Hi, and welcome to my blog. It occured to me that when you view the images in my galleries, that you would like have some idea as to the how, when and where. Therefore, through this blog, I will attempt to provide some background and detail about the photo trip that resulted in the images posted on my site.
Chasing The Iconic Image
I don’t know about other photographers, but I am always impressed with special, unique images that I also want to have in my portfolio. In that sense, you could call me an “iconic image” chaser. One of those iconic images is Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park. When evening sunlight illuminates the 3,000 foot high granite monolith called El Capitan, yellow and orange light is reflected back into the falling water of Horsetail Fall mimicking a lava flow. That special condition can only occur when three natural elements come together. First, the sun has to be in the proper location on the horizon. That only occurs twice a year, once for about two weeks in February and again in October as the sun cycles through the seasons. The sun's position is highly predictable. What is not predictable is if the sky will be clear of overcast or clouds that block sunlight from reaching El Capitan. So, the second condition is a clear sky. The final condition is that there has to be water flowing off El Capitan to create Horsetail Fall. Normally that only occurs in February when winter snow melt creates the waterfall. In October the ephemeral flow does not occur.
Last year I was gung ho to photograph the “fire fall” and made reservations to stay in Yosemite National Park for several days during February when Horsetail Fall would light up. It was a disappointing venture. Due to the continuing drought in California, there was no water flowing from the small watershed atop El Capitan to create the fire fall. With double the enthusiasm, I traveled to Yosemite again this February to chase the iconic image of Horsetail Fall on fire. I had called a Park Ranger ahead of time and knew that water was flowing in Horsetail Fall. With reassurance that the critical element of water was present, I had only to hope that the sun would not be obscured by clouds.
Well, lucky me, for two of the four evenings that I was in position to take my iconic shot, all the elements worked in my favor. I was at the right place, at the right time, the sky was clear and Horsetail Fall flowed like lava. It was a very special feeling to see this unique, natural phenomenon let alone photograph it. But let me also mention, that I was certainly not the only one experiencing this rare event. There were throngs of photographers and onlookers. To be set up at a location from which the waterfall could be photographed required an arrival at least three hours before sunset. I brought a sandwich and folding chair to await the golden hour and got my iconic shot. Images of the fire fall are located in the National Park gallery under Yosemite National Park.
February In Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Yes, Jane and I ventured into Canada during the dead of winter. We traveled to Barrie, Ontario, to photograph and video snowy owls. The owls were obviously smarter than we were. They came south for the winter from the extreme cold of the arctic tundra. We, on the other hand, left the warm climes of San Diego to experience the cold north. Average temperatures in Barrie during February range from 29 to -11 degrees Fahrenheit. Average snowfall is about 15 inches in February. With some trepidation, Jane and I packed all the warm clothes we had and loaded up on chemical hand warmers to stave off the expected cold temperatures and snowy conditions. The weather, however, turned out far less extreme then we had anticipated. Temperatures were balmy, by Canadian standards, and snow had pretty much melted away while we were in Barrie. Temperatures were actually in the low 30’s and 40’s during the day and snow was only found in patches on the fields where the snowy owl hunt.
The unusually warm weather created some problems for our photography. Without a cover of snow, the owls were able to find plenty of prey among the open farm fields and were less inclined to be in the open where we could find and photograph them. Above normal temperatures had warmed the plowed farm fields, turning the furrows into soft, spongy clay that stuck to our boots like glue. Considering that weather conditions could have been much worse, Jane and I did not complain too much about the mild temperatures. We brought most of our chemical warmers back home, ready for a future cold country adventure.
Our local guides had scouted the farm fields before we arrived and knew where some the snowy owls had established territories. However, the milder conditions meant we still had to diligently search for them, traversing miles of back roads to locate the few cooperative owls. Most of the photography was “birds in flight”, one of my more challenging endeavors. None the less, I did manage to bring home some keepers and you can see those in the Snowy Owl Gallery.
One Trip Two State Parks
We did not waste any time in starting our 2016 travel schedule. Early on New Year's Day, January first, Jane and I headed north on Interstate 15 to photograph at two separate state parks. The first was the Valley of Fire in Nevada and second was Snow Canyon in Utah. The Valley of Fire proved to be a fun place to hang out and explore. With the help of a newly acquired Garmin GPS from Santa and coordinates found on the internet, we were able to find and photograph many obscure arches and colorful eroded formations. In addition to amazing geologic features, we also encountered a small herd of full-curl bighorn sheep. Although pretty shy, they did allow us to approach close enough for some good images.
After our explorations in the Valley of Fire, we headed further north to St. George, Utah, and Snow Canyon State Park. In St. George, the weather turned on us and we had to cope with several days of dark, rainy skies. Rain turned to snow at higher elevations and we were able to capture snow on the Red Mountains surrounding Snow Canyon. By the way, Snow Canyon was named for Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, early Mormon pioneers in the St. George area. It actually seldom snows in Snow Canyon. So, even with inclement weather we were able to make pictures of a unique and seldom seen setting. We also had an opportunity to photograph some Ancestral Puebloan rock writing among the rocky ledges adjacent the Santa Clara River.
Pictures from this trip are located in the State Parks group under Valley of Fire and Snow Canyon.
End Of Year Hurrah
Twenty-fifteen was a most successful year with lots of wonderful travel experiences and, let me not forget, a total backyard redo. It is hard to say which we enjoyed more. The backyard is a pastoral sight to behold each time we look outside. Since we really are home more than away (hard to believe), that investment will be appreciated many years into the future.
To celebrate the end of 2015, we decided to enjoy a long weekend visiting museums and attractions in Los Angeles. Some might say that it is not possible to have an enjoyable stay in busy Los Angeles, but Jane and I did very much enjoy our exploration of the City of Angels. Our home-away-from-home for this long weekend get-away was the Hotel Angelenos, just off the I-405 at Sunset Boulevard.
We did have some specific objectives. First, we wanted to tour the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and enjoy a performance in this acoustically excellent venue. Our second objective was to spend some time at both of the J. Paul Getty museums, the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. Other than that, we meandered about a bit, visiting the La Brea Tar Pits, Santa Monica, downtown, and Larchmont Village where we had an excellent lunch at Louise’s Trattoria.
For night time entertainment, we ventured to the nondescript Gardenia Room Restaurant and Lounge. This little know gem of entertainment is a classic piano bar lounge where we enjoyed the musical production “Little Things You Do Together” performed by Vincenzo Lodato, Angela Wolcott, each of whom have performed in numerous Broadway productions, and Nancy Dussault, perhaps better known as Murial Rush from the TV series “Too Close For Comfort” and an original co-host for the Good Morning, America program. I go for this kind of up-close and personal style of entertainment, just three vocalists and a piano.
To cap off 2015, Bruce Hollingsworth and I traveled to Morro Bay on California's central coast. Our objectives were to photograph migrating monarch butterflies at a grove of cypress and eucalyptus trees in Pismo Beach and giant elephant seals at their Piedras Blancas colony. Morro Bay is situated about half way between these photo locations.
Early morning light was best for photography at the elephant seal colony and late morning light best at the monarch grove when the sun was able to penetrate the tree canopy. Our days were planned around these time sensitive events. We were up before dawn to be at the seal colony when the sun broke over the distant hills to the east. Then, an hours's drive back south to Pismo Beach to catch sun lit clusters of monarch butterflies clinging from eucalyptus branches.
Afternoons were spent looking for photo ops around Morro Bay. There we found a long, wide, sandy beach filled with shorebirds and we were able to creep close enough to capture images of the diminutive sanderling. We also photographed along the Morro Bay State Park boardwalk. There we photographed the even smaller blue-gray gnatcatcher. Our leisurely stroll along the boardwalk included a surprise when a cautious coyote came sauntering towards us through the sparse brush adjacent the boardwalk.
For a short, five day, trip, this turned out to be a productive venture. I certainly added some "keepers" to my collection of images. Images from this trip can be found in the Piedras Blances gallery in the Wildlife Refuges group and the Butterfly gallery.
BEST WISHES FOR ALL IN 2016
If This Is October, We Must Be In Costa Rica
October found Jane and me in the high altitude cloud forest of Costa Rica. We were on a hummingbird photography tour with David Hemmings, a Canadian wildlife photographer (www.naturesphotoadventures.com). Neil Solomon, a fellow photographer from the Photonaturalists Camera Club, had turned me on to this opportunity to photograph some new species of hummers and he and his spouse joined us on this adventure. Gene Davis, an old photo-buddy, had also signed up. So it was almost like a private group of friends enjoying the remote outback of Costa Rica.
One of the trip highlights was a peak at the caldera of an active volcano. Before heading to our photography destination, we made a side trip to the Poás Volcano. It is only one of Costa Rica’s many active volcanoes along the Ring Of Fire. Fortunately, only steam was escaping from this caldera during our visit, although there were many signs giving evacuation advice should a more serious eruption occur.
Most of the photography was accomplished at and around the Paraiso Quetzal Lodge (www.paraisoquetzal.com) located at nearly 9,000 feet in the cloud forest. Dave set up his multi-flash equipment at one of the lodge's hummingbird patios where we were able to get some pretty fantastic shots of hummingbirds feeding at various flower arrangements that were part of the setup. My favorites were when several hummers were photographed together in one shot. Suffice to say that I was able to add several hummingbird species to my list of bird photographs.
Weather did play a role during this photo tour. Several times the morning clouds were so low that photography was not possible and in the afternoon, rain played a similar role. Never the less, trudging through steep, muddy terrain, with heavy telephoto lenses on tripods, and hampered by slick exposed roots creating constant trip hazards, we were able to locate (with the help of two exceptionally talented local guides) the very photogenic Resplendent Quetzal. This colorful red and green trogon-like bird with its long tail feathers prefers to perch deep in the shelter of moss covered foliage of Costa Rica’s rain forest. This, of course, made locating and photographing this target birds a real challenge. One morning, we intrepid photographers, under the guidance of our talented local assistants, were able to scramble along an extremely steep, slippery hillside to photography the elusive bird.
Jane and I very much enjoyed our stay in Costa Rica. I had been once before, but this was the first for Jane and she’s game for going back at some future time.
September Road Trip
Three thousand five hundred miles and twenty days, that was our Montana/Wyoming road trip for September. It was a very diverse trip with stops at several wildlife locations for photography. During the journey we enjoyed seeing a wide variety of wild animals and birds, including: big imposing bison, delicate pronghorn, big eared mule deer, white tailed deer, big-rack elk, full-curl bighorn sheep, high altitude mountain goats, nervous prairie dogs, free roaming wild mustangs, a scurrying black bear, nesting bald eagles, migrating Canada geese and sand hill cranes, noisy Steller’s jays, a lone burrowing owl, chirping meadowlarks, a cautious muskrat, tiny painted turtles, an unexpected osprey, elegant trumpeter swans, a fleeting Clark’s nutcracker, a colorful varied thrush, the aquatic dipper, fishing mergansers, along with various ducks and other LGB’s (little gray birds). It was quite the menagerie of American wildlife.
Our first stop was in rural Charlo, Montana where we had rented a small, remote cabin (www.vrbo/3435680). From there, we day-tripped to the surrounding wildlife habitats, Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, Kicking Horse Reservoir, McDonald Lake, and the National Bison Range. We spent most of our time at the Bison Range (www.fws.gov/refuge/national_bison_range) because it had by far the most photogenic subjects. There were bison, of course, but also pronghorn, deer, and elk, all fairly close to the road. At the Kicking Horse Reservoir we unexpectedly encountered some muskrats in a small pond adjacent to the reservoir. From a distance, through the field glasses, we could see them clearly swimming in the pond. When I got closer to photograph them with the long lens, they quickly headed for their shore-line burrows. I managed only one keeper.
Also at this small pond, and others, we noticed several little snouts sticking up out of the water. After several careful observations, we concluded that they belonged to small turtles. Some further research yielded a surprise. It was not any run of the mill turtle, but what we found was the small, painted turtle. indigenous to western Montana.
From this remote retreat in the Mission Valley, west of the Mission Range and south of Flathead Lake, we headed to our own cabin in West Glacier, Montana (www.glacierwildernessresort.com) from where we day-tripped into Glacier National Park, but mostly just kicked back and relaxed for about nine days. In Glacier, I concentrated my photography on panoramas. I wanted to practice to see what makes the best panoramic composition. My conclusion, I need more practice. I did learn a lot and that always means I need to purchase more gear.
We left our place in Montana and drove to Wapiti, Wyoming to spend a few days with Don Getty and Joan to photograph the wild mustangs at the Bureau of Land Management, McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Herd Management Area. Don had assured me that he had never been skunked photographing the wild horses there. Well, he was not skunked this time either. We went out to the Management Area on three separate days and saw horses each time. The second day out, however, proved to be a trying one. We did not spot any horses until we had been driving on bumpy and dusty dirt tracks for nearly four hours.
The Wild Horse Herd Management Area is immense, nearly 110,000 acres. I don’t really know how big that is, but it sounds big and we spent hours driving the dirt tracks looking for horses. Finding them we did and the photography was great. There are suggested rules about keeping an appropriate distance from the wild horses so as not to impact their natural behavior. The horses, evidently, don’t know about those rules because they came so close to us, that we had to change our behavior. The photography was good and the companionship with Don and Joan was outstanding. Jane and I shared a wonderful time with them. Inevitably, however, it became time to head back to San Diego so we embarked on the long, two day drive home after an all-around great road trip.
Silver Salmon Creek Lodge – Déjà Vu
This August Jane and I found ourselves once again at the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. It was Déjà Vu all over again. We were there in 2013 and decided to make a return visit. Dave and Joanne Coray and their friendly staff are outstanding hosts and we had a wonderful stay at this cozy lodge. Access is by bush plan from Anchorage with a landing on the beach along the shores of the Cook Inlet. The journey started with adverse weather conditions in Anchorage resulting in our flight being delayed several hours. After arriving at the lodge, however, we enjoyed several days of sunshine.
As it was in 2013, the objective of this short, 5-day jaunt, was to photograph the Alaska Coastal Brown Bears, aka as grizzlies. In August there is a Silver Salmon run which draws the bears to the creek for some high energy fishing. Salmon migrate from the Cook Inlet to spawn along Silver Salmon Creek and its tributaries. This time bears were not as numerous as during our trip in July, 2013. But there was plenty of photo action with bears splashing after the swift fish. We also were able to observe and photograph young cubs play-fighting as their mother fished for their dinner. As always in the Alaskan wild, Jane and I had a great time enjoying the diversity and beauty of nature.
On this trip, there was also the opportunity to sail out to Duck Island on the lodge motorboat. Duck Island is very small, about the size of a city block in San Diego. Small as it may be, it is a haven for seabirds, particularly horned puffins. Photographing from the boat, with substantial surf and swells, proved to be difficult resulting in only a few keepers. After landing, some good shots of puffins perched near their burrows, doing what puffins do, were possible.
I hope you enjoy the images from this return trip to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge as much I enjoyed obtaining them. You can also refer back to the 2013 gallery to see what difference a month makes in the life of a grizzly.
July Doldrums
If it’s July it must be home improvements month. Yes, most of July was spent redoing our backyard. The project started June 15th, right after we returned from Montreal and the Canadian Grand Prix, and was completed on July 23rd. It all began when one of the pipes to the pool sprung a leak and we had to tear up some of the backyard hardscape for the repair. Never hesitating to make a big project out of a little one, we opted to just redo the entire yard. The final results are wonderful, and breathed new life into our enjoyment of the backyard. It was a comprehensive project and included replacing the wooden, termite infested, patio cover with an aluminum one; replacing cracked pool coping and tile; and installing artificial turf to replace the aged hardscape. And last, but not least, we also decided to add air conditioning to our home. We are loving it all!
Photography wise, things were a little slow in July. One bright spot, I was published again. Nature Photography ran my story about the Black Bears of Anan Creek and Watching Backyard Birds choose one of my images for its August cover.
I did manage to get some night photography practice. I call it practice because my images don’t quite come out the way I would like. First, I wanted to get a full moon setting over the ocean. In San Diego, with its almost perpetual evening marine layer, that turned out to be a bust. Then, when I tried for a full moon rising over the city skyline, the morning was overcast. So those ideas were a total flop with no actual shots at all. I did make it out to Borrego Springs, with its dark night sky, for some Milky Way photography. I considered the results mixed so I will try that again.
Finally, in early August, I did get some nice images of butterflies in the wild when I went out with the Photo Naturalists Camera Club to the Bird and Butterfly Garden at San Diego County's Tijuana River Valley Regional Park. It's amazing what I will photograph when I'm hard up. Can you believe spiders and grasshoppers?
Now that the July doldrums are over, I’m looking forward to a more robust photography schedule for the remainder of the year. That will start soon with another trip to the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska.
Grand Prix of Canada
June found us in Montreal, Canada. Jane and I had become interested in Formula 1 car racing some years ago. Our good departed friend, Lee Robinson, was an avid fan and got us interested. Each Formula 1 season, as we watched races on television, we would daydream about actually going to a race. That dream came true this June. We chose the Grand Prix of Canada because we longed for that international flavor that is Formula 1. We certainly got that in Montreal where the primary language is french.
We had a great time browsing the restaurants and sights of Montreal. But, of course, the real treat was going to our first Grand Prix race. We had purchased weekend tickets for Friday practice, Saturday qualifying, and Sunday racing. Jane, the travel wiz had found comfortable accommodations near a metro stop that went directly to the race course. We had not been in crowds like that since we were at the Fourth of July near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. We had a hoot!
Jane and I each have our favorite drivers. Jane favors Sebastian Vettel, who drives for Ferrari. My unsung hero is Valtteri Bottas, driving for Williams. We both like Fernando Alonso. He was previously with Ferrari but now drives for McLaren with a car that is not competitive. Unfortunately, none of our favorites did well in this race with the exception of Valtteri Bottas who finished third and made it onto the podium.
Great Basin National Park
Little did I know, before embarking upon my latest photo journey, that there was another great desert in the western United States. I have frequently photographed in the iconic areas of the Mojave and Sonora deserts, and the desert-like Colorado Plateau. But I had never thought of the area between the Sierra Nevada and Wasatch Mountains as a desert. But that vast geographic area, defined as the Basin and Range Province, is known as the Great Basin Desert and that is where I spent the first week in May photographing.
Tourist accommodations and facilities are few and far between in this inhospitable and isolated area. U.S. Highway 50 traverses this ocean of ranges and basins and is known as the “loneliest road in America”. My destination was Great Basin National Park (www.nps.gove/grba), the only national park in Nevada. I had never been there and was motivated by its remoteness and the potential of photographing inside Lehman Caves that are included in the park. The first week in May turned out to be a bit early to visit Great Basin National Park. One of the park’s primary attractions, Wheeler Peak, is some 13,000 feet high and the road up to the high elevation trail heads had not been cleared of snow.
This was a photo excursion that was shared with Bruce Hollingsworth. Plans for the trip had been made well in advance and I had arranged to stay at the “Home On The Range” in Baker, Nevada (www.endofthetrailer.com) only about six miles from Great Basin National Park. For the area, this was by far the best accommodation available, two bedrooms, full kitchen, super-fast wifi, and a wonderful “trail boss”, Margaret Pense. Since we were early in the season and the high elevation roads were not open, Margaret had great suggestions for other day trips which Bruce and I gladly accepted. So besides photographing in the park, we also explored Cottonwood Wash, an area of Desert Archaic petroglyphs on the National Register of Historic Places, and Crystal Peak, a white, volcanic, rhyolite tuff, mountain in the Wah-Wah Wilderness Area.
The best tip Margaret had given me, though, was that the Park Service offered private, after-hours, photo tours of Lehman Caves. I had submitted an application, paid the fees and Bruce and I were escorted into the cave, with tripods and flashes, after hours, by Dustin our assigned Park Ranger. We spent three hours with Dustin photographing to our heart’s content. WOW!!! How fun was that? All in all, we had so much fun that Bruce and I discussed the possibility of a return trip to this isolated part of the American west.
