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Photo of the Month–July

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

This month’s photo comes from Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, in southwestern Utah.  We visited the dunes in January; unlike other dunes I’ve visited, the sand here is full of iron oxides, giving it a brilliant red-pink color.  At sunset, the color gets even more brilliant.  The state park is an excellent place for camping and recreation, but the beauty of visiting in January is that you have the place to yourself.  Despite the brilliance of the entire dunes, I created this intimate landscape as the sun was going down, and its been one of my favorite photos of 2010 so far.

coral pink sand dunes state park, utah

Coral Pink Sand Dunes, January 2010

Hope you enjoy the photo!  To see all my shots from Coral Pink Sand Dunes, click here.

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Photo of the Month-June

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

June’s photo of the month comes from one of my favorite summer places–Mono Lake.  Located at the base of the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, Mono Lake is one of the few remnants of Ice Age lakes in the West that is still a year-round lake. The lake has persisted for more than 730,000 years, but faces an uncertain future from both natural and man-made causes. The lake is very alkaline and since 1941, has become moreso, due to the diversion of freshwater springs into the Los Angeles aqueduct. By 1982, the lake’s level had dropped 45 feet, exposing something that makes Mono unique: curious brown structures called tufa towers. Tufa towers are deposits of calcium carbonate (due to calcium present in underwater freshwater springs, and carbonate in the lake water).

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited the eastern Sierra on a family camping trip, and I was able to sneak out to make this image Sunday night.  I haven’t done many star field shots, but this one really captures the essence of the lake for me.  A few months ago, I blogged on just how popular the lake has become with photographers.  True to form, when I arrived to set up this shot on Sunday night, there were at least 40 photographers present at South Tufa, and I got some funny looks as I started setting up while everyone else was leaving.  Soon, I had the entire place to myself, and I could contemplate the cosmos while darkness overtook the landscape.

This is one of my favorite images from the night.

Mono Lake California under a starry night time sky

The Ghost Ship, Mono Lake, May 2010

Click here to see more of my Mono Lake photos.

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Photo of the Month–May

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Spring is in full swing in southern California; on our walk tonight, I enjoyed the Brittlebush in full bloom, and noticed several migrant and summer-resident bird species who have arrived in large numbers: black-chinned sparrows, wrentits, indigo buntings, tanagers, etc.  With all of these changes happening, its almost impossible for me not to have “senioritis” of sorts.  By this point in the school year, seniors in high school and college have already mentally checked out, looking forward to their upcoming freedom, thus suffering from senioritis.  In the same way, I’m looking forward to long hikes in the mountains, lazy summer evenings at Mono Lake, and early mornings in the sagebrush of the eastern Sierra.

One of those summer evenings is the inspiration behind May’s photo of the month.  Last summer, on an early August trip to Yosemite and Mono Lake, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at The Mobil Mart (Whoa Nellie Deli) in Lee Vining, then headed up to Yosemite to follow the sunset out of the park.  I started at Olmsted Point, worked my way east to Tuolumne Meadows, and finally photographed the last light of the day on Mt. Gibbs, the second highest peak in the park (12773′), with the Tuolumne River as a foreground.

This is a 3-image HDR shot I processed in Photomatix.  The river and forest were already in the shade, with the beautiful pink glow left on the peak.  I wanted to preserve as much detail as possible, so I chose to process this as a high dynamic range image.

Mt. Gibbs and Tuolumne River

Mt. Gibbs and Tuolumne River, August 2009

Here’s to your senioritis.  What are you looking forward to this summer?  What great summer memories do you have?

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Photo of the Month–April

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

A few posts ago, I threatened to share more of my agave images from my winter project.  Here it is half a month later and I haven’t had a chance to post more (I gotta shake this day job!), so I decided to share another agave, Agave attenuata, for my April photo of the month.

Black and white image of an agave

Agave attenuata, January 2010

This image was processed similarly to the ones I shared previously.  In this one, I like the way the edges of the leaves are almost highlighted from the backlit conditions; a small amount of fill flash with a diffuser filled in the shadows.

Hope you’re enjoying spring!

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Photo of the Month–March

Monday, March 1st, 2010

March’s Photo of the Month comes from Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix, Arizona.  I visited the park in January while my wife was helping her sister plan for the upcoming arrival of our niece.  In addition to the proximity to the greater Phoenix area and huge selection of hiking trails, the main draw of Lost Dutchman has got to be the rugged and beautiful Superstition Mountains rising out of the desert floor abruptly and confidently.

This month’s photograph shows the western flank of the Superstitions bathed in warm late afternoon light.  I chose to use this cholla skeleton as a FG element because it seemed to be pointing me to a fantastic composition!

Superstition Mountains in Lost Dutchman State Park

Western Flank of the Superstitions, January 2010

If you clicked on the link to Lost Dutchman State Park above, you couldn’t miss the red box informing us that the park will be closing indefinitely on June 3, 2010.  Apparently, that part of Arizona’s budget has lost a significant amount of money during restructuring, causing the closure.  I think the restriction of access to any open space is a great loss to us as a community.  It prevents us from enjoying our parks, but more importantly it robs us of a chance to connect with the land, and wild places.  I hope the Arizona government finds a way to keep their state parks open, or at the very least, to reopen them as soon as possible.

You can see all of my photos from the Superstition Mountains here.

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Photo of the Month-February

Monday, February 1st, 2010

I really cannot believe that January–1/12 of 2010–is already behind us.  It seems like just yesterday we were all sharing our favorite images of 2009, and we’ve already created so many fantastic images this year.

Here in southern California, the weather is already starting to feel spring-like.  Around my house, the hillsides are turning the vibrant green that will be with us until April.  There’s talk of a decent wildflower season after our epic rainfall totals during the last couple of weeks.  While our spring will have moved into summer by the time the rest of the nation begins theirs, I’m looking forward to all of those spring time photo outings–the ones where you (should) take just a few moments to bask in the warm sunlight, or in a grass-filled meadow.  I’m also looking forward to hopefully fitting in our annual trip to Death Valley National Park this year.

If you haven’t been, Death Valley is a pleasantly deceiving national park.  The idea of “DEATH Valley” brings to mind a barren landscape that’s, to put it bluntly, boring.  Anyone who’s been there will tell you the opposite.  Its an amazing park, encompassing many ecosystems, and several natural wonders.  What amazes me is how much diversity is present in a relatively small space.

One of my favorite places in Death Valley is the Racetrack Playa, where the famed “racing rocks” are found.  The playa itself is a very flat surface; its altitude varies only a few centimeters across its 1-mile length!  When the playa is wet (as it probably is now), it makes a very slick surface, and high winds push the “racing rocks” along, leaving tracks that remain after the mud has dried.  Many of the rocks are quite large, and I’m happy I haven’t been on the playa during the winds that are capable of pushing rocks that heavy–I would guess there would have to be gusts in excess of 80 or 90 mph!

This month’s photo is a star trail shot I took in April 2009 on the Racetrack.  It is a composite of about 25 2.5-minute shots, stacked using Photoshop.  I wanted to include the north star–Polaris–in my shot, so I had to look for a rock that had a northerly trajectory–apparently there aren’t many!

racetrack star trails

Star trails on the Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, April 2009

G. Dan Mitchell, an excellent San Francisco Bay Area photographer, has recently been writing a couple of very informative and comprehensive guides to visiting Death Valley.  You can see them here and here.  Mac Danzig, who has an amazing Death Valley portfolio, also has taken the time to write an excellent guide to Death Valley here.

You can see all of my Death Valley photographs here.

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Image of the Month–January

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

Happy New Year!  As 2010 begins, I’m already late with my Image of the Month post.  We made a last minute trip to Yosemite National Park and I simply didn’t have time to post while we were gone.  I do hope your new year is off to a great start, though.

2009 was a great year.  Photographically, I had the opportunity to make images in several fantastic locations.  I learned more about image processing and through my interactions with other photographers, I feel like I grew leaps and bounds this year.  My wife and I watched our son grow and change in ways I can’t imagine.  Every day he amazes me.  With such a great year in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to display my final photograph of 2009 as January’s image.

This–of course–is El Capitan, with the Merced River in the foreground.  On warm winter days, fog rises from the river as the sun sets.  Combine this with the last rays of daylight on El Cap, and you’ve got a fantastic sight to see.  I hope you enjoy it!

Gates of the Valley, December 2009

Gates of the Valley, December 2009

Over the next few days, I’ll get my Yosemite page updated with all the new images from my trip, as well as sharing many of them here.

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Photo of the Month–December

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

This month, I chose a seasonally festive, but different photo to display on my website.  My “day job” is as a biology professor at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA.  We have a fantastic horticulture faculty and staff, and they host a yearly poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) sale.  Last week, I was able to sneak into the greenhouses before the sale begins to photograph the plants.  They are very delicate, so I had to be careful not to touch the poinsettias, but I was able to find some really fun angles.

The red and white plants appeal to me the most, but they come in a variety of colors.  If you’re in the area, you should make sure to stop by and pick up a plant or three for your holiday festivities.  More about the plant sale can be found here.    I’ll have a page up to display more poinsettia photos soon.

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), November 2009

Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), November 2009

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Photo of the Month-November

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

I have Halloween to thank for this month’s photo.  Last night, we took our son over to my graduate advisor’s house to trick-or-treat.  Since I’ve been out of school, I don’t see her that often, and had forgotten that I had printed a couple of my early photos for her years ago.  They were taken when I still shot film, and quite frankly, I had forgotten about them.  

One in particular–and this month’s photo of the month–stands out in my memories.  It was taken on my first trip to the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, California.  It was early October, and the first snow of the year had just fallen in the Sierra; not only did I have fresh snowfall, but also I had clouds–something I’ve learned to appreciate in the Sierra (they don’t come along often).  So, although its not technically perfect, this image stands out in my mind, and I’m very happy to have rediscovered it.  

Alabama Hills & Lone Pine Peak, October 2005 (I think)


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Photo of the Month-October

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Mesa Arch is probably one of the most-photographed landmarks in Canyonlands National Park, but after watching Ken Burns’ new documentary “Our National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, I couldn’t help but post this shot–somewhat cliché, but one of my favorites.

Mesa Arch at sunrise, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, December 2008

Located in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands, Mesa Arch is lit brilliantly at sunrise as light reflects off the walls of Buck Canyon below.  The brilliant light only lasts a few moments, and I was very happy to be able to capture the sunburst as the sun crested the horizon to the west.  Although I’d hoped to experience the arch by myself, I was joined by about 7 other photographers, all gathered in an arc around the arch, but hopefully everyone got shots they were happy with.  To claim my spot, I stood in the dark for ~1.5 hours in 0 degree F temperatures.

Although I lived in Wyoming, I’m a now a fully acclimated southern Californian making that was a very cold morning, but very worth it.  My wife and son were also able to come along…at the time Owen was only 11 months old:

100_5796Stephanie and Owen Russell, December 2008 (self portrait by Stephanie Russell)

Enjoy and have a great October!

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