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

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.

So Close Yet So Far, Border Field State Park

Welcome to Mexico Cell Phone Text Message

Last Saturday, La Jolla-based photographer Brian Auer and I went to photograph the U.S. border. Neither of us knew what to expect and turned out to be quite a surreal experience even while driving in.

Frustrated Mexican Man Grabbing Tijuana Mexico International Boundary Fence, Border Field State Park, California, USA

I said hello to this guy as I was standing next to the border fence then he started asking me how far San Diego was from there and then about Imperial Beach which was across the Tijuana Estuary. After I pointed out that San Diego was about 20 miles north of here, I asked him if I could take pictures of him. He agreed then instantly his previously upbeat demeanor transformed to what you see here. I wished him good luck once I finished taking my photos.

Kiddie Rides, Santa Monica Pier

Arcade Kiddie Rides, Santa Monica Pier, California

I liked the light and contrast on the rides in front of the arcade. If I have kids someday I guess the next time I take a photo of this there will be a model-released kid on the ride. :-) Might as well get in all the photography adventures I possibly can before that day comes.

Within the next two weeks however, I should be a first-time uncle. My cousin Jackie, who just graduated from the University of Iowa this summer with a Masters in Public Health, grew up just a few miles from where I did so we were practically brothers and sisters growing up. Congrats Jackie and Antonio!

Dinner at Sunset

Restaurants, Santa Monica Pier, California

I have a bit of a schizophrenic style of shooting pictures. Here is a good example of this. I got to Santa Monica Pier around 6:15 and was feeling weak from hunger. I walked up and down the pier twice shooting photos while looking to grab a bite before sunset at 7 p.m. By the time I got my burrito at the food stand on the bottom left corner of this picture, the sun was getting close to the horizon. I finished eating within ten minutes and ran back to my car (passing it twice because I forgot where it was) to grab a tripod. Then made it back up to the pier in time to get my sunset pictures right as the sun was setting.

Santa Monica Pier Sunset

Tourist Watching Beach Sunset, Santa Monica Pier, Southern California

I photographed the sunset from the pier before walking up to the iconic neon entrance sign at dusk. As much as I like Northern California, I have to concede that beach weather is much more pleasant in Southern California at night.

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier Neon Sign Entrance, California

Yup. This is the world-famous Santa Monica Pier sign. I'd never had a chance to photograph this SoCal iconic landmark before while the neon lights were on so I took the opportunity to do so the other night since I was in Santa Monica for personal business. I have to admit that being the only photographer at such a well-worn tripod hole felt pretty satisfying.

The hard part about getting traffic light blurs was that cars would slow down for me not wanting to "ruin" my picture when in reality I wanted them to drive by really quick so I could create a sense of energy within the scene.

Santa Monica Pier was actually the furthest thing from my mind until I exhausted my other options. My intention was to shoot some more big waves at Leo Carrillo and do some sound gathering there. The tides weren't in my favor for that to happen however so not wanting to settle for pretty but run-of-the-mill seascapes, I stopped by Surfrider Beach to take a look at the Malibu Pier. I got the sense that locals were looking at me in the parking lot suspiciously (without a camera I might add) so I just went for a quick look at the beach before deciding that it wasn't worth the hassle (getting tossed into the surf by drunken celebrity-loving groupies and getting my gear smashed...) so I took off for the Santa Monica Pier just in time for a quick bite, the sunset, and to photograph an iconic landmark without any hassles.

9-11 Memorial at Pepperdine University

American Flags 9-11 Memorial at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California

An impressive display of U.S. flags in tribute to those lost in the bombing of the Twin Towers. I caught this display on the front lawn of Pepperdine University as I was driving north on PCH so I had to stop and get my photos. I probably spent at least an hour here taking pictures.

Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park

Oak Forest, Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park, California - September 8, 2008



Oak Tree Forest, Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park, California - July 9, 2008

I stopped by the local wilderness park on Monday night about twenty minutes before closing time just to try some sound gathering in the woods. I was pleasantly surprised to see some fall color developing. See the two pictures above for a comparison.

I was hoping to hear some animal calls because on a previous visit I saw my first black bear. I caught a glimpse of it darting across the road into the foliage as I drove by. I was also told by the ranger that someone reported a mountain lion sighting the day before that.

Girls Having Fun, Venice Beach Drum Circle

White Girls Having Fun Dancing, Venice Beach Drum Circle, California



I went to Venice Beach again on Sunday to record some sound. The drum circle attracts a diverse group of people looking to have a good time. The two girls in the foreground were initially just dancing and playing around with the sand. Then they decided to get wild and starting putting it down each other's top.

This is what Venice Beach is really about. Not worrying about what anyone else thinks and just doing whatever the heck makes you feel good. To me this is what photography should be about.

28mm, f4.5, ISO 800, 1/50 sec.

Griffith Observatory Planetarium

Griffith Observatory Planetarium, Los Angeles, California



There wasn't much of a view on Saturday night due to the marine layer but it was still nice to get onto the roof of Griffith Park Observatory. Judging from the long line waiting for the giant telescope, there were a lot of other people who agree.

Public Star Party, Griffith Observatory

Saturday Night Public Star Party, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California



After last week's photo shoot at the Pasadena City Hall, I realized that words can only describe so much to the viewer. So in an effort to add to the viewer-experience on this website, I'm going to try adding ambient sound to my posts whenever possible. I picked up an Olympus DS-30 digital recorder from Radio Shack and briefly tested it at home before heading to the Griffith Observatory on Saturday night for the Los Angeles Astronomical Society Public Star Party.

I'm still experimenting to see which recording settings work best for different situations, but I got some good moments of dialogue with this astronomer explaining to me why half moon light is better for viewing details through a telescope than a full moon. The actual recording of this particular segment was nearly eight minutes long and I ended up with about six different sections that are usable. Perhaps I'll find a use for those other clips eventually.

Pasadena City Hall Photo

Photo of U.S. Flag Hanging on Lamppost in Front of City Hall for Labor Day, Pasadena, California

I spent a lot of time in Pasadena when I was a kid because my grandparents raised my cousins and I while our parents were working. My mom and aunt worked for the city so I saw City Hall frequently. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in this country in my opinion. Judging from the amount of tourists that stop by here to take photos, I'm probably not the only one who believes this.

I've never seen it more beautiful than this past Saturday night. Since re-opening a year ago from the seismic retrofitting job, City Hall has been lit this way every night. Complimenting the scene, I could hear live salsa music playing at the Paseo Colorado outdoor mall, where they were giving the final free salsa dance lessons for the summer. Pasadena is definitely a happening place.

Leo Carrillo SB Coastline

Wild Coastal Seascape at Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu, California

Water is the one subject that I never tire of photographing. It was a struggle to get sharp pictures of this scene because it was really windy combined with the long exposures. Since I don't have a cable release my options were to use my usual 10 second timer which wouldn't have worked in a situation like this were I needed precise timing, or to trip the shutter with my hands. Opting for the latter, I used "burst mode" at 0.8 sec to ensure that I got some usable frames. This was my favorite frame from this sequence and sharp I might add. My 2nd favorite was slightly blurry however.

Leo Carrillo State Beach

Tidal Wave Crashing Ashore, Leo Carrillo State Beach, Malibu, California

My first visit to Leo Carrillo State Beach was a memorable one. I had never seen waves hit the shoreline with such ferocity before. I don't know how high this splash was but I would estimate that it was well over 50 feet! There were some crazy people down in the tide pools (the upper left rocky area) during high tide and I saw one wave fly over them. I'm not suicidal though so I stayed up on the coastal bluffs and studied the wave motion to make sure that I wouldn't get blasted. Good thing for me that from this vantage point, the waves flew outward.

Just around the corner, there was a major film production going on. At one point, the movie crew started generating a heavy amount of fake rain that ended up flying my direction and got my lens all wet. I wasn't too pleased with that. Besides, the waves I got to see were way more exciting than their fake rain. :-) Nature puts on an act too and it's 100% real.

I'm also proud to announce that I made it out of Malibu without being mistaken for paparazzi and didn't get beaten down by drunken members of the Matthew McConaughey Fan Club. Probably because I enjoyed his movie with Kate Hudson, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Anyways...

San Diego Skyline Panoramic

Downtown San Diego Skyline Scenic Panoramic, California

A panoramic photo from last week's photo shoot in San Diego. If it wasn't hard enough to display on the internet, I can't even view the entire image at a decent size on my own monitor without scrolling unfortunately. Maybe eventually it will make it on the poster rack at the tourist shops or the San Diego airport will license it for a mural so we can all see it the way it was meant to be seen. :-)

Here is a larger version

Hotel Del Coronado

Hotel Del Coronado White Sand Beach, Coronado Island, California

Hotel Del Coronado is one of the most photographed hotel resorts in California and for good reason. It is absolutely beautiful from the 1887 Queen Anne Victorian-period architecture to the landscaping and scenery. The frame is built entirely of wood. Definitely a great place to have a meal and lounge by the pool.

I must have walked around the resort three or four times. I didn't even bring out my camera the first time around because I was too busy gawking at "The Del".

San Diego City Skyline

San Diego City Skyline at Dusk, Coronado Island, California

This was last night's sunset at Coronado Island. I had never crossed the bridge over into Coronado before yesterday. I knew that San Diego had a strong military presence, but didn't realize that almost the entire coastline is devoted to military operations. In fact, just to the north of where I took this photo was there was a huge Naval base. The military planes flying in and out of the island make for a challenging cell phone conversation experience but interesting to see.

Kids, Ribbons and Photos

America's Kids Exhibition Prizes, LA County Fair, California

I've been like a kid in a candy store the past few days while using the actions to process my photos.

By the way, it's almost that time of year again for the L.A. County Fair. This year features a photo contest called, "Paw Prints". Maybe someday I'll get a ribbon myself.

Sports Cars For Rent, Las Vegas Strip

Sports Cars For Rent on the Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

I have been looking for ways to streamline the digital production aspect of my images because it has just taking up way too much of my time that would be best served doing other things. So I've been experimenting with various Photoshop actions that I found on some photography forums. I think I found a nice combination of actions now that I can use for any given image.

This photo here required no retouching on my part. I just clicked on "Dave's Image Punch!", the Orton Effect on Screen blending mode, and the medium "Kalifbanane Cross-Coloring" actions. It looks just as good if not better than what I would have done manually, and still looks realistic.

So from now on, I'll be looking to use my actions to process my files unless there's a compelling reason to do it manually. I'm excited!

The Golden State Photos Magazine

I just got the proof back from my first magazine and I am impressed with how well the photos were reproduced on the pages. I've heard a lot of horror stories about other photographers not being happy with the print quality of their images from various book publishers and magazines so I'm happy the report that there are no such issues with the MagCloud publisher.

The Golden State Photos Magazine is now available for purchase for $5.50 and features several full and double-page spreads worth of photography. While they aren't quite as large as my 12 x 18 and larger sized archival fine art prints, the magazine provides a much better viewing experience than seeing the photos on the web in my opinion.

Jesus Loves Laura?

Jesus Loves Laura, San Gabriel Valley, California

I have been hiking regularly for over a month now, both with and without my camera. Two days ago I encountered this in the hills near my house. The only words I could make out was the + Laura. I figured it was a guy doing something romantic for his girl. How sweet! Then I went back last night with my camera and once I looked through my viewfinder I was able to see what it said. All of the sudden, it felt sobering to realize this perhaps didn't have such a happy ending. However one question remains for me, what does it say between the names Laura and Michael? It appears to be a "1 43" but I'm not sure. I looked on the internet, and no biblical passages fit. Nor does it say, "and". How it reads to me is, "Jesus loves Laura and Michael" but I can't quite connect the dots due to the ambiguous nature of those three letters. I even looked through the local news sites and search engines, came up with nothing.

Laura and Michael?

Does anyone have any answers or theories about what this message represents?

June Gloom at Point Vicente

June Gloom Coastline, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Gary's equipment was giving him all sorts of issues last Tuesday so I thought this image was fitting of his day.

Point Vicente Lighthouse

Photographer Gary Crabbe Taking Pictures of Point Vicente Lighthouse, Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Last Tuesday, I went to Point Vicente to meet up with photographer Gary Crabbe since he was in Southern California to take pictures for his 5th book, Backroads of the California Coast. If you're not familiar with Gary's work, he worked for legendary outdoor adventure / nature photographer Galen Rowell for nearly ten years prior to starting his own career ten years ago. And he's a pretty damn good photographer himself.

A few minutes after I took this photo, Allen Schaben, a staff photographer from the Los Angeles Times approached us and we all ended up shooting and chatting for the rest of the day since the light never really materialized. Allen was a pretty cool dude. The day before, he covered a shooting in Inglewood. Talk about an awesome job! The drawback to being a staff photographer though is that the newspaper owns your assignment images. If they paid enough, I'd probably be okay with that too though.

Venice Beach Drum Circle

Young Woman Playing Tambourine in Drum Circle, Venice Beach, California

Compositionally there are things I would like to have done differently in this photo but I felt that this was the picture captured the vibe that I experienced at Venice Beach last Sunday. I actually had a few that I felt were technically better from a compositional standpoint but the girl's expression in this frame is what draws me to this one in addition to the murky lighting conditions. The photos where she is looking into the camera didn't quite work in my opinion.

I think that is the interesting part to photography. There are elements that generally make for solid compositions but there are no formulas or rules that make for an emotional connection with the scene. Photography is a lot like jazz improv in that way. You learn your craft and practice it, but when it comes down to it, sometimes you've just got to go out there and wing it. That is when all the preparation you did prior pays off.

35mm, f7.1, 1/60 sec, ISO 400, hand-held.

Beach Party, Venice

Girl Dancing in Drum Circle, Venice Beach, California

Last Sunday I went to Venice Beach to try shooting some "youth culture" for Photoshelter's Shoot! the Day contest. I photographed the drum circle last month but had been wanting to do a re-shoot so this contest gave me another excuse to shoot more photos of this weekly event. This time was a little different because the cops made us all move near the water rather than stay next to the boardwalk. I think this loosened everyone up more and attracted a bigger crowd so there were quite a few people dancing this time. Fortunately, mostly attractive young women.

I wanted to mess around with longer exposures for a few shots so I stopped down to f16 and got nearly one-second exposures while hand-holding. This was one of the few attempts that came out with just the right parts moving and the rest sharp.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f16, 1/8 sec, ISO 100, hand-held

Trinidad State Beach

Trinidad State Beach, California

This was taken on the last evening of the trip. I didn't really encounter any special lighting conditions during this trip, as it was mostly just harsh light, but it was a relatively productive trip nonetheless. Trinidad is definitely a place that I would like to explore some more as this area has potential for great scenic photos.

Now that I've been to the North Coast, the only other areas that I haven't visited along the California Coast are the Mendocino Coastline and the Crescent City / Smith River area which was just a few miles north of Klamath. Where I would also like to spend some more time photographing is Big Sur and the Sonoma Coast.

The Little People, The Trees of Mystery

The Little People Redwood Sculptures at The Trees of Mystery, Klamath, California

A big part of the Trees of Mystery narrates the Paul Bunyan mythology with pre-recorded stories. I thought this was one of the more interesting attractions along the Tale of Tall Trees trail. I should have brought along a pen and paper so I could have written down the back story of this.

Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Trees of Mystery, Klamath, California

I've always liked cheesy road side attractions. There's just something charming about them. When you walk up to the 49 ft. tall Paul Bunyan, an friendly older male voice greets and interacts with the guests. You can't see where the guy is, but I'm guessing he's either hiding inside of the visitor center or inside of Paul Bunyan.

Klamath

Speared to Death Indian Statue at Trees of Mystery Entrance, Klamath, California

My first reaction when pulling into the Trees of Mystery parking lot was, "Wow!" Klamath is located within the Yurok Indian Reservation so I found this statue to be a powerful statement.

Samoa Dunes Recreation Area

Bush Lupine at Sunset, Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, California

I couldn't pull myself away from motel TV while watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals until the almost too late (8 minutes to go in the game, 12 til the sunset, Lakers up by 2) to get this sunset. After the sunset, I turned the radio back on in the car to hear the final score and felt that the sun had set on the Lakers season as well after blowing a 24 point lead. The Lakers ended up winning Game 5, and well Game 6 you can look up the box score yourself...

This was the first time that I've had to choose between my life-long obsession with the Lakers and photography. Not really a fun situation to be in. If the Lakers had won the game then I guess it would have been a little more palatable. I'm glad that I managed to salvage something from this evening though.

Louis Armstrong Mural, Eureka

Louis Armstrong Mural on Parking Lot Wall, Eureka, California

Eureka seems to have a lot of murals all over town. This mural of legendary jazz trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong really caught my eye because he was someone that I have a lot of respect for. I believe that this mural was probably done for the Arkley Center for Performing Arts at the Richard Sweasey Theatre because sharing the mural with "Satchmo" was a clown and some other entertainment stuff.

Eureka definitely has a charm of it's own. The town has it's rugged side with the industrial aspect, and a cultured side such as this mural suggests.

Richard Sweasey Theatre, Eureka

Arkley Center For The Performing Arts in Richard Sweasey Theater Building, Eureka, California

Carson Mansion is a beautiful Victorian mansion no doubt, but I think the architectural style of the Richard Sweasey Theatre is just as unique. When driving through Eureka on Highway 101, it really caught my attention. This building was built in 1919 and at one point, housed the Dalys Department store from the 1970's til the 1990's. It was sat vacantly in disrepair for a lengthy period of time afterwards until they finally restored it to house the performing arts center now. I don't know what it used to look like, but I'm glad that they restored it because it is truly a work of art.

Carson Mansion, Eureka

The Carson Mansion, Old Town Eureka, California

Carson Mansion is arguably the most recognizable landmark on the North Coast. A Victorian-era mansion, it's a private men's club now so there are no tours offered. The nice thing about photographing Carson Mansion before dawn is that there are no other tourists out there. The lights are still on as the sun starts to rise so it's nice to able to get a good exposure with backlighting. Unfortunately on this morning, it was overcast until around 8 a.m. so I didn't get to photograph an actual sunrise at this location.

Crab Pots, Woodley Island Marina

Crab Pots and Fishing Nets at Woodley Island Marina, Eureka, California

Though I'm a nature photographer at heart, I find one of the most zen-like photography moments to be wandering around fishing docks before dawn. There is just something really calm and soothing about them that I can't explain. This is one of the reasons why I am so drawn to photographing the coast.

I've seen other photographers make really great images of crab pots and fishing nets so I've wanted to take my own photos as well. When I first arrived in Eureka, I found several stacks of crab pots in a restaurant parking lot. I kept a mental note to return the following morning. And I did. A few days later, I found a huge stockpile of crab pots at the Woodley Island Marina. They were behind a fenced-in area for fishermen however so I didn't try to photograph them. But the urge to photograph these crab pots kept eating away at me so I went back the next morning and found the guy who patrols the marina. I asked him if I could go in to shoot pictures of the crab pots. "Sure, I don't see any reason why not."

I found the people in the North Coast to be a lot more easy going and friendlier than in San Francisco and L.A. Ask somebody for permission to shoot pictures in Southern California and you'd have a 50/50 chance of getting told to f*** off or get your gear smashed by a crowd of drunken celebrity-groupie, trust-fund kids.

What I like most about Woodley Island Marina is that the crab pots come in all sorts of colors. It is nearly impossible to take a bad picture here.

Roosevelt Elk, Prairie Creek SP

Roosevelt Elk (Cervus canadensis) Grazing Grass, Prairie Creek State Park, California

Weighing up to 2,000 pounds, Roosevelt Elk are the largest animals in the deer family. Needless to say, it is not in your best interests and against park rules to step outside of your car when viewing the wildlife at the elk meadow.

As is, the Roosevelt Elk were grazing pretty close to my car when I shot this. The sun was setting and since I don't have an image stabilizer lens, I had to wedge my tripod inbetween my car seat and driver's side window to keep my lens steady. It was not the most comfortable of shooting conditions but I did what I could. My main issue was debating whether or not to crank up the ISO in order to freeze the giant mammals in action.

After the elk wandered away, I drove back down Highway 101 and I tried to photograph another herd of Roosevelt Elk in front of the Stone Lagoon Little Red School House near Orick. By then it was too dark to get sharp images however.

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.

Rhododendrons, Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove

Rhododendron Blooms and Coast Redwood Trees (Sequoia sempervirens) at Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park, California

The rhododendron blooms at the Lady Bird Johnson grove were amazing. I photographed this near the end of the short blooming season but even then they were impressive. The whole trail wasn't lined with wildflowers but in the patches where there were, it was massive. I'd previously seen a rhododendron bloom at Kruse Rhododendron State Park, which is along the Sonoma Coast, but that paled in comparison.

I have to thank photographer, Gary Crabbe for saving me a lot of driving around, as he told me the day before that he'd been to all the other regular hotspots in the weeks prior but Lady Bird Johnson was one of few that actually had a good bloom this year.

Unfortunately there was no fog so getting good exposures was pretty tough. I think this was my best attempt. To give you an idea for how tall these plants are, my camera was pointing upwards at the rhododendrons while I was standing on top of a fallen redwood tree trunk. And from the previous blog post, you can see how big those are.

Redwood National Park

Tourist in a Hollowed Redwood Tree at Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park, California

I had previously been to the redwood forests at Muir Woods National Monument and Big Basin Redwoods State Park, but the North Coast redwoods are in a league entirely of their own. The Lady Bird Johnson Grove is seriously the most awesome forest that I have ever visited in my life.

The rhododendrons were still in bloom and a lot larger than what I had expected. The blooms grow at least 15 - 20 or more feet above the ground in some cases. There was no fog during my time in Humboldt County so I had a limited window of opportunity to photograph the redwoods in decent lighting. The light was just too harsh during the daytime.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove classifies as an old-growth redwood forest, which means that it has never been logged. The trees are much more thick and dense here than second-growth forests. It is apparent from the minute that you walk onto the trail. The extreme amount of precipitation that this area receives also plays a part in their immense size. (The world's tallest trees).

I only encountered three or four groups of people here in this night and was the last person left by the time I left. This experience would be nearly unheard of in a tourist-mecca like Muir Woods. It was so eerily quiet at Redwood National Park, that I could hear elk calling from a distance.

I waited eight long years to make the trip up here. I am certainly not going to allow another eight to go by without spending more time up here. The photo opportunities are simply too abundant to do this area justice in a short amount of time.

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.

Postcard Row, San Francisco

Picture: Downtown Scenic View From Alamo Square Postcard Row, San Francisco, California

This photo was taken from one of the most popular tourist stops in San Francisco. Despite the popularity of this place, I actually sold a picture of Postcard Row from my last trip to San Francisco so it made sense to try photographing it again. This time I decided to use a telephoto lens to compress the scene whereas last time I just used a wide angle lens.

Twin Peaks Panoramic, San Francisco

Picture: Twin Peaks Scenic Panoramic, San Francisco, California

Despite having lived in San Francisco for three years, I had never been up to Twin Peaks before this trip. Man, I totally missed out!

This nearly 180 degree panorama of the city took 10 separate images to stitch together with AutoPano software. To show the incredible amount of detail here, I cropped out a single building from the larger panoramic: The iconic, Transamerica Pyramid. Due to fading light and the wind, I had to turn up the ISO slightly hence the grain.

Large Panoramic Photo Crop of Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco, California

Here are more of my panoramic photos.

Chevy Nova, Capitola

Photo: Chevy Nova on Street, Capitola, California

This whole trip was about exploring new places. Capitola is another place that I had not been to previously. The beach is probably best known for the multi-colored bungalows. On this sunny day it was too crowded over there to walk on the beach and get good photos of the bungalows however.

The downtown area is a cool place to walk around. A lot of boutique shops, restaurants, bars, and classic cars parked on the street. I think there might have been an event right before I got there because the area was cordoned off to traffic except for classic cars. What I found most unique about Capitola was that it reminded me more of Santa Barbara than a town north of Monterey. There is definitely a strong beach culture here.

I was reminded of my grandfather when I saw the Chevy Nova parked on the street because my grandpa used to drive a '62 Chevy Impala and would pick me up from pre-school with that car while my parents were at work. I can't imagine any of today's cars being preserved in this manner 40 years from now. Everything is too mass-produced on a global-scale to be of any sentimental value.

Skyglider Aerial Tram, Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Picture: Tourists Riding Skyglider Aerial Tram at the Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California

With apologies to my future wife, I took this picture before the accident. Though a travel image, this photo is based on the landscape photography style. I think it is good to learn from all styles of photography because you never know when you might need to use it. Here, I have the tourists and the bench leading the eye toward the aerial tram at the top of the frame. This is not much different than a standard landscape composition with foreground, mid-ground and background elements. Once I found a foreground I liked, I waited until the Skyglider Tram brought along some tourists passing through at the right moment.

In another picture, I photographed some girls riding the tram looking bored out of their mind. It really said a lot to me about today's culture. Kids are so into the texting, instant free music downloads, and video games these days that they can't even enjoy classic family fun like the Santa Cruz Boardwalk anymore. I'm not sure I'd want to raise my kids in that manner. The Boardwalk is much more memorable in my opinion because it brings us back to a simpler time when there was less noise competing for our attention.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Photo: Giant Dipper Rollercoaster, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California

I had driven past the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk twice in the past but had never walked around. The first time, I was on the way to the opening of Frans Lanting's gallery in Santa Cruz and it was raining outside. The 2nd time, I was on my way to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Well this time, I was in Santa Cruz strictly for the Beach Boardwalk.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is one of those places that you can't say you have done the California coast until you have been there. It is referred to as "Coney Island of the West" and for good reason. It's probably the biggest beach amusement park in the West Coast. Pacific Pier in Santa Monica is decent sized for being on a pier, but the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is a full-blown amusement park - a destination of it's own. The best part about it is that it is free to go there.

I felt sort of guilty right before shooting this picture. I was sitting on the curb cleaning my gear when a pretty girl was riding by on her bike. I made eye-contact with her. She smiled. I go back to minding my business. Then about ten seconds later I heard a loud crashing sound. Her tire got caught in-between the railroad tracks apparently. The family sitting next me got up and helped her out because she fell in front of their face. Meanwhile I was sitting there pondering, "What the hell just happened?!?"

The girl was fine and rode off eventually, but I felt like a jerk for not putting my gear down for a second and join in seeing if she was alright... Sometimes it's better to act first and think later. That is a concept that works well for photography as well. Photographers that are too methodical will miss all the important shots during key moments of action. In hindsight, it would have been awesome to have photographed her riding by and falling. :-)

The people riding on Giant Dipper were clearly having a better day.

70-300 @ 142mm, f7.1, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400

Downtown San Francisco Skyline

Picture: Downtown San Francisco City Skyline, Treasure Island, California

Believe it or not, last week was only the 2nd time that I had photographed the San Francisco skyline. It is such a picturesque scene that I wasn't going to pass up another opportunity to photograph it. My best friend used to live on Treasure Island and I was over there frequently, but I never tried shooting this because I was too insecure back then about shooting "postcard rack" pictures. Nowadays I'm all about enjoying the moment.

My favorite image from the photo shoot was a 180 degree panoramic spanning from Treasure Island over to Alcatraz. It took 13 photos to create the panoramic. There's no way of adequately displaying it on the web without it getting ripped off unfortunately.

God Bless America, San Francisco

Photo: Chinese Woman Approaches Caucasian Women in Front of U.S. Flag Mural in Chinatown, San Francisco, California

This scene reminded me of how far society (in California at least) has come when it comes to race relations. I won't elaborate, but it was pretty bad even when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's.

In the next frame, (not shown here) the other lady reached out to take the flier from the Chinese woman but it wasn't visible in the frame from this position unfortunately. I think that would have been a dream picture of mine to have gotten that.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f9, 1/320 sec, ISO 200, handheld

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

Portsmouth Square, Chinatown

Picture: Card Gambling in Chinatown's Portsmouth Square, San Francisco, California

At Portsmouth Square, you can find men and women playing Mahjong or cards all day long, often for money. Probably due to traditional Chinese customs, the men generally stay on one side of the park while the women congregate on the other.

Initially I walked around trying to ask questions about what card games people were playing, but since I don't speak Chinese, it was a futile effort because few older people in Chinatown understand English. Either that or they suddenly "forget" how once they see a photographer...

Next time I plan to spend an entire day photographing Chinatown in better light. In order to get more insightful pictures, I would probably need to hire a well-connected translator as well. I understand some Cantonese, but that is of little use when you can't speak.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f6.3, 1/160 sec, ISO 200, handheld / no flash

Chinese Family Association, San Francisco

Photo: Yee Fung Toy Family Association, San Francisco, California

When the Chinese first started immigrating to California during the Gold Rush, most did not speak English. This made it difficult for them to assimilate into society. Combined with the racial discrimination of the time, immigrants needed to form family associations in order for protection. This eventually became The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, more commonly known as the Chinese Six Companies. Individually, the Chinese were weak, but as a group the associations were quite powerful politically.

Fast-forward 150 years later, family associations still exist to help immigrants out when they come to the U.S., and are typically a place where the older generation of Chinese socializes. San Francisco's Chinatown has many family associations, as well as the Los Angeles Chinatown. I would like to have posted a picture of the Wong family association, but I didn't know where it was.

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company Factory

Picture: Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company Factory, San Francisco, California

Four or five years ago I met this guy while walking past a gated side alley. He told me that he was a martial artist and asked if I was interested in photographing him practicing. It was dusk and the light was fading fast, so I tried my best with pop-up flash since I didn't have a compatible flash at the time. I thought it was a rather unusual encounter, but that is what makes street photography interesting.

So I figured there might be something interesting this time around too if I walked the alleys. Walking past this half-opened doorway, I see dingy, factory-like conditions so I popped my head in there out of curiosity. The lady said I could come in so I asked if I could take pictures. 50 cents. I had just stumbled into the fortune cookie factory!

I was quite surprised by how hot and humid it was in there. To be honest, I thought it would be some glamorous, touristy looking shop just like most things in San Francisco. Fortunately that was not the case.

Unfortunately, this picture isn't sharp even shot wide open at ISO 800. The lady was moving and I wasn't comfortable using the flash in her face. It probably would have helped me get a faster shutter speed though by under-exposing the ambient light and let the flash handle the rest. Bounce flash would have worked better than a diffuser as well because a diffuser tends to create hard shadows if the subject is close to a wall or other objects.

San Francisco Seal Rock

After photographing the tree-sitters at UC Berkeley, photographer Greg Lato and I met up with Jim Goldstein at the Cliff House for some landscape photography. Jim broke his toe recently so we chose this location to make it easy for him since he lives nearby. This is him shooting pictures with his $8000, Canon 1DS MKIII. Too heavy for my tastes, but the image quality is unbelievable at 21 megapixels.

Photo: Photographer Jim Goldstein Photographing the Sunset at Seal Rocks, San Francisco, California

Seal Rocks is a location that I had been to many times before when I lived in San Francisco. I enjoyed exploring the trails around Lands End in particular. This spot I had never photographed from however, though it is the most obvious spot to shoot from.

Picture: Seal Rock, San Francisco, California

It was a fun day of shooting. The three of us went for a late dinner afterwards near the Golden Gate Park and I didn't get to Redwood City until almost midnight. Pretty cool way to start the trip.

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.

The World's Tallest Trees

Picture: Coastal Redwood Trees (Sequoia sempervirens), Muir Woods National Monument, California

Coastal redwoods are the world's tallest trees. The tallest of which are located in Redwood National Park along California's Northern Coast. The tallest redwoods exceed 370 feet in height.

I find redwoods to be difficult to photograph due to their size. I have yet to make an image of them that I am happy with, but I hope to fix that someday.

Venice Beach Skaters

Photo: Teen Skater Jumps Off Ledge, Venice Beach, California

I stayed off to the side initially. I didn’t take photos for a while until I felt comfortable and so I could blend into the background. At first I just took wide angle snapshots from far back to warm up for close up action then gradually worked my way closer. A couple of the kids asked me questions, but once they were on their boards they did their thing. Then I noticed that all of them were starting to line up for jumping off this ledge so I went over there too. I crouched next to a metal trash can where I knew they would be avoiding a crash landing and took photos from as close as I could safely get.

I had my composition ready before the skaters jumped and waited to catch them as they flew by. What I was hoping to do was catch some mid-air tricks and maybe a few wipeouts but no one landed badly so I had to settle for the tricks. I would have liked to have gotten this guy’s entire arm in the frame but I think the rest of the image is interesting enough to make it a keeper.

17-35mm @ 17mm, f8, 1/320 sec., ISO 100, handheld

Hare Krisha Dance, Venice Beach

Picture: Hare Krishna Drum Circle Dancing, Venice Beach, California

Venice Beach is a street photographer's dream. There are a lot of different things to photograph here on the weekends. Some are more mainstream activities such as playing basketball, tennis, surfing, etc... but there is also a lot of counterculture and street performers. I've also been to Venice during a weekday but the vibe wasn't the same so I wouldn't recommend going there on the weekday just to shoot photos.

This photo was taken at the Hare Krisha drum circle that played out along the Venice Boardwalk. Playing a tribal drum beat, the group kept chanting, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." Followers were also handing out promotional materials for the Hare Krisha Cultural Center and several local restaurants. I spoke to someone briefly about what they were doing, but it was over my head. Though I did read on Wikipedia that their practices are based off of the Hindu religion.

Shooting action scenes is not easy particularly when it is very crowded. I took about 325 images of the Hare Krishna, the Venice Drum Circle, Muscle Beach and skaters just to get a few publishable pictures.

My main strategy for these types of photos is to pre-visualize the corners of the frame before I put the camera to my eye. By the time I look through the viewfinder, my finger is practically tripping the shutter already. When there are many moving elements, there is no time to compose in camera. It has to be seen in your mind first. I'm always looking at the corners of the frame and seeing the center through my peripheral vision because the edges often make or break a photo. Even as is, this image isn't perfect. The guy on the right corner crept into the frame.

I find taking people pictures to be very challenging because it requires you to interact with the subject. I'm shy sometimes around people I don't know that well so it would be easier to hide in the corner somewhere with a telephoto or to avoid taking photos altogether but that doesn't make for good photography. To quote National Geographic photographer, Bill Allard, "What does a telephoto lens do for you that you couldn't do yourself by moving in physically? Robert Capa said if your pictures aren't strong enough, you're not close enough. What would have happened to this picture if instead of staying in your safe and secure spot and cranking the lens, you'd moved in? It's hard to establish rapport from twenty-five feet away. I'm not going to find out something about that person from fifty yards behind a tree."

17-35mm lens @ 17mm, f8, 1/400 sec., ISO 100, handheld

Huntington Beach Kites

Photo: Kiteboarding Kites, Huntington Beach, California

It's hard to believe that a few days ago it was overcast and 60-something degrees. Today it is around 100 degrees. I would imagine that Huntington Beach doesn't look this way either today.

I don't do much high-key photography but it looked interesting on my computer in this case. Does anybody else feel the same way?

Huntington Beach Kiteboarding

Picture of Kiteboarder Flying Over Waves, Huntington State Beach, California

There weren't that many people at the beach because it was cold. The cool part though was there were quite a few kiteboarders out there riding the waves. I had never seen this sport before so I wasn't sure how to anticipate the moves. I only took a few pictures but this one was my favorite.

The Electric Riverboat Angela Louise

The Electric Riverboat Angela Louise at Balboa Fun Zone, Newport Beach, California

Writer's block doesn't just happen to writers. I have been to Balboa Island and the Peninsula a number of times in the past year or so with the intention of adding some images to my collection. Each time I couldn't get myself to take any pictures so I ended up going to other places to take photos afterward. Then something clicked last week. The price of gas. It's too expensive these days to squander trips without taking publishable pictures.

Balboa is a nice place to take a date and have some fun, but the beaches really aren't that photogenic here unless you like taking people pictures. They are just long stretches of flat beach without any unique geological features and few unique attractions. The opposite side of Main Street faces Newport Harbor though and has the Balboa Fun Zone. This is where the tourist attractions are located. The most recognizable landmark here is the Balboa Pavilion. What caught my eye though was the electric riverboat.

May Day Illegal Immigration March, Downtown Los Angeles

Disclaimer: I generally stay away from taking political stances on my website except for environmental issues. With that said, I take pictures and I talk about photography experiences. That's it.

Picture: May Day Illegal Immigration March, Los Angeles, California


Yesterday morning I took the Metro Gold Line from Old Town Pasadena to Union Station because most of the streets near the Civic Center were shut down for the various protests in Downtown L.A. From there I walked all the way down to Broadway and Olympic where the illegal immigration rights group gathered. Initially there were about as many LAPD officers there as protesters but the crowd grew the closer it got to the 2pm starting time. It was easier to get pictures when the crowd was smaller in size, but the peak moments of action happened once the march started heading down Broadway toward 1st & Temple where The Times Building and Civic Center are located.

It may seem really obvious, but the key insight about photographing these sorts of events is the people want their picture taken. Unlike day-to-day scenes where it would be rude to do so, here it is a tailor-made situation to shove a 17mm lens in the faces of the subjects. The difficulty in shooting something like this with a wide-angle is that when you find an interesting sequence for taking pictures, five other photographers suddenly show up right after and often end up in the edges of your frames. Hit the delete button and hopefully you have 5-10 other similar images to pick from.

This photo was taken at the front of the pack with the entire crowd behind the flag. It was a pretty fast moving march so it required backtracking while taking photos others you will get trampled. I don't know very much Spanish but the crowd was generally speaking out against federal raids that arrest illegal immigrants and deport them back to their country of origin. The separation of families was a major theme of their argument. There was also a strong anti-Bush sentiment in the crowd and a desire to elect either Clinton or Obama to the White House.

My ultimate goal was to get a photo that captured tension between the LAPD and the protesters but it was mostly peaceful in this group aside from a few arguments between security and marchers.

Beverly Hills 90210

Photo: Versace Store on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California

It felt kinda weird to be roaming around Rodeo Drive with a professional camera because the paparazzi has such a bad reputation in LA. But then again, anybody who shops in these places probably wants to be seen anyway. Parking was expensive and is charged by fifteen minute intervals so I made a quick "hit and run" type of photo shoot at Rodeo Drive which is basically walking really quickly through for a scouting session and walking back the other direction to get the photos. I did it in exactly 15 minutes.

I used to watch the Beverly Hills 90210 TV series when I was younger mainly because I had a crush on Jennie Garth, but that has really nothing to do with photography so I'll leave it at that. :-) TV makes things seem more fairytale-like than real life but Rodeo Drive really is a very beautiful shopping district. It's not that big, but it does live up to its reputation. I had cruised by a few times before while heading down Sunset Boulevard to the coast, but never actually walked around before yesterday so that was kinda cool to say I've finally been to Rodeo Drive.

On Thursday I'll probably be back in touch with real life as I might photograph the immigration march in Downtown L.A.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood

Picture: Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California

If I didn't shoot pictures for stock, then I would probably do nearly 100% scenic landscape photography. Maybe someday I will get there, but for now I also have to photograph a fair amount of material for marketability purposes. Despite the millions of snapshots taken from these places, iconic locations sell believe it or not. I won't get into specifics, but my better selling images are not even from California. One reason is that I haven't really photographed the touristy stuff here.

So today I went to Hollywood! Not courtesy of Randy, Paula and Simon I might add... anyways. When I was younger, my impression of Hollywood was more along the lines of Frederick's of Hollywood than a place you'd want to take out-of-town visitors to. I hadn't been down there since I moved back to So Cal so I was pleasantly surprised to find the area around the theater is much cleaner now than it used to be due to the development of the Hollywood & Highland complex, which also is home to the Kodak Theatre.

For postcard rack type of images from the Chinese Theatre, I think a sunrise shoot on a Sunday morning would probably be your best bet. There are a lot of people roaming around during the day and a lot of traffic passing by on Hollywood Blvd. which blocks the view. A tilt and shift lens would be beneficial as well because the theater is quite tall and you get perspective distortion with a regular lens from having to aim upwards.

Sometimes it's kinda cool to incorporate people and traffic into the scene as well especially if you can't avoid it, but it has to look deliberate. There certainly was no shortage of that today.

Portraits, Arlington West Memorial

Picture: Portraits of American Military Casualties in Iraq War, Arlington West Memorial at Santa Monica, California

There are soldiers everywhere at Arlington West - pictures on the crosses. Pictures on boards. Lists of names from Iraq and Afghanistan. Combat boots. Helmets. The American flag.

U.S. Flag Flying Over Arlington West

Photo: U.S. Flag and Crosses at Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica, California

This makeshift cemetery has been set up on the north side of the Santa Monica Pier each Sunday since February 15, 2004. As the death toll in Iraq rises, the Veterans for Peace organization has started to use a number of red crosses to symbolize 10 soldiers killed in action. Previously, there was a white cross for each death but the toll is so high now that it would take up most of the beach.

I have previously photographed four anti-war rallies and those were bursting with energy. However, the Arlington West Memorial is the most introspective demonstration that I have witnessed to date. There is no need to scream at people here demanding for justice. The work speaks for itself.

Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica

Picture: Tally of American Military Killed and Wounded in Iraq War at Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica, California

Vasquez Rocks

Photo of Vasquez Rocks County Park, Agua Dulce, California

Vasquez Rocks has one of the more interesting landscapes that I have seen in Southern California. Commuters on Highway 14 probably see this landscape on a daily basis as well, as I'm sure they've had time to being stuck in LA's miserable weekday commute. I discovered this place through my cousin Herbert. Over a year ago, we were talking about Red Rock Canyon and he told me I should check out the Vasquez Rocks on the way out there. Well I never got around to visiting this place until the other day while coming back from the Poppy Reserve. The park closes before sunset, so the light in this photo isn't doing the landscape any justice but it's pretty cool to walk around on top of the rock formations.

The name "Vasquez" comes from a bandit named Tiburcio Vasquez. In the 1870's, he used the rocks to hide himself from law enforcement. The Vasquez Rocks is also a famous movie-making site. Two Star Trek movies along with the TV series have been filmed here as well as a ton of other big name movies, shows and music videos. Check out the Wikipedia entry for the rest of the list - Vasquez Rocks.

Antelope Valley Golden Poppies Blowing in the Wind

Picture of Heavy Wind-Blown Golden Poppies, Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, California

It's hard to see in this little blog photo, but none of the golden poppies were open. They were blowing to the right almost touching the ground because it was so windy.

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. :-(

My First YouTube Video - Landscape Photography Slideshow

I took it upon myself to scribble down a few chord changes and then record my own background track last night. I picked up an effects pedal from Guitar Center the other day and recorded this while plugged directly into the computer. I'm still trying to figure out how to cut out the silent part at the beginning so I apologize in advance.

The images got too compressed for my tastes after uploading to YouTube so I'll give it another shot some other day and see if anything can be done about that. In the meantime I'll work on generating some more tracks for the slide shows... :-p

Big Falls, Southern California's Tallest Waterfall

Photo of Big Falls, San Bernardino National Forest, California

Today I went photograph Southern California's tallest waterfall. The best part is that Big Falls is pretty easy to get to. It's only a few miles into the mountains above Redlands. The not so good part is that it is very difficult to photograph. There is no one location where you can see the entire 400+ foot waterfall and the 240 ft. upper tier seen here is out of reach to all but the most suicidal of people. I had to use a 70-300 zoom lens to get this image.

There are a lot of "smaller" photographic opportunities though because there are numerous waterfalls running down Mill Creek. Even though it was hard to get a good view of the falls, it was still exciting. You can feel the water roaring even while standing on gravel and the air is cold and crisp up there. (Today it was 35 degrees and had a few snow flakes falling.)

Cats

Picture: Orange Cat

I like cats. I think they're funny. I can't own them though because I am allergic to cat fur. So having a stray hangout in my backyard is the next best thing! I don't know the cat's real name so her new name is "Orangeade." It pretty much spends all day in my yard so I give it food and water.

Photo: Orange Cat Scratching on Wooden Bench

Green Not Brown

Picture: Lupine and Mustard Wildflowers, San Gabriel Mountains, California

There are a series of hills at the top of my street and once you get to the first ridge of the trail, you can get great views of the San Gabriel Mountains and valley. I have never seen it so green around here. Even without flowers, it would be very pretty. I didn't hike up to the top of the hills because dark thunderstorms were hovering in the area, but it was still a nice walk.

It's good to get out and enjoy nature's special moments while they happen because for the rest of the year it is brown in Southern California.

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.

Lake Elsinore Poppy Bloom

Picture: Golden Poppies, Lake Elsinore, California

If you want to photograph golden poppies this year, then I highly recommend heading over to the Lake Elsinore hillsides as soon as possible. On a sunny day, you can see cascades of orange streaming down the hills and mountains on both sides of I-15. There is no guarantee that we'll have a good display at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve this year, so this might be as good as it gets. In fact, this is the first time that we have had decent wildflowers in Southern California since 2005.

I believe the best displays are located further behind the hills and requires hiking some trails to get there. As is, there are some good displays near the road. This photo was taken about halfway up the hill, away from the crowds.

I'd like to photograph some more wildflowers this week when I get the chance though I can't decide where. I know. Such a sad problem to have...

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, Anza Borrego Desert SP

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis cremnobates), Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California

After photographing sunrise on Sunday morning, I hiked up to Palm Canyon. On the way back down, a lady asked if I had seen any sheep. I hadn't. So I asked her if she had. Then she told me to go around the corner and look up on top of the hill. The bighorn sheep was rather difficult to spot because it was laying down but luckily I caught it.

I waited around until I saw it stand up to climb higher. I took some more pictures. Then I moved elsewhere to try getting a better look. I also found several park naturalists there with spotting scopes along with a bunch of tourists. I wasn't satisfied with that location either so I got into a location where I thought they might pass by my line of sight. Then the sheep started coming down the hill rather quickly and one went right past me. The most surprising thing about the sheep was how fast they run. I only got a few sharp photos because they kept moving.

Henderson Canyon, Anza Borrego Wildflowers

Spring Wildflowers and Sunrise Alpenglow on Santa Rosa Mountains, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California


Yesterday was a very enjoyable day for photography. It more than made up for Saturday, which was full of dust storms. This wasn't the most prolific bloom area, as that was a few hundred yards down the road. As is, I barely made it here in time for sunrise. It isn't easy getting up at 5 a.m. ;-)

Anza Borrego Wildflowers

Taken this morning at Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

Spring Wildflowers at Sunrise, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California

I think the peak of the bloom will be next week. It seemed like the flowers weren't quite opened up yet though there is a fair amount already. Nothing can compare to the "100-year bloom" of 2005, but it's still good this year.

Yesterday, it was super crowded at the Visitor Center and at Palm Canyon. This location had a lot of people too last night but it's a wide open space so it wasn't so bad. Surprisingly, I was the only photographer there for sunrise this morning!

More Joshua Tree Wildflowers

Picture: Golden Poppies and Lupines near Cottonwood Entrance, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Here is another photo from Joshua Tree National Park. I also photographed the General Patton Museum but didn't really get any shots worth posting here. It was a cool museum to look at though with numerous tanks and WWII memorabilia.

I've been pretty busy lately with numerous things and I have to start filling out my tax forms soon so I don't know if I'll get another chance to shoot wildflowers at Joshua Tree this year. There is a good display between Twentynine Palms and Amboy though that might be worth checking out from what I have read.

Joshua Tree National Park Spring Wildflowers

Picture: Joshua Tree National Park Spring Wildflowers - 2008

I went over to the southern portion of Joshua Tree National Park this weekend and found some nice wildflowers. It's been three long years, but I think this year will probably make up for lost time. Flowers are blooming later this year it seems but the signs are looking positive in the coming weeks.

There are little to no flowers north of the Cottonwood Springs entrance as far as I know so the best areas are from I-10 to the visitor center at this point. Definetely worth checking out if you have the time. I'd post more, but I just got a new computer today. My old computer died two weeks ago so I haven't really been able to look at my new photos yet.

Olvera Street Musicians

I was inspired by browsing a famous street photographer's website this morning so I ended up walking over to Olvera Street hoping to find a subject that felt like Latino culture. Right next to me was an accordion player but I didn't photograph him because the background looked too touristy.

Picture: Latino Guitar Player and Female Singer at Olvera Street, Los Angeles, California

Downtown L.A. Panoramic

Photo: Downtown L.A. Skyrise Buildings, Los Angeles, California

Downtown Los Angeles looked surprisingly beautiful today. I wish it were winter year-round in Southern California.

Monrovia Canyon Falls

It's amazing to spend so many years in an area and still be able to discover new places to photograph. Monrovia Canyon Falls is about ten miles from my house and I hadn't heard of it before today. I actually intended to photograph another waterfall but stumbled upon this one while looking up trail info on a local hiking website. My cousin lives down the street from the Monrovia Canyon so I called to see if he wanted to join me. He wasn't home but was surprised to find out about the waterfall too.

Monrovia Canyon Falls, San Gabriel Mountains, California

The waterfall is located inside of Monrovia Canyon Park so it costs $5 to park. Not bad at all because it is quite a scenic place to hike or picnic. The hike itself to the waterfall is relatively easy compared to most hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains because it isn't high altitude and nor does it require dangerous stream crossings to access. It is a short trail; about a 3/4 mile hike though mostly uphill so I saw several people having a tough time. However, those folks clearly looked out of shape so take this with a grain of salt. It was funny. One lady heading up the trail (near the beginning) with her kids stopped to ask me how much further it would be. "About 15 minutes. It's not that bad." Then she had a look of horror on her face after I said that.

When I first got to the waterfall it was overcast so I took a few photos. The sun burst through within a few minutes so a lot of my images had harsh lighting. As a result, I waited nearly two hours for the sun to dip behind the canyon walls before I finished up shooting pictures, this photo included.

Probably the most eventful thing that happened today was after I got back to the car. This family apparently had just gotten into a dispute so their son stomped off in anger with the dad hot on his heels. The rest of them drove off afterwards. As I drove down the road a few minutes later, I found it blocked off with cops and the family. The son then re-appeared and accused the dad of punching him then proceeded to say he wasn't armed. I on the other hand was more worried about making it home alive and wasn't going to take his word for it so I kept my eye on the rear-view mirror. The cops handcuffed the kid without further incident so I let out a sigh of relief. The family should have gone to the waterfall. Nature is good for relieving stress. :-)

Autry National Center

Gunfight at the OK Corral Interpretive Display at The Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, California

Yesterday I planned to photograph some attractions in Griffith Park since I hadn't done that before other than the LA Zoo. My first stop was the Autry National Center / Museum of the American West. It was an awesome museum; a mix of western art, history and the entertainment industry.

For the art portion, there were landscape paintings from the "Hudson River School" artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran. I had never actually seen these paintings before in person though they were a huge influence on what eventually became landscape photography. The historical part included information about Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and had artifacts such as costumes and weaponry. The movie part had a big role in the museum as well (This is a museum devoted to Gene Autry afterall.)

This photo is of a narrative display about the 1881 Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The shootout was the most famous one in Wild West lore but in reality only three died. The museum attributed the fame of the event to the movies which included historical figures such as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

Taking Photos While Sledding

Adventure Photographer Sledding Fast on Winter Snow, San Gabriel Mountains, California

Disclaimer: Activity not recommended for the sake of your health.

I was going to write about my sledding photography adventure the other day but you know... (see previous blog entry). Anyway, so my brother and I discovered last week that it's nearly impossible to sled on fresh snow that hasn't solidified. I decided to go back up two or three days later figuring there would still be some snow but not waist deep. It turns out the slopes were packed in and icy, ideal for sledding not so much for staying upright. So on my first run I went 3/4 of the way up the hill and had second thoughts when I saw how fast the previous sledder was going.

Sledder Wipes Out Halfway Up the Slope

I figured what the heck, this is what I'd been wanting to do for a couple weeks so I'm going to do it regardless of how scary it is. Underestimating how little traction there is on ice, as soon as I put the sled down and sat in it barely, I started flying down the hill at a fast speed! It was so scary that I think I probably got one or two blurred pictures, the rest of the time I was mentally saying my last rites. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I had fully been situated inside of the sled but instead I was barreling down the mountain spinning in circles. I flew over the embankment at the bottom and landed on my ribs while the camera flew off of my neck thus landing several feet away. That didn't feel very good but I shook it off within a minute.

Since going up that high wasn't productive from a photography standpoint, I decided to use a less steep slope and only went 1/2 way up. Going slightly slower and being able to get situated in the sled was the only way I was going to be able to shoot photos while sledding. It worked out sort of. I was able to experiment with different shutter speeds over multiple runs. I didn't quite achieve what I was aiming to do, as I wanted to show part of the sled under my feet but I was pleasantly surprised to get my own shadow in the 1st image posted here. I don't know if what I originally had in mind is possible to do but it was certainly fun trying to accomplish it.

To sled, what I did was squat with my camera in my right hand and put the sled underneath me with my left hand. I sat down once the sled was positioned properly and then it took off. I had my camera set on a small aperture to get everything as in focus as possible before the motion blurring, then shot on rapid fire mode blindly and hoped to capture something resembling the experience. I wiped out at the bottom on almost every run except for perhaps two of them but was still firing away even while rolling across the ground.

I didn't have gloves on because they were still wet from the previous time so I lost part of a nail on one finger and another finger is still sore though with no visible damage. It wasn't too bad though I felt sluggish the next morning. But the lady in the photo below probably suffered a broken arm or ribs and had to be helped off the snow. As I was driving down the mountain, a fire truck and paramedics were racing up so I assume they were coming to rescue her.

Inner Tubing Injury, Angeles National Forest, California

Though it was fun, I won't ever try to sled with a camera again. Too dangerous. :-)

Angeles NF “Movie Slope” Business Owner Slaps the Faces of our Founding Fathers

Movie Slope Snack Bar Sign, Mt Baldy, Manker Flats, Angeles National Forest, California

Photographers Rights is my least favorite topic to write about but it needs to be done. Today I went up to Manker Flats in the San Gabriel Mountains / Mount Baldy, Angeles National Forest area not too far from the Mt Baldy Ski Lifts in order to go sledding on the snow before it all melts away. As I was walking back to the car, I stopped to shoot a few pictures of the EXTERIOR of the “Movie Slope” Snack Shop from outside in the forest because it looked rather attractive (not necessarily the above photo). Well after two patrons left without buying anything, the man who presumably owns the snack shop comes out with a smug-looking smirk on his face and asks me, "Do you have a filming permit" "No." "If you want to shoot pictures then you need a permit. Jeep filmed a commercial here and they paid a lot of money for a permit." "This isn't commercial photography." "I don't care if it's commercial photography. This is private property and if Jeep paid money to film here then you have to as well otherwise get out of here." "This is National Forest property." (He points to the trees.) "Out there it is, this building is privately owned. If you aren't going to pay money then you can't photograph this place so put that (camera) away!" "Alright man if you say so." "So get out of here then!", then I left.

After three hours of sledding in which I had lost part of fingernail among other things, I didn’t feel like hassling with this clueless guy though I had every right to be there. If it is visible from public land that it is fair game for taking pictures. I have a U.S. National Forest Adventure Pass and since I was behaving in a non-threatening manner just like any other tourist there this morning then he had no right to harass me for taking pictures. If he doesn’t like that then he should pack his bags and set up shop elsewhere. He clearly has no idea about good PR and marketing skills. I get tens of thousands of visitors to my website each month and that kind of free exposure is potentially invaluable to a small business. However he would rather try and extort money from an Average Joe photographer such as myself by citing the TV commercial thus he missed out on potentially good PR not to mention having quite the opposite effect as a result. No one was paying me to be there and nor did I have a cast, crew nor props. There is a major difference between what I was doing and what he was referring to.

The National Parks rules regarding photography states that commercial photography requires permitting through the NPS system. That is understandable because commercial shoots require security and cleanup costs that potentially disrupt the environment. However, editorial / journalism / personal photography is protected by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Now if I was inside of the property he would have a legitimate argument but since I was outside where others were then that is B.S. I was acting in a manner not unlike that of any other tourist.

I emailed Photography Rights Attorney Carolyn Wright, Esq. about this situation (again!) and here is her response about this: “Hi Richard. I understand your frustrations. Think about what happened if you did not have a camera in your hands. Would you have been at risk for being arrested? It doesn't matter if you are trying to shoot or have a camera. Your actions are what's important.”

Photographers must stand united in the fight to preserve our Civil Rights because there are many cases of our liberties being stripped away these days by uninformed citizens such as the owner of the “Movie Slope” Snack Shop. I have a permanent link to this article regarding similar incidents published in Popular Photography magazine on my blog already but here it is again if you haven’t read it. The article is an interesting read.

“The War on Photographers.”

Adventure Photography

Adventure Photographer Enjoying Fresh Snow on Mount Baldy, Angeles National Forest, California

My brother and I went up to Mount Baldy this morning after a big storm yesterday. As mentioned a few blog posts ago, I wanted to get some sledding photos. Well the snow was so pristine that we were unable to get the (cheap) sled moving for the most part because we sank into the snow every time we sat on it. I did get it moving twice and wiped out: camera included... The sledding photos sucked because I couldn't keep the snow and water off the lens in addition to fogging up but it was quite an experience nonetheless. I probably will have use a polarizer next time also in order to get a decent motion blur in my images.

I hadn't seen so much snow on trees before and it was amazing. Someday I will probably get snow shoes in order to better take advantage of the winter photography opportunities and not suffer frostbite in the process. This photo is of my brother, Eric holding the sled, my tripod and backpack.

Rose Parade Floats

On New Years I went to the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. This year the theme was "Passport to the World's Celebrations." And fittingly there was the Chinese Beijing Olympics float which was nice looking but the impressive part was the outfits of the chinese dancers. It was beautiful to witness, well through the viewfinder anyway. :-) Then there was the El Salvador High School marching band that rode by bus for five days to get here. That was touching. I find the most interesting aspects to photograph are the people in the parade and the protesters of which there were a lot this year. The parade is so crowded near the beginning of the route that it is hard to shoot but it was a little easier to get photos at the post-parade rose float viewing yesterday the day after New Years.

When I first got to the Rose Float viewing at Pasadena High School yesterday morning, it wasn't too crowded. But by the end it was just as busy there as the parade was. Some guy even tried to start a fight with me. Aside from him it was quite enjoyable though. It's awesome to see in close detail what the floats are made up of.

Red Roses on Rose Float, Pasadena, California - 2008

Tiger on Rain Bird Rose Float, Pasadena, California - 2008

I do almost all of my travel and landscape photography on the 17-35mm lens because it is a higher quality lens but I used the 17-85mm lens this time so I could focus in on the details of the rose floats in addition to shoot a few wide angles when necessary. Around this time of year I get a fair amount of traffic to my website from people looking for rose parade pictures so I wanted focus more on the details at the float viewing because that is an area in which I had lacked pictures of previously.

Happy New Year!

Living on the Edge

Out of Control Sledder on Mount Baldy

I photographed this on Sunday with a 300mm focal length. What I want to do next time is use my 17-35mm wide angle lens while actually sledding down the slopes myself! I don't know how I am going to keep control of the sled while shooting photos but I haven't seen anyone else do this before so it is worth a shot.

One scenario might be to set my camera on a one or two second time-lapse (gotta read the instruction manual...) while dangling around my neck. The perspective should be about ideal as I'd want my feet showing with snow flying all over the place. The hard part would be keeping the camera facing in the right direction.

The one-handed approach would probably yield the most consistent compositions but the degree of difficulty would be really high. Even without cameras, the people I saw weren't able to consistently make it down the slopes without wiping out. There is another method that I will most likely use but I'll keep that a secret for now. Though if you've read some of my previous blog entries then maybe you might have an idea for what that is.

A Heavenly Day on Mount Baldy

First Winter Snow on Mount Baldy

It was two years in the making, but this past weekend finally brought a significant amount of fresh snow powder to the local slopes. Making up for lost time seemingly, the road was packed with cars from Mount Baldy Village up to the ski lifts. It was exciting to see daredevils going up these steep slopes then sledding down, wiping out and taking out spectators along the way.

It had been overcast for several days and I actually had other plans yesterday but as soon as I got to the top of my street, I saw the conditions on Mount Baldy then I immediately had a change of plans and headed up there. For much of the year, Mount Baldy looks unremarkable but right after a snow storm it is as beautiful as a mountain can get. Mount Baldy has a vertical relief in excess of 9,000 feet depending on where you are photographing it from. I think there is about 7 or 8,000 thousand feet of vertical relief from this vantage point. By comparison, I think Mount Everest has 12,000 feet of vertical relief from base camp.

The drawback to photographing mountains with a wide angle lens is that makes them look small. Wide angles are the most commonly used type of lens for landscape photography, but mountains are supposed to be big, imposing, powerful. So I used a 70-300mm zoom lens at 192mm to focus in on the summit ridges.

Photo Impressionism

Photo Impressionistic Red Serrano Chili Peppers

After emailing with a friend about macro lenses, I felt inspired this week to dust off my macro lens and try some new approaches I hadn't done before. My macro lens is the sharpest lens I own and typically I use it for photographing trees and forests to get as much detail possible, but I wanted to do exactly opposite of that with these shots while putting an emphasis on light and abstract shapes.

To get this image, I used a large Mag-Lite on the wide angle setting to illuminate the chili peppers since they would have been silhouettes otherwise. Then I used the macro lens at f2.8 up close and framed the composition how I wanted it on a tripod while searching for a pleasing background color. I adjusted my polarizer to cut the reflections then kept adjusting the focus until it had a painterly look to it. I didn't want abstract blobs either so it took some fine-tuning of the focusing to get it how I envisioned. As is, I'm not sure I could duplicate this image.

To see some more of what I have photographed this week check out these images:

Serrano Hot Chili Peppers Impressions

Red Chili Pepper Impressionism

Red Serrano Hot Chili Peppers Abstract Impressionism Blur

Oak Tree Fall Color Forest Photo Impressionism, Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park, Glendora, California

Oak Tree Autumn Leaves Orton Effect, Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park, California

Photo Editing

Most photographers always talk about their "vision" and how they shot such and such. However, the in-camera aspect is only the first step toward realizing a vision. There was an old cliche among photographers that the only difference between pros and hobbyists were that pros took a lot more bad photos. There is some truth to that. Most good photographers take a liberal amount of images while out in the field and most of which ends up in the garbage bin. The goal is to come away with enough different images to edit into a story or portfolio when back home. The photo edit represents the final vision of the photographer.

Take for example a typical photo shoot. A "good" photographer can take all of the bad photos from that shoot and edit them into a "portfolio" of ten images and compare them to any ten photos from a "bad" photographer. They'd likely look similar in quality. No definitive vision, poor technique, horrible lighting, etc... The difference is that the better photographer will have also tried shooting enough different types of images to edit into a clear vision once the final edit is completed. He made bad images while in the quest for realizing a clear vision. The other photographer just merely took random photos.

How you edit and present your work creates the perception of who you are as a photographer. Look at the following two groups of examples I have posted here. The first group of photos represent bird habitats. The 2nd group of pictures are the birds that inhabit those habitats. If I were to show the 1st group in a portfolio, then I might be perceived as a fine art photographer. If I show the 2nd group, then I'd probably be considered a bird photographer. By having two distinct groups of images like this then I can market myself however I wish. The underlying message is that a photographers' vision is most easily viewed and understood when grouped together in coherent collections. It could be a single collection or many collections, the important part is to have them organized according to your goals.

Photo: Southern California Bird Habitats

Picture: Pacific Flyway Waterfowl

If you feel your photography is lacking direction, then try this exercise. Find a clear theme or subject matter to edit into a portfolio. Even a mediocre vacation snapshot photographer can probably have their pictures edited into a somewhat presentable portfolio by someone with a good eye if they were passionate about what they shot. If you never strike out, then you aren't swinging for the fences either.

Crystal Cove State Park

California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus) Shell at Minus 1.6 Feet Tide, Crystal Cove State Park, California

For several years now, I have gone to tide pools during the winter months whenever the tides range from -1.0 to -2.5 feet. My goal has been to photograph the ever-elusive octopus. Octopus are generally found in rocky reefs hiding underneath rocky surfaces while half-submerged in water so they are difficult to find. They also change colors as well so finding one has proven to be quite the treasure hunt.

On a tidal zone scale of one through six, octopus are generally considered to be in the level 6 category of marine wildlife so the most likely opportunities to spot one would be when the tide is around the -2.0 feet level. In Southern California, I think the lowest tide I have ever photographed was -1.9 or -2.0 because it only gets that low for a day or two per year. Further up the Pacific Coast, the tide gets lower however and I have photographed down to negative 2.5 foot tides in the past.

My luck was no different on Saturday at Crystal Cove State Park. I did manage to photograph a nearly complex exoskeleton of a California Spiny Lobster however as it was actually lying on the beach, not even in the tide pool. I think that was a result of the extreme difference between high and low tide. In the morning, high tide was a +7.1 ft. and the low tide was -1.6 ft. For my next tide pool adventure I am going to explore a tide pool that I have never been to before so I'll keep that location a secret for now. From what I have heard, that place yields more marine wildlife. :-)

Orange County Coastline, Crystal Cove State Park, California

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.

South Fork of the American River

Picture of South Fork of the American River, Coloma, California

The Gold Rush began in this area when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill by James Marshall. Nowadays, the American River is perhaps best known for being a whitewater rafting mecca during the summer months. The South Fork has Class II & III rapids so it is ideal for beginners and those who want a little excitement in their life but aren't ready to die yet either. :-) I believe the North Fork of the American River has Class III, IV, and V rapids so that section is a little more advanced. Another popular rafting place in the Sierra is the Merced River. Occasionally you might see rafters and kayakers in Yosemite Valley and in the Merced River Canyon which can be a little more tricky.

My friend, Jimmy and I rafted the South Fork in 2004. It was a little bit nerve-wracking at first to hear the safety instructions but once we completed our first series of rapids successfully, it was awesome! I'd totally do it again on a more difficult course if I knew people around here that were willing to do it. I think Jimmy would be up for it again also but he's living out of the country at the moment. Next time, I'm going to try finding a way to bring my camera along.

This picture of us about to attack a rapid will have to suffice for now. You can't see me in this photo because the wave is obscuring me. One wave was so big it flew over the raft and nearly knocked a couple of us into the river. Somehow I don't think that rapid was a Class III on this day.

Photo of Whitewater Rafting on the South Fork of the American River, California

Old Glory, Nevada City, California

Photo: Old Glory in Old Cemetery, Nevada City, California

In my blog post a few days ago I pondered if most people are forgotten after their closest loved ones have passed. Well it didn't me take long to find one case of where the person hadn't been forgotten. From reading his grave marker, I believe this man's name was James Kitts and probably served in the U.S. military during the Mexican-American War. In addition to being a veteran, Mr. Kitts was a carpenter, bridge builder, gold prospector, hotel keeper, and stock broker during his lifetime. No date was provided on his tombstone though upon further research, I believe he may have died in 1901. Next to him is his 1st? wife, Eliza, who was buried in 1871.

The Pony Express Monument

Photo: The Pony Express Monument, Old Town Sacramento, California

The buildings that the Pony Express Monument is facing consists of an old Wells Fargo bank, the location of California's 1st Supreme Court, and the westernmost terminal of the legendary Pony Express mail delivery service which ran from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento from 1860 to 1861.

I thought this would be a cool picture to wrap up my little mini-series on Old Sacramento. Despite having too many cars cruising around on this evening, I was in a world of my own when I saw this scene. It is hard to believe that this historic district fell into disrepair and was known as Sacramento's "Skid Row" back in the 1960's. Tourism may aversely affect places like Yosemite Valley, but for places like Old Sacramento, these historic buildings wouldn't exist anymore without the draw of tourism.

P.S.: I would still like to see the pavement ripped out and replaced with dirt along with banning automobile traffic 365 days a year. :-)

Scarecrow Park

Photo: Halloween Decorations in Scarecrow Park, Old Sacramento, California

My favorite part of Halloween while growing up was Trick or Treating an entire pumpkin full of candy from around the neighborhood. It doesn't seem like parents take their kids out as much these days which is unfortunate. If I ever have kids, then they will be raised the right way and be out there on Halloween enjoying the same tradition that I enjoyed and many others did as kids. Well I guess unless cavities start developing... I only had one cavity while growing up so that was not really an issue for me.

This photo was taken last Saturday in Old Sacramento. They have decorated the district including this entire alley with various fall decorations this month so that was cool to see something new during my recent visit. I don't know if this had anything to do with the Fall Festival but later that night there was a Zombie Walk. A number of people were dressed up as ghouls and acting the part while taking pictures with tourists.

One thing for sure is that Sacramento is a vastly underrated travel destination. People always talk about traveling to San Francisco or L.A., but Sacramento has just as good of tourism sights as either of those cities if not better. Of course you wouldn't want to go to Sacramento from June through September though. It's way too hot in the Central Valley. Unfortunately the Gold Rush Days and California State Fair take place in August / September, and are arguably the two most interesting annual events in the area.

"The Big Four" Building, Old Sacramento SHP, California

Photo: Central Pacific Railroad Company and Huntington, Hopkins & Co. Hardware Store, Old Town Sacramento, California

You may have recognized this building as the backdrop for my website. The Big Four Building consists of the Huntington, Hopkins & Co Hardware store, Stanford Brothers Warehouse, and Nathaniel Dingley Steam Coffee & Spice Mill. Aside from the California Missions and the discovery of gold at Sutter Mill, this building is one of the most historically significant locations in the shaping of modern-day California.

In 1855, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins started their hardware store business then after a few years began plotting along with their neighboring business owners to build a transcontinental railroad. In the years prior there was no easy way to travel to California. The tragic story of the Donner Party in 1846 was a testament to that. The Central Pacific Railroad put an end to that however. The founders used their newfound wealth in many ways, with Leland Stanford eventually going on to establish Stanford University for example.

On Saturday afternoon, this was the first place I went to photograph in Old Town Sacramento. I’m a big fan of old architecture and this building is as good as Gold Rush architecture gets. I find older architectural styles to be artistic and have a sense of character that modern architecture lacks. This may sound weird but I fantasize about historic buildings like the Big Four Building at times. I imagine what it was like to be alive in those eras and what really went on back in the day. Probably far from glamorous. Then I wonder what happened to the people. Do their descendants still visit their gravesites or are they forgotten about after their loved ones have passed?

Seeing historic landmarks is both fascinating and tragic at the same time because they are a reminder that our time on this planet is relatively short compared to the overall scheme of things. However our contributions can have forever lasting impact on the world during those few years of productivity we have. This is also what I like most about photography. It is both an art form and a medium where we can capture a fleeting moment in time forever.

And here is the link to my previous article about Chinese railroad workers.