it very much! Check out @revistathc ’s Instagram page 🙂 . 
These are photographs I shot at @schackowfarms in October, 2020.
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#Jupiter#MilkyWay#revistatch#cannabis#cannabisart#cannabisphotography#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#nightphotography#californiadreaming#california#californialove#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial @humboldtcountyofficial @humboldtshooters @humboldtmade
The Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn… was the d The Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn… was the day before this, and obscured by clouds. But the next evening was beautiful, and @morriganlynn and I celebrated in the moonlight with this image up on Bear River Ridge Road. Jupiter and Saturn show as the small, bright “star” on the horizon in front of Morrigan, too small here to see that they barely touch. I could see that Saturn had finally overtaken and passed Jupiter and was now to Jupiter’s right. December 22, 2020. Humboldt County, California. 
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#conjunction#Jupiter#Saturn#planetaryconjunction#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#goddess #nightphotography#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#beauty#beautiful#sexy#model#babe#countrygirl#countryroad#dirtroad#pasture#ranchlife#riodell#moonlight @humboldtcountyofficial @humboldtshooters @humboldtmade
W I N T E R S O L S T I C E 2 0 2 0: Always foll W I N T E R  S O L S T I C E  2 0 2 0: Always follow the light.
“She’s Free,” with @morriganlynn somewhere up Monument Road/Bear River Ridge Road, Humboldt County, California. May 14, 2018, about 11:30 PM. 
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#milkyway#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#Crab#giantcrab#kineticsculpture#sculpture#humboldtcountyofficial#beauty#beautiful#sexy#model#countryroad#dirtroad#riodell#bearrivercasinoresort#bearriverridgeroad#solstice#wintersolstice
Humboldt County, California. I hooked up with Dani Humboldt County, California.
I hooked up with Daniel McCauley ( @danscustommetals ) and his amazing kinetic crab monster of metal madness at the Eureka Waterfront... That's him in the cockpit wearing a mask of metal things welded together into a face. The crab’s legs move, the pinchers pinch (and snap together with a frightfully loud bang), the eyes glow, and I think that light colored tubing that outlines it also glows neon, but it wasn’t hooked up. It still makes a neat outline for the photo, though. He says it has looked awesome at Burning Man. Wouldn’t it?
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#Eurekaca#eurekawaterfront#eurekacalifornia #eurekaoldtown #humboldtbay#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#Crab#giantcrab#kineticsculpture#sculpture#humboldtcountyofficial#metal#weld#welding#heavymetal#burningman
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