Been A While…
Wow. It’s been quite some time. A lot has happened. Initially, I was unemployed for a little bit, and anyone that has ever been there knows that priorities change. The internet had to go. Time was spent looking for a job, pounding the pavement, rather than walking the streets looking for photographs waiting to be taken. Money got tight, gas prices rose, and activity in my life ran down to a minimum.
But I’m back. I’m working, making money, and putting my camera back in hand, and priorities back in line. So by way of a re-introduction, here’s just a few random shots that have helped pass the time…
Zayne and Great Basin Gophersnake
My son and his girlfriend hunting for petroglyphs in the Volcanic Tablelands.
Goldfinch
Zayne enjoying Hot Ditch. Natural reflection from the water cured backlight shadows nicely.
Random front yard flower
1982 Shovelhead Custom Rigid. She will be mine. VERY soon…
So…yea…just a few shots to say, I’m back. And things are getting better. Thanks for stopping by!!
Little Lakes Valley
Went for a quick hike up through Little Lakes Valley this morning. Such a beautiful area…
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- Paintbrush
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- Heart Lake
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- Golden Mantle
Strollin’ through the Park one day…..
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- Black Neck Hummingbird
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- House Finch
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- House Finch
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- White Crowned Sparrow
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- Artesian Oasis
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- Nesting Sparrow
I found a new artesian well, too. Prettier than the other one, in my opinion. I’ll be back again…
Thanks for looking!
Backyard Bird Watching
Backyard bird watching. It’s almost cliché. People are hustlin’ and bustlin’ around this great big world of ours, and not leaving anytime to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Money is tight, job security is low, taxes and inflation continue growing… It seems the only thing we have any ability to control anymore is how we respond to the rapidly changing stimuli.
That’s why I LOVE my backyard. Let me explain… I live in the High Desert. My house is situated at about 5,000′, right on the feet of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California. I can look out my living room window and I have an unobstructed view for close to 10 miles, all the way up the western slope of the White Mountain peaks, which is the western most border of Nevada. Now…there is a major highway running through there, and a multitude of high-power, high-tension lines zig-zagging back and forth. Views are spectacular, but these ugly lines are very destructive to landscape compositions. But the wildlife is incredible…
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- American Goldfinch
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- American Goldfinch
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- Common Sideblotch–Uta stansburiana
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- Domestic Iris
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- Male House Finch
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- Female House Finch
It’s amazing how curative a backyard like mine can be. I’m gonna tell you guys a little secret…I lost my job last week. Yea, right in the middle of my visit with my son, I found out that I was no longer employed. But it’s OK. I had an incredible week visiting with my son, and my emotional well-being has never been more positive. Even being unemployed and quickly running out of money, I can’t help but smile. I walk out back, and it just happens. Something will come through. I have a lot of experience in a lot of fields. I’ve done everything from flippin’ burgers and pouring drinks to antique restorations and hotel management. I also found out about some pretty cool job openings in my area, including backcountry habitat recovery and wildlife rehabilitation, and not only would I LOVE to have either of those jobs…I’m fairly well qualified for both. So something will come through. Just gotta ride this wave for a few days…
Thanks for taking the time to stop and look!
Backyard Birding
When you haven’t got a lot of time, you work with what you got. I got a nice, big, empty desert loaded with songbirds and blossoming brush as a backyard…
Household Macros
The weather is playing cruel tricks on me. It was really nice out just about a week ago. Nice enough for long enough that I actually spent a few hours road cruising for snakes just a week and a half ago. I didn’t find any, but still…
The last week or so has been CRAP!!! Spring went bye-bye, and Mother Nature brought winter back for an encore…with a vengeance. So I’ve been sitting at home, miserable, new gear to play with, and shitty-ass weather. Good thing my girlfriend likes flowers…
Another shot of her Valentine Orchid
A Lily that has seen better days...
Domestic Beauty-No idea what they are, but they're pretty
The last one is my favorite shot of the day…
Thanks for stopping by!!
Sure Signs of Spring
So I was outside this evening shortly before sunset, and I noticed my almond and peach trees were just glowing beautifully with fresh blossoms. So I grabbed my camera and my 105mm macro lens for some shots…
I have 2 peach trees. One provides LOADS of smaller, white fleshed peaches, and the other provides fewer, larger yellow fleshed ones. These are all from the white-flesh tree…
Then I saw this guy buzzing around my almond tree…
He knew he was further than I wanted him to be, so he flew down to the peach tree for a closer look…
That’s it. Just some sure signs of spring from my front yard. Thanks for looking!
Spring…In Places…
So, I dropped the girls off for school this morning, and brought my camera bag with me…just in case. On the way back, I couldn’t help but catch the storm over the Sierras, moving in from the west…
Bishop Range--3-shot Panoramic
I decided to try a pano shot this morning. Most of my landscapes are shot at 14-20mm(28-40mm equivalent). This one was taken with 3 shots in portrait orientation, at 42mm(84mmequiv.), stitched in CS4. Below is a single exposure at 21mm…
Bishop Range
Just when it’s starting to look like winter isn’t done with us, yet, I pull in the driveway and find tiny, purple Storksbill flowers blooming everywhere! So here are the first wildflower macros of the season!!
Portrait, in full sunlight
Pretty Pair
It is starting to warm up around here. I imagine it won’t be but a couple of weeks before smaller wildflowers start springing up everywhere. Seems a trip to the Alabama Hills again may be in order…
Thanks for coming along!
Bishop Creek Canyon
Went with my friend Rich for a short morning walk around Bishop Creek Canyon yesterday….
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- Middle Fork Bishop Creek
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- Mountain Mohagony
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- Aspen Grove
Rock Creek Lake
I went with Annette, Rose, and my good friend John for a short walk around Rock Creek Lake yesterday afternoon. Any excuse to get up in the mountains and out of the heat works just fine for me…
Fireweed
False Helleborne
John shooting Fireweed
Lupine
Some cultivated bright orange thing
Rose, Rex, and Annette
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Some sort of Phlox, I think.
And that’s about that. Like I said…any excuse to get out of the heat of the desert and up into the elevation is a good excuse for me…
Thanks for stopping by!
South Fork, Bishop Creek Canyon
So…my buddy John has been injured and sore for a few weeks. He can’t walk but a few feet at a time, and he’s in a lot of pain. This means that he hasn’t been hiking or out shooting photos as much as he would like. So I picked him up early this morning, and we made a quick run up The South Fork in search of some alpine wildflowers. We were not disappointed…
Alpine Columbine
Alpine Columbine
Creekside Splendor
Leopard Lily
Leopard Lilies
Saw this neat little guy, perched on the side of the road, too…
California Quail
And of course…first light at South Lake can be a pretty nice sight…
South Lake Basin
All in all, I have to say that it was quite a fantastic morning, just out and about, driving around, photographing wildflowers. I couldn’t have asked for a better, more satisfying Sunday Morning.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Bishop Creek Canyon
I went camping with my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter up in Bishop Creek Canyon over the weekend. It was quite nice to get outta town and get out with a camera in hand…
Looking east
Baby Mountain Gartersnake that Annette spotted--Thamnophis elegans elegans
One of the many species of blue damselfly
Butterfly taking a morning "coffee break"
Mother Nature's Garden
Orange Mallow
Mojave Prickly Pear Blossom
Not sure on an ID for this Damselfly yet...
That’s about it for now. I took a bazillion pictures of the fire last night, too, but I haven’t processed them yet.
Anyhow…I really enjoyed the weekend. I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos!
Reptiles and Flowers
Went for a short walk in the desert behind my house, and found a few cool flowers and a neat little lizard…
Some pretty purple flowers. Anyone know?
No idea what these are. They look like octopus tentacles, to me...
Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana
California Kingsnake--Lampropeltis getula californiae
The Cali king was just a little thing. We found him crawling out into the road on the way home from picking up my daughter.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Brave Little Lizards
I’ve come to the conclusion that the lizards that hang out in my new backyard have seen many, many people, and have lost their natural fear. They just sit still, assuming that I don’t see them…
Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana
Western Sagebrush-Sceloporus graciosus gracilis
Of course, there also flowering weeds…
Anyone know what this is? Maybe some sort of mustard...??
And we have LOADS of little songbirds flitting about. They always come close enough to see, but rarely close enough for me to get them with my 105mm lens. I need to invest in a 300mm…
Anyone know what he is? He is very pretty and has a great little song...
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Backyard Macros
So…I’m in the process of moving out of my tiny-ass apartment, and in to a large house. For the past 4 years, my daughter and I have shared a 2-bedroom apartment with a room mate, which means I have been sleeping on the couch for longer than I care to remember. We are finally moving in to a large 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with my girlfriend and her daughter. What a fantastic change!
However…this leaves me very little time to go out and shoot. So…backyard “wilderness” will have to suffice…
Western Longnose-Rhinocheilus lecontei
Make A Wish
Looking at the world through a Fly's Eyes
The Nucleus
One more great aspect of our new house…PLENTY of open habitat to explore. I haven’t walked around too much to explore the property in depth, but I know there are about 1,000 acres or so of public land surrounding us. I also know that I received 3 different rattlesnake removal calls from this area last year, and all 3 were very nice Panamint Rattlers. Rarely are removal calls actually for rattlesnakes. Most of the time, they are big gophersnakes, occasionally a kingsnake, and even a few garter snakes. But in this area, they have all been actual rattlers, and that makes me very happy, contrary to what one might think, considering there are 2 young girls running around. But my daughter is well trained in identification, and my girlfriend’s daughter is quickly learning…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
More Flowers…and Snakes…
Yup…it’s that time of year. The time we photographers live for. The time of year when everywhere you look there is something worth shooting…
Cultivated Honeysuckle
Cultivated Columbine
Cultivated and monsterous flower of some sort...
Sub-adult Panamint Rattlesnake
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Lots of Wildflowers
I went for a walk with Annette and Rose this morning, in search of some wildflowers. Nothing like a beautiful Sunday morning in fields of Wild Iris. Some of these are cultivated, but most are wild…
Pink Columbine
Pair of Wild Iris
Wild Iris Portrait
Forever Young
Summertime Rolls
Walk About Town
Just walking through town yesterday morning with my camera and 105mm macro lens…
Some kind of cultivated Rose
A sure sign of summer in the Town Park
Some kind of clingy-tree-vine with pretty flowers
Gathering nectar
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Lupine Fields Forever
Ahh, spring in the Eastern Sierra. There aren’t many places I would rather be than right here, in the heart of the high desert, sitting at the feet of the tallest mountain range in the Continental United States. And this is why…
Bush Lupine blooming in what seems to be an endless field of purple
Lupine and Thistle
Lupine
Really small purple flowers. I think it's Wolf Violet. Anyone know for sure?
Thistle Bud
Division Creek
It was super windy, really chilly, and you still couldn’t prove to me that summer is coming. But boy are the flowers out there pretty…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
It’s ALMOST Summer…
You wouldn’t know it, considering it actually snowed in the town of Bishop today. Ok…it only snowed for about 3 minutes, but still…it’s friggin’ cold…
But, the lizards are out, and they are ready to pose pretty for the camera…
Barred Spiny Lizard hiding in a crack
Melanistic Fence Lizard basking in the sun
Northern Sagebrush that swears I can't see him...
Pretty purple flowers. Anyone know what they are?
I’m going out to the Tablelands again this Sunday. Hopefully it warms up before then…
Thanks for looking!
Today is brought to you by the letter “P”…
I went for a quick walk around yesterday, and took a few pictures. So here they are!!
Popped Poppy
Prickly Pear
Pair o' Poppies
Well…I didn’t plan it this way, but it seems that all my photos feature the letter “P”. So today is brought to you by the Letter “P”.
Thanks for looking!
A Great Day for Photos
John is an Aqueducts and Reservoir Keeper for the LA Department of Water and Power. That doesn’t really carry a whole tone of weight when you live in the Owens Valley, which has been sucked dry by the LADWP over the last 110 years, but it does mean that he spends the majority of his working days driving back roads, dirt lanes, and unbeaten paths checking water and snow levels, adjusting regulators, and opening/closing flow valves throughout the valley. And since he is one of my closest friends, he shares the “hot spots” for wildflowers with me.
Of course, with the amount of moisture we have seen this year, you can see most of the “hot spots” from the highway…
Baker Creek Canyon
Fiddle Neck
Wild Lupine
Some species of Phacelia, I believe
Scalebud Landscape North
This last shot….man alive, the entire west side of Highway 395 just north of Big Pine was bright yellow and orange. There is scalebud, storksbill, gilia, lupine, wooly daisy, fiddle neck, and paintbrush scattered all over the place. Most of the bright yellow is scalebud, but you can see some concentrations of woolly daisy in the foothills where the saturated orange is. The storksbill and gilia are too small to make an impression with such tall scalebud surrounding it, and the paintbrush and lupine are scattered infrequently enough to render them moot in a wide scene like this. But it won’t be long before there are wild iris, lupine, penstemon, colombine, paintbrush and all sorts of other larger flowers blanketing these fields and the upper elevation meadows. It’s gonna be a good flower year…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Spring is definitely here!!
Went out with my buddy John to shoot some wildflowers this morning. We had a really nice day…except it was cold. Oh well…it only gets warmer from here…
Cool little beetle thing
Chapparal and Friend
Desert Paintbrush
Desert Paintbrush
Gilia
No idea...anyone?
John shooting gilia
That’s about it. A really decent day that did a really decent job of letting me know that spring has officially sprung. Thanks for looking!
More Flowers…
Spring is definitely in the air. Wildflowers are starting to pop up all over the place! Evening Snow Blanket is covering many a hillside in the early morning, gilia blankets anywhere there is dirt and some moisture, scalebud and tidy tips are popping up in the most unlikely of places… Yes, my friends…spring is here!
Chapparal and a Friend
Great Basin Gilia
Great Basin Gilia cluster
Another type of gilia
Great Basin Gili
Desert Paintbrush
Scalebud Clusters
Single Gilia
Tiny yellow...Gilia? Anyone know what this is?
Scalebud and Tidy Tips hillside
Thanks for coming along!
