The Perfect Day

Napa, California is one of my favorite places.  Some of the best vineyards in the world are here and while some are a bit pretentious, most wineries welcome visitors with open arms and open bottles.  An afternoon of winery tours and tastings followed by a great evening meal at one of the fantastic local eateries is a day you'll remember forever.

I shot this image in the late afternoon as evidenced by the long shadows and deep orange tones of the fertile soil.  It was a bit hazy so I employed my Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer.  I also used a 2 Stop Hard Neutral Density filter in front of the lens to balance the very bright sky with the darker landscape.  By moving this filter up and down during the shot, I avoided having a hard edge at the transition point.

This will not be my last trip to this wonderful area and I look forward to exploring this region further.