Dawn at Taylor Lake photograph

Some mornings begin with a whisper...

After a long hot dusty day exploring the mines and trails of the nearby Cargo Muchaco Mountains, when I finally reached the cool, verdant banks of the Colorado River I felt as if I had happened upon a mirage. It's hard to believe that this is in the middle of the Sonoran desert. We followed the trail south and when I saw Taylor Lake I knew this was were I wanted to be for sunrise. It turned out to be another cloudless California desert sunrise but with a gentle pink sky and birdsong greeting the new day, a hot cup of coffee and my camera, how could I complain?

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When Sunset is a Bust - Photographing Seascapes at Little Corona del Mar

A few weeks ago we organized a photowalk at Little Corona Beach (Robert E. Badham Marine Life Refuge) while Jeff Sullivan and Lori Hibbett were in town working on more images for Jeff's upcoming book on Southern California Landscape photography. Unfortunately here on the southern California coast this time of year we frequently have to deal with a heavy marine layer, thick and very low-lying clouds and fog, known locally as May Gray and June Gloom. It is most common during the morning and evening hours (the midday sun burns off the fog) but when it's really bad we sometimes only see the sun for a brief half hour during the day.

As luck would have it we had very overcast skies the night of the photowalk and there was no chance of seeing one of the gorgeous sunsets we are known for. A few photographers decided to head home because it wasn't 'worth their while' but those of us who remained took out our ND, grad ND and polarizing filters and set out to do some long exposures. Little Corona is known for it's spectacular tide pools and a few rock arch formations within reach of those who are willing to brave a long walk on the slippery rocks during a negative tide. The tide was up this night (low tide, but not low enough) and we couldn't walk out to our favorite spot near the arch but the rocks and tidepools of Little Corona gave many compositional choices.

For a brief moment it looked like the clouds were breaking up and we might have a spectacular sunset after all, but our hopes were soon dashed.


Photographers at Little Corona Beach in Corona del Mar


During blue hour Jeff spun light orbs for everyone to shoot but being a minimalist at heart I couldn't drag myself away from the warm/cool contrast of this scene with the arch lit from a light up on the cliff. By the time I felt I had what I wanted everyone was cold and ready to head up for drinks and food so I missed out on the orbs. Light orbs are all the rage these days on social media so I felt a bit like the nerdy kid not hanging out with the cool kids, but when I saw the results I was very happy that I made the choice to shoot what I did.




When I see a scene I like I try to always shoot both a vertical and a horizontal composition because you never know how the image might be used. I really liked how the texture of the clouds echoed the texture in the rocks, the way the arch seemed to fit into the gap in the tidepools and the tree perched on top of the point. I'm not sure if I prefer the vertical orientation of the photo at top or the horizontal orientation of this photo. I like them both!


Little Corona under Stormy Skies

While I tended to play up the drama and moodiness of the scene, a few took a more dreamy approach with longer exposures of swirling water while others decided to go with black and white images. I always enjoy seeing a scene through other people's eyes and it never fails to amaze how drastically different each of us can interpret a scene. I was hoping to be able to link to the photos from the other participants but since there are on a private G+ photo page only the participants are able to view them.

It was cold and windy but it was a great exercise for those of us who live here and are usually spoiled by our choice of beautiful sunsets. Most of us would normally take a pass and wait for a better night unless we absolutely had to shoot, so the conditions made us all put a lot of thought into what and how we would shoot to make the most of the conditions we had. And it is always great to spend time with old friends and meet new ones!






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The Mother of All Joshua Trees

In all my travels I have never seen a Joshua Tree as large and full as this one. It's big enough for several people to stand under and provides the only shade for weary travelers for miles around. The Joshua trees were in full bloom two weeks ago just north of Barstow, although about ten miles further north along the trail where I set up camp the bloom was just getting started.

Joshua Trees are found only in the Mojave desert and they require two things to bloom...rain and a hard freeze. Although there wasn't much rain this year there certainly was a hard freeze. I was sleeping in a tent for a few of them!


I have some catching up on posting to do, don't I? ;)




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Sunday at San O

I'm supposed to say something here, but I don't always have something to say.





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Clear Skies

Nothing is more disappointing to a landscape photographer than to spend several hours venturing into the wild only to have a boring sunset and sunrise. Of course we want those cloudless skies for starscape photography but that same cloudless sky at dawn or sunset is a terrible let down. It's enough to make some photographers pack their bag and head back to camp.

I like to use those opportunities to capture the subtle gradation of colors in the sky at twilight. Twilight is actually one of my favorite times to shoot because I like the watch the sky turn from day to night, or from night to day. I love the beautiful purple color in the sky that can be captured in the evening just before it gets dark. And I especially love to hear the birdsong at dawn announcing the new day as I am working.

One of my favorite techniques at twilight is a silhouette as in the photo above. Simple compositions usually work best for silhouettes and convey the sense of peace that I feel at this time of day. Trees, rock formations, buildings, people, anything that conveys the sense of place can work well. The key to a good silhouette photograph is to meter for the sky and let the shadows go completely black. This usually means underexposing from what your camera will tell you is the correct exposure (if you are using evaluative metering).

The clear crisp desert air usually shows a well-defined Belt of Venus or earthshadow, especially at dawn, as in the image below. The pinkish glow is the anti-twilight arch and the darker layer below is the earth's shadow on the atmosphere. For this image I waited until there was just enough light peeking over the horizon to provide light on the Joshua Trees in the foreground. Metering is a little trickier when the sun is this close to the horizon because unless you intend to merge multiple bracketed images (HDR) you will need to carefully weigh the exposure on the foreground with the exposure for the sky to bring out the best in both and avoid under/over exposing either. It can help to bracket several frames to find the sweet spot if you aren't used to shooting at this time of day so you can evaluate them more closely once you are back home and looking at them on a big screen.



So don't let those clear skies get you down, hang around before the sun has risen or after it sets and look for opportunities to play up the beautiful gradations of color in the sky.


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