Poppy Superbloom on the Hillside

Fort Tejon area, off The Grapevine, Southern California

Oz is on the Other Side

An explosion of poppies in the Fort Tejon area, off The Grapevine, Southern California

Two Poppies

A close-up shot of 2 California Poppies, captured in Jamestown, California

Chumash Painted Cave- Left Side

Sometimes my job takes me to curious places. And sometimes it’s just my own curiosity that leads me to wander into wonder. A BLM truck turned right into a road. The road sign said “Painted Cave Rd.” My car instinctively turned right. A few miles up this often twisty, often one-way road, I saw the sign indicating the Chumash Painted Cave. There’s a tiny parking space in front of the sign. A few steps up the hill, you’ll find the cave. It’s difficult to photograph because it’s dark and a thick iron fence prevents one from entering. I took a few photos sans tripod, with my D810 and fixed 50mm. But I knew I needed a tripod I didn’t have with me to capture what little light was in the cave. A few months later, I revisited the cave. This time around, I was prepared. After mounting my Nikon Z7 and 35mm prime on my trusty Really Right Stuff tripod, I pointed the lens through the small opening on the thick iron gate. As you regard the image, you’ll see why the gate is there: modern etchings on ancient cave writing. It just doesn’t belong. Mounting to a tripod, I was able to open up the lens to an f5 (the 50mm handheld version was dialed to f1.8). The result is a sharper, cleaner image with edge-to-edge detail. Did I mention shooting through a thick metal gate? If you visit, please be kind. Clean up what you brought and don’t deface this beautiful piece of history. Captured in Santa Barbara, California

Chumash Painted Cave- Right Side

Sometimes my job takes me to curious places. And sometimes it’s just my own curiosity that leads me to wander into wonder. A BLM truck turned right into a road. The road sign said “Painted Cave Rd.” My car instinctively turned right. A few miles up this often twisty, often one-way road, I saw the sign indicating the Chumash Painted Cave. There’s a tiny parking space in front of the sign. A few steps up the hill, you’ll find the cave. It’s difficult to photograph because it’s dark and a thick iron fence prevents one from entering. I took a few photos sans tripod, with my D810 and fixed 50mm. But I knew I needed a tripod I didn’t have with me to capture what little light was in the cave. A few months later, I revisited the cave. This time around, I was prepared. After mounting my Nikon Z7 and 35mm prime on my trusty Really Right Stuff tripod, I pointed the lens through the small opening on the thick iron gate. As you regard the image, you’ll see why the gate is there: modern etchings on ancient cave writing. It just doesn’t belong. Mounting to a tripod, I was able to open up the lens to an f5 (the 50mm handheld version was dialed to f1.8). The result is a sharper, cleaner image with edge-to-edge detail. Did I mention shooting through a thick metal gate? If you visit, please be kind. Clean up what you brought and don’t deface this beautiful piece of history. Captured in Santa Barbara, California

Morning in the Great Room

The Great Room was filled with gorgous light. Captured at The Majestic Yosemite Hotel (Ahwahnee), Yosemite

Ansel Inspired

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park. The valley is breathtaking. We were gifted with gorgeous light that afternoon.

Echoes of Change

Something about the glacial grey and the green and the blue with those streaks of contrails overhead. Yosemite, you never fail to take my breath away.

Mission Bell

Mission Bell Tower, San Miguel, California

Cracked Fresco of an Abalone Shell

According to the Mission San Miguel website, the frescoes in the church are original and have never been repainted. Painted by Salinian workers under the direction of Esteban Munras, circa 1821.

Soledad

Mission Soledad. Echoes of sorrow and hope, dark and light, fill my soul in this chapel. There’s a peace here. A soft reverence for those who gave. Their voices linger, still.

Mission Walk

A stroll to the church, inside the mission walls, on a late summer afternoon. Mission San Antonio de Padua, Jolon, California

Mission San Antonio de Padua

Mission San Antonio de Padua, Jolon, California on an October afternoon.

Summertime Twilight in Central California

Amber waves of grain, rolling hills and farmland as far as the eye can see. California in summer.

The Journey

May the road take you to majestic places. Shot near Cholame, off Hwy 46, Central California

Dusty Bottles

Wine bottles stored on their side, complete with dust.

Golden Afternoon in the Heartland

Hood of a 1943 Ford tractor with a classic Chrysler New Yorker and old gas pumps in the background.

Grace

As the sun sinks behind the layers of hills, light bends and intensifies, gracing the sky with ribbons of color.

Jagged Landscape

Tufa forms in and around Mono Lake’s salty waters. This is a low angle shot of Mono Lake and her tufas just after sunrise, with a bit of flare bouncing around. Captured in July.

Orbs Over Court House

Mono County Courthouse, Bridgeport, CA— built in 1880. It was warm out on this late July night, but I kept feeling brushes of random chills, which I tried to dismiss— along with the feeling of being watched. I established this angle because the sprinklers were still running on the other side of the courtyard. After I captured this shot, the sprinklers turned off, so I set up a shot in the center of the courtyard to capture the entire facade at night. But the silence left behind wasn’t so quiet. I kept hearing this creaking sound— as of a leather belt when twisted tightly. A slow creaking. As if swaying in the wind. And the feeling that I wasn’t alone intensified. I grabbed the shot, packed up and left. As I was chatting with a few locals the next morning, they told me this was the 2nd oldest functioning courthouse in California. And then came this quote, which will ring in my head every time I think of the night I captured this image, “They used to hang convicts in the trees in front. If you look at the trees, you can still see the grooves where the ropes were hung.” When shooting towards light, lens flares are common. But in this case, the only light in the picture was on the flag pole, a small light in the bell tower and the stars. Who was in that courtyard with me that night?