Liu Fang Yuan, Huntington Botanical Gardens

Liu Fang Yuan (Garden of Flowing Fragrance) is just one of five classical Chinese gardens in the United States. Having opened at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in 2008, I finally got a chance to see it yesterday while running an errand in Pasadena. My previous visit was in 2007 when I given a free annual pass as a gift but the garden was still being developed at the time. Several family members showed me pictures when it opened and it looked like a photogenic garden but I just never got around to going despite living nearby. I haven’t seen any other classical Chinese gardens so I have nothing to compare it to but it is perhaps the prettiest garden at the Huntington along with the famous Rose Garden.

I went for the high-key effect on this image since it was overcast. If I can acquire another annual pass, I’d like to try shooting this spot at sunset to see this place for all it’s glory. (During the summer, they have evening concerts for members and open til dusk.) I think the fall season might be a good time as well since the Japanese maples should turn colors.

Wood Duck, Los Angeles County Arboretum, California

I have nothing deep to add other than I just wanted to share another pretty picture taken on the Canon 400mm f5.6 lens.

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Wood Duck Couple, L.A. County Arboretum, California

I received a Canon 400mm f5.6 lens this week and went to test it out locally at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. I previously blogged about renting the Canon 500mm f4.0 lens and testing it out on wood ducks at the L.A. County Arboretum but not liking the bulk of that lens so that led me to this lighter weight lens. From initial testing, I think the image quality is probably better than the 500mm lens and it is much easier to use since it is about 2.5 lbs rather than 9 lbs. My only complaint is that there is no autofocus with a tele-converter attached to my 20D camera unless you tape over the pins. Plus, the lens is slow to focus at f8.0 which is the widest aperture with the 1.4x teleconverter attached. I don’t think it will be an issue for me photographing bison in Yellowstone and grizzly bears in Alaska though since they are big lumbering mammals as opposed to small birds in perpetual motion. I’ll likely be using manual focus for those subjects.

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San Gabriel River Scenic Landscape

The next year or so will be a crucial one for me as I am preparing to buy my first house. I’ve been saving up for the past two years and have the money for a good down payment but I want to make sure I have a “safety nest” in case things don’t quite pan out. With that come some sacrifices, travel being the primary one since I haven’t traveled since October. The furthest I have been since then was the Carrizo Plain and some assignment work in the desert. Honestly, I would probably be more happy traveling around the country inside of a truck for the next few years but with the current state of the economy this might be my only chance to get into the California housing market which was a bit of a rip-off in most places to say the least.

To put things into perspective, I had a co-worker five years ago who was married and had several kids yet was living at her mom’s house so they could finally afford their first house in the Inland Empire. The price tag of that house was $600,000… She did clerical work and her husband was a part-time employee at UPS if I remember correctly. From the current real estate prices I have seen, I would estimate that the house is worth about $200,000 these days. Even if I was married, there is no way in hell that I would try to buy a $600,000 house as a first-time homebuyer! $200k, you bet!

Either way, that is a lot of money so I had to learn to enjoy photographing close to home. Somewhere along the way, I discovered that it can be really rewarding creatively (see my nature photography video) and has led to a good amount of business. It is a fun challenge to find things to shoot in Southern California because lets be honest, it is generally a crappy place to be an outdoor photographer. It’s up the photographer to make their own tripod holes here.

With that said, I will be going to Yellowstone National Park this month for nine days of sunrise to sunset blitzkrieg-style photography just like the good old days. I can’t wait!

Japanese Garden at Descanso Gardens

Taking pretty pictures is always a double-edged sword. On one hand, we want to show how beautiful the world is to people. On the other hand, all well-known scenes eventually get trampled to death by those who care for nothing but getting a pretty picture. The recent closure of the popular Cal Photo Wildflower Report website due to hordes of people trampling flower fields to death and not respecting private property laws in other places is a very dramatic example of how little some people care for the landscape. I’ve read reports of photographers ripping large chunks of flowers / vegetation out of the ground just so no one could duplicate their composition. No ethical nature photographer should ever do that!

Those incidents are just a small part of what happens in general. When I went to Descanso Gardens last week, I waited for 1.5 hours at this spot for people to clear out and was disturbed by what I saw. I saw countless people stepping off the path into the planted area on the left to pose underneath the cherry tree blossoms. There were people who picked the blossoms off the trees. There was a kid who was running through the planted area and fell into the azaleas. Then there were kids (who had picked flowers off the bushes) who kept running underneath my tripod as if I weren’t even there then tossing the flowers at the koi in the water. If those were my kids they would have been in for a… well let’s not go there.

I hate to say it but I think security should start monitoring the gardens. I don’t know what it is about America that attracts uncivilized behavior, but when I went to Queen Elizabeth Park and Butchart Gardens in Canada, I didn’t see anyone doing anything disrespectful to the gardens despite being crowded.

Descanso Gardens Tulip

I’m curious to know how many other photographers out there who are allergic to pollen? Whenever I am around flowers, my allergies are so bad that I basically get sick for several days after. This is as cruel of a joke as there is for nature photography.

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Mount Baldy Water Reflection in San Gabriel River, Los Angeles County, California

The nice thing about all this rain we have gotten in February is that we have water in the San Gabriel Valley. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen anything other than a dry river bed. This photo shoot was a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. There was a vantage point that I had photographed from in the past that I had intended to shoot from but it wasn’t available this time so I decided to try another angle but it required wading out into the San Gabriel River. I took off my shoes and went into the river about knee deep. By this point I’m thinking that I could probably make it out to the middle of the river to get my photo. That was before I felt a big drop-off to my right where I tried to stick my tripod so I decided it wasn’t worth it…

Soaking wet and dirty, I went back up to the trail and decided to explore further upstream where I had never been. I lucked out and found a similar scene that didn’t require getting into the water. Not that I’m complaining since that is the fun part about landscape photography; having a connection with the natural world.

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Mandarin Duck

I had only seen one mandarin duck before but didn’t get a picture of it so this has been on my trophy photo list for a while now. I didn’t expect to see one on Saturday but I caught a fleeting glimpse of it from afar when the ladies near me asked what I was looking for. “I think I saw an orange duck but it left before I could get a good look.” “That was a mandarin duck.” “Nice! That is what I thought it was.” So I walked around both sides of the lagoon multiple times (with a 500mm f4 lens + tripod) but didn’t see it until more than an hour later on the opposite shoreline. Eventually it came over to my side and in fact, too close on a several photos but I did manage a few clear pictures of the mandarin duck. It is the prettiest bird I have ever seen by far.

Mandarin Duck Portrait

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Wood Duck

In preparation for my upcoming travel, I rented a Canon 500 f4 lens to see what it would be like to lug that monster around. I took it to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and headed straight to the lagoon where I knew there would be some colorful wood ducks. I found it cumbersome to shoot with. Now I have been doing 3 – 4x / week weight training since August but there is no way in heck you can shoot this comfortably hand-held. Shooting on my standard ball-head was okay. I was kind of scared to loosen the ball for fear of smashing the lens against my mouth but I managed okay though I probably missed more photos than I got. The image stabilizer was really good though. I didn’t lose a single image due to camera shake no matter how sloppy the technique. Overall, I think I would have more fun shooting with the 400mm f5.6 because it would give me more mobility and also reduce the need for a chiropractor.

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Mulholland Drive Scenic Overlook, Los Angeles, California

If you are the “hustle & bustle” type then L.A. is probably perfect for you. As I was turning left onto Cahuenga, I intended to stop inside of the gas station but noticed this Mercedes following way too close to make it into the gas station safely so I kept going. Before you know it, the guy is cussing me out from behind then pulls up alongside me still cussing me out and then started to flip me off. Eventually he cut me off with his middle finger still sticking out of the window up into the air for at least a minute until I pulled off onto Mulholland Drive. Welcome to Hollywood!

Anyway, I had never been up to Mulholland Drive before despite being one of the most visited scenic locations in L.A. I was pleasantly surprised. I had the Hollywood Sign to my left, Hollywood and Downtown right in front of me and the Pacific Ocean obscured by clouds to my right. The view from Mulholland Drive is completely different than the other downtown L.A. skyline pictures I have been shooting. Despite a steady stream of tour buses, I’ve seen much worse crowds at places like the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree NP or at Yosemite. At least the people were respectful toward each other’s personal space.

Now that I have crossed this off of my checklist I think I might try for an evening panoramic of the San Fernando Valley from Mulholland Drive next or perhaps the Staples Center and Disney Concert Hall at night.

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Cross on Cahuenga and Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Hills, California

As I was driving down from the Santa Monica Mountains with Patty Griffin’s fantastic new album, Downtown Church, playing on my car stereo, I spotted this large cross overlooking downtown L.A. so I immediately pulled over into a ditch then used the last of my three remaining frames that I had on my memory card. I thought it was a funny random occurrence since I had no idea that there was a giant cross overlooking Los Angeles.

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Los Angeles Winter Storm Sunset

This was taken on Wednesday night after another day of rain on Tuesday. I can’t keep talking about the same thing over and over again so I’ll talk equipment this time… My first few attempts at this scene were taken with a Canon 70-200mm lens on the full-frame 5D Mark II but it wasn’t enough focal length to get Mount Baldy as large in the frame as I had wanted. In the past few weeks I have been using my 20D which added 1.6x to the focal length of the lens but still wasn’t enough. So last Saturday I picked up a 1.4x extender accessory for my lens so I could get more reach. I didn’t know what the expect image quality wise but I’m happy to report that I didn’t see a significant drop-off sharpness when compared to my earlier shots. In fact, I haven’t even taken it off the camera since I purchased it.

In addition to shooting some skyline photos that I hope will sell someday, I also picked up the extender because I will need it this year for the grizzly bear photo tour in Alaska and Yellowstone. In my opinion, getting an extender is a more cost-effective way to get more focal length from your existing lenses rather than having to purchase more expensive telephoto lenses that will set you back a few years of future retirement investments.

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LA Skyline Twilight on Mount Baldy

From where I live, Mount Baldy looked great. However, from L.A. not so great. The peak kept getting obscured by haze but then it peeked out just barely for a few minutes as the sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean. It was cold and windy outside, and I kept having to refresh the Yahoo Sports results for the Vikings – Saints game on my Blackberry every minute but no way I was going to pack it up early no matter what it looked like outside. Patience and persistence does eventually pay off.

I will still keep my eye open for clean air quality should it ever happen but there are other L.A. shots I want to pursue now. Mulholland Drive, Griffith Park Observatory, Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Sign, Randy’s Donuts and Staples Center come to mind. Los Angeles skyline photos from Mulholland Drive and the Observatory are some of the most common scenics but I haven’t tried either so those will probably be next on my list when time permits.

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Los Angeles Skyline Against Snowy Backdrop

I am coming to the conclusion that mid-morning winter light might be as good as it gets in Los Angeles. As a landscape photographer, I am always evaluating air quality and lighting conditions in every way and time imaginable even when I’m not photographing. The morning after a storm is usually as clear as our air quality will ever get. As the day progresses, it gets hazier and the snow starts to melt. My efforts to date with this scene concur with that general rule of thumb.

I started off yesterday morning with the intention of photographing trees on Mount Baldy covered in deep snow. However despite heading up Mount Baldy Road shortly after sunrise, there was already a line of cars due to the CHP stopping traffic to make everyone put on chains. Judging from the rate at which people were getting through, I estimated that it would take at least an hour and a half to get to the front of the line just for the “privilege” of putting on tire chains. Pain in the a**. The road up to the ski area isn’t that far but I always avoid putting on chains despite having a set in my trunk. The snow level was pretty far down, probably to 2,000 feet I’m guessing but I’ve driven in much worse without chains so I don’t get what the big deal was. In fact, my brother and I went up there to three feet of fresh powder on a Monday morning following a storm two years ago and no chains were required. We were also the only two up on the mountain that morning. I think chains are probably to protect the L.A. weekend crowd from themselves since most have no clue how to drive in the mountains.

In no mood to waste my morning just sitting there I decided it would be better to try for another skyline photo so I went the opposite direction to L.A. I figured that downtown would be in shade if I had gone any earlier but since it was mid-morning by the time I got there I hoped that some light would be on the buildings by that hour. At sunrise,  Mount Baldy is in shadow too I think. Though there is a chance that the late afternoon hours might have okay air quality, the snow doesn’t look as vibrant as the day wears on following a storm. The Santa Monica Mountains directly behind the Hollywood Sign for example looked amazing in the morning but when sunset came around, there appeared to be a lot less snow and it didn’t look as good. And as for Mount Baldy? It was obscured by clouds for the rest of the day.

There is supposed to be a small storm coming in on Tuesday so I might give this one more try on Wednesday morning or at sunset if it looks decent. Otherwise, I think I can live with this until the next big storm comes. We only get big storms like this every few years so there aren’t all that many opportunities to get this photo.

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Question Written in Snow Piled on Top of Red Car, Mount Baldy, California

After a week of heavy storms that has brought big snow to the local mountains, it promises to make for some amazing photos. I’m so excited! I’m crossing my fingers to see if I can get enough clearing to get my dream L.A. skyline photo.

Downtown L.A. Skyline with Snow-Capped Mount Baldy in Background, California

If you have been following this blog over the past month or two, this scene has probably become a familiar sight. I have this compulsion to get this photo exactly the way I want but all the stars haven’t aligned quite right just yet. In some shots I even got the bloody red sunset light reflecting off of the downtown buildings and off of Mount Baldy peak but if only not for the haze!

The people who live in these hills have the best view in all of Los Angeles in my opinion. However, reality set in for me after calling it day. I went inside of the Taco Bell located right in front of these hills to use the restroom but noticed there were electronic security locks on the restroom doors that require a password to open and the service counter had six-inch thick bullet proof glass in addition to another electronically secured door leading to the kitchen. You have to use an intercom just to speak to anyone. Food is handed to you over the counter through a two-step window lock system. Aside from the affluent areas, much of the rest of urban L.A. is like this (or should be…).

I’m grateful that I can just take pretty pictures and don’t have to live in the city. With that said, there was a classic Galen Rowell article called, “The Size of the Rat”, which referred to an unending desire to do the best work that you can possibly do. L.A. is not exactly my favorite place in the world, but there is this gnawing feeling in my gut to keep shooting this until it goes away.

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Mid-Winter Foliage Along East Fork of San Gabriel River, Angeles National Forest, California

I liked how the bare trees contrasted with some remaining “fall color” along the San Gabriel River. We don’t really have true winters here in Southern California but it is nice to photograph the seasons while in transition. The blog isn’t really a good way to view detailed images so I put up a full-resolution version up on my archive that you can view it full-screen if you hit the little button on the bottom: San Gabriel River photo gallery.

Downtown Los Angeles Skyline with Snow-Capped Mount Baldy in Background

No colorful sunset because it was cloudy on the horizon but man, what a view! I’ve wanted to see a snow-capped Mount Baldy behind the L.A. skyline for years now. Friday night had some crazy red light on Mount Baldy that would have been perfect but I was hiking in my local hills which doesn’t come with the skyline view.

Can’t have everything I guess.

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Big Dalton Canyon Waterfall, Glendora, California

“Weather” is sort of a joke here in Southern California. It is generally either hot or warm year-round out here in the valley but the past week was a bit cooler from the 40’s and 50’s during the day. While cool, the at times heavy rainfall this weekend wasn’t cold enough to produce any new snow in the San Gabriel Mountains apparently. On the plus side, I got to shoot a waterfall picture with my new 35mm f2.0 lens. Yay!

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Sunset Clouds Over Downtown Los Angeles, California

I took this photo right as our previous storm was passing through. By the end of this weekend’s storms, I’m hoping that we will have a snow-capped Mount Baldy which is located directly behind the L.A. skyline but obscured by clouds in this photo. I went up yesterday morning hoping to photograph landscapes in fresh snow but all I got was heavy rain even at the Mount Baldy Ski Area which is around the 7,000 feet level. It was 37 degrees…

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