Siberian Pass

Siberian Pass

This is another shot from my backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierra.  Just inside Sequoia National Park (literally by about 100 feet) is this little overlook.  It's just above the Siberian Pass.  This is looking South at sunset, you can see the Sierra stretching almost to the Southern most tip from here.  Everything North of here at this altitude is still covered in snow.

Behind me to the North is a large unnamed meadow where we camped after packing through a thunder storm...not my idea of fun.  Down in front of the ridge before me and a little to the left along the Siberian Pass Trail is Big Whitney Meadows.  This little overlook, which was only about a two hundred foot climb had remarkable views. It was only about a 40 minute hike from camp. The 360 degree view was awesome.  And the only noise was the wind.  It's times like these that remind you how majestic this land really is.

Chicken Spring Lake

Chicken Spring Lake Sunrise

Chicken Spring Lake, Sequoia National Forest, Ca.

"Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful." - Margaret J. Wheatley

Pun intended. In a strange sort of way I relate that quote to this image in particular but really also any reflection shots of of this caliber. A smooth reflection alwatys seems to draw at least double the impact to the landscape. So obviously when I backpacked to Chicken Spring Lake last week I intended to get something similar to this shot. That goes for any of my photographs typically. I see something visually then I intend it in my minds eye more or less. That's what is called the Creative Process and this is the result.

This was the first sunrise on my trip and after sleeping through the pre-dawn light I ran down to the shore to grab this shot and a few others. Luckily there was still heavy patches of snow on the ground which really helped with the composition here.

This is a blend of three variations of one exposure.

And by the way...I really have no idea where the name for this lake came from.

Alpine Glow

Alpine Glow

Chicken Spring Lake, Sequoia National Forest, Ca.

Yet another landscape with these dead Coniferous trees.  This was night number two on our backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierra.  We started out of Horseshoe Meadow, which is near the Southern end of the Sierra, because anything North of here was still buried in snow from a very wet year.  This is Chicken Spring lake, our first stop,  which is near 11,500 feet.  As you can see in any shaded area there was still large patches of snow here.

We spent a day here to acclimate - even though we should have spent a day in the meadow 1,500 feet below us before starting.  We paid the price for going straight from sea level to 12,000 feet in the same day with headaches and nausea.  I am glad that we got to catch this tail end of a storm though!  We had thunder storms drop a lot of rain on us for the first half of the trip.  But then it would inevitably clear up and leave us a great sky.  I particularly loved the glow that seemed to come from all directions.  I can't explain it other than maybe some clouds behind me that were reflecting the light back.

This was an interesting image to process.  I started with three exposures and first attempted an HDR with them but decided that didn't do it justice so a lot of manual blending ended up happening.

Stillness

Stillness



Chicken Spring Lake, Sequoia National Forest, Ca.

"We need silence to be able to touch souls.” - Mother Teresa.

This image screams silence to me. I backpacked to Chicken Spring Lake last week partly in search of good photography but also in search of silent retreat...I got both!

I remember vividly how silent it was at the lake...not only audibly but also in nature. No wind or weather to shatter the stillness. It was a good spot for meditation - but then you really can't go wrong with that anywhere in the Sierra.  Silence is where creativety is birthed and flows.  I got some great clarity on some things while up there on this trip from all the meditation I was able to get in, in between shooting sunrises and sunsets.  Reflection, yes pun intended, was what I did and what I got.  The stars were aligned so to speak...or at least the reflections were...

We had a half moon this night that made for a good compliment to the transparent sky and reflection. I felt I had to include it here.

Happy Friday!

Fire in the Sky - meadow, Sequoia National Park.

So I just got back from backpacking in the Eastern Sierra for six days.  I'm super excited about the shots I got so I'll start by sharing this one. 

We originated at Horseshoe Meadow. We planned on doing a loop through Rocky Basin and up to Cottonwood Lakes but there was still too much snow to make it down to the Cottonwoods via New Army Pass so we decided to stay at this meadow...glad we did!

There was a small price to pay to see this vista however. This day we packed in from Chicken Spring Lake. 30 minutes into that hike a thunder storm roared in - in the most literal sense. We hiked through pouring rain for about two hours with lightning touching down all around us. One strike could not have been more than 1000 yards from us.

I was drenched but once we made it to our destination the rain stopped and eventually we got to witness what you see here. It was amazing.

I tried to figure out what meadow this is but can't seem to find a name for it. If anyone knows it would be a great help to put a name to it. It's basically at the junction of the PCT and Siberian Pass Trail.

Much, much more to come...

Jody and Stephanie's Wedding - Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes

Jody, Stephanie and I go all the way back to high school!  Their wedding was a little bit like a reunion for me.  They are such a fun couple.  This was one of the funnest weddings I've ever been to.  You'll see why...

I told her to pose with her hand on her hip for this shot and she did it the rest of the day.  Think someone has some modeling in her future...

Welcome to the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, Ca.  They have more rules than they do seats but it's a pretty awesome venue overlooking the Pacific Ocean!

The moment they've all been waiting for...

I've never seen a bride break into the robot after their first kiss...there's a first time for everything!

Talk about enjoying the present moment!

After the Wayfarers Chapel we took a ride down to Shoreline Village in Long Beach and ran into Famous Daves...pig.  We had a little fun with him!

And we round out a fun day at the Reef in Long Beach.

And of course they danced their way into the reception!

Jody had to get prepared for the garter...then he had to get Stephanie prepared with a little lap dance!

And top it all of off with a little Folklorico dancing!

Congratulations to Jody and Stephanie!