Friday, December 28, 2012

Rock Stars in Black and White

I went in to the Park early this morning to shoot some pics with my new camera, an Olympus OM-D which will replace my EP-3. I was anxious to give it a little test run and see what 'developed'... On the way in, I happened to look at the temperature gauge in the car and was shocked to see it reading at 19 degrees. I asked myself "Why am I doing this, when I could still be warm in bed?!" Once I got in, it was fine, I had layers and gloves, all was well. The light was sharp and bright, so as I wandered around in the Hidden Valley area, I was able to catch some nice shots. I love this one particular area, the rock formations are very 'fluid', very 'photogenic'.  I finished them using Silver Efex Pro, black and white, with high contrast, to give them a little more oomph. Hope you like.









Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Last of the Fall Colors

Soon, it will be winter. The Cottonwoods at Covington Park and Big Morongo Canyon Preserve are starting to lose their leaves. It's still a treat to go early in the morning and catch the first light in the trees and feel the chill in the air. I can see my breath, when I exhale, as I plod along through the fields. Each time I visit, I see something different, something beautiful. I take lots of pictures. Not everything thing turns out the way I'd hoped. It just means I'll have to re-visit. Always a pleasure.






Tuesday, November 20, 2012

More Fall Colors

I went over to Covington Park and Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, the other morning, early, a little too early, the light hadn't really hit yet, so I wandered through the fields, just enjoying the cold morning air and the smell of the fall leaves crunching under my footsteps. Suddenly, the light came, first in the tree tops and then down through the leaves, lighting everything up. The colors haven't turned fully golden yet, there are still shades of green amongst the leaves, which make a nice contrast. I spent quite a long time, just moving slowly amongst the trees, circling around for another shot. Then, within thirty minutes or so, the light diminished and I continued on my way, through the marsh, to see what I might find there. Another beautiful, crisp, fall morning. (Click on to make larger)






Saturday, November 3, 2012

Fall Colors at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve

This is my favorite 'go to' place for fall colors in the high desert. I like to go early in the morning and wander about. I usually start in Covington Park and then meander over to the Preserve and the marsh area to see what's happening. I find myself continually looking downward, focusing on the grasses and leaves, looking for color, texture and design, and am always rewarded. Sometimes the 'big picture' isn't everything, sometimes more can be found in the 'intimate' close up.







Thursday, October 25, 2012

Joshua Trees Given a Black and White and 'Vintage' Treatment

Sometimes color just doesn't get it. I thought I would give each of these photos a different 'treatment'. The first one is a 'copper tone' vintage look, the second is a black and white panorama and the third is a 'gold toned' vintage print. Enjoy. (Click to make larger)




Friday, October 5, 2012

Sunrises Are Nice In Color and Black and White

We saw this beautiful sunrise the other morning biking in the park, and as we rode along, I saw these other two shots, but envisioned them in black and white. Pretty dramatic eh?! It's starting to get a little chilly now in the morning... finally! Boy, what a summer. Don't think about it! Fall is here. 'We begin to live...', as my neighbor used to say. Now I say it!




Monday, September 24, 2012

And Now For Something Completely Different...

This summer we took a little road trip and one of our favorite places was Arches National Park in Utah. If you've never been, you owe it to yourself to go, it's an amazing place. The small town of Moab is a very cool, hip place to make your home base, nice folks, good food, plenty to do. I took lots of pictures of course and ended up processing a few of them in a 'vintage' style, in an effort to emulate the original pioneer photographers and how they might have seen 'Arches' for the first time. (Click to make larger.)


Double Arches

The 'Courthouse' Rocks Reflection

Balanced Rock

Desert Spirit

Vision


(More photos on my flickr site) 

Monday, August 20, 2012

Mornings Are Great For Black and White Photos

We get up around 5 a.m. in the summer to go biking because it's nice and cool and there's hardly anyone in the park at that time of day. I noticed the morning light on the rocks around Ryan Mountain gets perfect right around 6:30 a.m., so I've been jumping off the bike to take pictures. Here are a few recent ones I think turned out well. Hope you agree.

Slice
Thrust
Recline
Moonscape

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Another Dramatic Morning For Biking

We've been getting some great cloud formations and beautiful light in the early mornings, so I've been taking my camera whenever we ride now. I always get at least one good shot. Someone once said that 'Clouds always make the picture better', I agree. (Click on to make larger)



Friday, July 13, 2012

Spectacular Morning For Biking In Joshua Tree National Park

With the advent of summer, it's a good idea to get up early and get out to the park, because in the middle of the day, you're pretty much relegated to be inside, sitting directly under the cooler. The other day, we got up at 5 a.m. to go biking and I decided to take my camera, because it looked like there were some good clouds forming up in the direction of the park behind our house. As we began to ride, I was able to get some really nice shots, the light and cloud displays were quite dramatic as you can see. Ahh... another good morning in the park.





Saturday, July 7, 2012

Pt. Reyes Vacation

People always ask us "Where do you go on vacation?", since they come to Joshua Tree for theirs. In June, when it starts to get hot, we always head up to Pt. Reyes in northern California. When we lived in San Francisco, we spent almost every weekend hiking at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, so it's a nice change of pace for us. Here are some photos from the trip which I gave a 'Textured-Painterly' treatment.

The view from our cabin on Tomales Bay

Early morning light on Inverness inlet

Inverness, water, sky and reeds

Black Mountain seen from Inverness

Spanish Moss at Limantour

Abbott's Lagoon


The Tule Elk at Tomales Point

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Prince's Plumes

This is one of my favorite flowers in the park. I actually shot these a few weeks ago, but just found them nestled in the Lupines folder. Well, summer is here and the weather is warm, so you have to get up early and get out to hike or bike. Stay cool inside during the heat of the day, take a nap, read a book, do some computer work, then head back out around 6 p.m. until sunset. We call it being on 'Mediterranean time'.