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On this misty day on the northern coast of California I spotted this harbor seal in the surf from a road side turnout. It then spotted ME as I stood on the beach looking at it through my camera lens. A brief game of peek-a-boo then ensued between the waves.

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Honey mushrooms

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This image was captured on Squaw Valley Creek in Siskiyou County, California, USA. I captured the image on a somewhat overcast afternoon and really liked the soft ethereal light as the sun was filtered through the clouds. This part of the creek, just below the confluence of a small stream known as Cabin Creek, is especially beautiful. The famed Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) crosses just a short distance downstream from where this was captured. The small town of McCloud is just a few miles away and the whole area sits at the base of the majestic Mount Shasta, the fifth highest peak in the state of California.

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This is one of several images I have from a very chilly and moody morning at Antelope Lake in Plumas County, California. The annual “Junuary” cold front we always seem to get after Memorial Day was on its way out but the clouds were still battling with the sun for dominance. The warming lake surface meeting the cold air made conditions foggy, adding more to the mood. As this scene was fairly “monochromatic” already, I felt a black and white treatment was in order. I also added just a bit of deliberate blur in post production to enhance the overall dreamy and moody feel I had while observing the scene.

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A popular spot in Death Valley National Park is a high prominence known as Dante’s View. It is named for Dante Alighieri, author of Divina Commedia (The Devine Comedy). This seems rather fitting as, while it is beautiful, you can probably find plenty of the circles of Hell in Death Valley, especially in summer. On this evening standing at the edge of the 5600 foot elevation and looking over Badwater Basin which is nearly 300 feet below sea level I wasn’t hot, I was darn near hypothermic as I wasn’t really dressed to be there. My car thermometer said it was just over 40 degrees Fahrenheit but that does no justice to the insane winds that are created in such a radical elevation change. I had no way to measure but I guarantee some of the gusts were over 30mph and felt like they blew right through the thin hiking pants I was wearing – just an hour earlier I was sweating in those pants and only a tee shirt on the valley floor.

At least my suffering was rewarded with some beautiful color in the moody sky as the sun dropped over the Panamint Range to the west (camera left)

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the truth is out there | Leica M6 | Rollei IR 400 | 2018

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Abies magnifica, more commonly known as Red Fir or Silver Tip Fir is a beautiful conifer that grows at fairly high elevation, generally between 5 and 9 thousand feet. Smaller trees are definitely favored as Christmas trees and when they get larger their bark takes on a reddish brown hue, hence their common name. Wherever they grow large, it’s a sure bet they’ll be the tallest trees in the area with large specimens reaching as high as 250 feet with trunk diameters occasionally exceeding 6 feet.

On this late August day I took a walk through the aptly named Red Fir Nature Trail near Mills Peak in Plumas County California. It was mid-day so some bright sun was making its way through the dense canopy; perfect conditions for near infrared photography. This image was captured using a full spectrum modified camera fitted with an 830 nanometer filter so no visible light was used in its creation. In my Etsy shop: https://buff.ly/43TLjUV Prints and merch on demand: https://buff.ly/43TLjUV

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From the beginning of my journey into capturing images with invisible (near infrared) light, I theorized that quaking aspens would make a great subject with all the contrasting tones from light to dark in their trunks. On this June day in the South Warner Wilderness area of Modoc County California, I found a nice grove on which to put that theory to the test. I believe the theory was a sound one, at least to my eyes.

Captured with a full spectrum modified camera fitted with an 830 nanometer filter.

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I captured this image on a foggy early October day at Harris Beach State Park in Brookings Oregon. By shooting somewhat laterally to the incoming waves and using a somewhat slow shutter speed, the waves created some very nice “leading lines” toward the sea stacks which appeared layered in the misty fog.

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This shot consists of the Amedee Lime Kiln in in rural Lassen County, California, USA and approximately 75 minutes of trailing stars overhead. The image was shot well in to “astro darkness” on a moonless night and composed to capture the north celestial pole, specifically the star Polaris, in the constellation Ursa Minor (Latin for “lesser bear”), more commonly known as The Little Dipper. The image was created by blending images using a combination of stationary low level lighting and “light painting” with a handheld flashlight.

This abandoned lime kiln is near the site of the long defunct town of Amedee between the community of Wendel and the Nevada state line. Deposits of lime, a key ingredient in the manufacture of concrete, were discovered in the area at the end of the 19th century, leading to this kiln’s construction in 1893. However, the enterprise was shortly abandoned due to unfavorable economic conditions. The idea was revisited in 1913 and the kiln was pressed back in service, only to be abandoned yet again. In 1920 one more local business man fired the kiln up and used the lime produced to make concrete for a Susanville California apartment complex that still exists today. After completion of the apartment complex the kiln was abandoned once and for all in 1927 due to the generally poor quality of the lime.

(Source; Tim Purdy, Lassen County Historian (tipurdy.org))

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I captured this frame of a bald eagle in flight a couple miles from my home in Janesville California, USA. I’d seen the wonderful symbolic raptor several times over the preceding weeks, always atop power poles, clearly less than photogenic perches. On this occasion, however, the majestic raptor was not only airborne but airborne low across the high desert flying right in to some beautiful warm late day December light. This frame caught it shooting me a wary glance as it flew by.

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This image was captured on Squaw Valley Creek in Siskiyou County, California, USA. I captured the image on a somewhat overcast afternoon and really liked the soft ethereal light as the sun was filtered through the clouds. This part of the creek, just below the confluence of a small stream known as Cabin Creek, is especially beautiful. The famed Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) crosses just a short distance downstream from where this was captured. The small town of McCloud is just a few miles away and the whole area sits at the base of the majestic Mount Shasta, the fifth highest peak in the state of California.

In my Etsy shop: https://buff.ly/3V69dKf

Prints and merch on demand: https://buff.ly/47bZ7tT

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A popular spot in Death Valley National Park is a high prominence known as Dante’s View. It is named for Dante Alighieri, author of Divina Commedia (The Devine Comedy). This seems rather fitting as, while it is beautiful, you can probably find plenty of the circles of Hell in Death Valley, especially in summer. On this evening standing at the edge of the 5600 foot elevation and looking over Badwater Basin which is nearly 300 feet below sea level I wasn’t hot, I was darn near hypothermic as I wasn’t really dressed to be there. My car thermometer said it was just over 40 degrees Fahrenheit but that does no justice to the insane winds that are created in such a radical elevation change. I had no way to measure but I guarantee some of the gusts were over 30mph and felt like they blew right through the thin hiking pants I was wearing – just an hour earlier I was sweating in those pants and only a tee shirt on the valley floor.

At least my suffering was rewarded with some beautiful color in the moody sky as the sun dropped over the Panamint Range to the west (camera left).

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Prints and merch on demand: https://buff.ly/49HrbYa

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Nature photography often involves a great deal of planning and advance research to find the right conditions, etc to capture a good image. Sometimes all the planning in the world still isn’t enough. That said, any photographer who tells you they’ve never had a certain degree of just dumb luck is a far better photographer than yours truly or pulling your leg. In this instance I have to own up to some definite dumb luck. My wife and I went to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park hoping to see some Elk bulls sparing in the meadow there. However, my hopes weren’t high as it was raining and I’d heard that the powers-that-be in the park were scheduled to burn the meadow as they do every few years. This turned out to be true as the meadow was still smoking when we got there. Add in the very rainy conditions and we saw no elk to photograph. What I did not expect was how many glorious patches of fall color there would be. I took a short hike and came away with a couple pretty images.

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Abies magnifica, more commonly known as Red Fir or Silver Tip Fir is a beautiful conifer that grows at fairly high elevation, generally between 5 and 9 thousand feet. Smaller trees are definitely favored as Christmas trees and when they get larger their bark takes on a reddish brown hue, hence their common name. Wherever they grow large, it’s a sure bet they’ll be the tallest trees in the area with large specimens reaching as high as 250 feet with trunk diameters occasionally exceeding 6 feet.

On this late August day I took a walk through the aptly named Red Fir Nature Trail near Mills Peak in Plumas County California. It was mid-day so some bright sun was making its way through the dense canopy; perfect conditions for near infrared photography. This image was captured using a full spectrum modified camera fitted with an 830 nanometer filter so no visible light was used in its creation.

In my Etsy shop: https://buff.ly/3tDdFVz

Prints and merch on demand: https://buff.ly/4aCmBv7

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Look at me, I'm Sandra Chick A. Dee

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Roses in B&W.....