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Out of the Ashes

Even as the disastrous Yosemite Rim Fire was getting snuffed out, I was thinking of the interesting photographic opportunities that could ‘rise out of the ashes’. I hoped to wander the burnt forest with a silent blanket of snow. Stark, high-contrast black & white compositions with no sign of life. Perhaps with threatening, looming clouds to add to the drama. But the west side is a long way from Mammot
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Mammoth Eruption

What could be worse than a four year drought? Plenty. With various volcanoes erupting around our planet, the general doom and gloom of global warming, and the fear of meteors slamming into the earth, I started thinking about we could face locally. I also recently visited the Pompeii exhibit at the California Science Center with its artifacts and depiction of the ancient city being buried by the eruption of Mt. Venuse
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Sand Tufa

It has been 15 years since I visited these fantastic spires. Their unique shapes: lacy, spindly, abstract and bizarre,  are very intriguing at least. The last time I visited, I was shooting medium format film. Nothing more than a slightly wide-angle lens. I recall struggling with the tripod, trying to focus with the ground glass and calculating depth of field presenting more of a challenge than composition. I always
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Curry Village Tents

Funny what I end up shooting in Yosemite… After an evening shooting last light on Halfdome (yawn), I wandered in to Curry Village, all a-buzz with tourists scurrying (like Deer Mice) to their little tent cabins. Quite the scene actually, perhaps the way the old mining towns felt, with groups of people exchanging the days’ stories on tent stoops.  Different languages drifting in and out like the breeze.  S
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McGee Canyon Flowers

The alarm goes of at 4:30am. I forgot how early sunrise is in June, and I drag myself out of bed. It’s a bit blustery in Mammoth: wind and clouds. But it’s clear to the east and that’s enough to get me excited. A latte and Cheerios and off on one of the  best shoots this year. Dawn at the Alkali Ponds revels the setting moon. Ha, I didn’t even remember. Two days after the ‘super moonR
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House in the Death Zone

“Tis the season for light painting, Milky Way images and fun with night photography. A friend and I went to Horseshoe Lake to shoot Milky Way images last night. Horseshoe Lake has a large area of dead trees which were killed by CO2 gas emitting from the soil. I politely call it the ‘death zone’ for the danger it potentially presents (as is noted on signs throughout the area). I like shooting the eer
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Clouds and Sun Rays Over Mammoth

Funny what you find browsing through your photo files. I was looking for some  Lakes Basin images taken in 2010 or so and clicked on the folder containing this image. Shot from the Convict Lake Road on the way home from an airport shoot. A hazy, cloudy day, the color was weak and gray. Actually an ugly day for the Eastern High Sierra. But it’s the haze that make the rays standout and the beautiful range of tone
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Red Slate from Mildred Lake

The trail to Mildred Lake is one of my old favorites. Five miles up above Convict Lake, the trail ascends a spectacular canyon of red, white and gray rock. Fantastic rock swirls adorn the treeless cliff faces. Boulders and scree fill the gorge sliced by the white cascades of Convict Creek. The stream crossing at the Dorthy confluence was manageable with only slightly wet feet, but he challenge would be the steep snow
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Dust Bowl Project

I was inspired to try this photo project by a book on America’s Dust Bowl. The abandoned house is decaying next to Highway 395 in California. I’ve stopped by numerous times to shoot the various levels of decay. What was missing from my photos of wreckage was some implied story. My daughter happily volunteered to model. Unfortunately, she’s  always happy. The challenge was to look convincingly depres
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