Below us, lights from the small towns of the West are starting to come on.  I wonder what’s happening in those towns on this Friday night; people are relaxing at the bar after a long week of work, teenagers are cruising Main Street looking for something to do.  Despite that, its the empty spots, the growing blackness, that capture my imagination.  I’ve been a passenger on this route enough times to know what’s below me: the foothills of the western slope of the Rockies, the Green and Colorado Rivers, the white rim of Canyonlands, the Grand Canyon, the Mojave Desert.

Its quite possible there’s not a whole lot of unexplored areas left in the West, but part of me wants to hang on to the notion that there is still some “out there” left out there.  David Roberts recently had a thought-provoking op-ed piece in the New York Times arguing that with 21st Century technology, there’s not a whole lot of wilderness left.  That hopeful naïveté I cling to wants to disagree with him–that possibly there is still an unexplored canyon, or at least a hill which offers a great view of this everlasting sunset–that has yet to be enjoyed.

Aldo Leopold wrote,

“To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.”

Tonight, sitting on this jet with a bird’s eye view of the West, I have to wonder where my imagination would wander if there were no blank spots on the map.   As a photographer, I have been thinking a lot lately about documenting these wild lands–what is my responsibility as an artist, my obligation to protect these lands?  If those peaks and mesas are leveled, if lights begin to dot the landscape, these places will change forever.

Where does your imagination wander?  None of us would argue over the value of those blank spots on the map, but what do you think–is there a fine line between artist and activist, or are they one and the same?

End of the Day, July 2010

In Memoriam, May 2011

Its always somber to see road killed reptiles, but this was just the beginning.  Not five minutes later, we pulled a very badly injured (fatally, I’m sure) coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) off the road, and over the course of the evening, we found a gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), and a red diamond rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) that had been killed earlier in the day.  It was carnage–easy to see why–with cars whizzing by us at 50-60 mph (25-35 mph over the posted speed limit).

Accidents happen, especially with fast-moving snakes like gopher snakes or coachwhips–they can jump out in front of a driver, with no hope of being avoided.  But, as my friend pointed out, there is no excuse for killing a rattlesnake in a park where the speed limit is 25 or 35 miles per hour.  They’re visible animals, and when following the speed limit, they can be avoided, largely because they are slow-moving.

April and May is peak camping season in Joshua Tree–the campgrounds are full, and people are everywhere.  Right now, that time of day is suicide for a basking snake.

To make it worse, the red diamond rattlesnake we found later in the evening was missing its rattle.  I hate to think about someone hitting the animal purposely to take the rattle (although I know of people who have done just that)–its a despicable act.  Even if a later driver stopped to take it, I wouldn’t want to be that person if a park ranger came down the road!

I know I sound like a real square with this post, urging people to stick to the posted speed limit, but after what we witnessed this weekend in Joshua Tree, its obvious that slowing down could really help to save some beautiful wildlife from needless deaths.

Pied-billed Grebe, April 2010

Ecologically, Bolsa Chica is very important.  It provides a rich feeding ground for several migratory species of passerines and water birds.  It also has several unvegetated islands that provide a safe breeding ground for the endangered California Least Tern.  In a nearby eucalyptus grove you can find nesting Great Blue Herons, and multiple species of raptors are also common, including Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels, and Peregrine Falcons.  You can also find the uncommon Belding’s Savannah Sparrow here.

Common Tern, April 2010

As the seasons pass, you have the opportunity to shoot many species here.  Right now, several species of tern (Least, Common, Elegant, Forster’s, etc…) are beginning to get active near the bridge and with some luck you can get some good flight shots of these species (I quickly learned this is much easier said than done…see some results here and here).  In winter, you can photograph Brown Pelicans in breeding plumage.  Shorebirds like sandpipers and larger birds like egrets are present all year.

Common Egret, April 2010

In addition to birds, there is the opportunity to photograph wildflowers, sunrises/sunsets and various other fauna (rabbits, southern Pacific rattlesnakes) at the wetlands.  With this in mind, if you’re in the area, its worth your while to stop and spend a few hours at Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Sunrise over Bolsa Chica Wetlands, December 2009

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!

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.

I enjoy the zoo because I can use the time to make intimate images of the charismatic megafauna we readily identify with.   Take this elephant–Timba–for example.  She’s an African elephant at the San Diego Zoo:

African elephant, 2009

As much as I like this image, there’s so much there to explore.  For instance, look at her very emotive eye.  With a long lens, and a little luck of her walking towards you, you can really bring out the emotion there:

African elephant, 2007

All of a sudden, the emotion and personability in the eye is front and center in your frame!  You can even achieve a humorous result.  If the animal starts walking away from you, you can send a message with this image:

African elephant, 2009

Many of the animals at the zoo have great patterns you can capitalize on.  For instance, think about abstract shots with giraffe spots (or leopard spots), or zebra stripes.  All of these things are eye-catching and people readily identify with these animals.  

No ‘butts’ about it, the zoo is a great place to photograph animals.  Play around with your composition and exposure.  You never know what you’re going to find.  

This is also useful, because zoos are usually crowded (go during the week if you can–darned day jobs!), and let’s face it: they aren’t open during the best hours.  The light usually isn’t the best (overcast days are best), and many animals like to sleep during the middle of the day.  I’ve found that by getting intimate with the animals it got me past the disappointment of not getting those safari-style shots!

The third, and final, image I have in the Plateau’s annual art show this year is of the vernal pools:

Vernal Pools, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, 2009

Fairy shrimp, frogs, toads, snakes, and migrating waterfowl are just a small group of animals that call the pools home, but also rely on them to breed.

The show begins tonight, and runs through September 20.

Chocolate lilies, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, 2009

This is an uncommon lily, and the Santa Rosa Plateau is just about the southern tip of its range.  Each spring, people start hiking the plateau in hopes of finding blooming lilies.  Because of its dark appearance, it has earned the nickname “Cleopatra of the Fritillaries”.

I really like this shot, not only because of the composition and lighting (I love the soft backlighting and highlighting on the edges of the blooms), but also because we found these lilies after a hot day of hiking, and it felt good to sit in the shade of an oak tree, enjoying the day. 

• Last night the Riverside Arts Walk was a huge success.  It was great to see so many members of the community out enjoying a beautiful summer evening of art, music and culture.  Thank you all who stopped by to look at my photographs!

Studio 39 before the masses descended.

• I’m published!  Well, sort of.  Patagonia’s blog, The Cleanest Line, invited guest submissions on their theme “Backyard Adventures.”  You can read my submission here.  Very exciting, and a pretty cute kid to boot (he gets all those genes from his Mom).
• At his blog, Guy Tal has a fantastic commentary on other photographer’s work.  He argues that instead of feeling threatened when other photographers produce beautiful work, perhaps we should be thankful for the inspiration.  I know, for my part, I feel very grateful for the beautiful photographs I see every day, and their work inspires me to produce better art work.  Visit my links page to see some of my inspiration.
• Jay Goodrich was a guest columnist at Darwin Wiggett’s blog, with a great commentary on the use of Photoshop in photography.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Tonight, I’m participating in my first Riverside Arts Walk in downtown Riverside, and will be showing 13 photos.  Tomorrow, I’ll try to post an update with photos.  If you’re in Riverside tonight, I’d love to have you come by; my photos will be in the Life Arts Center, studio 39 (map).

The other show I’m participating in is at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, near Temecula, California.  The show is one of their annual fundraisers, and this year’s theme is “A Quarter Century of Conservation and Inspiration,” to celebrate their 25th anniversary.  The Plateau is one of our favorite places to hike, because it provides a quick escape on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, and it is very unique ecologically.  Fifty-nine “sensitive” species call the Plateau home, and it house one of the best preserved bunchgrass prairie ecosystems in California.  

I have three photos in this year’s show.  The first one I want to share with you are California’s state flower: the California poppy.

California poppies, Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, 2009

The show runs from this Saturday, August 8 through September 20.  

I was very happy to have an image appear on this lab manual, but I’m also very happy with Nikki’s choice of photos.  I’ve been living in southern California for almost 7 years and the Brown Pelican has been one of my favorite birds since I moved out here.  To watch them fly is to watch pure grace.  The way they skim the water, just inches from its glassy surface is–to me–poetry.  As a photographer, I’ve spent many mornings standing on the bridge at Bolsa Chica Wetlands with Pelicans fishing all around me.  Its sometimes very satisfying to put my camera down, enjoying the moment.  The Pelican you see on the cover of the lab manual was photographed at La Jolla Caves in La Jolla, CA–a location well-known to bird photographers.

We’re lucky to see these magnificent birds at all.  In the early 1970s, pesticides like DDT severely threatened the future of these birds.  Fortunately, conservation measures were able to bring them back from the brink of disaster.