Yosemite National Park – Part 1

After spending a few days in San Jose, California where we enjoyed their annual Jazz Festival and visiting with our son and daughter in law, we traveled to Yosemite NP, staying in lodging just outside the park.

Getting into the park during peak hours of the peak season requires a permit.  Fortunately, I was able to secure a permit good for three days, so we were able to drive into the park during the daily peak visiting hours and when going into the park for sunrise or sunset photos, I entered before or after peak hours, so I did not have to wait in line or stop at the entrance station.

Our lodging was not far from Tunnel View, which I had been informed was one of the best locations for photography, so I chose that site as my first sunset shoot.  Even though we had driven around main portions of the park, after checking into our lodging,  I had not scouted Tunnel View.  So I really had no idea what to expect at that location.

As I was driving the route to Tunnel View, I noted that the big rock features along my route were getting some really good late day light, which made me think this would be a good photography outing and I was noting other possible locations for shooting at sunset.

There are two parking areas at Tunnel View, where there were many people, but I had no problem finding a place to park at this late hour of the day.  After looking around, it appeared the best place from which to shoot was atop the stone wall bordering the parking lot in which I had chosen to pull into.

Tunnel View, Yosemite NP

I made a number of iPhone images well before sunset and converted these to monochrome, since the color images were not all that interesting.  The big feature on the left is El Capitan and in the distance, left of center, is Half Dome.

Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, iPhone Monochrome
Tunnel View, Yosemite NP

When golden hour arrived, it was obvious that due to the tall rocks behind me, most of the big rock features of Tunnel View would be in shade.

Tunnel View 2

I cropped in more closely for Tunnel View 2, trying to emphasize more of the golden hour light that only appeared on the very tops a few features here.

Tunnel View at Golden Hour

The image above is a focus stack of several images shot with a 24-70mm lens.

Sunset Clouds at Tunnel View 1

There were clouds in the sky, which got some sunset color, but even that was not spectacular and faded quickly.

Sunset Clouds at Tunnel View 2

I waited and watched the clouds as the sunset progressed, hopping for at least some last minute spectacular colors, but that never happened.

This is a wonderful natural scene, but I came away disappointed in my photography experience today.  Maybe I was not creative enough, or picked a poor place from which to shoot or maybe I was here at the wrong time, not in the best season, or I should have captured more images prior to golden hour.  Whatever…, I do not think I captured this scene very well today.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

California – Pismo Beach and Highway 1

When planning this road trip and picking a route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Jose, California, I drew upon memories from years ago, when I drove a short distance along the California coastline during a business trip to Southern California.  Looking at a map the place that I remembered driving through or near back then was Pismo Beach.  I don’t recall anything about Pismo Beach other than walking along a pleasant beach, which might not have even been near Pismo Beach, where I was the only one on the beach.

So I booked a room for a couple of nights in Pismo Beach, as our last stop over prior to our San Jose destination.  Pismo Beach is a busy tourist town with many lodging choices on or near the beach.  So there was no problem finding a place with an ocean view and from which one could be walking along the beach within a few minutes of leaving one’s lodging.

Incoming

On our first walk along the crowded beach, we walked beneath Pismo Pier and I made the image above with my iPhone.  This type image is typical of those that everyone makes below a pier.  I cropped closely to the pylons to remove people moving about near the pylons.

Staying in Pismo Beach was not very enjoyable.  It was crowded everywhere and noisy everywhere.

On our second day in the area, we drove north of Pismo Beach along highway 101 and highway 1. Highway 1 is a scenic drive near the coastline for a long distance, but we only traveled a small portion of this coastal highway.  Highway 1 was still closed north of Lucia due to damage, so we could not have gone much farther than we did.

Grounded

It was a foggy morning as we began our day, but the fog along the highway mostly dissipated quickly, but there was heavy fog offshore and in patches above the near shore hills.

Pacific Rocks

We stopped in the smallish town of Cambria, where a sign pointing to “Moonstone Beach” got my attention along Highway 1.  There was a walkway along the shoreline, where I walked a short distance and shot a few photos.

Wildflowers on Shoreline

I have seen wonderful photos of wildflowers along the California shoreline, but those here were thin and past their prime.

Rugged Coastline
Big Rocks, Big Birds and Pacific Fog
California Coast

We saw a couple of Elephant Seals along this beach, north of Cambria, but I did not have my big lens on my camera and the seals were just a bit too far away for my 24-70mm lens.  The heavy fog bank in the background completely obscures the landscape behind it.

California Coast 2

If I ever come back this way again, staying in Cambria, which has many lodging choices, will be a much better choice than Pismo Beach.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Sedona, Arizona – Part 4

On my final afternoon in Sedona in August, 2024, I decided to go back to Bell Rock and to take the trail up Bell Rock to shoot at sunset.

There were still tourist about, but not so many as during the middle of the day.  I’m guessing most tourist had been out during the middle of the day and were back in town for dinner at this late time of the day.

The Bell Rock trail is a wide, gently sloped, gravely path at the beginning and becomes more rocky and steep fairly quickly.  Yet, it is mostly easy, with a few big steps, with one notable exception.

I got to one point, where I was not sure where the official trail went.  There was a big rock in front of me with an obvious trail marker on top of the rock.  There were a couple of young, female hikers, sitting on a rock there, enjoying a late day meal.  I asked them about the trail and they indicated that it had to continue on top of the big rock, but they could see no safe way they could continue.  One either had to somehow climb the rock, which had a step like rock at its base or navigate a narrow crevice on the other side of the rock.  They said it was their first day in this area and they did not want to risk an injury and not be able to enjoy the rest of their stay here, so they stopped at this point.

I considered my options and decided I agreed with them about the risk of continuing on the officially marked route.  I looked around, considered and ruled out another option, before deciding I saw a possible route that I could access by backtracking a little.

That alternate route was still not as easy as it looked from a distance.  It involved climbing up onto two rock ledges.  I laid my tripod and camera up upon each of those ledges in turn and climbed up on my hands and knees (and those hard rocks hurt old knees).  After a little more navigation, I got back onto the official trail.  Now I had to hope that I could safely get back down.

 

Panorama at Bell Rock

I shot this panorama with my iPhone.  The rock features from right to left are: Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Lee Mountain and unidentified ones on the far left.

Bell Rock

Upon getting as high up on the Bell Rock slope as I could safely do, it was still well before sunset, yet most of Bell Rock was already in the shade of features to the west.  It was obvious that the light illuminating the very peak of Bell Rock was the best “Golden Hour Light” that I would get today.  So I made a couple of images and moved around on the rock ledge below this feature to photography the other local features.

Courthouse Butte
Lee Mountain – As seen from the slope of Bell Rock
Late Day View from Bell Rock
Lee Mountain (Left) and Courthouse Butte (Right)

This wraps up my photography in the area around Sedona, Arizona in August of 2024.

Thanks for following,

Ken

P.S.  Obviously, I made it back down safely, otherwise this post would not exist. I took the official trail down, sliding down that big rock on my rear end until my feet reached the step rock at its base.

 

 

Santa Fe Impressions – Part 2

This is a continuation of my attempt to capture some of the charm of Santa Fe, New Mexico, while avoiding the horde of tourists.

Window Reflection
Iron Man

I do not know the actual title of this work of art that is in the open plaza area behind the Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art.  I made this photograph from the street, shooting through an iron picket gate.  I simply called it “Iron Man” for convenience, but I expect it has an official name given by the artist.

Angst

I’m again using artistic license to label this photo “Angst”, as I’m imagining hands on head below a threatening sky, but I’m sure this was not the artist’s intention.

Light Center

This is the center of a red Hibiscus flower and the white center is actually yellow in the color version.

Light Center 2 – Red Hibiscus flower in Black and White.
Light Center 3 – Red, White, Pink Hibiscus flower in monochrome
Rose Petals
Shadow on Adobe Wall
Clouds over Santa Fe
The Church of Antioch, Santa Fe

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Santa Fe Impressions – Part 1

Santa Fe, New Mexico has a picturesque downtown area with its Southwestern Adobe architecture, but it is a busy, tourist filled city, which negates some of its charm.  Walking down almost any downtown street one is sure to be accosted numerous times by business hawkers trying to give “free” samples with a spiel designed to lure a passerby into their shops.

The crowds make it difficult to photograph the city.  I thought about getting out in the very early morning hours, even before daylight, to try to capture the city streets with no people in them, but I never did that.  I still think that would be a good way to capture the essence of the city’s architecture and charm without the distraction of the crowds.

In any case, I wanted to try to photograph Santa Fe in a way that showcased its charm without the people.  So one afternoon I went for a walk around the city and managed to capture a few images with my iPhone camera, while avoiding the crowds and mostly keeping people out of my images.  While I’m not opposed to street photography with people in the images, some folks don’t like to be photographed and I don’t want to be involved in any altercations with those objecting to being photographed.  So while I might photograph some street people and crowd scenes, I usually keep that to a minimum and exercise caution in posting such images.

Foliage Man

In the Plaza, where there were often crowds, especially when there was entertainment, I spotted this “camouflaged” man standing against a tree.  He would suddenly emerge to frighten those unobservant enough not to have noticed him, scaring little kids and adults.  I’m not sure this is a good idea as some older folks with heart conditions might suffer from such a shock.  Or some might even react negatively to being so startled.

Red, Not a Rose

There are plenty of flowers decorating the public areas and private businesses in Santa Fe, which adds much to the beauty of the downtown area.

Storm Clouds over Santa Fe 1

It was not uncommon for an afternoon thunderstorm to pop up in the general area, but only light rain fell in the downtown area during this visit.

Clouds over Tree Tops
Grass against an Adobe Wall
Clouds over Santa Fe 2
Adobe Wall
Clouds over Santa Fe 3
Grass and Shadow
Clouds over Santa Fe Museum of Fine Arts

To be continued,

Ken

 

Panum Volcano Cone, California

Near Mono Lake there is a volcanic cone called Panum.  Panum is not a dormant volcano.  This area is monitored by geologists for any signs of activity that might signal another eruption.

There is a 2.1 mile loop trail around the Panum crater. My son and I hike a portion of this trail.  Mono Lake and the Sierra Nevada are visible from portions of the trail.

Obsidian Sitter

Large chunks of obsidian are common along the hiking trail.

Obsidian
More Obsidian
Layered Obsidian and Pumice
Layers

In addition to the large chunks of obsidian there are common layered rocks of obsidian and pumice scattered around the area.

Relic – Monochrome of an old tree remnant.
A view of the Sierra Nevada from the crater trail

A portion of the trail is visible in the lower portion of this image.

Panum Crater Information

This information sign is posted at the trailhead.

This wraps up my March visit to California.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

Alabama Hills Scouting Photos Part 8

This is the final part of exploring Alabama Hills, California and capturing scouting photos with a phone camera.

Rocks Against the Sky

The rock on the right reminds me of a turtle stretching its neck out to bask in sunlight.

Mountain Storm
Forlorn
Rock Walker
Sky Pointers
Desert Wildflowers
Sky Pointers 2

Sky Pointers 2 is a view from behind Sky Pointers.

Sky Awe

The rock on the left seems especially in awe of the sky.

Sky Awe 2
Sierra Nevada Storm
Agape

I promise to move on to photos from other areas in upcoming posts,

Ken

Alabama Hills Scouting Photos Part 7

More iPhone scouting photos from Alabama Hills, California, March 2024.

Exploring the Pointy Rocks
Big Blue Sky and Big Rocks
Old Tree
Rocks and Clouds
Storm over Sierra Nevada
Gap View
Distant Storm 2
Nature’s Puzzle Pieces
Sky Watchers
Sky Watchers 2

Until next time,

Ken

Death Valley – Brief Visit and iPhone Photos

My son and I made a trip into Death Valley from Lone Pine, thinking we might return for more serious photography, but the distance and the timing difficulty steered us away from that idea.

Yet it was good to see Badwater Basin with the shallow lake created by the recent heavy rains.  It appears that this unusual event attracted others, too.  there were lots of people, more than I had seen there in previous visits, in the park.

Badwater Basin
Long Walk

The road to Devil’s Golf Course was closed, requiring a long walk to see that feature.

Death Valley Salt
Death Valley Salt 2
Brown and White

Shallow water covers the salt that appears brown and the salt protruding above the water is white.

Death Valley Salt 3

The salt is showing indications of forming geometrical patterns typical of this salt as it dries.  The heavy rains have destroyed or muted such patterns.

Salt Walker
Rugged Salt

We stopped a little short of the turn in the road, which goes by the traditional Devil’s Golf Course, but this rugged salt is what we would expect to see there.  The rains have muted some of the sharp features that I recall from previous visits.

The Long Walk Back
Beer and Pizza Time

Back in Lone Pine, we had Pizza and Beer for dinner.  This IPA seemed a fitting choice after our time in Death Valley.

Until next time,

Ken

 

March 2024 iPhone Photos – Part 6

More scouting photos in Alabama Hills, California, March 2024.

The Eye and the Cloud
Clear Eyed
The Eye’s View
The View at the Eye
Layers
Shark Fin Arch
Arch View
Pillsbury Doughboy

Ok, this vandalized arch is called “Surprise Arch” (I think), but it looks more like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

I’ll have more iPhone images in the next post, but from an area well outside of Alabama Hills, so stay tuned,

Ken