Leonard Knight

Leonard Knight at Salvation Mountain, Slab City, California

Leonard Knight is the creator of Salvation Mountain. He told me that he has been residing there for the past 24 years working on this monumental project. Personally I think he should be mentioned up there along with the other great artists of the 20th century. Salvation Mountain is really impressive both from a distance and up close.

Mr. Knight also appears in the movie Into the Wild. Highly recommended book and movie if you haven't already checked them out.

Salvation Mountain

Leonard Knight's Station Wagon at Salvation Mountain, Imperial County near Niland, California

There is this computer game series called Fallout that I am a really big fan of. The setting takes place in a post-nuclear California wasteland with familiar locations such as Reno, San Francisco, and Slab City. Much of the landscape and characters in Fallout are reminiscent to the communities you would see around the Salton Sea. That was my inspiration for deciding how to process this image and yesterday's photo from Bombay Beach.

Bombay Beach

Abandoned Home Destroyed by Salton Sea Flooding, Bombay Beach, California

At one time, Bombay Beach was a resort town for the affluent. However since the town lies below sea level on the east shore of the Salton Sea it is prone to flooding. Most of what remains appears to consist of decaying structures.

This house seems to have been burned out sometime after it was abandoned. I didn't expect to but I was kind of fascinated by driving around the streets. There is supposedly an old RV community that is half-submerged in mud somewhere around here so I might have to make another trip to the Salton Sea to check it out!

Wave Break

On Shore Wave Break, Laguna Beach, California

There were 7 - 9 foot swells and at this place the waves break on shore so it was exciting to say the least. There was a big minus tide at 2:30 but by the time I took this photo it was nearing hide tide which was at 4+ feet above sea level which meant that the waves were getting bigger and bigger as I was witnessing this scene. I am not even going to say what happened to me and my gear after this point.

Wave Breaking on Shore, Laguna Beach, California

Victoria Beach Tower

Castle Turret at Victoria Beach, Laguna Beach, California

Looking at a web cam at home I had a hunch that there would be amazing conditions last night for coastal photography so I drove through a heavy downpour on the 57 freeway in order to photograph this scene at Laguna Beach. Photographing the Victoria Beach tower had been on my to-do list for several years now so I'm glad to have gone out there. I think this scene has been painted frequently by local artists so I guess this could be considered an icon by Laguna Beach standards.

This photo will eventually be added to a gallery on my website along with my other Orange County pictures.

Dana Point Harbor

Aloe Vera Flowers and Dana Point Harbor Scenic Vista, Orange County, California

I met up with Alaskan photographer Ron Niebrugge at Dana Point Harbor last month. Ron and his wife Janine spend half the year traveling in the lower 48 in their RV so he always has some interesting things to write about on his blog.

Right after I took this image, Ron hopped the fence onto this narrow ledge high above the harbor to get a closer view of the aloe vera flowers. I think I was probably more nervous for him than he was!

Travel Photographer Ron Niebrugge Taking Pictures of Flowers on Hillside, Dana Point Harbor, California

UFO's

Lenticular Cloud Over Centennial Heritage Park, Glendora, California

Lenticular clouds are a regular occurence in the Owens Valley due to the high elevation of the Sierra Nevada Mountains but they are not so common in the San Gabriel Valley. In certain instances lenticular clouds can even take the shape of a UFO. In fact there were two of them on this evening. I wasn't in a position to get a clear view of the other lenticular but it was almost directly above me. On a positive note, I'm happy to report that I wasn't abducted.

Hamilton House

Hamilton House, Antique Farming Equipment and Liquid Amber Tree in Fall Season / Centennial Heritage Park, Glendora, California

All of the autumn leaves on the ground were on this tree the previous week. With more funding perhaps the Glendora Preservation Foundation might be able to open Centennial Heritage Park more than once per month...

Liquid Amber

Fallen Liquid Amber Leaf

Death can be a beautiful thing.

Most of the leaves had fallen from the liquid amber trees at Glendora Centennial Heritage Park. The week before I looked over the chain link fence and noticed that the foliage was at peak color. I longed for an opportunity to photograph it but the park wasn't open that weekend. This is what it looked like the following week.

Front Porch Picture

Hamilton House Front Porch in Centennial Heritage Park, Glendora, California

A pretty straightforward composition but I felt a sense of comfort by looking at the Hamilton House. I guess I kind of long for the simpler things in life. I'm not much of a city person and gravitate more toward the low-key humble places. The only thing missing here is the girl next door welcoming me with open arms.

Hamilton House - Glendora Centennial Heritage Park

Hamilton House Front Porch at Centennial Heritage Park, Glendora, California

Earlier this month during my interview with Kristin Parisi she mentioned one of her favorite local places was the Centennial Heritage Park. I had never heard of the place since it is tucked in between the north side of the South Hills, a wash and an apartment complex. It only opens one weekend per month so I decided to go check it out a few weeks ago when there was still a little bit of color left on the trees.

It is a pretty cool place I must admit! The star attraction is the Hamilton House but the garden consists of a citrus grove, a row of liquid amber trees lining the property and an array of old farming equipment scattered about. My tour guide, Tom, was very passionate about describing the stories behind the place. If you question your own passion for life, take this house tour and you'll learn what passion is about from a 73 year old man. He's been volunteering for the Preservation Foundation for 12 years since his retirement and loves it. I ended up talking to him for probably two hours off and on in between taking photos. The light outdoors was horrible at that hour anyway due to the sun rising behind the South Hills so I wasn't able to get many photos.

I thought this picture showed how quaint the Hamilton House is. They really did a good job at restoring this place as I think it previously housed some sort of store on Route 66 and was home to the original family before that. I have the brochure around here somewhere but I can't find it at the moment so excuse me if my facts are a little off.

Elephant Seal Rookery, Point Piedras Blancas

Elephant Seal Rookery at Sunset, Point Piedras Blancas near San Simeon, California

It is easy to take things for granted when you've spent most of your life in California. Point Piedras Blancas is one of those places that people from all over the world come from to see and yet for most Californians you can just hop in the car and head up or down PCH for three - four hours to get here. That is the drawback to many of our spectacular sights though. These places are just too popular to enjoy as a true wilderness experience. There rarely is any solitude. Yet I found it here at Point Piedras Blancas.

The main tourist stop was just up the road and had the largest colony of elephant seals on the coast. There must have been hundreds if not over a thousand tourists there all taking pictures. However the unmarked dirt lot just down the road had way fewer visitors. Other than a few people walking around on the trails, I had this place all to myself. By the time sunset came around I was the only person left.

The nice thing about this area is that there are no railings or fences to keep people out. (Harassing the seals would be foolish anyway not to mention a felony.) When you are observing from the coastal trail you are actually quite close to them so you have to be careful. They could outrun you and kill you without much effort. That is the danger and beauty of wilderness. The natural world is bigger than us. Nature ultimately dictates the outcome.

Morro Bay Abstract Water Painting

Abstract Color Water Reflections, Morro Bay, California

I have a fascination with water abstracts and couldn't resist when I saw this series of abstract ripples caused by the rack of kayaks that were docked here. The colors were unusually rich because the kayaks cast a large shadow over this area of water.

Sierra Club

Sierra Club Nature Photography Presentation by Richard Wong

With great honor, I'm proud to announce that I was invited by the Sierra Club to give a lecture on nature photography. This event will be taking place at 7 p.m. on March 11th at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City, California. If you live in L.A. or the Southern California region then feel free to stop on by.

To be able to have my name associated with the organization founded by John Muir is a very humbling thought. Everyone from John Muir to David Brower to Ansel Adams to Galen Rowell achieved great things for our country so it is really them that I owe this opportunity to. Also I'd like to thank Paul Breitkreuz who recommended me.

Press Release

Hope to see you there!

Morro Bay Harbor

Morro Rock and Harbor Fishing Boats, Morro Bay, California

The nice thing about traveling during the winter season is the shorter days. The sun goes down by 5 p.m., you can have dinner by a decent hour then relax for a few hours before going to bed. Then repeat the same cycle the next day at 6 a.m. feeling fresh.

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 resolution picture of the environmental degradation that is happening in my local community.

Also here are some ground-level photos courtesy of Erica Landmann-Johnsey:

Wholesale Nursery Delivery Truck Driving Past Hiker on Glendora South Hills Trail


A Line of Colorama Wholesale Nursery Employees Driving Their Cars Down Bonnie Cove Hiking Trail

Nursery Employee in Hazmat Suit Spraying Chemicals in Glendora South Hills


Colorama Diesel Truck Driving Up Bonnie Cove Trail, Glendora South Hills Wilderness Park, California

Glendora South Hills Wilderness Park Trail in Spring Bloom

Moonstone Beach Rocks

Moonstone Beach Rocks, Cambria, California

A close-up photo of the rocks at Moonstone Beach. Some of them are as smooth as glass I'm guessing because of the friction from washing ashore continuously.

Moonstones, Cambria

Moonstones at Moonstone Beach, Cambria, California

One moment of my childhood that sticks in my mind was throwing rocks into the Pacific Ocean as the summer sun set along the California Central Coast. My family and I were staying across the street at a motel along Moonstone Drive so we were all out there just living life that day. Not thinking about money, work, girls, band practice, getting called names for your skin color, death, etc... Just throwing rocks into the ocean.

So I'd been trying to conceive of a picture at Moonstone Beach since I started shooting pictures. I hadn't taken a single picture here all this time and it wasn't until this trip that some creative juices started flowing. I walked up along the boardwalk, up and down onto the beach along Moonstone Drive for an hour or two until I realized the interesting thing was that the rocks wash up with every single wave. You can hear them rolling like marbles and feel them hitting your feet with the incoming tides. Almost as quickly as they arrive, they leave for sea again repeating the cycle time and time again. It reminds me of life in a way.

Sebastian's Store, WR Hearst Memorial SB

Sebastian's Store, William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach, San Simeon, California

After the Hearst Castle tour, I was feeling pretty hungry so I went over to Sebastian's which is basically located across PCH from the Hearst Castle parking lot but tucked way back into the forest. I went earlier in the morning to take this picture before the store was open but remembered seeing a sign outside that said there was a deli inside. So after the tour I went over there figuring the average Hearst Castle tourist wouldn't know about it.

So after some deliberation, I decided to order the french dip sandwich. Excuse my inner Paris Hilton, but Oh my god it soooo good!! On the menu they said ingredients include Hearst Ranch Beef, horseradish, au ju's sauce, etc... and some sort of bread. Sounded fairly interesting but this turned out to be the best sandwich I have ever had in my life. I can't stop thinking about it either. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me or think to use my cell phone camera but take my word for it.

Sebastian's Store dates back to the 1870's and looks like a homey little small town general store. Doesn't look like a place where you would find great food but that is what's so great about it. Unlike those pretentious fancy schmancy high-end L.A. restaurants newspapers and magazines brag about in the media all the time, Sebastian's is one of those low-key places where you just kind of stumble into in the middle of nowhere.

After eating, I went around the front again and saw a sandwich board that said "Home of the Famous Hearst Ranch Beef Dip Sandwich." Turned out to be a lucky decision on my part.

Neptune Pool, Hearst Castle

Neptune Pool / Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

If there is one California Coast tourist attraction that is a must-see it is Hearst Castle. It is very popular and for good reason. It is just freaking awesome! I'm sorry I can't come up with any more descriptive words but the architecture and setting is too magnificent for words. Though this is a very well-known scene, I still was mumbling cuss words to myself in disbelief when I walked up to the Neptune Pool.

My parents took us to Hearst Castle in the early 90's and until now that was my only visit. I wasn't planning on going during this trip either but I had some time to kill between photo shoots so I walked up to the counter to see if they had any tickets left. Tickets tend to sell out months in advance but I managed to get in on the next tour which was the Casa Grande North Tour. The North Tower was never completed so I think that is why there might have been openings.

I also met this retired sports photojournalist on the tour and we ended up talking photography for most of the time. Overall I would say Hearst Castle was the highlight of the photo trip.