Notes To My Mother

On Friday afternoon, May 10, 2024, Jan and I were getting coffee in a very small somewhat crowded coffee shop in downtown Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  We overheard people talking about the Northern Lights showing up that night.  And thus began one of the most exciting nights of photography in my life.  If you have read my three previous blog posts you have seen some of the spectacular color displays we were able to capture.  In these images I have included some foreground information to put the color displays in perspective.  The picture above was taken to the northeast of the Trumpeter property where they house the pygmy goats and alpacas. Looking to the northwest you can see the moon low on the horizon.  The building shown here has an additional suite that is separate from the main B&B house..   This image is looking due east showin the stable for the animals.   Another view to the east showing the building with the separate ...

As a quick update: All of these images were taken on the night of May 10-11, 2024. on San Juan Island WA.  We were taken by surprise in the middle of our vacation when it was announced there was to be an aurora display that would likely be visible from our location.  What an understatement!  What we witnessed was simply out of this world.  We saw colors I did not know existed in the auroras, especially the light pinks and, of all things, orange (neon).   There were four of us on the grounds at the Trumpeter Inn during the "show".  I was the only one with a DSLSR camera so the others would see something interesting and I would point my camera in that direction and take a timed exposer.  Most were in the 15 to 20 second length.   At one point, Jan looked up straight overhead and saw something that was quite unusual; it looked like some kind of convergence.  I pointed the camera overhead and took this picture, which I find startling....

  I have titled the above image "The Window".  It was taken from a dirt road on the way to Buttermilk Boulders east of Bishop.  Bishop is out of sight below the horizon in the middle of the image.  The distant mountains are the White Mountains to the East of Bishop.  This is illustrative of how the storm was all around bishop with Bishop remaining in sunshine. Bishop Ponds were especially attractive in the late afternoon light as the sages seemed to glow. The early morning light in Pleasant Valley with the storm seeming to clear.  For the time being. 30 miles north of this 395 was still closed due to the storm.  This is a popular trout fishing area blessed by the Owens River.

In the fall of 2023 I became aware of a composition I wanted to capture in the Eastern Sierras.  The problem was not knowing exactly were it was.  I had seen a picture of it and knew it was in the Bishop area due to the particular mountains in the scene. I was pretty sure it was taken from Table Lands north of Bishop.   I started searching, driving around, walking to the edge of Table Lands with no luck.   I was able to rule out a number of locations.   Then I resorted to Google Earth and, finally after much exploring, figured out what I thought was at least the approximate location.  I had found a dirt road and knew I could continue my quest on that road and get fairly close to where I thought I should be.  I began planning a trip to the Bishop area but what I needed for success was a good storm to bring the snow down the eastern faces of the Sierra mountains.  Finally, a good storm was predicted for early March 2024.    ...

 The Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa, has a wonderful program that encourages artist members to display their work.  The work is hung in the Social Hall and typically has about twenty pieces hanging for two months at a time.  On March 1rst I will be hanging several images taken in Iceland, along with some wildlife images, including foxes, coyotes, eagles and kites.  I will also have some paintings by my mother and two of my own.  I am pretty excited about this showing.   One of the pictures I will have in the show is of Godafoss, a beautiful waterfall in Iceland.  When I first saw pictures of this waterfall I knew I wanted to go to Iceland to take pictures of it.  This composition required gettin into some very cold water.

If you take highway 120 over to 395 you will come to a turnout a bit west of Tuolumne Meadows, called Olmstead Point.  If you are there near sunset it is definitely a place to take a break and bathe in the views.  To the west you will see Half Dome in golden hour light. Across the highway you can climb the hill and get a nice view to the east of Tanaya Lake and the mountains surrounding it. The views from here are very nice.  I believe the peak shown above is Mt. Ritter, a 13K peak.

In November 2021 my grandson, Levi, and I headed to the Eastern Sierras to do some photography and enjoy the east side.  Levi is a budding photographer (just sold his first print last week) and immerses himself fully into the pursuit of great images.   Lundy Lake on a cold morning but enjoyable nonetheless.   Just south of Mammoth Lakes, Mount Morrison rises to the heavens.   This image was taken at sunset.  Had the wind been just a bit calmer some very nice reflections would have graced our view.  Maybe next time.  

  Just north of Bishop there is a lovely location called Pleasant Valley.  The Owens River winds its way through the grasses and reeds, providing a popular location for fishing.  I was taken by the beauty and peacefulness.   One of the really great things about this part of the Eastern Sierras is the smell of sage.  After walking through some I carried the smell on my clothes the rest of the day.  And it is actually quite beautiful if take a close look at it.  I comes in a variety of colors from red to yellow and shades of blue.   To the east and north of Bishop you can often find ponds.  I say "often" because all of them are not always there.  During the drought this particular pond was dry.  I was so happy to see it full this year as it is one of my favorite to visit.  There are other ponds east of town that were full even during the drought years so it you want to see some ponds, they are there to be found. On the ...

  Little Lakes Valley is a wonderful place located at the end of Rock Creek Road in the Eastern Sierras. It is a popular hiking area with a relatively small parking area so getting there early is a premium.  We arrived at the 10,000 ft elevation of the parking lot well before sunrise.  The stars were absolutely sparkling in their brilliance.  Or goal was to be at one of the lakes before sunrise so we would be assured of still, mirror-like surfaces to capture a reflected sunrise on the peaks.  We didn't take into consideration that the uphill trail would be covered in ice, so our assent to the lakes was slowed.  We were at this little viewpoint as the first light began illuminating the peaks in the distance.  As you can see we were standing on frozen ground to get this image.  We grabbed this shot and then we were off to the lake. My intention was to first photograph Marsh Lake and the go on to Heart Lake, but in the dark I missed the turnoff to Ma...

Looming 14,179 feet high, Mount Shasta can be seen miles and miles away on a clear day as you drive north on highway 5.  Mount Shastina is a satellite cone of Mr. Shasta, located on Shasta's west shoulder. Standing at 12,335 ft, Shastina would be the third highest volcanic peak in the Cascade Range, after Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta.  As the golden hour approaches the clouds hovering around Mt. Shasta begin to display their evening glory. One of my goals on this trip was to capture the Milky Way over Mount Shasta.  The developing clouds at sundown made for a nice sunset but I was beginning to doubt whether or not I would be able to get a good view of the Milky Way. I knew that it was not unusual in this mountain location to have clouds in the daytime and by the time full darkness arrives they are gone.  That happened on this night and the galactic core became visible just above and to the right of Mount Shasta.  An interesting thing happened as I was setting ...

The Wave is a very special place located in the north west corner of Arizona.  You can not just go there, you have to enter a lottery and hope you name gets pulled.  They do the drawing every month and I met one lady who has been trying for 6 years.  I've heard of others who waited 10 years.  Three of us went and one, Andy, submitted our names to the lottery and we got selected after only 4 months of trying.  Amazing. Thank yoy Andy! The hike in is about two miles and is rated from easy (seasoned hikers) to hard (people like me).  The trail is easily lost as much of the hike is on sandstone with no visible trail.  Then there is the soft sand part. Very difficult and when you are just about there and tired, you find yourself walking up a steep hill in VERY soft sand. When I got to the top I poured myself onto the hard sandstone that makes up The Wave and rested.  And then I started exploring and what a wonderous place it is.  What you see are ...

If you Google "Badlands" you will find that there are badlands in a lot of different places because the term badlands refers to a dry terrain with soft sedimentary rock.  For instance, there is a badlands section of Death Valley, California.  These images were taken at Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  The image above is a sunset shot. I don't remember the exact location of this image but I do remember the climb to get it.  It was VERY steep and once to the top it took a few minutes to get used to it and convince myself I was not going to tumble down.  You can see here the cracked sedimentary soil and the layers of sediment deposited over the years. Sunrise at the Doors.  A person can walk into the landscape in this park but it would be very easy to get lost.  On one morning we saw a group that apparently had spent the night.  They were down in a lower area of the park and could be seen from the rim next to the road.  They spent a cons...

  In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, my grandson, Levi, and I took a road trip to the Eastern Sierras. These images are from that trip and are intended to be examples of a few of the different kinds of light you can experience at relatively high altitudes.  These were all taken at around 7,000 feet.  The one above is morning light on Laurel Mountain with foreground reflections separated in the man made fence, mid ground. One of the delightful characteristics of the weather in the Eastern Sierras revolves around cloud formations.  Clouds will often build first thing in the morning as the sun is making its first appearance.  They can then pretty much disappear.  Later in the afternoon clouds will often begin to build again.  I recall one time being up Lee Vining Canyon and getting caught under one of those afternoon build ups and getting drenched in rain and pelted by hail.  On the afternoon depicted above one of those storms was developing wit...

It is a real treat to get up before there is enough light to see where you are going, find the location you want to observe, and sit quietly as the morning reveals itself.  This image over McDonald Lake was taken around 5 am.  The lake was still, the air fresh, birds chirping and very little human activity.  A good time to gather your thoughts. Waiting for the sun as it just begins to peak over the cliffs in the background, there are but a few seconds to capture the star bursts.  A small aperture and a tripod helps to capture them.  This is a two for one starburst with the reflection in the water.  In the foreground is a driftwood with colorful rocks under water. This image was taken the night before the previous images, over Lake McDonald with the peaks in the background.  Some brave and hearty souls get on the High Line Trail and then branch off and go up and over that ridge.  On the other side is east Glacier.  If you go to the east side t...

 In 2017 I visited Glacier with my son in law, Francisco.  We spent three days together and then met up with a photography workshop led by Andy Cook, of Rocky Mountain Reflections and photographed for another five days.  This year I met up with eight good photography buddies three days before the workshop then joined Andy Cook for another five days.  We were all completely exhausted by the time we did our last evening shoot after 8 days of hiking in the park. On our first morning, I looked out my window at 5:30 am and the sky was on fire!  I grabbed my camera and tripod and ran for the shore of Lake McDonald.  We were staying, as before, in Apgar on the west end of the lake.  I caught the above scene and within a few minutes the colors faded.  I later talked with a ranger and he said it was unusual to experience such intense sunrises here, so I felt very lucky. Later that same morning we made our way to the Hidden Lake and Mount Reynolds overlook....