Notes To My Mother

  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.    ...

I had never experienced anything quite like photographing red foxes.  I was with them nearly all day, for three days in a row.  I was so taken by them, especially the way they related to each other.  Above is the dog fox, the adult male of the group, with one of his offsrping, a female kit fox.    In this family group there were two vixen, one was the grandmother, the other the mother of three kits.  The adult females attended the den all day with one or the other going off to hunt, returning with food for the kits.  Missing most of the day was the dog fox and when he would return the kits all gravitated to him. All of the kits seemed to adore the dog fox but the moments between him and his daughter were especially touching.   What a gorgeous, photogenic animal he is.  When I returned a year later he was still there and there was a whole new brood of kits.  I am hoping to return again this year having missed last year due to a bout ...

Visiting Point Reyes National Seashore on Thanksgiving reminded me of what a gem this location is and motivated me to return.  On the following week a friend and I headed there.  In particular I wanted an image of Drakes Beach with its sandstone cliffs holding back the surf.  I think it would make a nice painting subject. On the way to Drakes Beach we spotted this female Northern Harrier.  Harriers fly very close to the ground in search of prey, which makes it possible to get some pretty close images if you are lucky enough to be in their path. The one bird which is a favorite of mine is the kestrel.  I couldn't remember ever seeing one a Point Reyes and mentioned this to my friend remarking that we needed one.  About a half hour later, there it was on a bush next to the dirt road we were on.  Kestrels are usually fairly shy birds so it was quite a treat to have it stay on its perch while we took its picture. And then off it went, which is what we were...

Point Reyes National Seashore is a gem.  About an hour drive from Santa Rosa at the end of a drive through some very beautiful landscapes lies a treasure chest of wild life photography opportunities.  On Thanksgiving, Jan and I packed cranberry and turkey sandwiches and headed there for a walk and a picnic.  I, of course, took my camera gear. A good friend and I once hired a photography guide to help us find bobcats at Point Reyes.  While we did find some badgers, we did not see one bobcat.  On subsequent excursions I had seen them but always at a distance and they being very wary of humans would disappear quickly.  On this lovely Thanksgiving Day, here was a young bobcat hunting along the road.  He showed no concern about our presence and kept right on hunting. On our walk I couldn't pass up this white crowned sparrow feasting. And a bit later this northern harrier leaving its perch.  As a side note, there is a phenomenon that happens frequently ...

There are many places to find fall color and one very special such place is the Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is the most visited national park and I would guess the bulk of the visitors come during fall color.  When you are driving the Blue Ridge Parkway and the traffic comes to a stop you can be sure there is an excellent viewing location just ahead of you.  The waterfall in this picture is Looking Glass Falls and it is viewable from the road, but absolutely worth getting out of the car to really experience it. It is not often that you find a good waterfall with fall colors surrounding it like this. In another part of the park is an area called Tremont.  It is a gold mine of scenes like the one above with cascading creeks deep in the forest.  A wonderful place to spend contemplative time, alone with nature. Sunrises are special in the Blue Ridge Mountains with the lingering ground mist, gorgeous skies and the awakening of the forest beauty.  One of t...

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.  

  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 ...

At the Hood Canal in the state of Washington, the Bald Eagles come to feed and joust about with one another.  The food they are after are a fish called the Midshipmen.  The Midshipmen lay eggs in the oyster beds and when the tide recedes they are available food for a variety of birds.  For the eagles it seems there are two sources of this food, one is the Hood Canal itself, and the other is the Great Blue Herons.  Wherever you see herons standing in the shallow water, you will likely see an eagle come swooping in either right at them or just next to them.  But the eagles are always on the watch and when the see a heron flying with a fish in its claws they are off to the chase.  In the image above you can see the eagle closing in on the heron who has just release the fish which you can see just below its wing. The herons know the eagles are not after them but the fish, so letting go of the prize is a smart thing for them to do.  Here you see the eagle s...

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...

It is hard to pick a favorite place to be at night in the Sierras because there are so many great places. Lake Sabrina ranks very hight on my list for a number of reasons.  One, its elevation is very high at just over 9,100 ft which helps with reducing the atmosphere between the camera and the stars.  It is also a very scenic spot, both in the daytime and at night.  In the middle of the drought the water level was very low which made a shot like this one impossible.  But during wet years it is a joy to shoot.  It is also very scenic in the daytime, especially first thing in the morning.  And finally, it is easy to get to being just 18 miles on highway 168 out of Bishop.  Another easily accessible night location is Tioga Lake located along highway 120 just past the top of Tioga Pass when heading west.  The only problem with this location are the cars that keep coming on the highway to the left of this scene.  A little patience and you will get...

Late last Fall a buddy of mine, Mike Cohen (an amazing bird photographer), and I met up in Albuquerque, NM., to photograph sandhill cranes.  The location we photographed was in and around Bosque del Apache during the Festival of the Cranes.  In Bosque dirt roads run through the refuge and you can drive these roads in search of cranes and other wildlife.  One morning we were driving the perimeter and drove past this sweet scene.  We came back a few times hopefully to capture it with some mist on the water along with the morning sunrise lighting up the trees and shrubs.   This was my first encounter with Sandhill Cranes as I had never seen one before this.  At Bosque Del Apache there is no shortage of cranes to see.  They roost at night in the ponds and then relocate at sunrise to the fields where the eat and squabble with each other durning the day.  In the image above the are relocating in the morning light. As night is falling the Sandhill C...