In Wildness is the Preservation of the World

I acquired a 1962 first print edition of Eliot Porter & Henry David Thoreau’s classic book, In Wildness is the Preservation of the World. Inside the book was this note from “Jackie” to “John” that reads, “For John, with very much love and hopes that we can see some of these places together… Jackie, 12/25/67.” [...]

California State Parks Access Pass

The Director of Communications from the California State Parks Foundation asked me to help pass on this plan to help save our California State Parks from budget cuts. http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/
Here is some info from the California State Parks Foundation website:
“Today, CSPF took the first of a series of formal steps toward a long-term, sustainable funding mechanism [...]

Allan Memorial Grove, Point Lobos SR

On my recent trip to Monterey, I came to the realization that Point Lobos State Reserve has the most spectacular scenery along the entire California coast. In particular, I think the Allan Memorial Grove trail is really something special. Point Lobos can be a difficult place to photograph but when you walk around this place, [...]

The Lost City of Bombay Beach

There are parts of Bombay Beach that are completed buried under a few feet of mud. That bench for example is buried all the way up to the seat! There are some street signs in the middle of the mud field also.
If this were a school field trip I would probably get extra credit for [...]

Doomed in the Sea

After my first visit to Bombay Beach, I did some research online and realized that I had missed the area that had been submerged in mud due to the Salton Sea flooding. Though it is rather far from my house, I felt compelled to revisit Bombay Beach because as a photographer it’s impossible to feel [...]

American White Pelicans

30% of the world’s remaining population of American White Pelican live off of the Salton Sea. It is not just fish that are impacted by the increasing salinity of the lake but an entire ecosystem is at risk.

The Salty Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is basically a big agricultural sewage dump that provides habitat for a lot of wildlife including migrating birds of the Pacific Flyway. Unfortunately for the wildlife, what caused the lake to exist is ultimately going to be its downfall. You have to understand the history of the Salton Sea to understand why [...]

Imperial Valley Birds, Lots of Them

Around the Salton Sea you could pretty much look in any direction and see birds in mass quantity whether in the water, flying in air or in the agricultural fields of the Imperial Valley.
I had to photograph these birds from in the car leaning across the passenger side with my tripod wedged between the door [...]

Environmental Degradation

Google Earth Satellite Image of Glendora South Hills
Google Earth is a fascinating tool that can serve a multitude of purposes. For a photographer this can mean location scouting opportunities. For an environmentalist it can help give perspective to threatened landscapes such as the Glendora South Hills. Click on the image to see a higher [...]

Kristin Parisi – Glendora City Council Candidate / Environmental Activist

I recently wrote about land development use issues in the Glendora South Hills, and it generated some off-line discussion locally so I’d like to introduce to you a local environmental activist and current Glendora City Council Candidate Kristin Parisi.
South Hills Alosta Canyon Trail, Glendora, California
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional [...]

The South Hills Hikers, Glendora Christmas Parade

The South Hills Hikers, Glendora Christmas Parade, California
If you recall a couple blog posts ago, I wrote about South Hills development issues. Well I met up with the local environmental activists this morning at the Glendora Christmas Parade. The lady on the right is Kristin Parisi, who is running for one of two vacant [...]

The Aftermath

Brea Canyon Fire, Diamond Bar, Southern California
The destruction left in the wake of the firestorm last week is very clear as you drive along the 57 freeway through the Brea Pass and on the hills of the Carbon Canyon area of Brea, which is still closed to residents only. The stench of the fire [...]

Brea Canyon Fires, Diamond Bar

Photos from this morning along the 57 Freeway in Brea Canyon. I got in there before the roads were closed to in-coming traffic. The TV crews, police and fire trucks were here too but I got out before the water was dropped in the canyon.
Photo: Brea Canyon Wildfire, Southern California
Picture:Brea Canyon / Diamond [...]

Southern California Fires

Brea Canyon Fire, Southern California
The past two days have proven to be very challenging for many in Southern California due to several large wildfires near urban areas. Today, the 57, 91, 71, 405, 5, and 210 freeways were all shut down at certain times due to smoke and fire. On the 57 freeway (foreground), [...]

Solar Panels

Solar Panels, Mojave Desert, California
This large field of solar panels caught my eye on the drive up to Bishop but I was on the wrong side of the road to access them. I’m sure that most photographers would pass by this without a second thought on the way to the incredible scenery of the [...]

Glendora South Hills Home Development

San Gabriel Valley Sunset, Glendora, California
I heard today that “developers” are planning on developing over my favorite exercise hiking trail in the Glendora South Hills with homes and a road.
This really makes me angry because there are already a few extremely large mansions near the end of these hills along with no trespassing signs. [...]

Headwaters Forest Reserve

Photo: 2nd Growth Redwood Trees, Headwaters Forest Reserve, California
The pictures in my previous two posts were examples of old-growth redwood forests. This is an example of a 2nd growth forest that was clear-cut in the 20th century. They almost bare no resemblance to each other.
Most of the Headwaters Forest is owned by the Pacific [...]

Logging Yard, Humboldt County

Nature Photographer, Richard Wong Standing Next to Large Stack of Logs, Eureka, California
I was driving around an industrial area of Eureka scouting for interesting subjects to shoot the next morning. Many of the businesses in this area were logging companies and this one in particular caught my eye because the stack of logs spanned [...]

PALCO Timber

Photo: Stacks of Timber at Pacific Lumber Company Mill (PALCO), Scotia, California
As you drive further north along U.S. Highway 101, you see an increasing amount of logging trucks carrying large loads of trees in Mendocino and Humboldt County. I have no idea how many trees these stacks of timber represent but given the demands [...]

UC Berkeley Tree-Sitters Part II

Photo: Female Tree-Sitter “Dumpster Muffin”, UC Berkeley, California
In a recent blog post I discussed the UC Berkeley Tree-Sitters. Well last night, UC Berkeley moved in to remove the tree-sitters at the Memorial Oak Grove.
Here is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle: UC removes tree-sitters’ gear before ruling
Here is a YouTube video of [...]

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In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong