A Different Take on Bodie

You can be civilized but not very civil. Despite having all the institutions of of a modern city: Barber, fire department, and a school Bodie was a rough town that was not very civilized.

I am teaching a composition photography class in September at the Mono Arts Gallery.  In researching the material for the class, I have learned a lot of new composition concepts that are having a positive impact on my own photography.  When we had a friend come to Mammoth who had never seen Bodie it gave me the perfect reason to go and to look at Bodie differently than in previous trips.

Porch with a view. What amazing stories this porch could tell!

Instead of taking images that were documentation in nature, I wanted to have my images tell a story.  Stories about what it must have been like to live in a rough town with a hostile environment.  Nature gave me a bonus by providing this incredible cloud show the day we went to emphasize the hostile weather.

Sometimes there is only a thin pane of glass that protects us from the harsh elements. An analogy that our society is fragile and could come crashing down with all the heightened tensions in our world today.

If you look back too much you can get stuck in one place and become a relic.

As I researched for this blog post I wanted to include some interesting Bodie trivia to go along with the images.  Just like my attempt of changing the composition nature of my photography my research netted me a different take on Bodie.  Instead of a lot of fact and figures about when the town was started or how much silver was mined I found this story about the “Curse of Bodie.”

Live a good story. Could you use any of this stuff today? A reminder that it is not the things we own that are important but the experiences we have.

You would expect the curse to be about the ghost of some innocent who was killed by a gunfighter or some small child that died too young from disease.  Instead the curse is a modern day invention “created” for a specific purpose just like the town’s name. The town’s name was changed from Bodey to Bodie so people used the correct pronunciation. (A much more fun theory is that an illiterate painter misspelled Bodey as Bodie on the side of a building and the misspelling became the defacto official name of the town.)

Look at your everyday world as if it was art. You will be a much richer person for it.

The town’s name was created from a necessity.  So, did the “Curse of Bodie.”  The State of California keeps Bodie in the state of “arrested decay.”  What that means is the State tries to keep the town looking exactly like it did when people abandoned it.  They will do repairs but only to the extent to keep it looking like it did when folks left.  If the building is leaning they will fix the roof or keep it from leaning more but won’t try to straighten the building up.  Here is where the invention of the “curse” came in. 

Man vs. Nature. Nature always plays the long game and In the end will prevail.

In this arrested decay condition there are artifacts that were randomly left everywhere.  When people left they had to travel long distances and did not have the capability to take things with them. Dishes are still by a sink.  An oven door is outside leaning against a building.  In that environment visitors have a natural desire to take a souvenir.  One item missing is no big deal but with thousands of people visiting Bodie every year lots of stealing would have a major impact. 

In your life build a safe heaven to provide shelter in the storm. I have found the best shelters from life’s problems are good friends.

Somewhere in the past a few rangers “created” the “Curse of Bodie.”  They said that if you took an artifact, rock, or anything from the site you would be cursed from then on with bad luck.  They thought the story of the “curse” would deter folks from taking stuff.  While it has kept folks from stealing, something else happened.  People who did take artifacts blamed bad events that happened to them on the curse.  Rangers get letters every week from folks who took items from Bodie that blame the “curse” for breakups in relationships, the deaths of family and friends, even simple things like flat tires.  Some go as far as to send the item they took back to the park in hopes of lifting the curse.

"Please find enclosed one weatherbeaten old shoe. The shoe was removed from Bodie during the month of August 1978... My trail of misfortune is so long and depressing it can't be listed here."
Letter to Bodie, undated

Some of the most beautiful paintings are right in front of you. Take the time to stop and enjoy.

Today the Rangers no longer like to speak of the curse because if someone does send something back they have to treat it as a theft and file charges.  Not something they really want to do.  Besides once an item is removed it loses its historical context that cannot be regained.  An example is a piano that was taken and then returned.  No one knows what bar or house it came from.  It now sits in the town hall like an orphan who does not know where she came from.

Get outside and into the world around you. It is much more colorful than being cooped up inside.

Please enjoy my visual “different” take of Bodie.  Enjoy Bodie when you go but remember the “curse of Bodie.” It may be made up but lots of people believe the bad luck of the Bodie “curse” is very real.  Let the artifacts lie where they are so others can enjoy them for many years to come.

Bodie is so mean it will even spit at you (rain) on you when you leave.

Please leave comments to let me know if I succeeded in creating a different take on Bodie than you have seen before.

Source Article about the Curse is from KQED see it here.

If you are interested in taking my Photography Class it is on September 28th in Mammoth from 3-6. On the 29th we will do a group photo safari in the morning to put what you learned in action. Sign up here.

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.

The End of the Line (well maybe) - Keeler

On the east side of the dry Owens Lake, southeast of Lone Pine on Hwy 136, is a town named Keeler. I think the best description of Keeler comes from the website Weird California:

“Keeler is practically a ghost town. Many of the buildings are falling apart, the lake it sits on is dry, the mines the town was built to support have been played out, yet still about fifty people live in the town, so a complete ghost town it is not.”

Owens Lake Silver-Lead Furnace State Registered Landmark

First things first. Thousands of years before Keeler existed there where humans living in the area. The proof is the petroglyphs in the area. The interpretation of these petroglyphs is a bit more interesting and controversial than most other petroglyph sites. Scholar Berry Fell has hypothesized that these petroglyphs were created by early European Celts thousands of years ago. That some of the markings were designed to mark the equinox(s). Many find that hard to believe. For an interesting read see the Equinox Project website.

Owens Petroglyphs

While it does not look like it now, the establishment of Hawley, Keeler’s original name, was based on capitalistic business competition. Mortimer Belshaw who was a miner and a smelter owner in Cerrro Gordo area wanted to bypass the Owens-Lake Silver-Lead Company which had a smelter and the only shipping dock in a town called Swansea. In 1873 Mortimer bought a shipping paddle wheel vessel named the Bessie Bradie. He built his own dock in Hawley (Keeler) just south of Swansea so he could bypass the the struggling Owens-Lake Silver-Lead Company. Things got even worse for the Owens-Lake Silver-Lead company when a flash flood in the summer of 1884 created a mudslide that inundated the town of Swansea.

Swansea - This was taken a few years ago today the roof is now gone. One heck a view they had though!

Hawley really wasn’t a town just a transit hub. That was until Julius Keeler showed up in 1879. In 1880 the Cerro Gordo mine was having a revival and Julius wanted to take advantage of it. He started dreaming up plans for a new ore mill and town to surround it. He made his dreams a reality and the mill opened in 1881 and the town was formed.

Good fortune seldom lasts and Julius had some bad luck in 1882. He spent a ton of money to refurbish the Bessie Bradie only to see it catch fire and burn just after the project was completed. The loss of the Bessie Bradie ended shipping ore over the Owens Lake for good.

In 1883, with the arrival of the Carson and Colorado Railroad Keeler again became a freight hub. As with almost all mines the Cerro Gordo began to peak in the late 1880 and 90’s.

No 18 Slim Princess of the Carson and Colorado Railroad

Keeler was resilient however, and was saved in the early 1900’s by renewed mining activity. In 1906 a smelter was built at Keeler to process silver ores. In 1907, zinc mining became king and created another Keeler revival. Mining operating would increase and decrease in spits and spats until the Cerro Gordo mines closed permanently in 1933.

1913 marked another important turning point for Keeler. It was the first year water was diverted from The Owens Lake to Los Angeles. Initially the shrinking lake provided an economic opportunity for Keeler. Soda processing from the dry lake helped Keeler survive after the Cerro Gordo mines closed.

Time was not on Keeler’s side however. In 1960, economic activity had slowed enough that the railroad terminal closed and the tracks were removed. Since then Keeler has slowly deconstructed into what it is today.

Keeler Beach

Currently around 50-60 folks live in the town. Keeler is now part ghost town, part desert outpost, and part eclectic entity. Call Keeler what you want, I call it a cool place to visit.

Eclectic Residence

Old Gas Pump

I have yet found the land marker that has the quote below but somewhere in Keeler there is this historical marker that says”

”Keeler End of the Line

From Mount House, Nevada, narrow gauge rails of the Carson & Colorado reached this site in 1883. As Cerro Gordo and other mines faltered, the rail line fell on hard times, so plans to extend the line to Mojave were abandoned, leaving Keeler as "End of the Line".

Dedicated May 12, 1973 Slim Princess Chapter E Clampus Vitus Inyo County Board of Supervisors”

Keeler Swimming Pool looking out towards the Sierra and Horseshoe Meadow Road

Keeler may be the end of the line but is worth a visit!

For some great old pictures of Keeler check out Owens Valley History - Keeler page.

If you liked this post please leave a comment and feel free to share.

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!

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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