Trabuco Outdoors Blog

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.

 

 

 

Once in a blue moon...we get a red moon

Here's a shot of the lunar eclipse from Crystal Cove early yesterday morning. This shot was taken at 6:08am, 36 minutes before sunrise. Normally, taking a photo of the full moon in a single exposure one-half hour before sunrise would be impossible unless you were willing to give up detail in the moon. The difference in brightness between the moon and the landscape is just too great and exceeds the dynamic range of the camera's sensor (the range of light it can capture in one exposure). I was able to get just two shots of the moon before the light from the sunrise overpowered the moon's diminishing moonlight from the full eclipse.

Of course I had to hang around Crystal Cove and get a few shots of the beach and the old cottages before I left.

 

 

 

And one from Laguna Beach on the way back home.

 

4th of July at RSM lake

The days of just walking up to RSM the lake and throwing down a blanket anywhere you want at 8:45PM on the 4th to watch the fireworks is long gone. In its place is much more interesting people-watching.

From a photography standpoint, low-light people photography is challenging. Even with a large aperture and high ISO (in this case I used a 50mm f/1.8 lens at a 1600 ISO) the shutter speed is still low and any movement will produce a blurred subject. Instead of fighting it or using flash, I just decided to go with the flow and see what happens.

 

Wildflowers in the chaparral

New dad Carl Garrard and I did a quick hike in O'Neill Park early Saturday morning. He may be used to being sleep-deprived, but I'm not. Anyway, it's clear that it is peak season for wildflowers in out area. Above is a photo of a chocolate lily I took a while back. These seem to blend in with the surrounding brush and are easy to miss but an attentive eye will find them in the grassy areas of the chaparral.

New Blog

This is the first new post to TrabucoBlog.com. The previous posts are from the Odds & Ends section of my web site TrabucoOutdoors.com. Blogging is a new concept to me, so I welcome suggestions and, of course, comments.