The Firestorm Dawn and Adventures in Creek Diving

 

 The Firestorm Dawn

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One of the few, if only perks to a 3 hour round trip commute is driving thru scenic countryside at both sunrise and sunset.  Depending on the weather I am usually driving thru the southern portion of Lake County and the complete length of Napa County in the prime "golden hours" and occasionally, photographically speaking I strike it rich. The above image was taken at Detert Reservoir which is across from Langtry Estates Winery in Lake County. As I was heading south and approaching the community of Middletown I was looking to the east at the sunrise and thought it might be a really nice one. But since they just re-paved the highway I dismissed the thought of going the "back way" as the roads were rougher and the new highway was nice and smooth. I drove thru Middletown still looking at the sky and thought "no I cannot miss the chance at a good sunrise" so I spun around and went the back way. I was able to get to this spot early enough to set up my camera with no hurry. The sky started out blue then lit up like fire. I have not had a sky this intense in a long time.

The Vigilant Dawn

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I have too many "dawn" titles. After you get so many images, the challenge is finding creative and artsy titles. Again this is a "morning commute" photo. This is overlooking Vigilance Vineyards and is a favorite spot to shoot. I'm sure I will have many more in the future.

 

Creek Diving

Creek diving is the occasional pastime loved and enjoyed by landscape photographers. It usually begins with psyching yourself out with extreme overconfidence and viewing clips of Gene Kelly's famous Dancing in the Rain footage on your iPod. Then you ever so gracefully hop from one rock to the next until you find that highly prized extra-slippery-mossy rock in which you then fling yourself headlong into the rushing water.

At the very spot in the photo above, I had my knee high rubber boots as I was not in the mood to get wet. Then with stupid overconfidence I hopped from rock to rock with my camera in one hand and my tripod in the other. I was almost in a euphoric stupor upon finding that extra slippery rock. If I would have been on the Olympic diving team I'm sure I would have had a new dive named after me. Perhaps the "Tangen Double Twist" as I turned completely over in mid-fall and went into the water back first. I was able to get completely soaked but yet keep the camera out of the water!!! That's all that matters. I said a few choice words as I got up and looked at the water gushing over my now completely filled rubber boots and proceeded to take the above photo. Then completely soaking the seat in my car, I drove to the location of the photo below  smiling smugly, knowing I had perfect form as I hit the water.

 

Quiet Creek

This is a little farther down Big Canyon Creek. It had some very nice bunch-grass here and there.

 

Among the Fronds

These two photos (above and below) are from the Las Posadas Forest. A wonderful, almost rain forest like place. While I was here I had the triple treat of rain, sunshine and even some hail. In fact I got hailed on three times. The forest canopy was so thick I barely got wet and the hail dropped very softly as it made its way through the trees.

 

Searching for Jack-in-the-Green

Have you seen Jack-In-The-Green?
With his long tail hanging down.
He sits quietly under every tree ---
in the folds of his velvet gown.
He drinks from the empty acorn cup
the dew that dawn sweetly bestows.
And taps his cane upon the ground ---
signals the snowdrops it's time to grow.

It's no fun being Jack-In-The-Green ---
no place to dance, no time for song.
He wears the colours of the summer soldier ---
carries the green flag all the winter long.

Jack, do you never sleep ---
does the green still run deep in your heart?
Or will these changing times,
motorways, powerlines,
keep us apart?
Well, I don't think so ---
I saw some grass growing through the pavements today.

 

The Fallen

This is from Troutdale Creek in northern Napa County

 

The Gift of Peace

View creek photos larger HERE

I'm finding photographing creeks to be one of my favorite subjects. It is very soothing and therapeutic to walk up a creek, getting farther and farther from roadways and noise until all you hear is the rushing water, the trees in the breeze and birds or other wildlife. Very peaceful. Peace is something we need more of. Both in the world around us but also on a personal level. Be peacable with your friends and family and those you love. Be at peace with everyone you come in contact with. Above all other things, give yourself the gift of peace.

Until next time, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light....................

Peek a Boo, I See You and Shoe Tree Memorial

Hello everyone. Sorry for the long delay since my last post. I've been trying to work thru the images and even though I have a few still to finish, I thought I better make a post or you all might forget about me or thought I was forgetting you.

I headed back to Arizona and Utah to revisit some slot canyons and go to some new ones I found out about. On my way there I always go by what (was) known as the Shoe Tree. I was very sad and very angry last year when I found out vandals had cut down the tree !!!!! The Shoe Tree has been a landmark for many years where people tie an old pair of shoes together and throw them up into the tree. Even though I did not make my own contribution to the tree it was always a good feeling to stop here and think of all the lives and memories attached to each pair of shoes. I cannot understand the reasoning or sick pleasure someone would get by destroying things that touch the lives of so many people. I don't know if there have been any leads or arrests but I hope so. As you can see the low-life's went to a lot of work to chainsaw this tree as it was very large. The bottom photo shows it a couple years ago in its former glory.

As the memorial post says: The Shoe Tree lives on in our soles.......................






As I continued on past the Shoe Tree and started getting into some foothills I was admiring the approaching storm with its clouds and shadow-play of light on the hills. I pulled the car over and got out to take some snapshots of that and as I walked a few feet off the road out into the desert to take the above photo, the ground beneath my foot collapsed a few inches as if it was hollow inside. I stood and took the photo and then as I lifted my foot some kind of rodent shot out real fast. Too fast for me to see what it was, but it ran out so fast it knocked one of its babies out of the nest whose entrance I had just stepped on. There were several more babies inside and they were sure ticked off at me with much squeaking going on. The little guy below looks to be a baby Kangaroo Rat. He was not hurt and I tried to get him to go back in the hole but he was so young his eyes were still not open. I figured it best to let mom come back and deal with it.



This is the entrance to a new (for me) slot canyon in southern Utah called Peek a Boo. This is about fifteen or so feet high. The stick is taller than me and aside from the two "pockets" this is almost a vertical wall. There was a Swedish gal here whose boyfriend had already gone up and was exploring. I got up into the first pocket OK but as I got up between the first and second pocket I got to a point where I felt I was stuck and not able to go up or down without slipping and having a nasty fall all the way to the ground. Those of you who might do climbing or canyoneering might think I'm a sissy at this point but I would have been alright if it was just me but I had a 40 pound backpack with a large tripod strapped to the back of it so my balance was off and I could not wedge my back into the top pocket which is what needed to be done and what the gal at the bottom kept telling me to do. She kept cheering me on and with a little contortionist twisting, hoping my hands and shoes would keep their grip I made it. Both she and I were jumping up and down yelling over my small conquest.

The Water Hole

The above photo is a spot about the middle of the canyon. It took me quite a while to get my tripod to stay steady enough with the awkward position I had to put it in to get this angle of view. Not to mention me above the floor braced on each side of the wall to be able to see the viewfinder and camera LCD. It amazes me to think how the water must have flowed to create this design. Parts of this canyon were so narrow I had to take off my water bottle belt and turn sideways to get thru.

The Stargate

This "gate" is not too far from the entrance. If I stand in it I only take up about 1/3 of the height so it is quite large.

One of the reasons it has taken me a long time to post this time is that on this trip I implemented a new photographic technique. Because the light in these canyons can range from very dark to very bright in the same scene and there can be elements very close to me and very far away, I shot multiple exposures both to compensate for light AND for distance. There are 5 focus points that I shot here from closest to farthest elements. At each focus point I also shot 3 exposures for light, a bright, medium and dark shot. So that makes a total of 15 shots. These all get layered in Photoshop and thru steps which align the shots and blend them using only the sharpest elements from each exposure, I get a final image that has all the dynamic range of light that I was seeing and at the same time is sharp throughout the entire image. So much more work both behind the camera and in front of the computer.

The Eye of Stone
click HERE to see larger in gallery.

The above shot is from the bottom of The Water Hole looking back up.

The Guardian Angel

The Guardian Angel is from a spot in Lower Antelope Canyon which I shot last year but felt I needed to go back and get a better composition. This is another of those 15 exposure shots. This photo is so sharp and can be printed extremely large. I will have at least a 32x48 canvas print on my wall shortly.

The Vortex

Another spot in Lower Antelope that I needed to come back and get. The night before there was a storm which flooded half of this canyon. The Navajo tribe that runs this canyon would only let people go half way as this part was flooded. They actually had to let down buckets from the top to clean out what they could. I came back later and was able to make it all the way through.

Light Bender
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Another from Lower Antelope. This is also another multiple exposure shot and because there were clouds moving slowly overhead and changing the light, it made this image quite complicated to process at home but I really like the result.

I have more photos to post soon so stay tuned. As always, until then wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning

“The Troubled Artist” is a phrase or term that has been given to the idea that true creativity is often the product of a troubled mind. Most of us can think of highly creative people who were/are full of angst and pain, living dysfunctional and self-destructive lives. One of the more classic examples being Vincent Van Gogh who historians and psychologists say perhaps had clinical depression and bipolar disorder bordering on severe psychosis. Think too about musicians who come on the scene young and aggressively creative, spewing out hit after hit while their personal lives become increasingly chaotic. Then later in life they start to settle into “normal” behavior and low and behold, the hits stop coming. The creativity becomes vastly subdued.

Consider the difference between originality and creativity. Originality is the production of new ideas regardless of whether the ideas are useful. It’s more about quantity, whereas creativity places a stricter criterion on those ideas. The ideas have to be original but they also must be worthwhile or useful. Studies have been conducted where people are put in differing environments with the task of being “creative”. Those in pleasant environments were more prolific in original ideas whereas those in stressed environments who although had a reduced amount of original ideas, had a greater quality and uniqueness to them.

While I’m not wanting to run and chop off a portion of my ear and I certainly don’t think my life is dysfunctional (at least not by my own doing), I do feel my passion for photography is heightened when I’ve “got things on my mind”. When things not the best, I tend to pass up the happy, fun shot and look for that deep moody, meaningful shot. But wait a minute…………, aren’t all of Jeff’s photos moody……….? You’ve probably noticed I have not posted as much in the last few months as I have in the past. Sometimes life presents things that have to be taken care of and life, as in my case this time, sometimes throws a few lemons at you. But what’s that phrase?….. “If life throws you a lemon - make lemonade”! Well the above photo is my big batch of lemonade. TAKE THAT, LIFE!!!..................feeling much better.

This shot is from one of my favorite places in the Pope Valley area of Napa County. As I headed out on my daily 3 hour round trip commute from Lake County to Napa to my day job, I watched the clouds and felt I should take the back way through Pope Valley and maybe I could time the sunrise just right to be here at this spot. I made it with about 5 minutes to spare.

While I feel this shot is creative and very special to me, I know that all the many dud shots in between the good ones mean I’m perhaps at least semi-normal. So come on. Let’s make some lemonade!!!

Until next time, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

Click HERE to see photo larger in gallery

Near and Far - Part Three

Hello everyone !! This is a fairly large post as I've had some images waiting to post and then some new ones. As with the previous two Near and Far posts we are starting off with things in and around my home stomping grounds.

View from the Bridge

This is from the small foot bridge across a "secret" creek in the Archer Taylor Preserve of Napa County. Click HERE to purchase or see larger in gallery

Golden Light

Autumn sunset in the Oakville district of Napa Valley
click HERE to purchase or view larger in gallery

Below is from Anderson Creek and Socrates Falls area in Lake County. We had some freakish snow storms so I took advantage as I don't have very many snow shots.

Winter Creek

This is Anderson Creek and is between the 1st and 2nd falls of the Socrates falls area.

Winterfall

The 2nd falls of Socrates Falls area. After power was restored to my area and I was able to get my car out of the garage (detached garage and I lazily keep forgetting to put rope on the emergency lever as there was no power I could not open the door) I went through the Cobb Mountain area on a "closed road" in which the PG & E crew gave me the OK. I past many abandoned vehicles and downed power lines. Once here I had to hike down the ravine to the creek in about a foot of snow. A foot of snow in our area is quite a bit. Click HERE to purchase or see larger in gallery

Winter Wonderland

The above shot was right after I got my car out of the garage and when up around the corner from my house. The storm had a wonderful break here with great clouds but soon started snowing again. Click HERE to purchase or see larger in galley.

Pier 39 and Chinese Junk

Having dropped someone off at the airport, I went to Pier 39 in San Francisco as I wanted to see large format photographer Rodney Lough Jr's gallery (a must see if you are in the area). As I left the gallery I went to the end of the pier and saw this Chinese Junk ship going back and forth. This is a panorama made from 7 vertical shots. This was the 2nd day of the 2010 World Series "Go Giants".

And now for some shots farther away from my area..........


The following shots are from Bandon Beach on the Oregon coast.

A Room with a View

I initially was up close to the rock formation in the center of the image. Since this was my first day here and I was not in the mood to get wet (yet), I quickly backed up into this cave when a wave that would have gone over my rubber boots came up. As the wave went back out, I looked around in cave and said "this is my shot" !!

Sunset Pinnacle

One of the many rock formations at Bandon. There is usually a resident seagull that sits on the very tip but he was not there for this shot.

Bandon Sunset

Monoliths in Blue

Stone Seal

For the above shot the sky was not very colorful so I decided to concentrate on a long exposure to get the water to have a misty effect. The rock formation reminds me of a seal looking straight up.

Giant Steps

These rock formations are very large. The white "bathtub ring" at the bottom of the first rock is probably chest high on me. To get this view point I climbed up another rock about 1 and a half times higher. This first rock reminds me of a giant shoe, hence Giant Steps. Can't wait to return here again. click HERE to see all the Bandon photos larger in gallery.

I hope you enjoyed this series of shots. I love to hear from people so please feel free to comment on this blog or in any of the galleries on my website. Until next time, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

Near and Far - Part Two

Vina Incendio

The Ephemeral Divergence

This is the 2nd of 3 posts entitled "Near and Far" where I show something near my home and then something a little farther away. The above two images have been long awaited by me as I have wanted to photograph this spot for some time. This is in Napa Valley just south of the small town of Oakville on the Silverado Trail. The winery on the left of the top image finally has finished their expansion. The area had looked like a construction zone for some time but I knew when they were finished the area would be photo-worthy and that I needed to be here at a very special time.

We had a series of storms come through and on this day the sky was filled with wonderful dark clouds in the category of "partly cloudy" as the weather person would say. Well that also means partly sunny with a chance the setting sun might create some magic.

I got here early which gave me some time to try different compositions to see what might be best when the anticipated light show starts to happen. Then it was time to wait.........and wait.........and wait. The waiting is the not-so-exciting part of landscape photography. There have been many times I've anticipated a fantastic sky, gotten all set up, waited and then it simply gets dark, I pack up and go home. Not so this night !!! The sky was one of the most amazing I've seen in a long time in the valley. To make the scene even better was the wonderful yellow and orange of the post-harvest autumn grapevines.

Vintage Autumn

This image and the one below were taken about a week before the storm shots above. I had come out of the office headed for lunch. I looked at the sky and said "forget lunch" and headed out into the vineyards for the wonderful shadow-play the overhead clouds were giving me. Needless to say I was late getting back to work.

The above photo is from an often photographed semi-iconic spot here in the southern portion of Napa Valley. As I was setting up for this shot a woman rode past on her bicycle behind me and yelled "best view in the valley" I would agree it is certainly one of the best. Click HERE to see all six new vineyard shots larger in the gallery.

Shadow Dancing

Tufa Island

I passed through Mono Lake on my way to Zion National Park in Utah. There was wonderful late afternoon clouds in the sky in which I was able to get a few good shots of. It also allowed me to try out my new panorama tripod setup. The panorama shot is a compilation of 7 vertical images stitched together. It really deserves to be viewed much larger HERE.

I did not have time to stay for a sunset shot but as I was driving away I could see the clouds moving away also so I felt I got the best shot under the circumstances and was not disappointed.

Mono Lake Panorama


Stay tuned to part 3 of "Near and Far" which I promise will come a little sooner. Until then, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

Near and Far - Part One

Devil's Punchbowl Falls
click HERE to see larger in gallery

This post starts with something near my home area. The Devil's Punchbowl. I find it interesting (and most times disappointing) that so many beautiful places seem to be named after the Devil for some reason. This is a wonderful waterfall and creek area in the hills of the eastern Napa Valley. It is another of my on-going "secret" places of this area. If you want to know more about it and the opportunity to see it, please visit www.napalandtrust.org as they oversee and protect this and many other special locations within Napa County.

The trail leads to a beautiful creek and then to this waterfall which empties into a "punchbowl" that is large enough to swim. I took many shots of this area on this particular outing but was only satisfied with this one shot. I plan to revisit this spot soon so look forward to more from this area. Now lets move on to something a little farther away...............

Barbara emerging from the Lower slots

Last year I was able to go to Page Arizona and visit the Antelope Slot Canyon. There are two parts, the Upper which was last year's trip and the photos from there are in my Antelope Canyon
gallery. The other part which Barbara and I visited this time is typically referred to as Lower Antelope. Upper is the most visited section and can almost be likened to a cattle drive the way people are hurriedly shuffled through the canyon in large groups. It takes a little more $$ with a dedicated "photo tour" (which I did) to avoid the crowds and actually get any real good shots.

The Nest

The "Lower" section which are the featured photos of this post are much more interesting and surprisingly in comparison, very few people visit here. Barbara and I were able to be in here for about 2.5 hrs with only our Navajo guide and one other couple. You enter the canyon by walking in and along an ankle deep "slot" that slowly gets wider and deeper as you see Barbara above. Just a little past where she is standing is the first series of metal stairs that take you down.

Once we were down in the canyon, our guide would go far ahead of us and play his Indian flute. The acoustics and atmosphere were fantastic for that.

The Maiden

In the photo above, some people see a woman enveloped in flowing sheets. Some see a rabbit. What do you see? This is a spot that has been photographed many times and ways. I hope I got a unique perspective here.

Fractured Time

The footpath through this slot is often only about 1 to 2 feet wide. In some spots the walls come to a complete "V" with no flat foot area. Every turn is a new adventure in light, color and shadows.

Meandering Maze

click HERE to see all 15 photos larger in the new gallery

My photo tips for shooting the slot canyons are to give yourself plenty of time. If you are visiting the Upper canyon, pay the extra $$ for the "photo tour" from Carol Bigthumb's tour group (look her up on the Net). If you are visiting the Lower canyon you will enjoy a less hurried and less crowded adventure. Be sure to use a tripod as you will want to shoot with a low ISO to keep digital noise down in your images and this will require longer exposure times. Some of my exposures were running 30 seconds at ISO 50. Shoot in RAW format if you are using a DSLR. That way you can choose the proper white balance as you process your images at home because every turn in the canyon poses a challenge and change in the way the camera interprets the color and light.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Near and Far coming shortly. In the meantime, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

Mossbrae Falls

Mossbrae Falls I

Well I headed up Interstate 5 to the Mt. Shasta area hoping to get at least three areas photographed. I wanted to photograph Shasta itself as there was lots of snow on it's peak. Then there is a small lake called Castle Lake in which I wanted to hike up high on it's south rim as from that spot there is a great view back towards Shasta with Castle lake in the foreground. The third spot was Mossbrae Falls just outside of Dunsmuir Calif. Well...................1 out of 3 isn't bad, is it?

I got to Dunsmuir and found the parking area next to the railroad tracks and started walking the two mile path to Mossbrae Falls. The railroad tracks hug the Sacramento River in this area and its along these tracks that you have to walk to get to the falls. The majority of the time you are walking right next to the tracks and there are only a few spots that widen enough for the trail to veer off. Fortunately I was at one of those points each time a train went by. Two trains went by on the way there and one on the way back. Boy, were they LOUD !!

I had been watching the weather for the prior 3 weeks hoping for a good time to make the trip and it was nothing but rain-snow, rain-snow. Finally there was a 3 day break in the storms and so I took off. Since there was so much rain, the river was rushing pretty good and I was afraid I was supposed to cross it to get access to the falls. If that would have been the case I would not have been able too as it was rushing pretty high and fast. Fortunately I did not have to.

The falls are about 50' high and 150' wide. Since I was facing east when photographing them I was glad to get there early before the sun crested above the falls. Being here on an overcast day would have been good too.

Mossbrae Falls III
Click HERE to view full size in gallery

Mt. Shasta from Lake Siskiyou

My other two locations of Mt. Shasta and Castle Lake turned out to be just a scouting expedition as the weather was not agreeable. I got to Castle Lake and it was completely frozen over !!! I was expecting a little snow around the lake which would have made a nice addition for a sunset shot but did not expect a complete freeze. However it was neat to be able to walk out about 150' and stand on a frozen lake for the first time in my life.

Shots for Shasta also did not pan out as the clouds never let me see the snow-cap of the peak. The above photo was the only thing I was able to get. I sure wish that cloud ring around the peak would have dissipated. I'm standing in waist deep water in Lake Siskiyou for this shot as I needed to get out that far to keep the lake bank out of the shot on my right. I was standing here for about 1/2 hour. A tourist came over and took a couple photos of me in the lake with my tripod. He asked me if I was not freezing. I said it was not too bad once you get in. It only felt a little cool but when I finally got out my legs did not seem to want to work very well :-0 ............I guess it was colder than I thought.

Looks like I will be making another trip back up there for Castle Lake. Until then, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.