Capturing the natural world one photo at a time.
All the years that I've been playing with my digital photography, the vast majority of my images were taken on my 24-105 mm lens, and I didn't own a wider angle lens than that. Until just before my trip to Switzerland. I finally broke down and purchased a 16-35 mm f/4 lens. I thought it … Continue reading Out Playing
Apparently, poppies hate wind. So do I. Each spring, poppies and other wildflowers blanket the 1,800 acre / 728 hectare Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve near Lancaster, California. It's something that I've wanted to see since moving to California. The poppies were right at their peak last week, so I drove up on Saturday, 20 … Continue reading Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
I just returned from ten days touring Switzerland, spending time in Luzern, Interlaken, Bern, and Fiesch. Of course, so many parts of Switzerland are so stunningly beautiful that it just takes your breath away. While I was there, it snowed in a good chunk of the country, leaving about a meter of fresh snow in … Continue reading Switzerland 2019
After a rainy winter, the Anza-Borrego Desert is coming alive with blooming wildflowers in different areas of the park. There were maps of the flower "hot spots" available at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park visitor center. The 20-30 mph winds made any macro photography of the flowers impossible—they were just bouncing around way too much. … Continue reading Anza-Borrego Desert in Bloom
My cousins from Chicago flew into San Diego and they always wanted to see Joshua Tree National Park, so we made a quick run up there this Presidents Day weekend. We were on a very compressed timeline, but we packed a lot into just under 24 hours, completing the Park Boulevard loop from the town … Continue reading Joshua Tree National Park
It's October and that means it was road trip time (I'm in a rut—this is the third year in a row that I've taken a road trip the first week of October). If you really want the gory details of the entire trip, you can read about them here. Suffice it to say, it was … Continue reading The Eastern Sierra and Pacific Northwest
I drove back out to the Sunrise Highway yesterday afternoon in plenty of time for me to search for possible locations for more photos, and it didn't look all that promising because of the summer haze hanging over the mountains and desert. I stumbled across this view from a little pull-off beside the highway, and … Continue reading Sunset on the Sunrise Highway II
It's been a challenging week on a whole host of different fronts, and I needed a dose of inner peace (brought to you by Mother Nature). On my way home from work, I could tell that the high clouds in the sky might make for a decent sunset tonight, so I loaded up the camera … Continue reading Sunset on the Sunrise Highway
First lesson learned: Don't go to a major tourist destination on a holiday weekend if you expect to experience much of anything other than crowds and lack of parking. Up until yesterday, my only experience with the San Bernardino Mountains was either driving over the Cajon Pass on Interstate 15, or viewing them from a … Continue reading Recon Trip to Big Bear Lake
As Memorial Day approaches, I thought it would be appropriate to remember its true meaning by visiting Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery yesterday. I arrived at the cemetery about an hour before sunset on a completely overcast and gray day, so I thought the black-and-white photos reflected the mood of both the day and the location. … Continue reading Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery