Photo Blog

Each section includes a few preview shots from the set. Click the photo to expand or click the blue link to see the full set for that trip.

 

Harmony Bowl Trip - Oyster Shell Wash, Anza Borrego, CA - entire set

Hiked to the top of the Split Mountain Range from Oyster Shell wash - two days, two different washes. It would have been cool to have some pictures of crawling around in the slot canyons in the wash to show you; but I have been more into enjoying my trips lately and not really into taking photos. If you've followed this blog any time then all of these desert vistas and washes are probably starting to look alike anyway! I was happy to finally capture a photo of my camp friend, Mr. Jingles. The mountain pictures are from on the way back - crossing over the mountains in the Julian, CA area. That is Cuyamaca Peak.

 

Death Valley, CA - click for entire set

        

Rain and snow in Death Valley? Hum... I'd go here again - beautiful park. Go in the winter though.

 

Lee's Mill Pond, VA - just outside of Petersburg, VA - entire set

    

I caught a quick break during my holiday trip home to Virginia to get in some nature photography - and I'm glad I did! I love the nature shots that have hints of technology in them, like the airplanes on the sky reflected in the water. The light was pretty good, but nothing phenomenal, so I focused on the reflections and the interplay of clouds/trees reflecting in the water.

 

Point Reyes - Camping and exploring north of SF, CA - entire set

 

My camera battery died very early on this trip! I wasn't really upset about it though, because it gave me more time to appreciate the trip instead of having to always move around finding the perfect photos. My buddy had a compact camera that all of these were taken with, mostly by him.

 

 

Carrizo Valley - and just messing around at the beach.

Ho hum ... nothing special on this trip... the flower season is coming to an end.

 

 

Anza Flowers - the 2010 wildflower season highlights.

Flowers! Who doesn't enjoy pretty flowers???

 

 

Oyster Shell Wash - camping with friends - click here for the entire set

   

More desert rocks and stuff.

 

 

Avalon Island - with the folks.

Errrr ... touristy.

 

 

Alluvial Frequencies Tour - 3-day site-seeing trip in SoCal with a friend - click here for the entire set

     

Alluvial - as in the alluvial fans that you see all throughout the desert, areas of sediment  that flow like a glacier from the mountains. It's the weather, over endless amounts of time, molding the barren rock into a soil that supports the desert life. Frequencies as in the energy that people give off. So perhaps life is like an alluvial frequency. It made more sense when we were out there. :)

 

 

Coyote Canyon - fun in the creek

 

Mud, jeeps, rocks and stuff.

 

 

Mortero Wash, Anza Borrego - more rocks and stuff - click here for the entire set

 

Well, its been a few months since I've been anywhere different. I made it out to the lower Anza Borrego desert this past weekend. Temperatures are finally getting down to a reasonable level ... in the 90's during the day and the 60's at night ... you gotta love winter in the desert. On this trip I came across a tarantula. Wow! For those of you keeping count of the creepy critters, so far I've seen a chuckwalla, a scorpion and now a tarantula. If you're interested, here's a great website on the wildlife of the SoCal deserts. Remind me to wear good shoes in the desert.

This is an ok stitched shot showing a little valley near my campsite, below. I say ok because the seams in the stitch are just horrible... but you get an idea of the space out there. Awesome!

I love the solitude and vastness of it all. A lot of people ask me what the hell I do out there. I ride around and explore. I sit. I walk. I try not to think. I listen. I watch. I do all of these things for hours without really noticing the time. I just love the non-doing-ness of being out there away from all of the ... social/mechanical/electronic ... noise.  Its nice to get away from the influence and just reflect on how much space and time there is in the world... how awesome this place is... how much must have gone into making it all... and finally, how small I am in comparison.

And I'll admit it makes me appreciate the comforts when I get back home. It feels really really ... REALLY good to take a hot shower, pick up some burritos and then end the day in the tempurpedic. Ahh ... that's good stuff too. :)

 

 

Big Bear Truckin' - Memorial Day up in the mountains - click here for the entire set

My new girlfriend (haha :) and a few buds truckin' around in Big Bear. Good times!

Also grabbed a quick 360° stitched shot from one of the peaks overlooking the desert.

Some very choppy and low-res videos: vid1, vid2, vid3. You'll need a quicktime player to view/hear these. Next time I'll try to get some better quality video shots.

 

 

Mission Bay - It's finally summer - whew! - click here for the entire set

This is just pure joy - taking these Mission Bay night photos. There's not much too it. I feel guilty! I just setup the tripod, set the camera to auto, focus on a light in the distance, press the button... and then daydream for 30 seconds. That's it!

I admit I'm getting a little liberal with the saturation and lighting in Picasa, and I even used a tint filter on the palm tree background. But its Picasa! Come on ... I think its cool you can do this with a $500 camera/kit lens and free software. I had the camera in 1600 ISO for these, trying to get as much light as possible, but the sacrifice is that they are a bit grainy. I might try it again with 400 or 800 ISO.

Anyway ... enjoy! And may the Force be with you. Ommm... :)

 

 

 

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