Happy Independence Day!
This composite featuring Death Valley is something I’ve wanted to try ever since I saw something similar a few years ago. Fun, don’t you think?! Happy 4th!
Posts from the ‘Travel’ Category
Jul 4
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Jul 3
Goblin Valley
During one of our Utah road trips, we took an unscheduled detour to check out Goblin Valley. It was out of the way and we would only have a little over an hour to check it out but we had never been and might never be in this area again so we went. It was totally worth the extra driving! It was incredible and unlike anywhere we’d ever been. Now we can’t wait to go back to explore. Our first impression? “Scrubbing Bubbles” 🙂
Jul 2
Sand Sculpting
Of the few 4th of July celebrations I’ve been to, the most memorable was in 2004. It was in Cayucos, CA, a quintessential small beach town. Besides the spectacular fireworks display over the water on the 4th, another highlight was a Sand Sculpting contest the day before. The sculptures were jaw dropping! Here is one example.
Jul 1
Ryan Ranch
There is a lot of very interesting history associated with Joshua Tree National Park like Ryan’s Ranch, for instance. Unfortunately vandals either took or destroyed most of the buildings and other things associated with ranching and mining there. (infrared hand painted to give a moonlight effect) (Click Here for info on Camping)
Jun 30
Leona’s
If you’ve photographed El Santuario, you’ve probably also visited Leona’s Restaurante since it is located right next door to the mission. Leona is known for her tamales which she ships nationwide. I’m pretty shy about people photography but her restaurant was so colorful I didn’t hesitate to ask her for a photograph. In return, she received a large print. (2004)
Jun 28
Fairytale
A mirrored image from Los Osos Oaks Reserve gives a good sense of what this place is like. Through most of the park, you’re walking under a canopy of Oak branches. It’s a bit spooky at times but so much fun for a photographer that you can’t resist moving on.
Jun 27
Oaks
An infrared image from Los Osos Oaks Reserve in California. It was captured in 2004 at a workshop with a borrowed Canon 15mm lens. Because of the crop factor of the D60, there was almost no distortion. I ordered the lens right then and there 🙂
Jun 24
Rochester Creek Panel
The Rochester Panel is the most exciting panel I’ve visited. It is more remote than most sites but if you love rock art, it is well worth the trip. It’s said to be a combination of Barrier Canyon, Freemont and Ute styles. Besides the many really interesting figures (some very alien-like), there is also a rainbow about 4 feet tall. The very light colored area half way up is a result of people trying to remove the Petroglyphs 🙁
Photographing this panel straight on is tough because you can only get about 3 feet away from it. My camera and lens at the time (2003) was the Canon 10D and Canon 24-70mm lens. The 24-70 is a very sharp lens but I knew the only way to get the kind of resolution I wanted was to take the photo in sections so I shot two rows of 7 images (handheld) and then used the panorama tool in Photoshop to put them together. I regret not including the sky at top and more of the sides but I’ll go back one of these days.
