Best Images 0f 2021

It is that time of year where folks publish their best images of the previous year. Here is my list.

Locations include:

• Owens River

• June Lake Loop

• Bishop Canyon

• Bridgeport

• Sage Hen

• Silver Lake

• Gull Lake

• Mammoth Lakes

• Round Valley

While 2021 had its issues it was a great year for photographing the Eastern Sierra.

Would love to know what you think of the images and which one you liked the best.

Wishing you an awesome 2022!

Heaven

Spring or 2019 - Wildflowers, snow, and winter that won’t go away!

A few years ago, I experienced a drought of clouds for what seemed like an eternity.  Every time I went on a photo expedition it was nothing but blue skies. It was frustrating as I love clouds in my landscape images. 

Now the cloud “drought” was not all bad as any day in the Eastern Sierra is a good day; with or without clouds.  The lack of clouds forced me to experiment with new compositions and subjects which made me a better photographer.  In the end I still wanted clouds.

That is were we are heading to!

I am here to say with the Spring of 2109 my cloud drought is over.  The last couple of meanderings has been off the charts.  There were clouds, and I mean awesome clouds, everywhere you looked.  They weren’t high clouds, so they didn’t go orange and red at sunrise and sunset, but it didn’t matter.  Their size, complexity, brutishness made them totally photogenic.  The main key to getting great images was to just get out there, and stay out there, capturing the clouds as they morphed throughout the day.  All the while I was in heaven. 

The road and clouds inviting us to explore!

I am doing research on a photography class I am going to teach at the Mono Arts Council in the fall.  The class will not focus technology but on using personal vision, style, and composition to create “remarkable” photographs.  During this cloudfest I started to apply some of the things that were newly learned from my research..  It was difficult to do things differently. 

I may be biased but it made a huge positive difference in the impact of the images I was able to create. I will have to wait to see if the peer reviews from my fellow photographers agree with my self-assessment.

In any case sit back and enjoy my vision of heaven on earth, even though it is extremely cloudy.

Storms over the Eastern Sierra. Lots of snow still on Mammoth!

Symmetry in Nature

and on and on and on! Truly Heaven on Earth!

FYI, as I mentioned above I will be teaching a Photography Composition class at the Mono Arts Gallery on September 28th. Then on the 29th will facilitate a field trip to put what you learn into practice. You can sign up here. Would love to see you there!

Feel free to comment and share!

A Perfectly Cloudy Day

We live in LA, wait we live in Mammoth.  Yes, we are one of those folks, but our Mammoth place doesn’t stay vacant much.  We are not skiers, so we take a winter hiatus during the snowiest part of winter and let the ski people enjoy our place.  The winter withdrawal this year was worse than usual.  Work has been intense, and I needed a John Muir soul “refresh.” I told my better half “we have to go now.”  She said she had to work but was an angel for letting me go without her. 

The entrance to Hot Creek Never looked so good!

Me and my camera took off for the high country.  When we got there, it was cloudy.  Perfectly cloudy to be exact.  You see, lots of people love blue skies, but to photographers blue skies are boring. We long for partly cloudy skies to add impact to our images.  Especially Cumulus, Cumulonimbus, Stratocumulus, and Lenticular clouds. The first three cloud types are what the Lord gave me this trip. It was like he was saying good decision to come on this trip!

Green Church with Clouds! FYI, this is the first time I captured an image of the Green Church I liked!

As a teenager and when my kids were young I remember afternoon thunder clouds while camping at Silver and Twin Lakes.  This trip was like a Deja vu.  There were afternoon clouds and thunderheads all around.  Over the whites, over the Eastern Sierra, seemed like they were everywhere. I needed something to frame the clouds.  Off to Hot Creek I went.

This one huge cloud kept morphing as the afternoon went on.  I followed it for an hour or so. After I had chased the clouds for hours and thought I had gotten my fill, I headed off to Tom’s Place to get a JoJo margarita. She makes a mighty fine margarita.  On the way I kept having to stop because I would see another awesome thunderhead rising above a mountain ridge line here then there.

Either this is what Moses saw in the desert of aliens are coming! :-)

The afternoon was just gorgeous

Tree with a crown of Clouds

The amazing thing about the trip was with all this weather activity, the water on the lakes in the June Lake loop was so still that the lakes looked like mirrors. Since still water is another of my favorite things I got a twofer on this trip!

Silver Lake Glass (a Blog post in its self)

What a great weekend.  So glad I decided to heed the “calling” of mountain’s to go!

FYI, I will be teaching a Photography Composition class at the Mono Arts Gallery on September 28th. Then on the 29th will facilitate a field trip to put what you learn into practice. You can sign up here. Would love to see you there!

My Path to Better Wildflower Images

2019 - Flowers from here to infinity

This is my second post this year touching on how to take great wildflower images.  Why two posts?

My forte’ is landscape pictures, mostly on a grand vista scale.  I have had less success in taking pictures of flowers that are good enough to print and hang on my wall. Like a million other folks, this year’s abundance of wildflowers has got me hooked on photographing flowers.  I am now on a quest to take the best wildflower image I ever have. This post is a combination of my experience so far this season combined with the research I have done to help my images get better. I thought it would be good to share before the 2019 season comes to an end.  Here goes.

Environment

There biggest environmental factor that can improve your image is taking the flowers under the best light.  Most people want to view wildflowers on a bright sunny day.  This is probably one of the worst environments for taking wildflower pictures.  The light is strong causing harsh contrast, saturated color tones, etc.  You want to actually use soft diffused light. Like the light from an overcast day, or at sunrise/sunset because the light is softer and warmer.  This diffused light gives the wildflower a much more pleasing look.  As a bonus to taking pictures early or late in the day tends to mean less wind to move the flowers around.

I love this composition but the harsh sun makes it unusable

It was an overcast day when this was taken and the diffused light makes these poppies much more appealing

Speaking of wind. If it is windy, sometimes the best approach is use it as an element in your image. Slow your shutter speed setting down and use the contrast of the moving flowers against the sharp background in the distance to add interest in your image.

Subject Matter

What flowers you choose to take a picture of is very important.  If you are taking close ups, you want a prime specimen, not one where pedals are decaying, eaten by bugs, etc.  Remember you are probably in a huge field of flowers, you can and should be selective.

I love the shape of this Poppy but you can tell from the leaves it has seen better days

This flower is in perfect condition and is the type of flower you should look for

Composition

Memorable images have the ability to tell a story that evokes emotion in the viewer.  You already know the story and why it evokes emotion within you.  Folks who will look at your image later weren’t there. They didn’t experience the same emotions you did while you were there.  Your image has to tell your story in order to evoke the emotions in others who were not there.  When you take the image, work to create a composition that will tell your story.  It could be you caught a butterfly resting on a flower or lots of other people around you enjoying the flowers.

In this one image I tell the viewer the whole story of my visit. That the flowers were all around, it was a cloudy day, it was easily accessible, close to the highway, and you would have enjoyed being there.

The people in the image tell the story of how we were exploring the beautiful countryside

Even in this colorful chaos your eye tends to end up looking at that one unopened poppy in the middle. When you create a focal point that the eyes can focus on your viewer will spend more time exploring the rest of the image .

From my experience and research I believe there are three go to composition approaches that will help make your wildflowers ones to remember:

1.       Shoot Low to the Ground.  Shooting from a standing position at wildflowers close to you is almost guaranteed to give you a mediocre image.  The same goes true for taking pictures of dogs.  Have you ever seen a dog picture that was taken from a standing up position that you really liked?  Probably not.  It is always when the photographer gets down to the dog’s level that creates a memorable image.

Taking this image from a higher perspective dilutes the impact of the flowers.

Shooting lower, at the flower’s level, increases the impact of the image dramatically

2.       Shooting parallel to the plain of the flower.  If you’re taking a close-up of a flower, what is in and out of focus is a big deal.  This is usually referred to as depth of field.  If you shoot parallel to the plain of the flower you minimize the amount of distance or depth of field that must be in focus.  Let me explain. 

If you take a picture of a flower from the side, to keep both the front and back of the flower in focus you need to keep a greater amount of distance in focus .  Now take a picture of the flower from directly overhead.  The front and back are at the same distance from your camera, so you need less depth of field to keep everything in focus.

Notice the front of the flower is out of focus

If you shoot parallel to the plain of the flower the amount of distance to keep in focus in considerably less

3.       Use the flowers as a foreground element.  How many times have you seen an image of this huge field of gorgeous wildflowers and not been moved by it?  As humans we like structure. Our eyes want to focus on something, anything.  Fields of wildflowers are pure chaos.  There is not a single subject for our eyes to focus on, so our minds don’t process the image in a way that creates an emotion. 

One way to create emotion is to use the wildflowers as the foreground element but have a strong background element as well.  Have the wildflowers at the bottom of the frame but have a hill, lake, mountain, or something in the top background element. If you are successful at creating a link between the two you will naturally create emotion in your viewer as they look at your image.  FYI, a cloudless blue sky does not count as a strong background element. In fact, it dilutes the viewers interest factor.

Using the flowers in the foreground against the canyon’s super bloom creates a focal point for the viewer’s eyes to focus on, yet tells the story that there was color all around you. It creates an emotional impact

The rock and the flowers in the foreground anchor the image and give a sense of proportion that evoke emotion from viewing the image.

Equipment

As always, the best rule is use what equipment you have at the moment.  One hundred percent of the time, having a picture is better than no picture at all.  So use what you have available. I went with my wife on a wildflower tour and one of the images she got on her iPhone was better than 90% of what I took with my Canon DSLR.  The reality is however, bringing the right equipment with you can have a huge impact on the quality of your image. Here are some examples:

Camera with Controls

We talked about the importance of selecting what is and is not in focus. A camera that gives you control over aperture and shutter speeds gives you way more flexibility to capture the image you want.

Camera with a Zoom

As a landscape photographer my favorite lens is a wide angle.  I tend to leave a 16-35 lens on my camera all the time.  It was counter-intuitive to me that many photographers said their favorite lens for shooting wildflowers was a long telephoto lens. Like 300-400 long lens.  I tried it and they were right.  For isolating a specific flower with a small depth of field you cannot be a telephoto lens.  Either having multiple lenses or having a good zoom lens will give you a huge amount of flexibility and control to create the image you want.

The zoom lens lets you blur the background of the rocks behind this flower. If the rock in the background was in focus its strong contrast pattern would have been very distracting

Tripod

Earlier in the post I said you need to be picky about the flower you chose to take pictures of.  It is as equally important to take time to compose the image of that flower. To do that ,you need to be able to hold the camera at the right spot/angle while you adjust your focus or wait for the wind to die down, etc.  That is the job of a tripod.

I was laying on the trail and had got the perfect focus and composition but had to wait several minutes for the wind to die down long enough for the flower to stop moving. No way could I have done this without a tripod.

Knee Pads

Remember some of the best picture angles of wildflowers are down low.  That means a lot of kneeling. The reason the wildflowers look so good at the location you are shooting at is because there is water there.  Knee pads makes it much more comfortable to kneel and keep your clothes from getting dirty or wet. 

Diffuser

You are stuck taking pictures of wildflowers mid-day. There is hope.  A diffuser is a filter that softens the harsh sunlight passing through it..  You can buy a diffuser or very cheaply make your own.

Conclusion

If you are in the hunt for that “perfect” image of a wildflower hopefully these suggestions on light, composition, and equipment will help you succeed! I would love to hear from you if these tips or others not mentioned helped you on your quest!

Wish you luck in your hunt for the perfect wildflower image

March in Like a Lion ( and leave the same way!)

March roars in like a lion
So fierce,
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.

The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear

Lori Hill

March is a transition from Winter to Spring - Reservoir on the Tejon Ranch

The theories on the origins for the saying “March in like a lion and leaves like a lamb” are multiple. Some are based on folklore describing the shift from winter to spring in the northern hemisphere. March is usually the month where winter shifts from winter to spring. So it usually starts off cold and stormy and ends calmer and warmer. Usually is the key word as there is nothing totally predictable during the transition between seasons. Which makes them so wonderful.

Another theory is based on the stars in the beginning of March Leo (the Lion) on the horizon at sunset but is replaced with Aires (the Ram) on the western horizon.

The most interesting insight was a Christian interpretation. It follows the thought that Jesus came into the world as a Lamb and will return as a Lion - in weather language means having a false spring.

Anyways for me, this March has been a “Lion” all month long. Its been one for the history books! Normally, March is kind of boring. Its cold, it rains, you stay inside. This March is different, I cannot remember one in which I experienced such a diversity of photographic experiences. It started off with a wonderful hike on the Tejon Ranch.

A storm had just broken up the night before and its remnants were hanging around the mountains. The result was this beautiful sunny day blessed with wonderful clouds that kept changing the light and shadows on the ground. A friend on the hike quipped “you could stand in one spot for the day and the scene would change a thousand times.”

The light kept changing creating these beautiful scenes

Beautiful Day

Beauty as far as the eye can see!

Then during my once a week work commute between LA and San Diego, Waze directed me out to the I-15. Well, from the I-15 there is no missing , the now infamous, Walker Canyon “super-bloom.” Luckily, I stopped to enjoy it weeks before the massive crowds made it a zoo.

Walker Canyon and I-15

The Hills are alive

Poppies prove that if small things join together they can make a big difference

Mountains, Clouds, and Spring Flowers what more could you ask for?

Even with spring wildflowers starting to bloom the March “Lion” was not finished yet. We took a trip up to the Eastern Sierra to check out how much snow was left. Oh my. We tend to be summer/hiking folks and don’t get up to the Sierra much in the winter months. 2019 has been an exceptional snow year and based on the snow still left on the ground and the fact it is still snowing the “Lamb” part of March missed its flight and won’t get into town till April.

First Light on Snow Covered Sierra

Closed for Winter! ::-)

All Roads Lead to Snow

Finally, I took a trek out to Death Valley to see the military pilots practice low level flying in a canyon nicknamed Star Wars Canyon (or called by the Pilots “the Jedi-transition.”) Talk about coming in like a Lion! The best description I can give about this canyon, other than “Oh sh*t”, it is the only place I know that you point your camera lens down to take a picture of a jet going by at several hundred miles an hour.

You can read the names of the pilots on the side of the plane!

Reminds me of a scene at the end of the “Dragnet” movie

I would call it tree top flying except there are no trees…

Hats off to these pilots they have a lot of “huevos” and I am glad I am on their side

While March still has few days left it will be snowing in Mammoth so I am not sure we will see the spring “Lamb” until April.

With a March like I had I cannot wait to see what April brings!

If you enjoyed this please share. Comments are always appreciated.

Lone Pine the Little Town Below a Big Mountain

I have been going to Mammoth since I was a teenager. Until we bought our place in Mammoth we would do a non-stop drive to Mammoth ignoring all the amazing stuff between LA and Mammoth. With a place of our own we started spending more time in the Eastern Sierra. With that regularity the need to rush straight through to Mammoth went away We started exploring cool things all along Hwy 395. It was then I fell in love with the towns in the Owens Valley. These towns seem one dimensional as you drive through but when you get to know them they have multiple layers that make them gems in their own right. Today’s post focuses on the town I know best - Lone Pine.

Lone Pine has incredible layers both natural and man made

Let’s start with a trivia fact. The famous hills to the west of Lone Pine are called the Alabama Hills. The name for these hills were given by pro-Confederate prospectors They chose the name after the CSS Alabama, the most successful Confederate war ship in the war. The CSS Alabama captured 65 ships, flying the American Flag, and sunk one Union warship. The pro-Union prospectors were not to be out done. They named the pass above the Alabama Hills the Kearsarge pass after the USS Kearsarge which was the ship that sunk the Alabama. Pretty funny when you think about it.

Lone Pine and it’s Alabama Hills are famous for its relationship with the movie industry. Over 300 films have been filmed here over the years including the 1938 classic Gunga Din, countless westerns and famous movies like Spencer Tracey’s Bad Day at Black Rock and Humphrey Bogart’s High Sierra.

You can check out this rich history at the Lone Pine Film Museum.

If you go be sure to watch the film it is pretty cool.

The Alabama Hills are also famous for there unique rock formations that are both beautiful to view but also spark your imagination. Explore enough and you will start to see figures in their shapes.

The Mobius Arch is one of the most famous arches in the Alabama Hills

But it is not the only one.

After a while you start to see images in the formations.

Jabba the Hut

Octopus maybe. If you look close you might find a laughing pig.

Towering above Lone Pine is Mt Whitney. With a height of 14,505 feet it is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.

About 9,000 feet up is Whitney Portal. There are camp grounds there and it is the trail head for the hike to the top of Mt Whitney. The portal is a wonderful stop on its own, It has a small pond with trout in it. Many like to fish others just like to sit and relax.

Fishing Pond at Whitney Portal

There is also a gorgeous waterfall as well.

If you don’t want to hike all the way to the top of Mt Whitney a much shorter but rewarding hike is to Lone Pine lake.

Lone Pine Lake sometimes looks like a scene from Jason and the Argonauts

If all this physical activity makes you hungry then the Whitney Portal Store has you covered with their huge pancakes!

Two plates are required to hold these pancakes.

If you want to wait to get back to town to eat there are some awesome restaurants it town. A few of our favorites are:

The Alabama Hills Cafe - Breakfast and Lunch

Alabama Hills Cafe

Seasons - Dinner is a great sit down restaurant.

Lone Star Bistro - Great sandwiches, hot dogs and ice cream

Frosty Chalet - for a quick bite to eat.

There is a nice grass area and shaded patio to enjoy your food at the Frosty Chalet

If you want just to sit down have a beer and possibly meet folks from around the world Jakes is a great little old saloon-. We have met folks from France, England, Australia, and more while we were there.

Bud sign at Jakes

Just north of Lone Pine is Manzanar one of the WWII Japanese Interment camps. It is now a National Historic Site where you can see both the hardships endured and the courage that our Japanese citizens displayed.

A barracks at Manzanar

I hope you see there is much more to do in Lone Pine than grab a burger and gas. Next time you are heading up 395 plan to spend time in Lone Pine!

Mt Whitney and the Alabama Hills always look good in snow!

The Wildflowers are Coming, the Wildflowers are Coming; are You Prepared?

It’s February and raining and snowing a lot.  The skiers in the Eastern Sierra are in heaven, but what are the non-skiers to do with our time? Prepare for the wildflower season of course.  The flowers are already popping up here and there already.  I wanted to provide a list resources to help you plan your wildflower hunting season.  We will cover:

•   Where to look for wildflowers and websites that track the wildflower blooms

• How to know what you are looking at.  Yes, there is an app for that and I found a great website.

•   Tips on how to take great wildflower pictures

Forgive the length of the post but it gives you a lot of info.

Locations

Tripsavvy has a great list.  I suggest you check the website out because they also have resources by site.  Here is an overview of their list and excerpts of their descriptions:

• Anza-Borrego Desert: January through March - located south of Palm Springs, Anza-Borrego State Park often puts on the best desert wildflower show in California. 

• Death Valley: February-April - when they show up, Death Valley's wildflower displays are eye-popping because they occur in a landscape so devoid of color the rest of the year.

• North Table Mountain: February-April - in a good year, North Table Mountain is decked out in more than 100 kinds of wildflowers.

• Valley of the Oaks: March-April - west of King City that is little changed since Spanish colonial days. The land has never been cultivated, making it a great place for spring wildflowers.

• Carrizo Plain: March-April - the wildflower displays that follow a rainy winter there are some of the state's best. During that time, docents lead tours to see them.

• Antelope Valley: February-May - in a good year, the carpets of orange-hued California Poppies…

• Hite Cove Trail: March-May - most visitors speed right past the Hite Cove Trail on their way to Yosemite, but the number of cars parked near a seemingly insignificant trailhead is a clue. In fact, the Hite Cove Trail is one of the most spectacular places in the Sierras in late spring. Some say it's the best wildflower hike in California.

• Eastern Sierras: May-July - the iris blossom between late May and July, depending on elevation They start first around Bishop and bloom later near Mammoth Mountain.

Resources

Modern Hiker is a great site and it is not surprising it has a great page on wildflower resources.  Here is a summary of the resources they recommend:

• The Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wild Flower Hotline – this reader-submitted flower update covers most of Central and Southern California and is often a good place to start your search.

• DesertUSA’s Wildflower Reports – DesertUSA kicks off their wildflower reports in January, which gives people plenty of time to start planning their trips as well as researching early predictions on which areas look like they’re experiencing the right conditions for good blooms.

• What’s Blooming in the Santa Monica Mountains – This list focuses on the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Here, the reports are divided into different parks and even specific trails within those parks. 

• Park Specific Sites – Many of the better-known wildflower viewing areas have their own park-specific reports, with varying degrees of regularity and specificity.

Finding Out What You’re Looking At:

There are smartphone apps that help you identify what you are looking at.  This page gives a review of several of them out there.

Desert USA has a great page that has pictures and descriptions of a ton of desert wildflowers

Photography Tips

Now that you know some good California locations and how to check how the blooms are doing. Here are some tips on how to take pictures that will wow your friends.

Fields and Flowers – There are two basic approaches to taking wildflowers. 

Use objects in the foreground and background to provides a sense of scale

Fields of Dreams - One approach is to take an image of the field.  With hundreds and possibly thousands of bright colored flowers make for an incredible scene.  To take these scenes over the top try placing something in the foreground of the image to give the viewer a sense of scale.  You can also build a layered composition. For example, you could have a tree in the foreground, wildflowers in the midsection, and a building way off in the distance.

See with the flower on the right how fast things get out of focus. On the left the camera was perfectly aligned with the plane of the flower and everything is in focus

Individual Superstar – Some of the most impactful images are of individual flowers.  First,  pick a good flower that has not been beaten up.  Second pay attention to the background. If you have an adjustable camera use an aperture setting to blur the background.  Your viewer’s eye will immediately concentrate on the part of the flower that is in focus.  Plan out what you want in focus. The front, center, or all the flower.  If you want all the flower in focus, make sure your camera is in parallel with the main plane of the flower.

Shutter Speed – Wildflowers are delicate, any amount of wind will begin to blow them around.  If you have an adjustable camera set your shutter speed to 200 or 400.  It is better to increase your ISO and get a slightly grainy but sharp image than one with no noise that is blurry.

Weather – It may be counter-intuitive, but an overcast day is probably better than a sunny day.  Sunny days create harsh shadows and blown out color.

Best Time of Day to Shoot – Early morning when the sunlight is low and there is no wind.  One thing to know some flowers don’t open until they get sunlight.

Equipment

Tripod – the flower is moving which means your camera shouldn’t be.

Telephoto Lens - the longer focal length will help you isolate a wildflower in front of a blurred background. It's important that your telephoto lens has a very short minimum focusing distance (at most 5 feet), so you can get close enough to flowers to fill the frame.

Use a telephoto to blur the back ground and put the focus on the flower

Remote Shutter Release – again the flowers are moving so your camera should not be moving.  Pushing the shutter release on the camera tends to move the camera.  Don’t have one, don’t worry.  Just set your camera’s delay timer to 2 or 10 seconds.

DSLR or Mirrorless Camera – Don’t mean to sound snooty but these types of cameras have more options, shutter, aperture, ISO, etc. that gives you more control making the image you want.  Don’t have this type of camera don’t worry go anyways.  It’s better to go and take pictures, with whatever you’ve got, than not going at all.

Happy hunting!

My 12 Best Images of 2018

The 12 Best of 2018

Why 12?  To be different.  Everyone else has a Top 10.  Besides I like the idea of one for each month.  Even though I did not take as many images last year, it was an awesome year for my photography. Mainly for two reasons.

1. During most of my trips up to the Eastern Sierra there were luscious clouds in the sky.  Nothing improves a landscape photo like clouds.

2.   I started concentrating on the improving the composition of my images. Specifically working on improving the foreground area.  To me, it made a huge difference.

So here we go.

# 12 Independence God Rays

The most unexpected spots sometimes consistently provide the most awesome images.  In this case there is a pocket park located on the south side of Independence.  It is a nice spot to stretch the legs and take a health break.  On multiple times I have captured incredible images like this with awesome light and clouds.  Right from within 15 feet of the street next to the park.  Notice how the foreground creates an alter for the God rays.

# 11 Hot Creek Sunset

The area behind the Hot Creek gorge is one of my favorite places to watch a sunrise or sunset.  The area around a certain white bridge is well magical during a sunrise or sunset.  Add awesome clouds high enough to catch the suns last rays and change colors, well see for yourself.  Think a couple of chairs, a bottle of wine, and some good company.

# 10 Clouds Over the Owens Valley

Remember the first reason I said my 2018 images were awesome? Yes clouds.  I have always loved the cumulus clouds that have a flat bottom.  Bit of trivia as here is the explanation of why they have flat bottoms. The flat bottoms of cumulus clouds define the exact height at which a critical combination of temperature and air pressure causes water vapor within the rising current to condense into a visible cloud.

# 9 Minaret Sunset

Sometime bad things produce beautiful scenes.  Forest fires are natural but with the drought and other factors the fires of late have been terrible.  Their smoke at sunset though creates some of the most beautiful sunsets you will see.  This is the case with this sunset over the Minarets and the smoke from the Lions fire. The Minaret vista has a wonderful view but trying to capture it as a still image is difficult. In some places there are tall trees that obstruct the main image. In others there is nothing and the impact of the image gets lost in a mass of complexity.  Even though I only had a few minutes to capture the scene I walked around and found the foreground to anchor the image. I think it paid off. Do you?

# 8 June Lake with Moon

June Lake is gorgeous.  For years I have tried to get an image of June Lake that captured the feelings I get when I view the lake.  I have always come up empty and this year I focused on getting an image that I liked.  I got several, but I think this one shows the lake off at its best.  Morning alpenglow, still water, clouds, and the moon.

# 7 Heart Lake Viewpoint

The Heart Lake trail out of Coldwater campground, was a hike I did not take for years because I thought it was too short and did not have any special scenery.  Was I ever wrong as it had some spectacular view, wildflower, and if you walked past the lake just a bit this scene?! This scene has three of Mammoth’s most widely recognizable locations in one view: Mammoth Mountain, Lake Mary, and Mammoth Crest.  Another example of using the foreground to make the image more interesting.

# 6 Heart Lake

Heart Lake is a small lake with only a hint of any interesting geology formations visible  Just a simple little alpine lake.  Sometimes simpler is better.

# 5 Grant Lake with White Line

Three things led to this capture.  

One, the willingness just to wander. We had done the June Lake Loop earlier from the other direction but coming home with the clouds and sunset we decided to do it again.

Two, preparedness - five minutes before the clouds were ten times more colorful, five minutes after the light was gone.  Like Goldilocks’ porridge this was just right.  I usually travel with the camera ready to go and already on the tripod.  Being ready allowed me to capture the image.

Three, listen to your photographer’s assistant. My wife has developed a keen eye for scenes worth stopping for.  I was in a keep driving mode and she told me to stop and take the image. She was right, this image got more comments on Facebook than almost all my other posts.

# 4 Parker Lake with Logs

I do most of my shooting very early in the morning or around sunset.  The hike to Parke Lake is one of my favorite hikes; one I have done many times.  When I went with some others on a mid-morning hike, I did not plan on doing much shooting.  I was stunned when we reached the lake, the water was still fairly calm and the light was not too harsh.  I took my time to find the foreground to anchor the image and came away with one of my favorite images of my favorite lake.  Shows that you should never assume and approach the creation of your art with an open mind.

# 3 Sage Hen Road with Trees

We were taking some friends on a day tour of the cool things around Mammoth in the fall.  Even though this location had passed its fall color peak, I thought the views were worth going there.  Well sometimes it all just works; the light coming through the leaves, the blue sky with clouds, and a nice leading line.

# 2 Whitney Fish Hatchery

The Whitney Fish Hatchery is a wonderful oasis in the Owens Valley.  The building is picture card perfect but one I had never captured to my liking.  This day all the elements of a great image were working overtime; the clouds, the light, just everything.  While my photographer’s assistant was setting up our picnic, I walked around to see if I could find a new perspective.  Did I hit the jackpot!  This was the FB post and calendar page that got the most comments. I think you can see why.

# 1 Cloudy Silver Lake

I knew as soon as I took this picture it would be the best image I captured on this trip and probably of the whole year.  It is a rare gift to get still water and storm clouds.  It is even a rare gift to get them late in the day.  This image is taken from one of our favorite places to sit and have a picnic.  We just sit and soak up the beauty around us. Occasionally, we will have deer and ducks join us to make it even more special. it was tough to choose between Whitney Fish Hatchery and this image as the best.  Our personal connection to this spot was the tie breaker.

The above is my ranking, which of these images was your favorite?  The bar is set high for 2019 but it will be fun to beat this list. Just pray for a cloudy 2018!

Dad Why Do the Trees Change Colors?

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Bishop Canyon

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Every year I reluctantly hang on to summer and desperately resist the coming of Fall.  Despite my best efforts the days keep getting shorter, the nights have a chill, and heck it is mid-September and it just snowed in the Sierra!  So, I will throw in the towel and look forward to Halloween and Fall Colors.  Hopefully, this post will give you a bit of trivia to impress your friends and a lot of information on how to successfully see the Fall colors in the Sierra.

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Bishop Canyon

Why do leaves change color?

The short answer is simply the leaves get less light.  There is more to it than that!  Here is your trivia facts that you can use to impress your fellow Fall Color lovers. 

Trivia Fact 1. In fall the days grow shorter.  The reduction in the total amount of light the tree leaves receive induces a chemical change causing a corky wall to form between the twig stem and the main portion of the leaf. 

After a while this corky wall causes the leaf to drop off the tree. Before it falls however, the wall blocks the in and exit vessels which traps sugars in the leaves. With reduced light an no new food the green chlorophyll pigments die.  This allows us to see the two other pigments the leaves always have had - carotene (yellow) and anthocyanin (red).

Trivia Fact 2. The reason the leaves look more vibrant after sunny days is that the sunlight continues to produce anthocyanins after the blockage occurs.  During cloudy days less anthocanin is created and the leaves take on a more pastel tones.

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Weir Pond

Eastern Sierra Fall Colors Locations

While the Maine, Vermont, and the Rockies are better known for their fall colors there are plenty of places in the Eastern Sierra that put on quite a show. As the California Fall Color Web Site says “Dude, autumn happens here too.”  Here are a some of the locations that usually have good showings:

• Big Pine Canyon
•  Bishop Creek Canyon
• Lower Rock Creek
•  Rock Creek Canyon
•  McGee Creek
•  Convict Lake
• June Lake Loop
• Sagehen Summit (Hwy 120)
• Lee Vining Canyon
• Lundy Canyon
•  Virginia Lakes
•  Conway Summit
• Walker River Canyon
• Lobdell Lake
• Monitor Pass
• Hope Valley

Viewing Etiquette

During the peak viewing time, there are tons of site-seers and photographers.  Lately there are a lot of Photography Tour groups as well.  There is enough beauty to go around to see so folks please be respectful of your fellow viewers!  I remember a time where I was at North Lake very early in the morning.  The sunrise was so beautiful and peaceful.  That was until a large group of tourist that had broken up into two groups decided it was okay to loudly yell things to each other across the lake, ruining the peace for all others.  Think before you yell, walk in front of someone’s camera scene, or bogart a location while other photographers are waiting behind you.

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McGee Creek

Incredibly Helpful Resources for Planning Your Trip

 Generally, the colors start changing first at higher altitudes usually in late September and the 1st week in October is best overall for color viewing. Unfortunately, it is not that simple.  The change in fall colors is a very fickle thing.  It does not always start on time.  One location might look gorgeous one day then after a sudden wind storm, cold freeze, or snow storm be totally decimated the next day.

Fortunately, there are a lot of kind people that actively track and publish the current conditions.  Some of the best sites are:

• California Fall Color
• California Fall Color Map
• Parchers Bishop Creek great for the Bishop Creek Canyon; North Lake, South Lake, Aspendell, and Lake Sabrina.
• Mono County Fall Color
• Calphoto Yahoo Group need to join.
•  Sierra Fall Colors
• Natural History Wanderings Foliage Reports

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Lower Rock Creek

Best blog post and How To Book

G. Dan Mitchell provide an incredible amount of valuable info!

·         Sierra Nevada Fall Color Season – Coming Sooner Than You Think!

Hope this helps you in your quest to see one of nature’s best shows.  Maybe I will see you out there among the colors!

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Clouds are the Photographers Spice of Life

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Hwy 395 in the Owens Valley

Clouds are a landscape photographer's spice to add flavor to their images.  Don't believe me, do a google on "Ansel Adam on cloud" and see how many hits come up of his images that have "cloud" in the name.  

My point is this,  There are a lot of good images that have a bright blue cloudless sky.  There are many more "great" images of the same location that have clouds in the sky!  I love the Owens Valley, it is gorgeous.   That said, would the above image be so moving if it did not have those wonderful clouds in the sky? I think not.

At times I travel a lot.  When I do I spend a lot of hours in airplanes.  It was during those hours that I really fell in love with clouds and how God paints the sky with them.  I am amazed how many folks who have window seats who never even look out at the incredible scenes that are going by their windows.

Now, I always try for a window seat.  It soothes my soul watching those wonderful clouds float by. It makes the hours of the flight, fly by (pun intended.) I take my camera almost every trip and have come away with some incredible images. See a few below.  Most think I am crazy because I root for the plane to get closer to those thunderheads, damn the turbulence, I want to get my picture!  

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Prehistoric World from 30,000 feet

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The Octopus

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Wingtip Almost Touches the Clouds

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Can You See it? Near the top of the cloud, just to the right of center there looks like a scratch in the image.  It is actually another airliner.  So just imagine the immense scale of that cloud!

So forgive the long download time.  I am going to let my cloud images do the talking for me.  After an hour + of trying to whittle the number of images down I still have too many images in this post .  If you like the images with clouds you may want to check out my friend Matt Granz work http://avax.news/charming/Storm_Clouds_by_Photographer_Matt_Granz.html.  He has gone head over heels for Storm chasing and a lot fo his images are breathtaking!

So sit back and enjoy the clouds!

Reflections

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Tenaya Lake, Yosemite - Stormy Above, Calm Below

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Venice Beach California - Looking into a Mirror

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Horse Shoe Lake Mammoth Lakes, Ca - Big Sky

Stormy 

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Shrouded Half Dome Yosemite, Ca 

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Stormy North Lake - Bishop Ca

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Crowley Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Ca - Sunset was competing with the 4th of July Fireworks

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Clearing Storm over the Minaretes, Mammoth Lakes, Ca

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Tuscany, Italy - Clouds Add Spice Everywhere in the World

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El Matador State Beach, Ca - God Painting His Canvas with Color

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Sunrise over Mono Lake, Ca - Trail to Parker Lake

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Sunset Mammoth Lakes, Ca - This is under 10 feet of snow right now!

Have I convinced you? Don't landscape images look better with a touch of photogrpaher's spice?

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Sunrise to Sunset in Southern California

My brother and his family come home every holiday season. He is a photographer too, so we look for some time while he is here to go out to shoot. I enjoy his company and it forces me over the rest of the year to get out and to check out places in Southern California for his next visit.

Now I am a 3rd generation Angeleno.  I have lived in Southern California all my life. Between work and exploring I get around a lot and considered myself a seasoned local.  I thought I had been to most of the interesting places we have here. Wow was I wrong. After a few years of checking sites out for our shooting day, I have realized there is absolutely no way possible you could ever see all that is interesting in Southern California.

This year's photo shoot happen to be on a day where we also had a lunch planned in Marina del Rey with one group of friends and a dinner with family in Calabasas. So we figured we would find a place to shoot the sunrise down south and work our way up to catch the sunset at El Matador State Beach. This way the social engagements were in sync with our photo shoot.

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Sunrise from the Observatory

We chose to do the sunrise at the Griffeth Park Observatory. I have been to the Observatory many times at night. I had never even thought about going there for sunrise. It was awesome. It was a clear day and Los Angeles in the golden glow of the morning is beautiful.

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Golden Arches looking over Downtown

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Curved Vanishing Point

After a while it was time for breakfast. Since we were close to downtown and my brother wanted to shoot the Bradbury building I suggested Philippe. Most people know Philippe for their French Dip sandwiches; usually before a Dodger game. What most don't know is Philippe has a great breakfast. My favorite is their Pork Chops.

After breakfast we headed over to the Bradbury building. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Bradbury it is a historic office building at the corner of Broadway and 3rd. It was built in 1893 and has this incredible 19th style century interior with very intricate ironwork ornamental railings and a glass ceiling. One of the building's claim to fame is being used in the cult classic movie Blade Runner. That is only one of the many movies and TV shows shot in the building. Others including Pay it Forward, Marlowe, Outer Limits, and Chinatown. It is free to check out the lobby and the first staircase platform. Well worth the time to visit and there is a host of other things to see within walking distance including the Grand Central Market, Disney Concert Hall, and the new Grand Park.

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From the Staircase

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Looking Up at the Glass Ceiling

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All Decked Out for Christmas

Right across 3rd street from the Bradbury is one of my favorite building murals. It is called the “Pope of Broadway” and is a painting of Anthony Quinn dancing. Eloy Torrez painted the mural in 1985. He portrays Anthony Quinn as a Christian icon. The image of Quinn has the traditional posture of Jesus on the cross; outstretched arms, slightly bent knees and head tilted to one side. The small enclosed parking the mural is behind gives it a church-like setting to view the mural. The religious theme is reinforced by crosses under Quinn's arms. These crosses are painted in arched doors which mirror the design of the door in the north entrance to the Bradbury building just across the street. I was so excited when I saw the mural this time. Over the years it had gotten pretty worn down. It was faded and the paint was flaking off. Viewing it this time I was overjoyed to see that it had been restored to its original glory.

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Pope of Broadway

So after the Bradbury, we went to our lunch and then headed for El Matador State Beach. It was suppose to rain later that day and there were these beautiful high clouds heralding the storms coming. It looked as though they would not block the horizon. This would set up the possibility that they would turn that nuclear red you sometimes see just after sunset. Alas, that was not going to be the case. We had the wonderful subdued pastel sunset instead. What gave the soft sunset some character was the fact that there were 20+ commercial fishing boats just off the shoreline. There must have been one hell of a big school of fish off the beach because they were all still there well after sunset.

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Subdued Sunset

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Reflections

Time Lapse of the Last Light

Big Stopper

We then headed off to dinner. It was a great way to spend sunrise to sunset and a reminder that Southern California is a treasure trove of beautiful places.

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Don Henley was Wrong You can go Back

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Just a Teeny Peek of the Sunset

In Don Henley's song the “Boys of Summer” there are the lyrics:

Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
A little voice inside my head said:
"Don't look back, you can never look back."
I thought I knew what love was.
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever.
I should just let 'em go, but

Well this last weekend I successfully looked back and came away with a smile. Forgive the long winded set up to this story but it will put in perspective how I “went back this weekend.”

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Awesome Cove Somewhere South of Pigeon Point Lighthouse

When I had just gotten my permit we went on a family vacation. It was my Mom, Dad, and myself. We were going to drive down from Los Angeles to San Diego. Then we were going to take Highway 1 all the way to San Francisco.

Now at the time we only had a Volkswagen station wagon. At the time with a Volkswagen I don't think there was any thing that was power/automatic. Locks, windows, transmission everything was manual. The clutch on that station wagon, to put it mildly, was super stiff. My Dad drives us down to San Diego and we are having a good time. When we start to head north to San Francisco he asks me if I want to learn to drive a stick. I said sure.

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Up Hill and Stiff Clutches

The on-ramp to the freeway was pretty steep and there was stop-and-go traffic. I had to stop on a hill. That is when I met the “clutch.” I must have stalled that engine 15+ times trying to get moving in first. The line of cars behind us was growing and so were the drivers displeasure. They were not as displeased as my Mom was though. She started telling my Dad to switch seats with me and get us out of there. Each time she repeated herself was a little bit louder and with more urgency. Dad just smiled and said “no he has to learn sometime and now is a good as any.”

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Bixby Bridge

You see when my Dad was on vacation he was never in a hurry. One time at the produce inspection stop Arizona/California border the guard asked my Dad if we had any fruits or vegetables. My Dad said “only this orange.” It had a green spot on it and the guard said we could not take it into California. So my Dad, not wanting to waste it, peeled that orange and ate it. Yup in the car, right in the inspection lane, with the guard watching through the window. That was fun, but I digress.

So after the umpteenth time of popping the clutch and stalling I nailed it and off down the 101 we went.

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The Cool Things You See When You "Turn Here" 

Another thing my Dad liked to do was stop and explore anything interesting. A trait I, have to admit, I have inherited from him. So as I drove up the twisting and turning Hwy 1 he would all of a sudden say “turn here I want to see that.” So across the road I would turn. Each time I thought Mom was going to have a heart attack. Well by the time we got to Monterey, me and that clutch were “simpatico.” I loved that car from that trip on and was sad when we sold it.

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Happy Cows

So this past weekend a friend of mine, who lives in Oakland, was having a party. Now he has a couple of sub woofers that he had replaced and had offered to give the old ones to me. They were big and too heavy to ship. His party gave me an excuse to drive and pick them up. More importantly, it also gave me an excuse to re-live the adventure I had learning to drive on Hwy 1 with my Mom and Dad. As you can see from the pictures in this post the beauty along Hwy 1 is second to none. The memories it brought back were priceless.

New Memory - Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Early Saturday I started the 444 mile journey mostly in the rain and fog. Most of the trip I could not see more than an eighth of a mile in front of me. It was fun and even beautiful through the fog. Sunday. I drove back those same 444 miles; still overcast but no rain and a little fog toward sunset.

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Foggy Cove

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Same Cove Next Day Before the Fog Set In

One memory that this trip brought back was one I always associate with that trip with my Parens. It is the reason, that to this day, I am not a big artichoke fan. Just off of Hwy 1 there is a town called Castorville. Castorville's claim to fame is being the “Artichoke Capital of the World.” My Mom bought a twenty five pound bag of artichokes. For weeks after the trip the three of us were eating artichoke this and artichoke that. By the time we finished that bag I really did not want to see another artichoke again. The memories of my Mom, artichokes, and the whole trip flew back into my mind when I saw the sign for the Castroville turnoff.

House South of Big Sur

So Henley was wrong. You can go back. I will do this drive again but take my “photographer's assistant, i.e., my wife”. Maybe just maybe we will take longer than two days to go up and back! Maybe, we will play some Grateful Dead instead of Don Henley while we drive...

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Can You Say Wow...

Quests in the Owens Valley are Fun

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Benton Crossing a Cool Place on the way to Hunt Petroglyphs

Over the years I have had fun with quests finding the Petroglyphs that are in the Owens Valley and the Tablelands. The first quest started with some photography friends; Paul, George, Kahlee, Nate, Dave, and some others. We were at a meet up in Lone Pine when I convinced them we should try and find the Petroglyphs near Keeler. We looked near and far and came up empty. Over the course of next few summers I finally found a Ranger that gave me the clues that allowed me to find them.

You see most people won't tell you exact directions to where they are. If you are nice they will give you clues. That's it clues. Giving just clues are done for good reason. The Petroglyphs are treasures, looks into the past, some 6,000 years old. Some folks don't do well in respecting how valuable they are. They either vandalize them or put their own mark next to them to try and become immortal themselves. That mark will only get folks extremely mad and they will be cursed at for the next 5,000 years . So to find these sites you have to do your research on the internet and talk to people to get clues. Then you weave it all together to guess where they are. Finally, you have to go out and look.

It took me three or four years and multiple hikes to find Sky Rock and then I found it by sheer luck. One time I was sure I was on the right path and ran into some rock climbers and we started to talk. I told them what I was looking for and they looked at me funny. She then told me “most people don't access that site using this trail.” Now that was the nicest way that I have ever been told that I am on the wrong freakin' trail! But she was kind and gave me some clues. "Try the trail about a half mile down." She then gave me the clue worth a million bucks. She said “once up the slope get up on the top of the rocks because you won't see it from the trail.” Without that clue I think I would still be looking.

Now that I had found the petroglyphs at Sky Rock, Fish Slough, and Keeler I thought I had only have a couple more to go. The elusive ones for me were the Thirteen Moons and Chalfant Petroglyphs. I am pretty sure I now know where the Thirteen Moons is and I just have to plan a hike to find them. Chalfant was another story. A lot of people know where they are.  After those idiots cut parts of the petroglyphs out with chain saws no one tells you where they are. They just look at you and smile and say no I don't know where they are. Not even any clues.

Well I did my research.  I found a web sight with some detail and then found an old Zerox directions sheet the visitors office gave me years ago. The directions were not that precise. Drive x miles from Bishop, turn left, and go to the end of the road. That's it.

Unfortunately, I was coming from Benton Crossing not Bishop so I had to guess the distance. The road that I thought was the one, wasn't. In the drive down however we passed a road that fit my memory of the internet site's info. So we took a gamble and down the road we went. It was the road! There were the Chaflant Petroglyphs! I felt like I had just won the Kentucky Derby! They were beautiful! I don't think I have used that many exclamation points in a row in my lifetime. But finding those elusive petroglyphs was that exciting to me.

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Chalfant Petroglyphs

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Anyone See a Petrified Crow in the Picture

There was an added bonus that day. A storm was coming in and the clouds were putting on a show. I took some pictures of the clouds at the petroglyph site. Then stopped several times on the way home to take more pictures. In hindsight, I did not stop enough. There was one scene where the clouds had turned gold. They were so bright their reflection turned the water in Crowley Lake gold as well. It was gorgeous and I did no stop. Still kicking myself. Oh well.

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Edge of a Sierra Wave

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Sunburst

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Lenticular Clouds in Gold

As we drove back to Mammoth it looked like it was already snowing in town. It was and we preceded to get 6-8 inches of snow that night and the next day. It was beautiful but it was cold and I was not anxious to put on chains.  So we stayed in and enjoyed the fireplace. So no fresh snow pictures for Christmas cards.

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A Kodak Moment for Sure

Back at home started doing more research on the petroglyphs and read there are like 400 petroglyphs in Red Canyon. Hmmm… I have another quest to go along with finally finding the thirteen moons! Stay tuned.

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Dia de los Muertos 2016

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Top Hat and Merigolds

Over the last several years I have become big fan of Dia de los Muertos. I look forward to it every year. The celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the reason this celebration of the Dead has won me over. At the Hollywood Forever Dia de los Muertos; the alters are awesome, the stories of the participants are heartfelt, the costumes are off the chart. If that is not enough they have great food, beer, and margaritas! Hell one year one of the alters had a full Mariachi Band! What a great way to spend a day.

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Color coordinated beer!

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Lively Crew

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Awesome Food

Just once in your life you should go to a Dia de los Muertos celebration. If you live in Southern California you should go to the one at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. If you get bored at Hollywood  Forever you can hunt for the graves of the famous: Cecile B Demille, Jayne Mansfield, Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Rudolf Valentino, Peter Lorre, Mel Blanc, Clifton Web, John Huston, Johnny Ramone, and for good measure Toto the dog from the Wizard of Oz.

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I digress, back to the Dia de los Muerto here is a little background:

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Brilliant Use of Eyelids!

Before the Spanish arrived the Aztecs believed that the deceased preferred to be celebrated, rather than mourned. I did not know the Aztecs were Irish! Annually they held a festival celebrating the death of their ancestors, while honoring the goddess Mictecacihuatl, Lady of the Dead. The celebration was held in the Fall and lasted for an entire month!

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Love the Flying Monkey

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True Love

When the Spanish came to the Americas they attempted to convert the native population to Catholicism and to end the old rituals. They were not totally successful in ending some of the old rituals. 

The end result was more of a compromise, a blending of the two cultures. The celebration of the deceased was shortened to two days and moved to already Catholic celebrations: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, which are celebrated on November 1 and 2 of each year.

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Beautiful Senora

Time has continued to evolve the Dia de los Muertos celebration into what is today a vibrant commemoration of our ancestors. With its new found popularity it has begun to seep into other countries to become an international celebration.

What happened to the Goddess Mictecacihuatl? She morphed into the new identity of "Catrina" the skeletal female you see depicted at the celebrations. She is a reminder to us that death is a fate for all of us, poor or rich.

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Catrina

You will also notice marigolds everywhere.  Why marigolds? It is believed that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the celebration. Marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and scent. Marigolds, or flowers in general, also represent the fragility of life.

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Marigolds guides the Spirits to Their Alter

When you go don't be shy.  Talk to the people who have built the alters.  They want to tell their stories.  That is why they came and put so much effort into their alter.  I heard a great story from one participant about the alter dedicated to their Mom.  She wore Mumu's and had enough that they were able to make ten plus quilted blankets using square patches out of her Mumu's.  Mom will be immortal as folks snuggle those into those blankets.  

I Hope you get a sense of the celebration from the post and the pictures!

For those of you that are photographers three tips for taking pictures at Dia de los Muertos:

1. Get close. Most participants dress up to be seen so they don't mind having their picture taken. Be polite and ask first but then get close up. You want their face to fill the image.
2. If you do post processing you want their face to be the center of attention. The celebrations are usually crowded with a lot happening in the background. Crop tight and use a heavy vignette to put all the focus on their face.
3. It's the eyes that make the picture. This is the most important tip of all. For the maximum input you need their eyes looking directly at you not gazing off to the side. It is amazing the difference this will make in your images.

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Get Close for Maximum Impact

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The Eyes Make the Image and Remember Use a Heavy Vignette to Minimize the Confusing Background

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Tom's Place

When we are in the Sierra we really enjoy visiting Toms Place.  The bar is a perfect local rustic dive bar you would find in small towns back east.  The bartenders we have come to be friends with, Jo Jo and Donna, are the best.  Great Margaritas and Bloody Mary. The food in the restaurant is delicious comfort food.

Toms Place has been around for a long time which is part of its charm.  Originally built in 1917 by a German man not named Tom but Hans Lof.  It started with a gas station to service the traffic coming from Southern California.  Lof added cookhouse, store and corrals.
 
In 1923, Thomas Yerby purchased the business and Tom built the original Tom's Place Lodge in 1924.  Hence the name Toms Place.

On Labor Day Toms Place has a Car Show and BBQ.  It makes for a fun visit and this year there were over twenty pretty "sweet" cars at the show.  The images below are just a sampling of the cars that were "in attendance."

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This pretty much sums up the type of cars that were at Toms Place on Labor Day

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Awesome "stormy" Mustang

Speaking of Mustangs there was a sweet 1965 restored to original condition.

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Notice the 8 Track

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Ratmobile (Rocket 88)

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Tons of Chrome on this 1950(s) Pontiac

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1950 Style Pontiac hood ornament

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Incredible Tear Drop Trailer for "Roughing It"

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All the comforts of home!

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Owned since the owner was 16

Looking at the blanket in the truck bed below you would have thought the owner had it custom made.  That was not the case.  The owner told me he had won it in a raffle at another car show a few weeks earlier.  The raffle had several versions of the blanket with different colors.  When he claimed his prize the girl recognized him and said I know what color you want orange!

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Cool cars, the BBQ was delicious which made for a great day!

Another Bucket List Checked Off – Getting to a Sierra Pass

Trail Head

• October 2024
  • Oct 20, 2024 Three Days of Fall Colors in the Eastern Sierra Oct 20, 2024
• May 2023
  • May 18, 2023 Cloudy with a 100% of Spectacular May 18, 2023
• December 2022
  • Dec 30, 2022 20 Yards of Track Dec 30, 2022
• July 2022
  • Jul 9, 2022 Channeling Huell Howser in the Eastern Sierra Jul 9, 2022
• June 2022
  • Jun 24, 2022 Quiet Moment - Waterfall Jun 24, 2022
• May 2022
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Working to complete my 54 for Dave Quest I have done more hikes this summer than ever before. I came to realize though I had yet to hike to a mountain pass, ever. I had come close.  Once on the McGee Creek trail but was stopped by snow.  Another time on the Crystal Lake hike but was going to Crystal Lake not the pass.  So I had never actually stood on top of a Sierra mountain pass. It became a bucket list item! So I started looking for a day hike that got me to a pass.

Mono Pass in Yosemite seemed to fit the bill. It was in the Yosemite high country in which I love hiking in. It had a reasonable difficulty level at eight miles in length (round trip) and 900 feet of altitude gain it figured it would be pleasant hike.

The description of the hike on the Yosemite Hikes web page seemed to good to be true to get to a pass.  “There are only a few stretches where the incline is steep enough to make you notice you're climbing.” Well it was to good to be true as one of those “stretches” was as over a mile and had a pretty steep grade.

Even with the unexpected climb I really enjoyed this hike. While it did not have a big lake at the end like some hikes do; the high country meadows and the view down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake more than made up for it.

Mono Pass is the type of hike I like because it starts of flat and saves the climb later on once your warmed up. My start time at 6:30 AM was perfect to catch the first morning light on Mammoth Peak

First Light on Mammoth Peak

Mammoth Peak Overlooking a Meadow

eing late in the summer most of the creeks were dry. That is good and bad. Bad, because I imagine the streams were knock down gorgeous. Good, because I did not encounter one mosquito on the entire hike. Dana Fork was the primary exception to this water drought and provided a beautiful log water fall right next to the trail.

Dana Fork Waterfall

Looking Up the Trail in the Morning Light

There are a couple of decaying mining cabins along the trail. A bit of background on these cabins. The Homer Mining Index, one of the few papers in the area at the time, states that Fuller and Hayt (or Hoyt) discovered antimonial silver in Mono Pass and called their claim the Golden Crown. The Mammoth City Herald, another newspaper of the day predicted that within a year, thousands of miners would be working in Mono Pass at the Golden Crown. The mines never panned out and Mono Pass will be remembered as a way for miners to cross the Sierra to get to Dogtown and Monoville, mines on the eastern Sierra near Mono Lake. The cabins are a quite reminder of the mining history of the area.

First Cabin

Cabin II

There is  long section that climbs up.  After that ordeal you are rewarded as the trail weaves in and out of a stunningly beautiful alpine meadow. There are also beautiful views of Mt Lewis and the Kuna Crest.

Looking Forward to Mt Lewis

Looking Back to the Kuna Crest

Just before the pass is a lovely unnamed pond. A short distance farther up the trail, at the summit, is a small lake appropriately named Summit Lake. This is the end of the Mono Pass trail and the beginning of the Bloody Canyon trail. It is also the edge of Yosemite Park. Up to this point the Mono Pass trail was beautiful forest and meadows. In contrast, Bloody Canyon is barren rock. An incredible difference and a testimonial to the impact the Sierra has on the weather and the land around it.

Unnamed Pond

Unnamed Pond

Other Places to Go!

Mono Pass and Summit Lake

I continued for a for just over a quarter of a mile down the Bloody Canyon trail toward Upper Sardine Lake to get a scenic look of Mono Lake 4,000 feet below. The view is awesome and one of the reasons I did this hike!

Bloody Canyon with Mono Lake Below

This was a wonderful hike with great views of the Yosemite high country, granite peaks like Mammoth and Mt. Lewis, and Mono Lake. I will definitely do it again and maybe finish at Spillway Lake.