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.

Linda Falls

Linda Falls

A lot of times when we are browsing the internet for landscape photography sites, we are intrigued and mesmerized by the far away places some photographers go and their adventures along the way. But it is amazing to me how many wonderful places are right here at home.

In my last post I spoke about "secret" places and how there is an effort to keep some of these spots at least semi-secret. Linda Falls is another one of those places. We all love to see and visit beautiful places and usually there are programs or organizations that help provide access to these. That is why we have state and national parks. The organization that oversees Linda Falls is the Napa Land Trust. The Land Trust provides guided hikes to many little known areas of Napa County where there is limited (or sometimes no) public access. Visit www.napalandtrust.org and check out their upcoming hikes page.

Linda Falls - at the edge -

To view full size in gallery, click HERE
four photos uploaded to gallery

The Archer Taylor Preserve and the Secret Creek

It has been a little while since my last posting. I've been shooting quite a bit, not any big trips but actually giving some more time to local areas. My problem seems to be after sitting for 8 hours in front of a computer at my day job and then having a 3 hour commute, I'm really finding it hard to sit at the computer at home and work up the images I've shot. So I've had to force myself to just do it. Also I've been finding it difficult to come up with artsy-fartsy titles for all these so since there was so many from this one outing I'm just titling them in numerical order. I'll probably come back and add secondary meaningful titles as come to my ever contracting imagination.

I was reading an article recently on a comparison of landscape photography in the North America with that being done in European countries. It brought out that the United States has so much open space that photographers have the luxury to seek out places that may have never or rarely been seen or photographed before. The growth of a Landscape Photographer here in the US is usually to get his/her own interpretation of the more famous and iconic shots around the country. After this phase there is the desire to venture out and find those remote places to call our own. In the EU countries the situation is somewhat different. Since their areas are much smaller there is some difficulty finding scenic spots that visually have no evidence of "man". So it is common to see people, villages, domestic animals etc. in their "Landscape" or "Nature" images.

Here in the US, even around the famous places and icon scenes it can be fairly easy to capture a shot without any sign of man. That is, if you only look at the taken photograph. If you were the photographer, you would be able to look around and more than likely see some or many people and sadly what some of them leave behind, bottles, trash........

It's that very reason why this post is called "secret", cause I'm not going to tell you where it is. But I won't leave you hanging, I'll direct you to someone who will tell you.

The images for this post are of a creek and waterfall that are on the Archer Taylor Preserve. The property is owned and protected by the Land Trust of Napa County. The idea being to preserve and protect beautiful spots like this so that they can be enjoyed for future generations. Most of these areas are not completely off limits. The Land Trust offers guided hikes and members have the privilege to return on their own. You don't have to be a member to go on the guided hikes but if you are in a position (it's cheap), please become a member and it will open up new adventures to many beautiful "secret" places. You can find more info about this place at

http://www.napalandtrust.org/

Special thanks to Alice Kubler for showing me this secret place.

16 photos are uploaded into this new gallery. To view them all go HERE.

Stay tuned for more creek and waterfall shots from another "secret place". Until then, wish me drama in the skies and awesome light.

Potpourri Part II

Rapeseed Rapture

This post is again a little variety of three different outings and areas. This first shot is what I am going to enter into the Napa Valley Mustard Festival's photo contest. This was my second attempt at the spot. I was here about 3 weeks earlier and got here right when the light was super but changing fast. In my haste to get the camera set up and everything positioned right I shot this with a wrong camera setting and was not aware of it until I pulled the image up on the computer at home. It was a good shot too but the mistake hindered the photo quality enough that I had to come out again and re-shoot the scene. This time around the sky at first was not as dramatic as before but I waited it out and as the sun finally made its way down between the clouds and the hills, the light just got fantastic and wonderfully back-lit the grass and mustard (rapeseed) blossoms.

Storm Breaker

click HERE to see vineyard photos larger.

This winter has brought lots of fog into the valley but with this storm the fog absent and we got some real good cloud action. This is in the Rutherford area of Napa Valley.

McWay Falls III

McWay Falls is a beautiful waterfall that empties out directly on the beach south of Monterey and Carmel at the entrance to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Imagine having a home that looks out over this scene. Right behind and above me is the foundation and terrace of what was called the Waterfall House. This was the residence of Lathrop and Helen Hooper Brown. When the Browns began to acquire their Big Sur acreage in 1924, Mrs. Brown became acquainted with Julia Pfeiffer Burns, the daughter of a Big Sur pioneer family. In 1962, Mrs. Brown gave the ranch to the state for use a a state park dedicated to the memory of Julia.

I was here last year in January and wanted to come back as with all the rains I knew the falls would be running better.

McWay Falls IV

Time Embedded

click HERE to see larger in gallery

This shot is from Point Lobos which is just 2 miles south of Carmel. Wonderful coves and coastal viewpoints here. Click the link above to see this set larger.

The End of the Beginning

These shots are from a pier on the east side of Clear Lake where I live. I was on my way to pick up my new wine releases at Tulip Hill Winery where I am a wine club member. So I had a little wine and food pairing and then was able to get these shots a little later that afternoon.

Pier into the Future


The Benchmark

Hillside Light

After the wine but before the Pier shots I went up Bartlett Springs Road right behind the winery. It winds up all the way to the top ridges where there are some fantastic views over Clear Lake. Unfortunately I was only able to go about 3/4 the way up as clouds were enshrouding the top and I could not see anything. On my way up though I was able to get this great hillside shot with the shadow play that was happening very fast.

Storm Break over Mt. Hannah

This is on my side of the lake (the west side) looking east towards Mt. Hannah. Some vineyards with great clouds. Click HERE to see this set larger in the Clear Lake gallery. There are a couple more in there that are not in this post.

That's all for now but stay tuned for some flowing creek shots from my hike up Redwood Creek on the Archer Taylor Preserve in Napa County.

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

Potpourri

Evening Star

see larger HERE

My second visit to Bowling Ball Beach which is just south of Point Arena on the Mendocino Coast. My first visit did not result in any images as the tide had been out a very long time to where the "bowling balls" were completely dry and the sky had no clouds.

This day I was hoping to have the water at mid-level on the stones so I could do some long exposure shots to produce a misty look. I got here early and walked right by them as the tide was high and completely covered them. After walking a ridiculously long way down the beach I finally realized I had missed them. By the time I got back the tide had gone out enough to see them but by the time the light got interesting the tide was where you see it in the shot and was too far for any long exposure shots. But it did allow my to find this starfish and a crab. Two photos uploaded into this gallery.

The Quartet

view larger HERE

North end of Clear Lake from the boat launch in Lakeport. I keep returning to this spot as these four sail boats are always tethered here and I'm trying to get them in the best light. Perhaps I did this time. This shot won both Photo of the Day and Photo of the Month on a photography website.

Along Lothlorien Paths

view larger HERE

On one of my trips to the coast at Ft. Bragg which ended up being totally fogged out, I stopped along a creek in the Jackson State Forest. You Middle Earth fans will understand the title. Two photos uploaded into this gallery.

Flow

view larger HERE

Definition: Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement and success in the process of the activity.

I thought this defined how I feel each time I return to Socrates Falls. I keep coming back to get the perfect composition with the perfect flow. I'm sure I'll keep trying. Four photos uploaded into this gallery.