These photos are from the Northern California coast, north of the Bay Area, and include photos of Sonoma County and the Crescent City area at the far northern end of the state.
Archive for the ‘Photo Galleries’ Category
May Photo Gallery: Northern California Coast
Sunday, May 9th, 2010April Photo Gallery: California Foothills Wildflowers
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Spring is finally here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada here in California; the birds singing, the hills are green, and the wildflowers are blooming. The foothills have three basic ecological zones: chaparral, oak woodlands, and pine/oak forest. These wildflowers are from the oak woodland area.
White globe lily (Calochortus albus), spring, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, California
March Photo Gallery: Desert Wildflowers
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Spring is the time for desert wildflowers. Many think of the desert as a hot, dry, desolate place, with little more than a couple funny-looking cacti. In fact, the desert can have a spectacular display of wildflowers, especially in the spring.
Among the four major deserts in North America, the Sonoran Desert is considered to have one of the best wildflower displays. Two hotspots (read: lots of people) are Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, and Anza-Borrego State Park in California, but there are lots of places to visit. For example, I’ve found some great patches in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona.
A good resource to keep up on what’s currently blooming where is Desert USA’s Wildflower Reports, which are broken down by region. Check it before you go anywhere to maximize your chances of finding lots of wildflowers. And don’t forget your sunscreen and water bottle.
A few field guides I’ve found helpful for identifying flowers:
New Pictures of Colorado
Monday, March 1st, 2010I’ve added over 130 photos of Colorado to the website, although the photos aren’t new, strictly speaking: these pictures of Colorado were on my old website, but most have been re-scanned and touched up to get them looking even better.
The photos are from a variety of areas, covering alpine mountains and lakes to backpacking to fall colors, but come from four main locations: Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Holy Cross Wilderness (White River National Forest), Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (San Isabel National Forest), and the aspen groves of Gunnison National Forest near Kebler Pass.
Morning light on Pike's Peak and Gateway Rocks, Garden of the Gods Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado
We lived in Colorado Springs for a short time, and I spent many mornings among the towering red-rock formations of Garden of the Gods. The area here is still mostly prairie, with grasslands and a few pinyon and juniper trees. The Midwest stretches out to the east; to the west looms Pike’s Peak and the front range of the Colorado Rockies.
Morning alpenglow on mountains, Missouri Lakes Basin, Holy Cross Wilderness, White River National Forest, Colorado
In Holy Cross Wilderness, we backpacked a loop stopping at both Fancy Lake and the Missouri Lakes Basin. High alpine lakes and stunted trees sat near the treeline, and the morning light on the mountains was spectacular.
Dog and backpacker on the edge of Phantom Terrace, Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, San Isabel National Forest, Colorado
We made another backpacking trip in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, hiking along Phantom Terrace in a dense fog. Not for the faint of heart. Luckily, I didn’t actually count the contour lines of the cliff until after we were over the pass; knowing the fog hid a ~1000’ drop might have made my legs a little shaky. Holly, our golden retriever — doggy backpacks loaded with dog food and treats — was just fine, of course.
Autumn grove of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and bracken fern, Gunnison National Forest, Colorado
I was able to photograph aspen fall colors in several spots, but our main trip was to the aspen groves of Kebler Pass in Gunnison National Forest, near Crested Butte. Kebler Pass is one of the main go-to photo locations for fall colors in Colorado, and it can be a little crowded with leaf-peepers (and photographers) on weekends. But the golden filtered light in the autumn aspen groves is worth the trip, camera or not.
February Photo Gallery: New Zealand Rainforest
Monday, February 15th, 2010The word “rainforest” often conjures up images of the tropics, but it really refers to a forest that—wait for it—get lots of rain. While the tropical rainforests along the equator are well known, an equally dense jungle of trees and plants occur in some temperate regions. These temperate rainforests tend to be less diverse (fewer kinds of organisms), but can actually have more biomass (more total organisms) than their tropical counterparts.
On the South Island of New Zealand, the rainforests are dominated by beech trees and tree ferns, and has a truly primitive feel. The first time I walked within a New Zealand rainforest, along the Waiau River in Fiordland National Park, I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for a brontosaurus to come lumbering through the trees. Really.
I found the Nature Guide to the New Zealand Forest
January Photo Gallery: Abstracts
Monday, January 4th, 2010This month’s photo gallery features abstracts. Many of these images are close-ups from nature, including bark patterns, lichen, and fungi. The detail and complexity you can find when looking closely can be amazing; I often try to remember this when I find myself in one of those “there’s nothing good to photograph here” moods.
For close-up pictures — depending on your subject — a macro lens is often essential. For a long time I used a Tamron 90mm f/2.9 macro, which gives excellent results for the price.
These days my go-to macro set-up is a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8
For more info on shooting close-ups, you might check out John Shaw’s Closeups in Nature
Abstract photos don’t have to be close-ups of course. Anything has the potential to become an abstract photo when the surrounding context is removed, forcing the viewer to concentrate on the patterns and shapes instead of the overall scene.
December Photo Gallery: Dogs in Snow
Friday, December 4th, 2009Pictures of dogs playing in the snow is the theme for this month’s photo gallery. Taking good pictures of snow scenes can be challenging if you rely too much on your camera’s meter, since the meter is trying to make everything 18% gray. The solution? Make the snow white by “overexposing” a reading of the snow by 1.5-2 stops. Piece of cake.
November Photo Gallery: Mushrooms
Monday, November 2nd, 2009The wild mushroom season here in Northern California is picking up, so I thought mushrooms would be a good theme for this month’s photo gallery. This selection of fungi photos comes from California, Oregon, and even Arizona.
See the gallery version (no slideshow) »
When you’re walking through the woods looking for pictures this fall and winter, don’t forget to look down at your feet — there’s an amazingly diverse world of mushrooms down there.
