Shot at 11:00pm 4/17/11 US 66 near Chambless , CA
May 21, 2012
May 06, 2012
The Norco Outriders
Trail boss Mike Williams, far left, leads the Norco Outriders up Trabuco Canyon Friday morning.
I had the pleasure of meeting a number of the almost four dozen riders on a trip organized by the Norco Outriders. I was asked by the US Forest Service to photograph them as continued their four day trip from San Juan Capistrano back to Norco. Later that morning there was an incident on the trail causing four of the horses to fall into a ravine, and sadly one of the horses died. Two were rescued by helicopter and one was led back safely onto the trail. Fortunately, none of the riders was seriously injured.
After talking to a number of the riders Thursday evening, I can tell you these guys were well prepared and seasoned cowboys who take their horsemanship seriously. Nonetheless, sometimes things just don't go as planned. But that's the nature of the beast for those of us who love the outdoors. Risk comes with the territory, and is a necessary component of living life with zest. The chaparral is a rugged and unforgiving land, and I suspect the Norco Outriders wouldn't have it any other way.
April 15, 2012
Leadville, Colorado
If you enjoy photography and old west history, you'll want to spend some time in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville was a boomtown during the late 19th century with the silver strikes of 1877 and 1878. The glory years ended by the end of the century although the town was occasionally boosted by mining operations of lesser metals including zinc and lead, and Leadville was little more than a hardscrabble town by the second half of the 20th century.
In any case, there is still a goldmine of photographic opportunities in the town. I wandered around town for a couple of hours in 2010 and then again in 2011 and just shot whatever caught my eye.
Blakely Smale Dry Goods Company
Delaware Block
Boarded building
The Tabor Opera House is the most famous building in town. Built by Horace Tabor in 1879, performers included Oscar Wilde, John Philip Sousa and Harry Houdini. Tabor became wealthy not by discovering silver, but by grub staking. David May started the May Company department store in Leadville in the late 1870s. The legendary Unsinkable Molly Brown who survived the sinking of the Titanic was another famous Leadville resident.
This photo is from one of central Colorado's other historic boomtowns: Central City.
March 25, 2012
Quick trip to San Francisco
My son Scott & I headed up to Carmel and San Francisco during his spring break last week. There are a few of nice photongalleries in Carmel including Photography West and Weston Gallery that sell original prints by the 20th century master photographers, many of whom lived in Carmel during their photographic career including Edward Weston, Brett Weston and Ansel Adams. At about $35,000 for an entry level Adams print, we left without buying anything. We did manage to make a few of our own photos that we would be willing to part with for 1/1000th of the price of an Adams print.
If you drive from LA to SF, I recommend taking a quasi-inland route instead of driving straight up I-5 if you have time. We drove I-5 through the grapevine and then headed west and drove through the Carizzo Plain national monument. Although know for its Spring wildflowers, there were virtually none last week. It's a drive worth taking anyway. We connected with Highway 101 at Paso Robles to Camel, and then headed up the 101 and Hwy 1 north of Santa Cruz.
After spending a night in Carmel, we spent a couple of hours in Point Lobos state park. It's a park that is challenging photographically, so I'll definitely have to return when I have more time. The photo above is from a rural graveyard near the "town" of Pescadero south of Half Moon Bay. Below are a few from San Francisco and the drive back home.
March 05, 2012
March 04, 2012
Revisiting the Santa Rosa Plateau
If you are looking for a good aerobic workout, there are plenty of trails in the Santa Ana Mountains that will accommodate you. With Santiago Peak reaching an elevation of 5,687 feet, the climb will raise the heart rate of the most fit hikers. If you are looking for a leisurely hike, head out to the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County in the hills southwest of Interstate 15 roughly between Lake Elsinore and Temecula. There are several loop hikes ranging from a couple of miles to over 10 miles which have an elevation gain of no more than a few hundred feet.More info is available here.
Just ran out of time, but I'll have more on the SRP shortly.
February 12, 2012
Moonrise at Font's Point
My son Scott & I headed to Anza Borrego early last month to do some 4-wheeling and target shooting. We also managed to make it to Font's Point which overlooks the Badlands area of the state park to watch the moonrise.
This is a popular moonrise/sunset spot and there were several groups of folks doing the same thing. Seems like a popular spot to enjoy wine and chips and watch the colors change as shadow engulfs the badlands. Not a place you want to consume too much though; Font's Point has sheer dropoffs to the terrain several hundred feet below.
January 26, 2012
The Pelicans
Photo by Carl Garrard
Carl got the best shot of the day last Sunday in my opinion. I hope he doesn't mind me posting the photo.
- A wonderful bird is the pelican,
- His bill will hold more than his belican,
- He can take in his beak
- Enough food for a week
- But I'm damned if I can see how the helican!
- Dixon Lanier Merritt
January 24, 2012
Going retro in Newport
Photographer buddy Carl Garrard and I headed out to the Balboa Peninsula Sunday morning to shoot some photos. Our mission was to use a couple of old cameras we picked up on ebay for about $25. In my case, I bought a 4MP Canon S45 which was a state-of-the-art point & shoot from about 10 years ago.
Sine it was early morning, I shot mostly at iso 400, the maximum for that camera.
While Carl stayed true to the mission and used only the two old cameras he brought with him, I cheated and got the shots below with my 5DmkII (below).
January 17, 2012
More from the Ramakrishna Monastery
I posted a few photos of the Ramakrishna Monestary in an earlier post. Here's a few more photos from a couple of subsequent visits.
