Friday, December 31, 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Sweep

Sweep

Monday, September 20, 2010

Mountain Range With Stars

Mountain Range with Stars

The notion of photographing in mid day sun is usually not something a lot of photographers would get excited about. Harsh shadows, dull color and hard to work with light, yeah a lot to take on. Sure the hours of sunset or sunrise are optimal to create those dramatic landscapes and rich colors we all love but what about the rest of those hours in between? It's still a useful area we shouldn't give the cold shoulder to. Being able to interpret this quality of light is a great exercise we should all try out once in a while. I set out to today to break the old golden hour way of doing things and turned over a nice new leaf. Now that I'm amped on spending more time in the details during mid day light, I make the most of my time creating images instead of sitting around waiting. This does come with a new rule of thumb though; make sure you have enough battery so when you do encounter that golden luminance you can keep on rocking it!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Morning Light

Morning Light on Merced copy

Morning light on the Merced River.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Canyon of Kings

Kings Canyon View

Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Forest.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Province

4970665431_f2f2275520_b

A man with one eye and a crooked nose, stands with friends on the outskirts of their city.
They look out on those still included,
still in color,
still alive.
They do not feel angry.
They do not feel sad.
They are weather worn, alone together.
They are home, and proud to be so.
The gentle residents question our impediment.
their Habitat is ascending signals as a vigil to the short span.
The iron lake province prevails as we whither frail,slow down and bail.
Even then will her elegance surpass our riches left behind.
Personalities of the forest watch as we tourists walk amongst their plan.
Some exiled,
some guardians,
standing or fallen,
growing sideways by their gnarled roots.
They do not merely hang on, but lay strong.
lending us a sight far less appreciated than deserved.
If The givers cease to persist we surly can't exist in the midst of broken arbor fists.
We're a living death compared to the givers of breath.
Feeling this energy in the form of inspiration.
We speak of their perspiration.
One weekend a year we lend an ear.
I understand what it means to sit still, quiet amongst peers.
Even in the cacophonous groan of machinery, they smile and continue to give.
And STILL I ask for more...
May I borrow your essence for a photograph Sir?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Exiled

The exiled ll

The Fallen

The Fallen

Monday, August 30, 2010

The Guardians

Iron Lakes Trees

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Building Storm, 20 Lakes Basin

Building Storm, 20 Lakes Basin

This and the four images below were made in the Hoover Wilderness in the 20 Lakes Basin. A week ago John O'Connor and I got a chance to do some backpacking in the Inyo National Forest. With bouts of snow and rain we managed to set up camp at one of the most beautiful places I have been to so far. The feelings of being vulnerable and so far out into the wild are just a sliver of what was experienced during this trip. Hope you enjoy!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Three Among a Crowd

Merced Glow

Three isn't a crowd, a crowd is a crowd.

Colors on The Merced Canvas

Merced Reflection

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Millerton forms at sunrise

Millerton Forms

The San Joaquin River, 330 miles long, is the second-longest river in the U.S. state of California. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Reservoir (where this photograph was made) is about 1,800,000 acre·ft per year. The San Joaquin and its eight major tributaries drain about 32,000 square miles of California's San Joaquin Valley. Water from the river is used to irrigate 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) of highly productive farmland on the east side of the Central Valley where 200 kinds of produce are raised.

It originates high in the Sierra Nevada and drains most of the area from the southern border of Yosemite, south to Kings Canyon National Park, making it the second largest river drainage in the state. The San Joaquin River's tributaries include the Stanislaus River, Tuolumne River, Merced River, Calaveras River and Mokelumne River. To read about the much needed and amazing Rivive the San Joaquin program click here

Thursday, June 24, 2010

R.I.P. Tiva

Tiva

Ode to a missionary mother ascending signals of her love for me. I will miss you Tiva!

Monday, June 21, 2010

The hike from Chilkoot Lake

Minarets pano

Retuned my entire rig this weekend looking out on this expanse. Amazing how close these views are off of main roads just 13 up Beashore road from Bass Lake and your in. Thanks to Michael Jones from West Coast Imaging for sending me in the right direction amog counless other things and Mike Taylor for banjo shredding and the limited edition hang!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Synchronicity

If you have not joined the discussion over at John's blog I would urge you to.

Synchronicity

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Corn Lilies Near Nelder Grove

Corn Lillies

If you happen to photograph the field of corn lilies just before nelder grove on the right side heading in, I will tell you: watch out for the giant holes in the ground. You can easily biff your entire rig. If you are John O'Connor though, you would walk through the swampy area barefoot with ease.

Woods of Cotton

cottonwoods

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Flow!

lewis pano

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Emerging Dogwood

Emerging Dogwood ll

These are images from last week along the Lewis Creek trail and I was hearing a lot of talk about how Yosemite's dogwoods have started to bloom and are a t peak for photographing them. I thought since Lewis creek would be a lot further along than Yosemite I gave it a try. To my surprise there wasn't hardly a bloom in sight. I did see a couple trees toward the end of my day that were blooming but the flowers were still green. I would think this week and next week would be pretty promising for photographing these guys. Hope the update helps, now get out there and start making some images!

Peacock Pattern Trap

Peacock Mono

What an amazing and elaborate creature. My wife and I had stopped at Casa De Fruta and we caught these fellows hangin around right in the middle of mating season. They will vibrate their feathers in an attempt to lure in a mate as the patterns flurry it creates such a cacophonous sound along with the various howls, it's quite mix of audio and not to mention visual.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Cloud Triptych

Cloud Triptych

Awarness in stealth mode...

Rocks on White

...Ode to a missionary mother ascending signals of her love for me. A great light being, protruding into issues I'm seeing, leaning toward a photographic embrace. Satori moment so suitable to escape a state that was supposed to be so beautiful.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

A Storm's Vehement

Storm's Vehement

What an excellent light show this was, constantly changing. I intended to remake the photograph below with the same composition at sunset, but to my dismay the water level had descended a few feet and the compositon was no longer. I guess I was lucky to be there both days and would'nt of had it any other way. This angry storm grew and morphed like it had something to say. My wife Sara and I watched it and took it all in. Made handheld from 4 exposures.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Rising Water Levels at Millerton Lake ll

High Water Level at Millerton Lake ll

Rising Water Levels at Millerton Lake

High Water Level at Millerton Lake

Started my day off today greeting the sun at Millerton lake. The road I expected to travel on to get to my spot was closed: naturally I walked to another park of the lake where a small inlet of water trickled in. Compared to my last visit the water levels had risen considerably, which is great, but my composition was completely different that I expected it to be. With time running short I fit nicely between two rocks with the water beneath. I made this image risking equipment and sacrificing a few peanuts to the lake but was well worth the trip. It goes to show that spontaneity produces interesting results even if you have to get all photo man split stance in the water to make it happen.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Wake Up!

Tunnel View

I was going to wax poetic about how we are destroying this planet but I think it's kinda like beating a dead horse. So wake up! - It's Earth day again do something helpful!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Wild Flowers off the Highway 41

Hwy 41 Flowers

I noticed these fellows the other day driving home, I ultimately decided that a soft sunset would complement these colors and that I should go back. The photograph made here was the second trip, the first being much too windy to render the flowers sharp. It did take some time to choose a shutter speed with two dilemmas present: if it's too slow the flowers would blur from too much movement, too fast and the crawling clouds would look more harsh. Here the clouds win. Although there is a bit of movement in some areas with flowers, I am pretty happy with these complimenting colors. Keep your eyes peeled for exploding colors on the landscape! I'm stoked on color this spring!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

What will you find?

White Lilac

There is always a plethora of photographic opportunities at our fingertips, everywhere we turn something beautiful is bound to be seen, especially in the natural world. John Muir once said: "When one tugs at something in nature he finds it connected to the rest of the world" I believe this statement to be pretty accurate. When I become an observer of nature, I am opening up to the channels of calming and spiritual benefits this earth has to offer (even if simply studying a flower) These channels are ones that we often can't tune into due to the busy schedules and chaos that is our modern condition. This image was made from a cluster flowers growing from what seemed to be a dead tree in our backyard. To isolate the flowers I underexposed them on a black background using window light. Being that it was a white subject, shooting in raw came in real handy when recovering harsh highlights: one of the reasons raw is absolutely essential at all times. It was nothing more than a wonderfully fragrant plant until I later discovered it to be a white lilac. Lilacs flower on old wood, and produce more flowers if unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers, in an attempt to restore the removed branches; a pruned lilac often produces few or no flowers for one to five or more years, before the new growth matures sufficiently to start flowering. A very interesting plant that is bisexual, with fertile stamens and stigma in each flower!. Symbolizing love and hardy character, this guy was unknown to me until I took a second to stop and open up my senses. So I challenge you to seek out something beautiful and learn more about it. Open your eyes, it's the greatest show on earth!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Monday, March 29, 2010

Succulents

succulents

I was inspired in my own backyard the other day by the shapes of these wonderful succulents. Natures designs are never ending and always pleasing to me.

Spring Colors at Pine Flat Lake

pine flat spring

The Colors at Pine Flat lake last weekend were exploding. I would recommend to go sometime soon because this spring should be a bit more colorful this year and it's worth the drive even without a camera. So many various shades of purple and orange, enough to make a guy smile.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Blue Agave

blue agave

Spotted this guy just after brief rain and really is (and I dont like using this term, but it's true) just a snap shot. I made just one exposure and realized it was what I wanted and moved on. Agave!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Celestial Body of Mist

fog

Don't have too much to say on this one except that fog is probably one of the most fleeting moments especially along the coast. The scene had completely changed after I made the fourth exposure. Still not sure if I like the slightly blue tone or just straight black and white.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Rocks and Surf, Big Sur

garapata rocks

Pfeiffer Beach Big Sur ll

phffifer beach2

Everything about Big Sur is mystical.