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Photo of the Month–May

Sunday, May 1st, 2011

Its true what they say: sometimes the unexpected surprises are the best.  Although I live a few miles from the Santa Ana Mountains, I haven’t explored them nearly enough.  The Santa Anas are one of the peninsular mountain ranges in southern California, and while they are a coastal range, they are far enough inland to get quite dry and hot during the summer months.

One of the things I love about this range is all of the waterfalls and cascades.  Not nearly on par with anything you might find in Yosemite, these little rivulets are quite charming, and each is a little bit different.  Last year, I spent some time with San Juan Falls, one of the easier falls to access.  This past week, Marc Perkins and I headed back to the Santa Anas to look for another waterfall.

Upper Hot Springs is another small stream, and the falls cascade about 30 feet over some very colorful rocks.  Last year, I attempted to hike to this area, but was turned around because of dense poison oak.  Last week, the trail was much more easy to find, and we found the falls with no problems.  In contrast to the oak and sycamore environment of the stream bed, the area around the falls was covered in succulent plants (whose name I do not know).

The falls on Upper Hot Springs Creek, Santa Ana Mountains, California

Upper Hot Springs

As far as I could tell, the falls don’t live up to their name in that the water wasn’t especially hot.  Oh well.  It wasn’t the best day for a soak in hot springs anyway!

I hope you enjoy the image; you can see the rest of my images from the Santa Ana Mountains here.

 

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Mecca Hills Wilderness

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Late last week, we made a day trip out to the Mecca Hills Wilderness, which is located near Indio California in the Coachella Valley.  The landscape twists and turns in a very unique and beautiful way; formed by the San Andreas fault, the Mecca Hills are a badlands with colors reminiscent of the Artists’ Palette in Death Valley National Park, and canyons that would rival even the narrowest of slot canyons in Utah.

While there, we made sure to stop and hike through the popular Ladder Canyon.  Only 3-4′ wide in places and over 200′ deep, Ladder Canyon would be a technical ascent (or descent) if it weren’t for the ladders which give the canyon its name.  Due to the hike’s popularity and proximity to Palm Springs, solitude came in sporadic bursts.  Still, it was great to be in there, making images.

Ladder Canyon, Mecca Hills Wilderness, California
Ladder Canyon, March 2011

A series of unusually strong late-season storms have been hitting southern California for the last week or so, too.  Driving out, the fast-moving clouds from one of the systems had an interesting play on the light over the badlands.

Mecca Hills Wilderness Badlands, California

Badlands & Clouds, March 2011

I’m unplugging and heading off to Utah and Nevada for the week.  Hope you have a good one!

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Two Saints

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Because much of southern California lies at a relatively low altitude, several peaks in the surrounding mountain ranges are very prominent, and are quite impressive.  Two of the twenty most prominent summits in the United States–San Jacinto Peak (10,834′) and San Gorgonio Mountain (11,503′)–are located here, and are both visible Palm Springs, in the Coachella Valley.

sunrise light on Mt. San Gorgonio in southern California

San Gorgonio Mountain, January 2011

Both peaks tower over the valley by more than two miles, one of the most impressive vertical drops in the United States.  Because of the gap created by these two high mountain ranges, high winds often occur at the entrance to the Coachella Valley.  As a result, a very large wind farm is maintained in this area; some of the windmills are visible in the image above, at the base of San Gorgonio Mountain.

Ambitious hikers can hike San Jacinto Peak from the valley floor–a vertical ascent over more than 10,000′!  Others–like me–take the aerial tramway from Palm Springs to an elevation of 8,500′, making for a much more reasonable hike.  Ultra-ambitious hikers who take on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) must descend 10,000′ down the San Jacinto Mountains into the Coachella Valley, and almost immediately re-ascend almost the same height back into the San Bernardino Mountains (where San Gorgonio Mountain is located).  The constant up and down hiking through southern California’s mountains makes the southern part of the PCT rather unenjoyable for PCT through-hikers.  I can understand why.

Sunrise on Mt. San Jacinto, in southern California

San Jacinto Peak, January 2011

I was able to photograph these two impressive mountains last weekend as we got an early start driving to Phoenix.  We’ve had unseasonably warm temperatures in southern California for the last week or so due to a high pressure system over the Great Basin, but the snow is still heavy at the high altitudes, as you can see in these photos.  The thing I like about these peaks is that you can go from a true desert ecosystem to an alpine ecosystem, while coving a very small horizontal distance.

I hope you enjoy these impressive mountains as much as I do!

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The Bone Yard

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Fire is a crucial element in southern California’s ecology and culture.  Every fall, fueled by the Santa Ana winds, fire descends upon the sage scrub communities, cleaning out the underbrush, allowing life to start anew.  The Santa Anas (and to some extent their homologues in other Mediterranean climates) have an almost mythical status, and are the subject of Crime Noir novels (The Underground Man, 1971) and even punk rock (Bad Religion’s Los Angeles is Burning).

I photographed this burn area last weekend (it burned in late July) in the–appropriately named–Santa Ana Mountains of southern California.  While life is starting to spring back up, the area is still largely a bone yard.

Burn area in southern California's Santa Ana Mountains

The Bone Yard, December 2010

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In Remembrance

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

We all know what happened at Pearl Harbor, HI on this date in 1941; the events of that day were a major catalyst in the United States’ involvement in World War II.  As a result of the Japanese bombing at the US Air Base in Hawaii, a hysteria ensued and  widespread distrust of Japanese-American citizens traveled across the country, leading to our government sequestering them in “internment camps” at various locations throughout the western US. Its amazing–almost unbelievable–what hysteria, distrust, and fear can lead people to do.

This memorial, made famous by Ansel Adams, marks the cemetary at the relocation camp at Manzanar, near Lone Pine, California, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Mt. Williamson is in the background.

Monument at Manazanar National Historic Site, Lone Pine California

Monumental, October 2010

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Fast Forward

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Here are another couple of images from my recent trip to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.  I really loved the comparison between the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and its skeleton.  Cheetahs are one of the fastest land animals on earth, rapidly reaching speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour, with the ability to accelerate more quickly than most sportscars (0 to 65 mph in less than 3 seconds!).

a cheetah (acinonyx jubatus) and its skeleton at the los angeles county natural history museum

Fast Forward, November 2010

a diptych of a cheetah and its skeleton

Duplicity, November 2010

Click on the image above to see it big!

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Larger than life

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Last week, I had a workshop to attend at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.  While there, I decided to walk around with my camera, exploring the dioramas.  Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved natural history museums; the dioramas really come to life, bringing me in just a few feet from the African plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Arctic icefields.  I absolutely loved it.

Elephant diorama at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum

Loxodonta, November 2010

In addition to the traditional museum displays, one hall has an entire fin whale skeleton.  Standing underneath, it was easy to admire the size and power of these grand beasts.

Fin whale skeleton at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum

With the fin whale, November 2010

In walking the halls of this fantastic place, I realized many of the dioramas are a little dated and could use with a small overhaul.  Talking to other colleagues, I know this is the case in other museums as well.  It seems we live in a world where people expect “instant gratification” and seeing a diorama is no longer as good (or better?) as going to the zoo to see a living animal.  As a result, donations and visitation to museums are declining, resulting in a severely underfunded situation.

If you’re searching for a Christmas gift for the science lover on your list, please consider a membership to your local Natural History Museum.   You can become a member of the LA Natural History Museum by clicking here.

Diorama of an american bison at the los angeles county natural history museum

Bison, November 2010

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Photo of the Month–December

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Another year is coming to an end.  Already.  Just as the sun sets on another year, I’ll share a sunset image from our recent Sequoia National Park trip for this month’s image.  This image was taken from the top of Moro Rock, a large, exfoliated granite dome, much like those found all over the Sierra Nevada mountains.  You’re looking over hill layers toward the great central valley of California (the San Joaquin Valley); haze from the valley is contributing to the unique effect you see in this image.

Sunset as seen from Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, California

Moro Rock sunset, November 2010

Have a great month, and see you in 2011!

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The last vestiges of Autumn

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Last weekend, we took advantage of some nice fall weather to visit Sequoia National Park (I recently posted another image from that trip here).  It really couldn’t have been nicer weather.  Not only were we wearing t-shirts at lower elevations, but we really enjoyed the brisk temperatures in the Giant Forest.  In addition to some find landscape opportunities, we saw two black bears (which our son absolutely loved).  Not a bad weekend at all.

For me, some of the prettiest scenery was in the area just at the entry of the Giant Forest, where the oaks and other deciduous trees were still hanging on to the final vestiges of fall color.  I spent some time with the big trees one morning, and on my way out, I stopped to photograph this tree, which seemed to be completely ensconced in fall colors.

Since visiting Sequoia, a major winter storm has hit the Sierra, probably (by my best guess) obliterating this beautiful fall color.  Fortunately, we were able to catch the tail end of this great show…

A giant sequoia tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in autumn, Sequoia National Park, California

Sequoiadendron giganteum, November 2010

Click here to see all of my images from Sequoia National Park.

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Labyrinth

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Yesterday we returned from a weekend trip to Sequoia National Park.  While the standing trees are awe-inspiring and amazing to look at, the dried roots of the trees that had fallen were just amazing to me.  Looking *up* at roots isn’t something I’m used to doing.

Many of the Sequoias are 2,000-3,000 years old so those roots have been around through so many great events on our planet, and were there before many of those things even happened.  Its humbling to try to creatively photograph something that was already ancient when Christ walked the earth, or when the Roman Empire was the greatest civilization on earth.

While processing this image, I thought monochrome would work best in accentuating the shapes and textures in the wood.

Roots of a Sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California

Ancient Roots, November 2010

I have to admit, though, that I got a little carried away with Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro.  The “Antique Solarization” treatment gave an interesting effect that really seemed to accentuate the shapes present in this image.  While it may not be your cup of tea, this image really is growing on me.

Abstract image of roots from a giant Sequoia, Sequoia National Park California

Ancient Roots II, November 2010

I’ll put up all of my images soon on a webpage for Sequoia National Park.  In the meantime, ponder the labyrinth of time!

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