The Face Of Half Dome
One of the most recognizable faces in California is the sheer, flat, vertical face of Half Dome.
Moody Mojave Morning
The wind was fierce across the desert, pounding and shaking the tent so that I got very little sleep during the night. I was up as soon as there was light, but the wind prevented me from making coffee or cooking breakfast, so I was driving along the dirt roads toward the highway that would take me to town.
Seductive Sands
The winds were hot. The sun was hot. The sand was hot. It was late morning; it was early May. It was very hot.
Morning Idyll
I have to say, I quite like this photo, personally. But for a photographer, it can be difficult to distinguish how much feeling for a photo is because of the quality of the image itself, and how much is tied to the emotional memory of the time and place where it was created.
Blended Peaks
On a beautiful morning in early May, the long and winding road from Sequoia to Kings Canyon was little trafficked, and I drove easily across the mountain ridges, enjoying the views.
Wandering In A Fog
The morning was cool and still, and thick with fog. There would be nothing to see from any mountain overlook except a curtain of gray. Driving did not appeal; there was nowhere to go that would open a door in the fog. It was the perfect morning for a walk in the woods.
Forest Floor
Grand mountain viewpoints, broad blue lakes, and swift-flowing waterfalls are beautiful scenes, and who doesn't enjoy seeing Nature's grandeur on the wide screen? But I also love to see her put on a show at the nearby, personal level.
Quiet Morning
When I am camping, I usually wake early, when the sun begins to come up and the birds start singing outside my tent. It's a natural time to start the day. I also go to bed early. When I start a camping trip, I very easily fall into Nature's rhythms, my sleeping and waking hours adjusting to the cycle of day and night. I tend to lose awareness of time as measured by clocks and other artificialities. Life becomes simpler and flows more gently.
Yosemite Vision
I camped in Yosemite for a week at the end of May. Yosemite is a changeling. Her personality alters each day, so that even from the same spot I never saw the same scene twice.
Out Like A Lion
Bad weather is good for photography, so with today's heavy clouds and rain showers, I just had to get out to capture the interesting light. It was quite cold, and the wind was brutal, which made it feel even colder. But oh, that lovely, stormy sky!
Mountainside Morning
Rising and getting out early is easier when you're sleeping in a tent. Muted daylight begins filtering through before dawn, and the songs of birds are not impeded, but become the most gentle and delightful alarm clock.
It’s All About That Light
It's true that in some ways pop music really is all about the bass, as folks like Meghan Trainor and Joe Mariencheck have pointed out, but when it comes to photography, it's all about the light.
Life Cycle
At the marsh yesterday morning, the light was fun, by which I mean it was highly variable, always providing something good but never staying in one place.
Snow In The Woods
New Year's Eve is a challenge. To me, I mean. A personal gauntlet thrown down. A direct challenge, from an unknown, unnamed, unseen, belligerent opposition, to me, personally and directly. A challenge to be faced down and dealt with, or to slink away from in ignominious timidity and humiliation.
Miners Castle
Here upon the southern shore of the Great Lake we call Superior, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow set the tale of Hiawatha, the legendary warrior of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) tribe, and his Dakota wife, Minnehaha.