Yosemite and More

I recently went to the Marysville California area to take a Tundra Swan tour offered by the California State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The tour  started at the Mathews Rice Dryer parking lot.  I'm currently working on several projects so the Swan Tour will have to  wait a bit. It was indeed worth the drive. I took my old Canon 50D with me. I hadn't used it in quite a while and wasn't sure how reliable it would be since it met a Pacific Ocean wave. Turns  out it worked just fine. I put a telephoto on my 70D and a 24-105mm on the 50D just in case I found something up close that I didn't need the telephoto for. Well I did. While waiting for everyone to show up I noticed the wonderful lines of the silos. I'm sure some of the people coming for the Swans must have thought this guy taking pictures of silos was in the wrong group. Anyway here are some of those photos. Here's the first view that got my attention. Then I went to the far side. One of the more intere...

Last week they predicted snow in Yosemite Valley and that it would end about 10am with variable cloudiness after that. The first snow of the season was just too tempting and I headed up, getting there about 10am. On the way up I stopped along the Merced River several times. While overcast there wasn't any rain and I wondered what would happen in Yosemite. As you can see the colors along the river were pretty good. As I got to the park it wasn't snowing, but a good layer of snow had already fallen. This is one of the first indications that it was going to be a very good day to photograph.  Yes, it was going to be a very good day. Then it started to snow a little, you might be able to see some snow blur on the lower portion of the photograph. Then it started a little harder. I was worried because I'd left the rain cover for my camera at home and I'm a little paranoid about wet cameras. While taking this one a young lady near me remarked how special it was to visit Yosemit...

 A couple of fellow photographers invited me to an early morning  photoshoot of something I'd never noticed before. Spider webs covering large areas of pasture grass. This pre-sunrise photograph is just an inkling of what was to come When sunrise came it was a pretty good one. This is a little darker than  actuality but I liked the effect. Then the magic started and I understood what they were talking about. You have to admit this is pretty cool.  I changed this to Black and White to emphasis the webs themselves. Unfortunately by doing so you miss the wonderful morning colors. Sorry. Looking behind the last shot I caught the moon next to a very well webbed stalk. Once again a little darker than reality Not much later I spotted this jet crossing the sky. I kept both eyes open, one through the lens following the jet, the other waiting for some birds to cross paths with it. This one is not Photo Shopped except for a couple of wayward geese I removed at the  the upp...

 As you probably know California has had a lot of trouble with wildfires. I went to Yosemite when it was pretty well smoked in as I show in the first photo.  This necessitated that most of my photography would be more closeup than landscape. While I was walking along the trail above I walked right past  these fungi because I was too busy looking up. Coming back I spent a little more time looking down. As I was getting ready to make one last trip around the valley the sun was setting. The smoke is always more intense the lower the sun. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave

I grew up in Northern California, no not Sacramento or San Francisco, those are in Central California. Anyone from where I grew up would tell you Northern California starts a little below Red Bluff. Anyway.....I took a trip up to see my brother who lives in Mt. Shasta. While on the way up, back and there I had a little time to photograph. It has been many years since I drove out Highway 299 to the Big Valley area. Along the way I spotted this horse and cows in a field, stopped and just enjoyed the peacefulness in these uneasy times. How peaceful? Well I was able to literally stop in the middle of the road to take the photograph above and the one following. The next one is heavily cropped. The Ruffed Legged Hawk was quite a ways away, but I caught it hovering in the wind before it lunged and got some critter. On one of the side roads I came across this beautiful little church. Now known as the Glenburn Community Church is was originally the Burgettville Church and built in 1885. As I me...

 The Eastern Sierra is always a good place for Fall Colors.  This trip took me over Tioga Pass and down to the Bishop area. This is well south of Sonora Pass, my last post. My intent was to go almost directly to the Bishop area but as I came off of Tioga Pass I saw some wonderful color and decided to spend a little time along Lee Vining Creek. Before I hit Tioga Pass I came across a very still Tenya Lake reflecting Medicott Dome. The air here contrasted greatly with the Eastside. You'll notice in the background a little haze. Smoke from wildfires was really affecting the area. The Aspens along Power House Road were outstanding. If you keep an eye out you'll spot this wonderful water fall alongside the road. After Power House Road I stopped at the June Lake Loop. Always a good spot for color. There's always one in every family. Next came the Sand Canyon outside of Bishop. The smoke in Bishop was actually not bad, but as I went higher in significantly increased.  Aspens lik...