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!

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!

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

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 background.

Both my husband and I are transplants from the Midwest to California, and we chose Glendora nearly 25 years ago as the place we wanted to raise our family. Soon after our children started school, I got involved in PTA and with other local issues and was quickly “hooked”.

Growing up, my folks were small business owners and we were always active on local issues and local politics. My mother owned and operated our small town newspaper and my father was a local politician. I was raised to believe you “Can’t complain if you don’t get involved”, so it was a natural step for me to provide information that helped the community, try to get our elected officials to listen, and work on the campaigns of candidates I believe in.

As a community volunteer, I published a little paper called “Glendora Life” from 1998-2007. It was Glendora’s “alternative” source of information. We dug for facts and reported news that other local media chose to ignore. Over the past 12 years, I have gradually become more informed, more involved, and more committed to being the type of voice in city hall our citizens deserve.

In my life, I’ve held many different jobs including teacher, college administrator, and policy analyst, but none more fulfilling or rewarding than the work I do now as a Children’s Social Worker. Every day I am in touch with some of our most needy families and feel blessed to have an opportunity to try and answer those needs, whether its safety, emotional strength, food or housing.

I hold a masters degree in Public Administration. I am dedicated to public service, and I will bring my communications skills and broad experience as an administrator, educator and social worker to the Glendora city council.

What do city council members do?

At best, city council members are the most accessible face of government for the citizens. The council sets policy on everything from where you can walk your dog, to the number and size of your business signs. The council plays a huge role in land use and planning decisions that impact the future of communities. Councils make decisions that determine the amount of open space and parkland to protect, the policy on recycling, which congestion management and traffic calming efforts to fund. These are all policies the city council decides on.

Council members are expected to be responsible enough to research issues they

vote on. They should listen and give voice and consideration to the values, opinions, and preferences of their constituents as part of their decision process. Of course, there are competing interests to be considered, but council members should give them all fair consideration and seek solutions and build consensus for decisions that better the entire community, not simply appease their friends or those with the loudest voices.

Unfortunately, what council members do and what they are supposed to do are often not the same. We all know that far too many elected officials succumb to the pressure of repaying favors to those who financed their campaigns.

Kristin Parisi City Council Candidate Waving to Crowd, Glendora Christmas Parade, California

Why do you want to be a Glendora City Council member?

Again, I think the process should be inclusive. When planning to balance housing needs with sustainability, protection of open space and quality of life, for instance, the process yields better results when the process is inclusive. That balance only comes when there are independent voices on the council and a real debate about the huge changes proposed for our community, and the possible solutions.

Since I got involved locally more than a dozen years ago, I’ve shown my concern for every area of our city and the kinds of decisions that are made to protect and improve our neighborhoods by being actively involved, speaking out to the Planning Commission and the City Council, providing written comments to environmental impact reports, and challenging decisions when I thought they were made in error, like the decision to place a commercial nursery operation in a wilderness park.

I’m running for the Glendora City Council because I still believe that discussion, dialog and debate are healthy. I believe in democracy and that everyone should have a place at the table. When we listen and consider everyone’s opinions and have a real, authentic commitment to inclusion and planning, we arrive at better decisions.







Your name was brought to my attention due a blog post I made about commercial development within the Glendora South Hills. What are your views regarding past, present and future decisions regarding our local wilderness area?

Every week, I drive all over the county and there is no better argument for preservation and conservation than a tour of the Southland. We are indeed fortunate to live near the foothills, just one of California’s natural treasures.

The fact is that more could have been done to preserve our local wild areas. Those who made the decisions, however, were obviously motivated by the interests of landowners who supported development regardless of the elevation, regardless of the slope, regardless of the habitat in the area.

I’m pleased that the Glendora Community Conservancy, www.glendoraconservancy.org, with the support of California and Los Angeles County voters, have been able to preserve so many acres. We need more people like you and them, and we need local politicians who make preservation and conservation a priority.

Regarding the future, I think we need to grasp the concept that “when it’s gone, it’s gone”. Preservation should be part of the planning process – valued as much as any other factor in reaching the balance I talked about before. What we can preserve, we should, and we should be good stewards of it for future generations. There is absolutely no need for commercial developments in our South Hills, and the Glendora City Council should terminate the lease and use the land for the purpose for which it was intended.




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

Leased Private Property in Glendora South Hills

The Glendora City Manager wrote to me stating that the Glendora Wilderness Park is “zoned as open space and thus cannot be developed with houses or any commercial buildings.” Clearly this is not true because a commercial nursery operation is located smack dab right in the middle of it. Hikers have reported being harassed and run off the Bonnie Cove trail by renegade truck drivers that apparently weren’t even aware that it was originally intended to be a hiking trail. If elected to the city council, will you do what you can to preserve our remaining open spaces?

Like many other Glendorans, I disagree with the current city council’s decision to lease out publicly owned land in our South Hills Wilderness Park area to a commercial nursery. This decision was made hastily. It was a “consent calendar item” for the council, decided without public debate or thorough consideration of impacts on the public: such as public safety for citizens who visit the hills, spraying of toxic or hazardous chemicals, and damage to flora and fauna.

As a member of the council, I will work to terminate the commercial lease with minimal impact to the city’s financial resources. I am a member and supporter of the “Save the South Hills” effort and will continue to be. In addition, I will continue my efforts to protect the foothills and would like to see expanded grant writing activity to support our Conservancy’s efforts and those of other area conservancies. I hope to work with local schools and interested organizations to increase educational and recreational uses of the areas that are available to the public. Public land is a public trust. It’s time we started treating it that way here in Glendora.










Tell me some memorable experiences you have had along the Bonnie Cove trail in the South Hills.

What I love most is the sense of being somewhere away from life’s hustle, bustle and so close to nature. We are so blessed that this opportunity is so close to home. Seeing the baby hawks hatch in the hawk nest across from the Bonnie Cove trail is a wonderful site. It’s said the nest has been there since at least the 1960's.

Sadly, one less than positive memory was the day we looked at the black walnut tree which held the old beehive, killed by a nursery employee. It was another thoughtless insult to the natural beauty and web of life, and an example of how these two land uses – commercial nursery in the middle of the public’s wilderness park are not compatible and needs to be resolved. I’m told nursery employees seem confused as to why there are hikers on the "road". Actually, they’re driving their trucks and cars on a hiking trail! The business does not have the South Hills' best interest in mind; it is useful in their effort to turn a profit. As I said, the uses are not compatible and the park should be returned to the public for public use.

Lupine and Mustard Wildflowers in Glendora South Hills Wilderness Park




Tell me about the Glendora Community Conservancy and your involvement with this organization.

The Conservancy and I are on the same page -- preserve open space, and I am a fan and supporter of the Glendora Community Conservancy. The organization has successfully protected a significant number of acres in our foothills, although not as many as I would have hoped for. The Conservancy has a local office and website you may wish to explore.




Click on the link to learn more about the Glendora Community Conservancy and local environmental issues.

More pictures of environmental degradation.

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 city council member seats. She is here to give voice to those of us who appreciate our local natural resources and want to keep it that way.

We discussed doing an interview on my blog for her to give a little more background on The South Hills. Hopefully I will have this for you in the near future. All in all, it was a pretty fun parade.

Save the South Hills Twins, Glendora Christmas Parade, California

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 still smells fresh as was the resulting ash.

Fire Scarred Hillside, Brea, California

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 Bar Residents, California
Photo: People Watching Wildfires in Brea Canyon, Diamond, California
Picture: Brea Canyon Firestorm Flames, California

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), not too far from where I live, there were flames that flew across the freeway from one hillside to another.

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 Eastern Sierra. But I couldn't get this location out of my mind during the entire trip. Along with Manzanar, I just had to stop by here on the way back home.

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. But the part I hike is purely wild. I see jackrabbits, skunk, red ants, and a tarantula almost every single time I have been up there. The area doesn't look spectacular but it is special to me.

I prefer not to get into politics on this blog but environmental issues are something that is very important to me so I can’t keep this to myself. I realize that David Dreier is my local congressman and one of the worst members of the Congress when it comes to LCV score. I think at one point, he had a zero out of 100. One person’s complaints might fall on deaf ears but if enough people speak he has no choice but to listen. The whole development-first mindset has got to go.

Southern California is already a cesspool of overdevelopment and outdoor recreation lovers can’t even enjoy our little island in a sea of civilization anymore. I lost ten pounds hiking this trail 3 – 4 times a week. No matter how bad of day I might have had, everything in my life disappears as I’m hiking the trail. It clears my mind and makes me feel good. I can only hope that more people can experience the positive things that I have here.

Here are more pictures from my website:

South Hills Alosta Canyon Trail
He Loved Her, San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley Sunset, Glendora

YouTube Video
Save the Glendora South Hills

Glendora City Council and Community Redevelopment Meeting Agenda

Update 11/10/08: I received a response from the City Manager, "In answer to your question, we do not know of any housing or other development that would occur in the Wilderness Park. As you may know, the Park covers several hundred acres and is zoned as open space and thus cannot be developed with houses or any commercial buildings. I know the City Council has taken many steps to make sure the park remains in its current open space state and has applauded the Trails Committee for its fine work in maintaining the trail system that you referred to in the email."

I hope that this really is the case and stays this way.

Update 11/30/08:
Lupine and Mustard Wildflowers

"Zoning" - This wholesale nursery occupies a pretty big chunk of the hills.

Some pictures from my cell phone -

Wholesale Nursery Development in Glendora South Hills

Leased Private Property in South Hills

Road Closure

I wrote to Mr. Dreier's office also and their response was that land-use issues were out of his jurisdiction. Despite that, I think it is always a good idea to write to your local members of Congress to make your opinions known. Developers might have money but we the people have our rights too and together we can fight greed.

Update 1/4/09: I interviewed Kristin Parisi, a local environmental activist and Glendora City Council Candidate. She is quite knowledgeable about the land use issues.

Dead Pine Trees, Ansel Adams Wilderness

Dead Pine Trees Killed by Carbon Dioxide Emissions near Horseshoe Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, California

The weather was pretty crappy but I drove around the Mammoth Lakes anyway. It was too windy to shoot pictures of fall foliage and very cold outside. The one interesting thing that did catch my eye was all the dead trees around the Mammoth Pass trailhead. Crazy stuff. I initially figured it was a fire that caused the damage. I looked it up on the net later and found out that it was due to an unusually high amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

The reason why there is so much CO2 there is because Mammoth is a volcanic hotspot as part of the Long Valley Caldera. Several people are killed annually while skiing the backcountry around Mammoth because of this. So I'm wondering if you feel the effects of altitude sickness here, how can you be sure that it is really altitude sickness and not gas poisoning?

Update: Here is a link to more information about the dead pine trees.

Also Mark posted an interesting note in the comments about the warning sign:

"The soil concentration of CO2 in the entire hazard area is 20 to 90% compared to a normal level of less than 1%. CO2 is heavier than air and can collect in depressions on a calm day.

ON THE BEACH, please adhere to the following guidelines for your safety:

* Don't dig in the ground (a source of CO2).
* No sitting, picnicking or sunbathing on the beach.
* Keep children and pets out of the area.

Symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, rapid pulse and heartbeat, etc.
Loss of consciousness and death can occur very quickly.

For more information, see the interpretive signs on the buildings or contact the Ranger Station at 760-934-5500"

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 Lumber Company. After numerous battles in court, a small portion of old-growth forests were ceded to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is now partially open to the public. This was taken along the Elk River trailhead, just outside of Eureka.

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 nearly an entire city block. So I went back the next morning to get my pictures.

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 of a growing population, it probably takes a lot of timber to meet the demand.

Now that PALCO is under new ownership by the Mendocino Redwood Company (the owners of which also own The Gap clothing chain), environmental groups are hoping for a return to ecologically-sustainable logging practices. They certainly have a tough task ahead while trying to balance business with environmental demands.

The Pacific Lumber Company

Photo: Pacific Lumber Company With Clearcut Redwood Forests Behind the Mill, Scotia, California

The Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) is the site of the world's largest redwood mill. The mill used to be a tourist attraction as it was open to the public but I was told that an extensive re-organization of the company took place a few years ago so the public catwalks are no longer in place. I really wanted to see what the operations were like first-hand because PALCO has been at the center of countless environmental battles over the past twenty years.

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 yesterday's events: UC Police Extracts First Berkeley Tree Sitter

Update 6/20/08: Food supply support lines have been cut. "Dumpster Muffin" is still in the trees however and not planning on coming down anytime soon according to the Mercury News.

70-300mm @ 70mm, f7.1, ISO 800, 1/400 sec., AP mode w/ pattern metering +1 exposure compensation, flash w/ omnibounce diffuser

UC Berkeley Tree-Sitters

I was looking on the internet the other day to learn about the tree-sitters in Northern California when I saw one story about UC Berkeley. The university was planning to chop down the Memorial Grove of old oak trees in favor of a weight lifting facility for football players so a group of protesters climbed the trees 553 days ago and haven't left since. There is a whole community of activists camping in the trees held together by ropes and various other devices.

In response to the actions of the activists, the police have barracaded the group in with fencing and reserves the right to arrest anyone supplying them with food. However, every Sunday at 2 p.m., environmental activists show up in numbers to support them. Presumably with the strength in numbers philosophy.

"Ki Jones" here has been for the past two months. Jones is originally from San Antonio and heard about the Berkeley tree-sit on the radio so he decided to come out west. Prior to arriving in Berkeley he was tree-sitting in the Northern California Redwood coast, and in Oregon.

As he was discussing his background and living situation, a group of Jewish missionaries walked up to us and started questioning Jones and his friends motives. The missionaries didn't seem to see much validity in environmental conservation. Naturally, the tension started to rise, as Jones explained his position while the missionaries remained skeptical.

Among the positions adopted by the tree-sitters:
- Memorial Oak Grove is situated on a fault-line as well as the adjacent Memorial Stadium
- There has been evidence that this was an ancient Native American burial site and thus is sacred grounds
- The world is over-developed as is and the world cannot sustain it's natural resources at the current rate of consumption
- Even though this is just fighting for a small part of the world, we need to celebrate Earth's natural gifts
- The oak trees were dedicated to World War II veterans so they have historical value

Photo: Memorial Oak Grove Tree-Sitter, UC Berkeley, California (Apologies for the poor file quality. I'm using my laptop and have minimal software installed.)

Personally, I found Jones to be a nice guy and passionate about what he believes in. Among his interests is art. He sketched a telephone pole that had morphed in a tree. He intends to make it into a painting eventually. We also discussed photography a bit as well. His grandfather was a professional photographer back in the day so he developed an appreciation for the artform. In fact, here he is posing with my business card! Before I left, I mentioned that I was interested in talking with some of his friends from the Redwood Coast.

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Goldfields and Golden Poppies, Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, California

This is a good year to visit the poppy reserve. I also went in 2002 and 2005, but it is definitely better this year than those other years. Most of the flowers are located inside of the reserve, on the road just to the east of the reserve, and a large carpet along the northern boundary. There wasn't a lot of diversity of flowers, mainly I saw goldfields and poppies but there were a lot of those.

The weather was less than ideal though because it was extremely windy. Antelope Valley is one of the windiest locations in California so that was not a surprise. Surprisingly though, I was able to get sharp photos and it looked kinda cool to have my poppies flopping off to the side. The flowers are so colorful and so abundant that it is nearly impossible to take bad pictures here no matter what the weather is like.

The drawback is that there were a lot of people there. People trampling the flowers by stepping off the trails and kids running into people like it was an arcade pinball machine at Barnum & Bailey's. I overheard one lady complaining to a ranger that the reserve is located in the middle of nowhere. The ranger responded, "yes, and that's the best part about it!" If people want Disneyland then go to Disneyland. There's nothing wrong with that, but leave the state parks to people who want to experience nature without interference from housing developments, corporate interests and power lines. As is, a few miles away there is a state prison and housing developments starting to pop up around the perimeter of the reserve. :-(

The Negative Effects of Tourism, Anza Borrego Desert SP

Female Tourist Looking into Desert Pupfish Pond, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California

I was supposed to meet photographer Ron Niebrugge last week around 11:30 at the Anza Borrego Visitor Center in Borrego Springs. What I didn't expect was a 30 min cruise around the parking lot just to find a parking space. Once I found the space, I walked down to the visitor center.

Just in front of the visitor center is a shallow pond / interpretive display that provides a habitat for the endangered desert pupfish. Desert pupfish can live in almost any type of water conditions from hot to cold, to saltwater to freshwater but their natural habitats have been diverted from their natural flows in order to irrigate farms and provide drinking water to the public. Anza Borrego there are few places where theses fishes still live. This pond is one of those places.

Well, a guy strolls up to the pond with his dog saying how cool the "tadpoles" look never mind that there was a big sign right next to him indicating that they were fish and not frogs. Given the dry desert climate, his dog starts drinking the water along with the fish! The dog owner thought nothing of it but I was pissed. I didn't say anything to him and just walked away from the pond shaking my head. There's no way his dog would know any better but very irresponsible on the owner's part. Many folks out there to view the spring wildflowers clearly had no interest in nature other than to see a spectacle.

Another telling sign of the amusement park-like atmosphere was that there were 20 - 30 people waiting to use four toilets right at the edge of the parking lot. When I saw the long line near the parking lot, I wondered perhaps if they had shut the restrooms down around the corner at the visitor center. There was only one way to find out... and nope, the restrooms were open just waiting to be discovered.

After lunch, I tried to do the Palm Canyon hike. The rangers wouldn't let me in because the parking lot had been overfilled all day long. You can also park at the visitor center and get there by walking further but there was an even longer line of cars than what I'd seen at 11 a.m. so I just gave up trying.

I heard that Borrego Springs only gets crowded during the weekends on wildflower season and rather deserted the rest of the year. That is probably a good thing because there wouldn't be anything left if it was like that every week.

Apparently it's a Junkyard Out Here

Photo of Biodegradable vs Non-Biodegradable Waste, Angeles National Forest, California

Depending on the season and weather conditions, my local area can look beautiful occasionally on the surface. Upon a closer look you will find tree carvings usually of the Boy + Girl variety, you will find a lot of beer cans, and gang graffiti on the granite rocks. Ahh, the drawbacks of having a rugged wilderness area in Los Angeles County. Oh yes!

It's this type of stuff that I have to deal with every time I go out shooting near my house. As much as I want to shoot only pretty pictures, I want to be honest and won't make any illusions about what it is like to spend time in the San Gabriel Mountains. Hopefully my pictures will at least make a few people angry enough to positively influence those around them. Making people care about the environment is an uphill battle for sure in this area especially when the average person you see on a trail is a dad with his three young boys wearing sandals and breathing as if oxygen is going out of style, or teenage skinny-dippers in the creek.

I found fall foliage swirling very fast in this creek and used long exposure times to get them blurred. However I couldn't ignore the fact that a discarded beer can was also in the water. So I took the aluminum can out of the water and set it on the dry leaves. I wanted to do a visual metaphor for the moving leaves representing nature's cycle of life and the can not going anywhere; which is exactly what non-biodegradable waste does. It stays around forever. Don't litter.

A Sad Day for Nature Photography

Photo: Contrails in Sunset Sky While Ducks Swim up to Urban Runoff Storm Drain that Empties into Upper Newport Bay, Newport Beach, California

The Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in the Southern California. Critical bird habitat such as the Back Bay has been eroding at a rapid pace over the past century and becoming increasingly polluted, particularly so in the past thirty years due to rampant urban development. The bay is a mixture of fresh and saltwater but the "fresh" water mainly consists of urban runoff from the local community. The foreground water flowing into the bay with the ducks is a reminder that we must be careful not to pour toxic chemicals down our drains and pesticides. There is life out there that depends on our used water.

Birds outlived their dinosaur predecessors and have been around for millions of years. They developed the ability to fly in order to avoid ground-based predators. Their ability to adapt to their surroundings has allowed them to thrive in almost every habitat on the planet. However, the interference of man can have a much quicker and dramatic impact on wildlife than their ability to adapt. The airplane-induced contrails in the sky is a double-reminder of the increasing competition that birds must endure in order to survive in today's world. Even in the air, birds are not alone anymore.

I took this image on Saturday evening. To me it symbolizes the importance of strong environmental protection laws and how urgent it is to have cooperation in our society when it comes to respect for the environment. This is perhaps the saddest picture that I have ever taken. Only one can wonder how beautiful this planet was before the Industrial Revolution.

This photo will soon be added to the Environmental Issues gallery on my website.

State Urban Wilderness Areas?

Photographer, Jim Goldstein posted a message on the Nature Photographers Network about the San Diego Gas & Electric Company pushing to re-write laws to develop power lines through a popular portion of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park Wilderness. I read about this elsewhere but this article here explains it better than what I'd read previously. It would be a sad day for all of America if our State Parks gave way to the demands of urban development. Our state parks and national parks system in California is what separates our state from the rest the country. They are pristine, and protected by strong environmental laws. Our state parks aren't "state resort parks" like they are in Kentucky.

The de-classification of Anza Borrego Desert State Park.



The California State Parks and Recreation Commission will be holding
its only southern California public hearing on the proposed powerline route on 2/8/07 at 7:30 PM at the Borrego Springs Resort.

P.S.: Added 1/9/07: Jim posted a link under "comments" to the legal ruling but it won't show up on my computer, so here it is just in case. Sunrise Powerlink Legal Ruling, Comments, and Testimony

Backyard Nature Photography

I took this photo of a praying mantis, Tenodera Sinensis, yesterday afternoon in front of my garage. It wasn't moving much when I saw it so I ran into the house to grab my camera and 70-300mm 1:2 macro lens. I wanted to get a eye-level view so I laid down on the hot asphalt and took a number of pictures. It's difficult to handhold a 300mm macro lens while getting the eyes in focus so the majority of those pictures I had to delete afterwards. Frustrated with my results, I decided to try my 17-35mm lens at f11 about six inches away from the praying mantis. It wasn't quite what I was hoping to get as I wanted to fill up the frame with the insect but it does convey a sense of wildlife displacement due to suburban development. (An all-too-familiar sight in Southern California I might add.)



Finally I decided to put it all on the line and got out my 60mm macro lens set at f9.0. 60mm isn't long enough in most cases to get close enough to creatures without spooking them, but since it didn't mind my presence I put my camera within two or three inches of the praying mantis and fired away blindly in hopes of capturing a dynamic portrait. Since I'm insectophobic, I was in no mood to put my face within three inches of the insect. Luckily for me it didn't move forward while I was taking pictures.



Several other macro photos were taken of the praying mantis eating, and looking upwards at me while I was shooting down at it. Apparently even insects have some sort of intelligence!

Would you like some irony with your coffee this morning, sir?

I was at the San Dimas, California, U.S. Post Office this morning and saw a framed, $15 U.S. Department of the Interior commemorative stamp being sold that is entitled, "Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation."

I'm still scratching my head as I type this, and no I've never had lice.

Northern White Rhino

If your mother was shot in the chest with a rifle, would you celebrate the feat by mounting her head on your living room wall?

I just read on National Geographic photographer, Nick Nichols' website about the endangered Northern White Rhino. So out of curiosity I did a web search on the species. I found this conservation website with a touching photo of the Northern White Rhino. The wild population of these incredible animals range between 5 to 10, all located in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Several are scattered in various zoos around the world but captive breeding efforts haven't been all that successful despite a decade's worth of effort.

If you're interested in finding out more about rhinos, check this site out! International Rhino Foundation

Coho Salmon Spawn 1-6-05

November through January is the Coho Salmon spawn in Marin County. These fish spawn each winter up the Lagunitas Watershed and Redwood Creek in Muir Woods National Monument. Trout spawn as well in these waters. Some reports state that this is the largest Coho Salmon run in California. On the endangered species list, these fish have increased their population over the past decade. The current population is in the several hundreds, which is down from the hundreds of thousands, which have historically called this region home.

I found out about the situation about a year and a half ago through word of mouth when I was working as an aquarium naturalist at the Aquarium of the Bay. Intrigued, I started visiting in November 2003. I saw interesting fall foliage but no fish on the first trip. It wasn’t until my third or fourth trip in January ’04 when I saw my first fish.

My first salmon sighting was nothing short of amazing as I witnessed it swimming in a shallow pool near a short waterfall. After a minute or so, it leaped over the waterfall and continued its’ journey up the creek. My camera was in the trunk.



I went back to my car and got my gear but haven’t seen a repeat performance since. However, I walked to the next set of waterfalls and saw about ten fishes over the course of an hour jumping up the creek. I didn’t get any satisfactory pictures but it was worth the experience. I wasn’t disappointed at all.

Fast-forward another year to today. I went to the Leo Cronin viewing area in Lagunitas and saw about ten fishes swimming upstream along the trail. The water was muddy due to the recent heavy rains so it wasn’t hard to get clear shots of the salmon. I’ve had salmon practically swim up to my feet in the past but it’s hard to get good shots of them because of muddy water and reflections. Using a polarizer is an option, but salmon don’t stay still long enough to get clean shots of them. Unless you have a new, high-end digital SLR with good high ISO performance, you’re out of luck as I am.



The Olympus E-20 that I’ve used over the past three years works well on ISO 80 and decent on 160 if you shoot on RAW, but neither has been fast enough to adequately capture these fish with a polarizer. I’ve seen decent pictures of the fish, but it seemed more a result of luck than technique. I think you need clear water and have them swimming in the shallow parts of the creek near the surface. The problem is that they mostly spawn after a heavy rain which creates a full creek of raging water.

My camera has been acting up on my lately. Dying on me repeatedly on what is supposed to be fully-charged batteries. I doubt it is because of winter weather as it isn’t that cold in California. This is the same camera I’ve used without problems at 5:30 a.m. in 19 degree weather and in 40 degree hurricane force winds. It doesn’t handle humidity and moisture very well though so that could be a factor. But it started acting up on me at Mission San Juan Capistrano over a week ago during nice weather. By switching the power off and on repeatedly, I somehow got the camera working long enough to get my shots for the day. Ugghh. If this keeps up, I will have to go back to Nikon and Provia/Velvia.

I went across the road to the Inkwells but didn’t see any fish despite a full creek. Maybe next time. I got in the car and drove to Fairfax to have lunch at Grilly’s. Grilly’s is a little hole in the wall on the corner of Bolinas Road and Broadway that I’ve been told several times. I recommend the Grande Chicken Burrito. It’s very good. It tastes like there’s a hint of lime in there.

I planned on spending the rest of the day at Cataract Falls high on Mount Tam, but decided to try Cascade Falls. Located in Elliott Nature Preserve in Fairfax, I looked for the falls last year but couldn’t figure out the trail system. This time I walked every route of the trails until I found it. Stupid me. I should have just followed where everyone else was walking last year.



The falls were worth it. To reach it, it’s probably about a mile walk or so over some hillside and stream crossings. Definitely a lot less strenuous than reaching Cataract Falls. Cascade Falls is probably between 25 to 40 feet high with a large run off. I scrambled over some rocks to get to the foot of the falls where I proceeded to drench my pants and lens. I got a few shots handheld and with my tripod used as a monopod on the rocks. Some teens came by later to smoke some cigarettes so I went to the top of the waterfall to find a new perspective.



I came back to the bottom once they left and got several more images by putting my tripod in the middle of the creek and sitting on a small rock in the creek before leaving when it was getting dark. Everything was soaking wet on me except for my ass; which was sitting on that small rock barely above the water in the middle of the creek oddly enough.

Waterfalls and creeks are my favorite places to go outdoors. I prefer these scenes over rocky beaches, great desert light, and even mountains. Unlike general landscapes, these scenes allow for more creative freedom. I’m as guilty of shooting “postcard shots” as anyone else, but I hate that and try to go beyond that to something more meaningful.

All shots were with a polarizer to remove the glare from the overcast weather. It also serves to slow the exposure to create the milky water in waterfall photography. Why buy ND filters when you need to use a polarizer anyway? It’s basically a two-stop ND filter as is. Unlike a lot of my fellow nature photographers, I’m not an equipment freak nor am I a technique wizard. I learn what I need to learn and I work hard to master those skills. I’m constantly on the look out for new techniques to improve on, but equipment is rarely on that list.

My basic equipment I take everywhere I go are my camera, small Gitzo backpacking tripod, UV filter for protection, a polarizer to cut glare and deepen skies, and Singh-Ray Galen Rowell Graduated ND filters. Different from ND filters, half of the filter is clear while the other half is a neutral-gray two or three stops darker. They help balance the exposure from ground to the sky with no color cast; which is essential for serious photographers. A major difference between a good nature photographer and someone who wonders why their pictures are either washed out or too dark or both is because they don’t know how to spot meter and aren’t familiar with Graduated ND’s. I started experimenting with Graduated ND’s during my second year of photography and I don’t know how I could have survived without them. Half of the pictures on my website wouldn’t exist without them! Also, look at what they did for Galen Rowell’s career.

A final note on the salmon: Stay out of the protected areas. Disturbing them can kill their chances of reproduction by causing silt to bury their eggs or scare the fish off altogether. Keep quiet in those areas well because they get scared easily. Harassing them is a felony with a stiff punishment. .

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve 12/10/04

This was the first of three consecutive minus tide days during magic hour. If there is a time to shoot an ocean shots, this is it. The tide on this day was minus 1.2 feet at 3:12 p.m. Saturday was minus 1.7 feet at 4:20 and Sunday is minus 1.9 feet at 4:52 p.m.

This is a very scenic location with ocean bluffs and a large tide pool, but it seems to be devoid of tide pool life despite being in a marine reserve. I’d been here during a low tide twice previously and I can count the number of sea stars that I’ve seen on one hand.

I spoke to a ranger on the phone a few months ago and they clued me in to why that is. One theory is because people insist on picking up and touching everything that moves. This was not surprising to me because as a former aquarium naturalist, I would constantly have to warn guests not to pick up sea stars. The reason is that the sea stars have suction cups on the bottom and those is what they use to move and eat with. If you’ve ever tried picking one up yourself you might have noticed sometimes they are hard to get off of a rock. That is why. Once we start picking them up, suctions break off and they are unable to hold themselves down and eventually get washed to sea or eaten.

Personally I don’t touch anything and try to avoid stepping on any living creatures including mussels. I especially don’t step in shallow pools of water. Ironically, I saw a scientist stepping in the pools with rubber boots while taking wildlife surveys.



Being a Friday afternoon, there was a high school group there digging through the pools picking everything up in sight. They cleared out eventually as the sun was setting, so I had the place to myself to shoot. The conditions appeared ripe for a nice light, but it never materialized. My guess is that the clouds weren’t high enough to catch alpenglow and the air was “too clean” on this day to color the light.



What to bring: 1. all the Graduated ND filters that you have for the low tide because the tide pools are a lot darker than the sky. Also because there’s a limitless amount of compositions you can make during low tide.

2. Polarizer. The wet exposed tide pools reflect a lot of light, which ruins your colors and overexposes everything. If you want to see the colors of your subjects, use the polarizer in a situation like this.

3. Hiking boots. It is slippery out there. I only have running shoes so I have to gingerly walk out there. This is a place where you don’t want to have an adventure.

I’m curious as to what Point Reyes looks like during low tide. In Galen Rowell’s Bay Area Wild book there’s an image of octopus and sea stars during low tide at Pt. Reyes. There’s more life in that one image than I’ve seen in my trips to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.