Yosemite and More

Near the end of April I headed north and visited Shasta Dam. I hadn't been  there in many years and being the middle of the day wasn't overly  hopeful for a good photographic visit. I was wrong, for a guy who likes  lines in his photographs this was a wonderful opportunity. My first photo, lines, lines, lines. These are the flumes that take water from the late to the power plant. Shasta Dam is a major supplier of green energy. Changed this on to black and white. Other than the power house not much water was being let out from behind the dam. You know this was taken in late April because the lake level is so high and there's snow on Mt. Shasta in the upper left. Much of the lake is no more of a river and the mountain is bare. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave

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...

I had to go to Sacramento for my job (the semi part of semi-retired). Since I was done early I decided to visit Old Sacramento.  But first a little story. Since I had spilled some chemical down my pant leg and it looked ...um... unseemly,  I went out and bought a pair of shorts and some socks, and was ready to go. I'm a member of the California Railroad Museum and therefore got in free. It wasn't a disappointment from a railroad fan point of view. I was however disappointed from a  photographers point of view. The museum was quite dark, no tripods allowed,  and most of the exhibits were under glass. I did get a couple of inside shots I liked. This is the water injector that put the water in the boiler, a very mundane function but in yesteryear an opportunity to shine. An this is one of the most famous color schemes. It's the Santa Fe's War Bonnet colors.  A modified version is used today by the Atchison Topeka and Santa...

It's been a while, I have to get out more. These photos were taken on a great trip I had with Friedhelm to Kings Canyon-Sequoia National Parks. This first one is the view from the Forest Service Fire Lookout on Buck Rock. The road in was pretty bad, but the view once you got there was spectacular. Can you imagine being here during a thunder storm. That would be soooo cool. Unfortunately they don't allow anyone up there if there's a possibility of  lightning. If you look closely at the chair's feet you will see that they're protected by insulators.  I think the chair has been there since the  tower was first put in, in 1923.  They also have some very active Hummingbird feeders. During a hike I saw only two of these flowers, about 10ft apart. I kept a eye out for more but only saw the two. Not sure what the name is but it seemed to closely match a Bindweed. So we'll go with that. The area had ...

The weather report said that it was going to snow in Yosemite Valley. So.... Friedhelm and I headed up that way. Well there wasn't any snow except on the peaks but there was fog and great photo opportunities. Except for a few of exceptions, in this post, I tried to stay away  from the iconic photographs. Some photos I changed to  Black and White some stayed color. First up is Bridal Veil Falls in B & W. I thought this  highlighted the falls itself better. As usual anywhere you look in Yosemite you have a pretty good view. The fog and clouds just added to the beauty. Sometimes you look straight up.  As I mentioned the snow was on the peaks and sometimes they just peeked through. Okay another bad 'Dave' pun. But the Clouds turned out spectacular for a short period later in the day You know that I had to feature at least one photograph that was all about the lines. This was taken o...

Friedhelm and I went to Murphy's Ca. the other day to see if we could find some fall color. The answer was yes indeedy. I wanted to call this Three Leaves but since there are actually five.... Not exactly fall colors but I like it anyway. I like the contrast of the shadows and light. I considered cropping it closer to highlight the lighter leaves but decided it effected the tunnel look to much. This was in a strip along side a sidewalk. Also not fall colors but it has great lines and you know me.... This is one of my favorites. I just love the contrast between the red leaves of the tree and the green of the ivy growing around it. Go, See, Enjoy, Photograph Dave

Last weekend Friedhelm and I went to Yosemite. The weather report said it might snow the day before then changed to rain. When we got there the fog had rolled in all around the peaks. El Capitan was very prominent. I converted several of my photos to black and white, color isn't very pronounced in fog. The face of El Capitan changed constantly during the day. Finally in the latter part of the day, the sun started to show through. It just added another dimension to the fog. This is a small peak next to El Capitan. I tried to find the name but guess I need to find a better and more detailed map. Just in case you thought El Capitan was the only feature effected. This tree poked it's tip out for just a few seconds before it was covered with fog. A couple of minutes later the whole rock face was visible. And yes there is still some color left in the Valley. This was taken at the Ahwahnee, oops I m...