sierra nevada
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Sunday, August 1st, 2010
We’ve just returned from our trip along the last ~1/3 of the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada. It was pretty fantastic, and I think the “mozzies” could have been a lot worse than they were (this is good news for someone who once had the nickname “Skeeter Bait!”). I’ll be writing a lot about this trip in the next few weeks, but I thought it only appropriate to choose an image from the Sierra for my August Photo of the Month.
This image is from our first campsite on our journey, Minaret Lake, which is behind Mammoth Lakes, California. At dawn, I found a great little cascade to use as a foreground element while the morning light illuminated the Minarets in the background. It certainly is rugged country up there, and I like the way this image displays that. Hope you enjoy it!
Minaret Lake Cascade, July 2010
Over the next few days, I hope to update albums with some new images–stay tuned!
Posted in locations, Photo of the month, sierra nevada | 3 Responses »
Tags: landscape photography, nature photography, sierra nevada, sunrise photo
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Today, we’re off to the Sierra Nevada for an 8-day backpacking/photography trip that will take us to the base of the Minarets, and along the John Muir trail to Yosemite Valley. I’ll be posting journal entries as well as (hopefully) many new photos when we return at the end of July. Be sure to check back for updates on the trip.
Its been 100+ at my home here in inland southern California for almost a week now; it will be nice to escape the heat in the high country. I’m almost certain, however, that the mosquitoes will be numerous and large enough to pull me down the trail, if I can figure out a way to harness them.
My hiking partner put together a GPS file of our route. We’ll be starting at Devil’s Postpile, in the lower right, and ending at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. You can click on the image to see a larger version. Enjoy, have a great month, and see you when I return!
Posted in california, locations, Personal, sierra nevada | 3 Responses »
Tags: backcountry photography, inspiration, landscape photography, sierra nevada, yosemite
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
I took this photo over Memorial Day weekend when I got up early to photograph the morning light on Mammoth Mountain. I loved the light on this rugged peak very much, and I like the way the light contrasts with the sagebrush in the foreground. However, I do not know the name of this peak…can you help?
The mountain-whose-name-is-unknown is visible from California 203 (its south of the highway), not far from the junction with US 395. Any help is appreciated. If you can’t help, then at least enjoy the image!
Morning light in the Sierra Nevada, May 2010
To see all of my photographs from the Sierra Nevada, click here.
Posted in california, sierra nevada | 2 Responses »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, sierra nevada, sunrise photo
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Despite the fact its one of the more cliché and popular mountains in the Sierra, Mammoth Mountain is one of my favorites. Why? For starters, its a very tectonic hill.
Mammoth is a lava dome complex that is known primarily for the large ski area that bears the same name. Mammoth Mountain was formed in a series of eruptions that ended 57,000 years ago. However, it still produces hazardous volcanic gases that kill trees and have caused ski patroller fatalities in 2006.
In addition to being very active geologically, Mammoth is also well known for its unusually high amount of snowfall–about 400″ annually. In the summer, mountain bikers take over the mountain, with the Kamikaze downhill run being very popular.
Mammoth Mountain at dawn, May 2010
To see all of my photographs from the Sierra Nevada, click here.
Posted in california, sierra nevada | 1 Response »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, sierra nevada, stock photo, sunrise photo
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
With our recent trip to the Sierra, I’ve been thinking of revisiting some photos that I’ve taken previously. One that comes to mind is a panorama of Lone Pine Peak and Mt. Whitney (the ‘Whitney Crest’) from the Alabama Hills that I took last fall. I shot this shortly after sunrise, and after shooting Mobius (Galen’s) Arch in the predawn light. As one person noted, this is one of my favorite views. Indeed.
Click on the photo to enjoy this image big. It would, of course, look better hanging over your couch!
Whitney Crest at dawn, October 2009
Photographic notes: It is a panoramic image created from 5 horizontal frames. I processed the RAW images twice, once for the highlights, and once for shadows, and blended the two resulting panos using luminosity masks.
Posted in california, locations, sierra nevada | 1 Response »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, panoramic photo, sierra nevada, sunrise photo
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
June’s photo of the month comes from one of my favorite summer places–Mono Lake. Located at the base of the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, Mono Lake is one of the few remnants of Ice Age lakes in the West that is still a year-round lake. The lake has persisted for more than 730,000 years, but faces an uncertain future from both natural and man-made causes. The lake is very alkaline and since 1941, has become moreso, due to the diversion of freshwater springs into the Los Angeles aqueduct. By 1982, the lake’s level had dropped 45 feet, exposing something that makes Mono unique: curious brown structures called tufa towers. Tufa towers are deposits of calcium carbonate (due to calcium present in underwater freshwater springs, and carbonate in the lake water).
Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited the eastern Sierra on a family camping trip, and I was able to sneak out to make this image Sunday night. I haven’t done many star field shots, but this one really captures the essence of the lake for me. A few months ago, I blogged on just how popular the lake has become with photographers. True to form, when I arrived to set up this shot on Sunday night, there were at least 40 photographers present at South Tufa, and I got some funny looks as I started setting up while everyone else was leaving. Soon, I had the entire place to myself, and I could contemplate the cosmos while darkness overtook the landscape.
This is one of my favorite images from the night.
The Ghost Ship, Mono Lake, May 2010
Click here to see more of my Mono Lake photos.
Posted in california, locations, Photo of the month, sierra nevada | 4 Responses »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, mono lake, nature photography, sierra nevada, stock photo
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010
Spring is in full swing in southern California; on our walk tonight, I enjoyed the Brittlebush in full bloom, and noticed several migrant and summer-resident bird species who have arrived in large numbers: black-chinned sparrows, wrentits, indigo buntings, tanagers, etc. With all of these changes happening, its almost impossible for me not to have “senioritis” of sorts. By this point in the school year, seniors in high school and college have already mentally checked out, looking forward to their upcoming freedom, thus suffering from senioritis. In the same way, I’m looking forward to long hikes in the mountains, lazy summer evenings at Mono Lake, and early mornings in the sagebrush of the eastern Sierra.
One of those summer evenings is the inspiration behind May’s photo of the month. Last summer, on an early August trip to Yosemite and Mono Lake, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at The Mobil Mart (Whoa Nellie Deli) in Lee Vining, then headed up to Yosemite to follow the sunset out of the park. I started at Olmsted Point, worked my way east to Tuolumne Meadows, and finally photographed the last light of the day on Mt. Gibbs, the second highest peak in the park (12773′), with the Tuolumne River as a foreground.
This is a 3-image HDR shot I processed in Photomatix. The river and forest were already in the shade, with the beautiful pink glow left on the peak. I wanted to preserve as much detail as possible, so I chose to process this as a high dynamic range image.
Mt. Gibbs and Tuolumne River, August 2009
Here’s to your senioritis. What are you looking forward to this summer? What great summer memories do you have?
Posted in hdr, locations, national park, Photo of the month, sierra nevada, yosemite | 3 Responses »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, sierra nevada, sunset photo, yosemite
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
Happy New Year! As 2010 begins, I’m already late with my Image of the Month post. We made a last minute trip to Yosemite National Park and I simply didn’t have time to post while we were gone. I do hope your new year is off to a great start, though.
2009 was a great year. Photographically, I had the opportunity to make images in several fantastic locations. I learned more about image processing and through my interactions with other photographers, I feel like I grew leaps and bounds this year. My wife and I watched our son grow and change in ways I can’t imagine. Every day he amazes me. With such a great year in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to display my final photograph of 2009 as January’s image.
This–of course–is El Capitan, with the Merced River in the foreground. On warm winter days, fog rises from the river as the sun sets. Combine this with the last rays of daylight on El Cap, and you’ve got a fantastic sight to see. I hope you enjoy it!
Gates of the Valley, December 2009
Over the next few days, I’ll get my Yosemite page updated with all the new images from my trip, as well as sharing many of them here.
Posted in california, General, national park, Photo of the month, sierra nevada, yosemite | 5 Responses »
Tags: california, hdr, landscape photography, sierra nevada, stock photo, sunset photo, yosemite
Saturday, December 26th, 2009
It always seems like the end of the year is a good time to look back and reflect. As a photographer, I think its instructive to do the same thing; by looking at what I’ve learned, what I tried and what didn’t work over the last year, it helps to make my images better. As such, I’ve chosen to finish this blog year by choosing five of my favorite images from 2009. These images may not be my absolute best of 2009, but for various reasons, they’re the ones that mean something to me.
As a post-Christmas special, I’m offering 30% off the purchase price of these five prints through January 15.
I hope you enjoy them!
The first of my five favorite images of 2009 was somewhat planned, somewhat not. In October, my friend and I headed to the Sierra Nevada to attempt to find fall colors (looking in the archives, you’ll our hopes fell flat…alas). Because we left work late, we camped in the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, CA. I had been looking forward to photographing Mobius Arch (aka Galen’s Arch) for several months and had visualized in my mind’s eye the nighttime shots you can see on this page for months.
That star trail shot almost made my top five for the year. However, early the next morning, the alpenglow on the Sierra was unreal. The sky lit up a beautiful purple color, and the mountains turned a lovely light pink. For about 5 minutes, it was unreal. The moon was setting over the Sierra, adding to the scene. Thus, Mobius Arch at dawn is the first of my five favorite images of 2009.
Mobius Arch at dawn, October 2009
I recently had this image printed as a 12×18, and it really does look phenomenal. It will hang in a friend’s home eventually, but right now I’m enjoying it in my own!
Posted in california, Personal, sierra nevada | 4 Responses »
Tags: california, fine art, image of the year, landscape photography, sierra nevada, stock photo, sunrise photo
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
I’m hoping sometime soon to write a blog post about star trails, but until then, I’d like to share an image from my recent Sierra Nevada trip. This is similar to one that I posted earlier, but instead of showing static stars in the night sky, it shows star trails, over the course of about 25 minutes.
Mobius Arch startrails, Alabama Hills, CA, October 2009
Posted in california, sierra nevada, technique | 2 Responses »
Tags: california, fine art, landscape photography, nature photography, night photography, sierra nevada
