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!

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laiden with happiness and tears

Lyrics from Sunrise Sunset Fiddler on the Roof

Sunset over the Minarets

There is something special about sunrises and sunsets.  For me, they stop time.

A few weeks ago, there were some cool clouds above Mammoth Mountain.  There was a good chance they would turn color at sunset.  I went out early to scout out a location because I didn’t have a go-to site in mind.  I found a viewpoint that I liked way earlier than I thought I would.  I set up my tripod and camera and just watched as the sunset progressed. I ended up being at that spot for around an hour and a half.  To me, it seemed like only a few minutes.  Sunsets and sunrises have a way of grabbing your soul and stopping time. See the scene I captured below.

Mammoth Mountain Sunset

It seems I am not alone. 

As I did the research for this post, I found others felt the same way.  Gina Ryder, who lives in New York, decided to try a “Sunrise Therapy” to counter her winter blues.  She put to words what I feel watching a sunrise or sunset. 

“Regular mornings are for showers, coffee, catching up on the news, dressing for the day. Daybreaks are for quiet, peace, and standing on rocks to take bad selfies with the sun. Morning is responsibility, daybreaks are freedom—a smooth, blank page upon which I can write whatever comes to mind.” Gina Ryder

Mono Lake Sunrise

Studies have shown that appreciation of natural beauty increases your emotional wellbeing, raisess your concern for others, and increases your satisfaction with life.  If you want to experiment to see if the studies are true remember sunrises and sunsets are natural beauty at its best.

For some, making time for watching sunrises and sunsets comes naturally.  For others, not so much as the pillow has magical powers to make us stay put.  An article on the Psychology Today website gave some tips to help you develop your sunrise/sunset watching skills:

·         Grab a camera or sketchpad.  The goal is to really see the sunset and capture the moment-to-moment experience, not create an artistic image.

·         Make it a meditation. Take several slow, deep breaths to relax your body and calm your mind. Then intentionally focus on the sunset, noticing how the colors and light change as the sunset first builds in intensity and then fades.

·         Listen to music that thrills you. If you’re more attuned to sound than sight, use music to put yourself into a receptive state of mind.

First Light

Nature gives us these sunrises and sunsets freely.  There is one of each every single day. I highly suggest you take some time to enjoy these gifts.  They will do you good!

I would love to hear what your most memorable sunrise/sunset experience is.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Feel free to comment or to share it with others!

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!

FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO ENJOY YOSEMITE ON A CROWDED WEEKEND

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Mammoth Peak Trail to Mono Pass

Everyone loves Yosemite!  The reality is we all areloving Yosemite to death.

Yosemite is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places on Earth.  Except when it is Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day weekend and:

• a third of all the inhabitants on the planet are in the park (5,217,114 people visited Yosemite in 2016)

•  at the same time,

• looking at the exact same things.  

Now you have traveled 3,000 miles to the Sierra on your one and only “Holiday” (doesn’t Holiday sound so much more relaxing than vacation) for the year! 

It is Labor Day Weekend.  Your camping or fishing in the Eastern Sierra and one of the items on your bucket list is to see Yosemite. Unfortunately,  a gazillion other people have the same idea.  You have two ways on how to visit Yosemite:

1. As a  tourist that wants a picture of every water fall in the valley

2. As a sane Human Being that actually wants to have a truly pleasant memorable time

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Looks Like Fun to Me.....

As a Tourist

You sleep to nine in the morning.  You have breakfast. Then go straight for the valley floor to see the water falls.  You and those gazillion other people are going to spend the day enjoying:

• an immersion into primitive and wild environments ("not" 2 hours in to go approximately 1.3 miles)

• a high degree of solitude (trying to find the sole parking spot left on the valley floor)

• natural sounds (car horns and bus brakes)

• natural smells (diesel)

• great views (well this is a given because even when it is packed wall to wall the views are great)

Yea right. Not my cup of tea. 

Your remembrance will be more of traffic, smelling car fumes, and standing in lines than beautiful nature.  By the end of the day, you will come out of Yosemite more stressed than you ever were at work.

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Fist Light

A Sane Human Being

It takes a little bit of work and planning but even on a busy weekend like Labor Day you can get a lot out of Yosemite and miss most, if not all, the crowds.  

Here are Five Simple Steps to see Yosemite as it should be seen:

One - Get up early or Start in the Early Evening

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Nothing Like Aplenglow

When I say early I mean before sunrise.  Get into the park early. Pick a location in advance, preferably up in the high country like Tuolumne Meadows, Glacier Point, etc. Get there before sunrise and then plan to stay there for a while.  For the next two to four hours, ninety five (95) percent of the “Tourists” will be:

• Still asleep

• Cooking breakfast in camp or ordering breakfast at a crowded food stand

East Side -Tuolumne Meadows

Seeing a sunrise or sunset in Yosemite is an unforgettable experience; seeing a Yosemite sunrise in quite solitude is “priceless.”

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Yosemite Sunset

If you choose to go to a meadow, really early or really late, area there is a good chance that deer will be out and about.  Seeing a deer up close will stop the kids whining about getting up so dang early faster than anything on earth.  For the rest of the morning they will be occupied scouring their surroundings to see if they can find more deer.

More importantly you will get the chance to experience that primitive environment and with a high degree of solitude that makes Yosemite heaven on Earth.

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Sunset with Deer in Tuolumne Meadows

Two - Take a Hike

After the sunrise take a short hike on one of the many trails in the park.  You don’t have to hike seven or eight miles to get away from the crowds.  Just a half mile or so will do.  Remember by now the most of the masses are still in their camp just now washing their breakfast dishes!  Walking through Tuolumne Meadows, Lyle Canyon, or the Panorama Trail (Glacier Point) are incredible.  You go for as long a distance as you like then simply turn around and come back.

Three - Stay In One Spot a While

So many people rush through the park get to one of the famous scenic spots, take a picture of themselves in front of it, and then rush to the next spot.  I highly recommend finding a picnic table in a quite area and sit for a while. Bring some snacks, sit back, and soak up the park; the views, the smells.  You will be amazed on how much the look and feel of a single location will change as the sun rises in the sky.
 

Wine and Snacks at Tenaya  Lake

Even better will be the people you meet.  What was that saying "If you stay in one place long enough the entire world will pass you by.  Well, Yosemite is a "Holiday" destination for everyone on the planet. 

If you stay in the park long enough, bring a bottle of your favorite wine and some plastic wine glasses.  We did this once at Lake Tenaya.  A flustered lady, in the middle of a death march to see every single thing in Yosemite in one day, stopped and looked at us.  She said with a big smile “You must be locals because you know how to do this right!”.  We agreed.  She took her picture and marched on.  We on the other hand  continued to enjoy our wine for a spell.  Really don’t know how long that spell was because we were having such fun we lost track of the time!
 

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Act I Tenaya Early Afternoon - Water Ripples

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Act III Tenaya Early Evening - Firework Show

Four - Talk to the People You Meet

I think you will find the people you meet in the high country this early in the morning will be:

• Friendly as hell, as they are not being stressed out by big crowds

• Interesting, maybe hiking the entire John Muir Trail and have great stories to tell

• Helpful, they probably know way more than you do about where to go and what to see

• May be from another country with great stories of foreign lands to tell

We have met the nicest people from all over the world jsut by saying hello.
 

Five - Get the Heck Out of Dodge Before the Hoards Arrive

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Over a Hundred Cars Waiting to Get in at 12:30 PM

If you followed Step One you have been in the park for several hours now.  You have

• seen an incredible sunrise

• were able to watch deer on a meadow

• met some friendly interesting new friends.  

Just like a casino if you are ahead - take your winnings, cash out, and leave before you lose it all!

Go back to your campsite or condo and take a nap (you deserve it you were up before the sunrise!) and dream of the laid back and wonderful adventure you just had.  

If you are leaving the Yosemite Park going east I highly recommend stopping at Whoa Nelli Deli, in the Mobil Gas Station. It is near the intersection of Hwy 120 and Hwy 395.  They have incredible food and you can sit out in a grass yard over looking magnificent Mono Lake.  The other restaurant I recommend is the Mono Inn.  It is a bit on the more expensive side but the view of Mono and the food are both top shelf.

In closing, a couple of ground rules about Yosemite:
 

1. It's not Disneyland, it is nature, and its wild. It is not designed for your safety. Always be prepared and careful.

2. Never leave food in your car.  Locked cars will not stop a hungry bear.

3. Be careful around large streams.  It is probably moving faster than it looks and is dangerous.

4. The falls are stunningly beautiful but they are not the only thing to see in the park.

Have a great time in Yosemite!

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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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Quests in the Owens Valley are Fun

• October 2024
• May 2023
• December 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• January 2022
• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• July 2021
• June 2021
• May 2021
• January 2020
• July 2019
• June 2019
• May 2019
• April 2019
• March 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• September 2017
• August 2017
• July 2017
• June 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• January 2016
• November 2015
• July 2015
• May 2015

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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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