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The Minarets at dusk

Friday, October 30th, 2009

I’ve always been attracted to rugged mountains and jagged peaks.  Some of my favorite mountain ranges have had this characteristic: the San Juans in Colorado, the Tetons and Wind Rivers in Wyoming, and of course California’s “Range of Light”–the Sierra Nevada.  As the Sierra moves north from its southern foothills, the peaks get more jagged and rugged, and this is especially evident around the Mammoth Lakes area.  Behind Mammoth Mountain lies the Minarets, a series of jagged peaks, located in the Ritter Range.

I took this simple, graphic, shot of the Minarets at dusk one night in early October 2009.  I waited as the cloud moved south from over Mount Ritter and Banner Peak to hovering over the Minarets.  It only stayed here about 1 minute, before disappearing completely.

The Minarets at dusk, Sierra Nevada mountains, California, October 2009


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A visit to Devil’s Postpile

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Here are some more images from my recent Sierra trip.  Before heading home, we stopped by Devil’s Postpile National Monument to go for a quick hike, and to check out the amazing display of columnar basalt present here.  It was kind of a cool morning, because they essentially closed the gates behind us for the year.  Its neat to know that you’re one of the last people to hike in a place for the whole year.  It was my second visit to the Postpile; although the face of the pile is best photographed in the afternoon (I’ve only been there in the morning), the tops of the columns can be photographed any time.  As it wasn’t overcast, I chose to take a more intimate view of the columns (i.e. excluding the sky) with my wide angle lens to show the expanse:

Columnar Basalt, Devil’s Postpile National Monument, October 2009

And I can’t resist a “self-portrait” in places like this, either:

Columnar Basalt, Devil’s Postpile National Monument, October 2009


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The Mountain Photographer

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

One of my very first photographic inspirations was Galen Rowell.  Before I was a photographer, I knew who Galen was, and I greatly admired his work.  I was always impressed by the intimate way in which he connected the viewer to the subjects in his images.  On top of that, I have always looked up to him as a human being as well.  For lack of better words, he just seemed like a good guy.  Those who knew him seem to be able to attest to that.

Galen and his wife Barbara lost their lives on the day my wife and I moved to California–August 11, 2002.  I remember moving into our apartment in 115 degree heat, turning on NPR that evening, and hearing about the loss.  It really was just that: a loss to the photographic community, environmental community, climbing community, and global community.  However, I think we’re fortunate that Galen’s photographs continue to bring us closer to our world.  This is due to a lot of hard work by his friend and family, and the brilliance of his photographs becomes quickly evident when you walk through his gallery in Bishop, CA.  People walk around silent, in awe…inspired.

On my recent Sierra trip, I was able to visit Mobius Arch for the first time.  Located in the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, CA, Mobius frames the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S.–Mt. Whitney–perfectly.  Although Mobius has many alternative names, my favorite is “Galen’s Arch” as a tribute to Galen Rowell.

Making these images and thinking about my motivation for taking photos, I’m reminded of part of Galen’s writing:

The Mountain Photographer

My interest in photography did not begin with books or mentors, or with any burning desire to see the world through a camera.  It evolved from an intense devotion to mountains and wilderness that eventually shaped all parts of my life and brought them together.  Photography was never simply a hobby or a profession for me.  Once I began taking pictures, it became an integral part of my life.

Despite the occasional frustration, that’s how I view my photography.  I am grateful to have Galen Rowell to thank for both my early and continued inspiration.

Galen’s Arch by starlight, Alabama Hills, California, October 2009

Galen’s Arch at dawn, Alabama Hills, California, October 2009

This post also appears here, as part of the California Nature Photographer’s blog.

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Mono Lake sand tufas at dawn

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Mono Lake is one of the most bizarre, but most starkly beautiful places I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.  The water loss in the lake over the last 70 or so years has exposed the ghostly and oh-so-strange tufas–rock outcroppings made of calcium carbonate that form because of the lake’s chemistry.  Because of the tufa formations and the stunning Sierra Nevada backdrop, Mono Lake is also very popular with photographers.

On our recent trip, I arrived at the South Tufa parking lot at 6 am–1 hour before sunrise only to find 28 other cars in the parking lot.  Not wanting to be in every photographer’s shot, I left and drove to a nearby parking area, where I was alone.  I hiked to a “field” of sand tufas I know about and was grateful to put a new spin on an oft-photographed lake, as well as avoid the crowds at South Tufa (while I was hiking, I counted another 15 cars pull in the parking lot!).

The sand tufas remind me of something similar to Isengard Tower in the Lord of the Rings:

Sand Tufas at Dawn, Mono Lake, California, October 2009

Sand Tufas at Dawn II, Mono Lake, California, October 2009

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Mothra!

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Despite my childhood fears, I’m confident that Mothra will never try to take over the world.  Mothra first appeared in the novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra (Takehiko Fukunaga), but she has since appeared in several films.  A fictional Lepidopteran, Mothra has characteristics of both moths and butterflies, and while I cannot find any references as to how large she would have been, you can see her next to Godzilla at the right, suggesting she was quite large.

So, how can I be confident a moth this large could really never occur?  Moths and butterflies are arthropods and arthropods have a unique method of growth.  Because they have a rigid exoskeleton, they essentially are wearing a suit of armor that will not grow with them.  You and I have an endoskeleton that grows with us.  For arthropods, growth occurs in several steps:

  1. First the existing exoskeleton is shed, or molted
  2. The animal plumps itself up with water, causing it to swell
  3. A new exoskeleton is secreted around the swollen animal; within a few hours (or days) this new skeleton will harden
  4. The swelling goes down, and the animal now has an exoskeleton it can grow into.

During the period between steps 2 and 3 above, the animal is not only helpless, laying as a ‘blob’, but it also has nothing to support its weight.  Its likely that a bug the size of Mothra would have been crushed and killed under her own weight.

So, how big can arthropods get?  The largest terrestrial arthropods are probably the Giant Weta (Deinacrida spp.), found in New Zealand; the largest one documented was ~70g!  However, because water is more buoyant (and supportive) than air, aquatic arthropods can get much larger.   The Japanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) can reach a width of up to 13 feet, and a mass of 20kg (44 lb)!  I had a chance to photograph this crab last week at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

japanese spider crabJapanese Spider Crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) Aquarium of the Pacific, October 2009

Despite the fact there was a lot of glare on the glass, I rather like this photo.  Somehow I can’t help but think these crabs are planning a Mothra-like reve….

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A visit to the aquarium

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Yesterday my office mate and I visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to scope out potential field trip activities for our Zoology students.  I was able to take along my camera and photograph some of the unique life they have there.  This type of shooting carries with it several difficulties, including low light (I shot at ISO 1000 or great the entire time) and curved glass on displays (autofocus has a hard time with this, I found out).  However, its also really fun to shoot here because of the huge diversity you get to photograph in a very short time.

Angel FishCopperband Butterflyfish, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, October 2009

Sea JellySea Jelly, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, October 2009

I also had the opportunity to play with some really fun abstract images at the aquarium as well; something I don’t get a chance to do very often.  This image is an intimate shot of a sea anenome:

Sea Anenome AbstractSea anenome abstract, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, CA, October 2009

Over the next few days, I’ll share some more images from this really unique and fun location.  We’ll be visiting again next month, so the lessons about shooting under these conditions can be applied again as well.

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New images posted!

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Since returning from our Sierra trip, I’ve been editing photos, and have some new ones up on the website.  In true banzai* fashion, a friend and I made a run up to the eastern Sierra over the weekend.  We left after work on Thursday, and arrived in the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine about 11pm.  I shot some star trails of the now famous Mobius Arch (also called Galen’s Arch, after Galen Rowell).  After sunrise, we headed north, and shot up Bishop Creek to hunt for some fall colors.  In my last post, I summed up the difficulty we had finding fall color.  That night, we headed north and shot the Minarets at sunset.  The next morning, we visited Mono Lake at dawn.  At the South Tufa parking lot, I counted 28 cars when we arrived, one hour before sunrise.  Figuring on a minimum of 2 photographers/car, I bailed and went to the Navy Beach parking lot; we were the only ones there.  In my opinion, Navy Beach has tufas that are waaayyy cooler than the “regular” ones at South Tufa.  After sunrise, we went to Lundy Canyon, in hopes of finding fall colors there, then to Tuolumne Meadows for a hike to Cathedral Lakes.  Sunset at Olmsted Point, then to the Whoa Nellie Deli for dinner.  The next morning, we went for a hike in Devil’s Postpile, then shot home.

I’ll share some of the images from this trip in the next few posts.  However if you can’t wait, I’ve updated my Sierra Nevada page with new images, as well as Mono Lake.  I’ve added a new page for Devil’s Postpile National Monument as well.

Desert Bouquet, Autumn, Alabama Hills, California, October 2009

*See Phil Colla’s definition of a banzai photographer.

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Eastern Sierra Fall Color, 10/10/09

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Greetings from Mammoth Lakes!  We just finished our second day of shooting and “chasing” fall color, amid what’s been called an atypical year.  After leaving work on 10/8/09, we drove to Lone Pine and camped in the Alabama Hills.  On Friday morning, 10/9, we drove up Bishop Creek Canyon, and found–as expected from reports–very little in the way of prime fall color.  That said, many thanks to Inge Fernau, who tipped me off to a good grove at Cardinal Pond, as well as some decent trees in the South Fork, near the “fake” waterfall.  It was nice to finally meet Inge in person at Cardinal Pond as well!  Here’s a shot from Bishop Creek Canyon:

Aspens and Sunburst, Bishop Creek Canyon, CA, October 2009

This morning, 10/10, we drove to Mono Lake for sunrise, then headed up to Lundy Canyon because we had heard word about a small grove in the day use lot.  We found the trees, as well as about 7 photographers.  However, on the way to Lundy, about 400 yards north of the Tioga Lodge on the north end of Lee Vining, we saw the best trees of the whole trip, with yellows, oranges, and reds:

Aspens at Moonset, Mono County, CA, October 2009

From what I could tell, there were few, if any, brown leaves.  This grove is best shot from the highway, as, in the interest of full disclosure, I may have been trespassing onto this grove.  I accessed it via a sagebrush escarpment to the south, and did not see the “no trespassing” signs until I walked back down the road to the south.  

After photographing this grove, we hiked into Cathedral Lakes in Yosemite.  Driving up Lee Vining Canyon, I saw little color at all from Hwy 120.

Thanks to all who offered advice, for the hard work on the Flickr group, etc.  

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Pines & Grass

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

We happened to plan our family camping trip to the Tioga Pass area on the same late August weekend that a front was passing through, so all of my sunrises (and sunsets) were horrendously windy.  Rather than curse the lack of calm water (which I admittedly did a little of), I was struck by the way the pines tended to stand tough against the wind, while the grass was swept about.  I tried to capture that contrast with this image:

Pines & Grass, Tioga Pass, CA, August 2009


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Another shot from The Huntington

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

In addition to the captivating structures I wrote about earlier, The Huntington Library and Garden near Pasadena, CA is a very well kept botanic garden.  Many of the plants are exotic ornamentals, with collections from Mexico, South America and South Africa, among many others.  One of my favorite gardens is the Desert Garden, because of the bright cactus blooms, and the sensuous lines of the the agave.   Here’s another shot of an agave from The Huntington:

Agave, San Marino, CA, April 2009


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