Trona Pinnacles

Don't fool around - go ahead and click the images to see the larger versions.

All of these were made using the high contrast black and white feature on my Sony Nex 5N.

Pretty cool, but I think the better practice will be to do the color to black and white conversion back at home.

Consolation Trip

When plans for a Presidents' Weekend trip fell through, I pursued a consolation trip. It's working out pretty well.  Nice skies over Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve.

 

More images on my Picasa page. If all goes well on Sunday, I'll add a few more shots.

SoCal Winter Day

Days like this are not exactly typical but they happen often enough that sometimes we Angelinos take them for granted. It's February 4 and there we were hanging out at the beach, poking around in tidepools, hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains and then supping on the patio of a beach cafe as the moon looked on. We'll pay for this later with dry, fire-prone hillsides and only a whisper of a Spring wildflower bloom, but today we rejoiced.

I went out with Susan to scout a potential location for a pre-dawn photo excursion. Our destination was the Castro Crest, but since we had tidepools relatively near by at the completely-accessible Leo Carillo State Beach and an early-afternoon minus-low-tide, we took a little diversion.
The tidepools held many sandy anemones (see my January 22 post about that), a few starfish, sea grass, urchins, and mussels. And still I had no polarizer. So, how about that clever "foot print" (at top) left by some sand celebrant!

When we turned our attention to Corral Canyon and the Castro Crest, I was glad we dawdled sea-side. The flat light at our arrival was much improved by the time we departed. While Susan was busy composing lovely images, I caught a casual panorama from the parking area.

Our last stop was Malibu Seafood where we had fish and fries while the sun settled behind Point Dume. It was a beautiful sunset but as you know, I'm a luna-tic. The moon was what caught my attention in her 89% full glory.

It was a super Saturday.

Stretching Our Legs on Mt Lowe

On the spur of the moment, Mary and I headed for Mt. Lowe (in the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena*) on sunny Saturday morning. This was a sort of warm-up as Mary will be leading her famous Seven SoCal Summits for the Angeles Chapter in the spring. It proved to be a great mid-winter stretch with a little bit of elevation for us flatlanders. The whole day was a reminder of how lucky we are to live in paradise.

With the unseasonable weather we've been enjoying, Mary thought we might see some early wildflowers. The manzanita and ceanothus were blooming but for wildflowers, we saw only one little red Indian Paintbrush. We'll have to keep looking I guess!

The San Gabriels are green and lush at the moment so you probably want to get out there and hike around. You'll be happy you did. The views are marvelous as the hillsides have been opened up by the Station Fire and the ground plants are waking up.Speaking of which...

Beware! Poodledog bush is everywhere since it was activated by the fire. It is not blooming yet so it looks like a shrub with long droopy leaves on tall stalks. It can be just the right height to brush your uncovered arm as you skirt by on a narrow slopping trail. I wish I had taken a picture because the ones I've seen on the web show the plant in bloom - which isn't due for weeks.

*The Angeles Chapter's Hundred Peaks Section describes the hike here.

Point Dume with Alison and Bill

 It is too late to be writing a post, I should be in bed already. But...

Point Dume - Alison confers with Norm

Angeles Chapter Camera Committee leader Alison deserves an acknowledgement. She took me to Point Dume years ago at the beginning of her tidepool tour. She lured me back this weekend and she leads a great trip.
She stared down the rain and got 10 people out there with her.

Same tidepools, new adverse conditions, better pictures, no complaints. I wish I'd brought a polarizer - not complaining, just saying...

Also, welcome back to Bill, who has been sidelined for so many months now. He returned this weekend to assist on the tidepools outing as usual. He's coping.
We're glad to have you back, Bill.

Ed and Bill work the angles on the starfish

It's a wrap

Working up my vacation photos and daily blog posts has been a great way to kick-off 2012 but, with this post, I'm closing the Grand Canyon series. I'll probably add more shots to my Picasa gallery, so if you are really a Grand Canyon fanatic, check it out occassionally.

If you are curious about my travel companion, Vaughn, check out this experimental video of park portraits that I compiled.

Thanks for visiting.



Watching over the Canyon

Yesteryear, today and tomorrow people have gathered and will gather on the edge of the Grand Canyon. It's a big, colorful hole in the ground with a river at the bottom. It tells geological stories, it's the "stuff of legends" and it figures prominently in so many human stories.*

It's a great place to launch a new year.

Mary Colter designed the Watchtower to have an ancient feeling. Locally sourced stones were selected and positioned in homage to the ancient builders of the region. The round frame from the Elph-monocular combination gives this image a vintage look - sort of in keeping with Ms. Coulter's concept, I think. This view is from Lipan Point.

In this utterly contemporary shot, a cluster of eager souls awaits first light on the first morning of 2012 at Yaki Point. Vaughn is second from the left, in a yellow parka looking through his camera mounted on a tripod. On my computer, you can see the parka and the tripod and if you click the image to enlarge it, I'm sure you will see them, too, on the blog and Picasa.

That is what morning looks like at accessible viewpoints. Great camaraderie, but BYO coffee and carry the cup out with you, please.

*Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon is the huge bestseller in park gift shops, on display everywhere.