San Francisco City Hall

City Hall, San Francisco, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/4, 5s, ISO: 125

Happy New Year!

Scruffy-looking Western Scrub-jay

Western Scrub-jay -- La Veta, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 320

Bruce has a house in the hills outside of La Veta.  Technically his address is in Walsenberg but he like La Veta better so that's where he tells people he lives.  We were there for the Fourth of July weekend this year.  We did a little recording but mostly we just horsed around.  Wildlife is prevelant in the area.  He's lucky that way.  I think this particular scrub-jay lives near his house.  It always seemed to be around and in fact was often seen in this exact spot in this exact tree.  Scrub-jays are common but I sure do like 'em.

Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/60s, ISO: 125

Imagine being locked up in a car for two weeks with this guy.  Is there any wonder I've lost my balance?

City Hall All Decked Out

City Hall, San Francisco, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 10s, ISO: 100

It's too late for Merry Christmas, I guess, so Happy New Year!

Black Bear Crossing

Interstate 5, Shasta County, CA
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

This bear crossing sign can be found on Interstate Five between Redding and Mount Shasta.  I've never seen a bear in that area.  Without exaggeration, I've driven that stretch of road probably one hundred times.  I don't think I've ever seen a wild mammal of any kind through that stretch of road.  I'm always up for seeing a bear.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/10, 1/200s

According to Wikipedia, US military personnel stationed in Yellowstone used Old Faithful as a laundry service.  Soldiers in the late nineteenth century would stuff their dirty laundry into the opening of the geyser then wait for it to erupt.  When it did, the their clothes would be launched into the air while receiving a nice steam cleaning.

I'm not quite sure I believe that, but it's certainly entertaining to imagine that scene, especially when one suspects soldiers of the day probably didn't have a lot of extra underwear at their disposal.

I took this shot in July.  Old Faithful is beginning to build up to an eruption.

Photo inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 143, image #7080.

Oh, what the hell, I can't show the geyser thinking about blowing its top without actually showing the eruption, can I?

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/5.6, 1/640s

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk -- San Gregorio State Beach, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 4000

Not a particularly nice picture of the bird, I'll admit, and the colors are a bit subdued but I sure do like those pine cones.

Devil's Cauldron

Devil's Cauldron, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO: 100

This might be the best shot I've ever taken of this particular area of Point Lobos.  I'm usually at the Point in the afternoon so I'm shooting into the light.  I think the dark skies helped me out here.

The inlet is called Sea Lion Cove, this area on general is known as the Devil's Cauldron.  The Oregon Coast has some of the devil's handiwork as well, including Devil's Punchbowl, Devil's Churn and Devil's Lake.  I guess he didn't spend as much time down here.

Headland Cove

Headland Cove, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO: 100

Kinda looks like a painting, doesn't it?  This place is real, though, and those colors aren't exaggerated.  You can see shades of blue in the waters of Point Lobos that don't even seem possible in nature, but there they are.

Pinnacle Cove

Pinnacle Cove, Point Lobos State Nature Reserve, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO: 100

The central California coastline put on quite a show yesterday.  I caught the afternoon act from Half Moon Bay to Point Lobos.  Dark Skies, big waves, splashes of sunlight, abundant wildlife and just a hint of rain, it's a tough act to beat.

Lava Beds at Dawn

Lava Beds National Monument, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO: 320

One of the things I like about camping is waking up early.  I tend to wake up at first light and go to sleep fairly early.  That gives me a chance to catch the occasional sunrise like this one.  This was the view from my campsite at Lava Beds National Monument.  Well, a very short walk away, at least.  I only spent a night there, it's an area that deserves more time.

Manzanar

Manzanar National Historic Site, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I'm not really sure what I was going for when I snapped this photo.  The mountains and the fire truck, I think.  I suspect I was after both of those.  The strangely-colored building and the scruffy foreground tree don't do much for the composition, though, do they?  Oh well.

What I like about this picture is that the fire truck IS kinda cool and the Sierras in the background do give a person an idea of why this particular internment camp was the one chosen to memorialize.  Kinda sad to think that even in 2015 this sort of camp probably doesn't seem unreasonable to a large number of US citizens, at least so it seems based on the recent debates.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 142, image #1343.

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/6.3, 1/40s, ISO: 100

Sometimes it's not the animals, it's the locations.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO: 100

Rain in the lowlands.  Snow in the Sierras.  Here's to hoping we're looking at a wet, wet winter.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

If I had to pick my favorite waterfowl common to the Central Valley in winter I'd probably choose the Northern Pintail.  I like their black and brown coloring and their fancy tails, but it's probably the glossy beak that really does it for me.  These guys have style.

The Sixth at Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

It's not too often golf comes up on this blog.  I love golf but I'm not very good at it.  I haven't been playing much in the last few years but I've been meaning to change that.  This was a bucket list gift my wife gave Sam and me six years ago.  We spent the weekend at Pebble Beach with rounds of golf at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill with caddies.  My brother rode his motorcycle down for the weekend and walked Pebble Beach with us.  They're both in the red shirts in this picture.

Funny thing, we shared a one room suite with two beds and a cot.  The next morning we all complained about how we were kept awake by each other's snoring.  Guess it runs in the family.

Photo inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 141, image #7035.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1250

I have my best luck with shooting hawks at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  They sometimes like to hang out in the trees right along the auto tour route.  They're used to the cars there, I guess.  This was the first of two hawks I saw in the the trees there on Sunday before Thanksgiving.  I took so many pictures of this one I didn't even bother with the second red tail just around the corner.

Geese Darken the Sky

Snow & Ross' Geese -- Sacramento National Wildlfe Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5, 1/1000s, ISO: 125

I've heard there used to be so many geese and ducks in the Central Valley that they would darken the sky.  That's easy to imagine at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  If you're in the right place at the right time you might even experience it.

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, ISO: 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s

I remember being a little excited about the series of photos I took of this particular bird not so much because the photos were all that interesting but because it's a bird I don't get to photograph all that often.
 Photo inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 140, image #6008.

You talkin' to me?

Emu -- Jefferson, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 4000

Saw this guy in a pasture across the road from Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge.  I was hoping for a bald eagle, this bad ass was a nice consolation prize.

Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/80s, ISO: 100

I'm starting to get back into the normal rhythm of things after my Thanksgiving trip up North.  I took a little under two thousand photos.  I'll be spending the next week or so going through them.  I wonder how much money that would have cost me in film and processing back in the day.  A photographer had to know what he/she was doing back then.  Now, a lug like me can drive around and press the button on the camera until his finger turns blue then sift through the crap to find the occasional gem.  Gotta love technology.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Lake Tahoe is famous for its clear blue water.  No doubt.  This photo was taken three years ago in January.  It's obviously a winter shot based on the snow on the hills and ice on the water.  Tough to beat Tahoe in winter.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 138, image #6768.

Stalking the Spruce House

Spruce House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM, f/18, 1/800s, ISO: 1600

Hiking down to Spruce House exposes the cliff dwellings to a number of interesting views.  It's a short hike (about a mile) and not very difficult, but it's also not flat until you get to the Spruce House.  We toured three cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde.  Cliff Palace was the most impressive.  Balcony House was the most adventurous.  Spruce House was the most intimate and easily my favorite of the three in part because we weren't stuck in a guided tour group.

Visitors at Spruce House

Spruce House. Mesa Verde Narional Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/10, 1/100s. ISO: 100

I think it's easier to imagine what life would have been like living in the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde with people in the pictures.  It gives the photos a sense of scale and movement.  I had conversations with most of the people in this picture.  The gentleman in green is my friend Jim.  We went to college together and have been friends ever since.  He's accompanied me on a few road trips recently, but now he's met a lady so I suspect it may be just me and Pongo for a while unless I can figure out a way to get my wife to accompany us.  She hates camping.

Spruce House

Spruce House. Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 1600. f/13, 1/800s

A lot of restoration work has been done on the main attractions at Mesa Verde.  I use the word 'attractions' with all of the touristy vibe that goes with it.  Mesa Verde is the closest thing to Disneyland that I've encountered at a National Park.  Guided tours.  Lines.  Semi-fabricated attractions.  The cool thing about Spruce House is that it's condition is a lot closer to what it was when people lived in it than when it was first discovered, I'm sure.  Would we be better off seeing things in a more natural state, though?  I'm not sure I have an opinion one way or the other. it's just a question I've asked myself since visiting the park.

Golfer Crossing

Paradise Valley Golf Course, Fairfield, CA

I was in one of those golf carts and this sign didn't make me feel any safer about crossing this particular road.

Anise Swallowtail

Anise Swallowtail -- Moss Landing, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I can stare at butterfly pictures for a long time.  They are nature's masterpieces.  I'm agnostic with a hard lean toward atheism, but if someone wanted to convince me the world was artistically conceived by some higher power and used the butterfly as their first argument I just might be swayed.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 137, image #9860.

Balcony House

Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

Balcony House is a fun tour.  I was worried because there were a lot of warnings about the difficulty of this tour and I have some medical conditions that make certain physical activities painful and sometimes even impossible.  It was no big deal, though.  You need to be able to climb a thirty foot ladder and crawl through a fifteen foot (or so) tunnel on your hands and knees.  The scariest part they don't tell you about, which is scaling a steep stairway cut into the cliff side.  There's a chain-link fence to catch you if you fall, but things could easily go wrong.  That was the best part.

The Walls of Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon Powershot SD770 IS

This is one of my favorite shots from the Cliff Palace tour from this summer.  It's almost a shot of nothing, then again the wonkiness of the walls and steps are prominently on display.  There's not a straight line to be seen and I find that to be quite pleasing.  The lighting is a little drab because the sun was blocked out by the cliff, but that made for a pleasant touring experience.

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace -- Mesa Verde National Park, CA
Canon Powershot SD770 IS

Bela Lugosi Egret

Snowy Egret -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1250

OK, I know, it's silly but to me this egret looks like he's doing a Dracula impression with his wings as a cape.  He's sneaking up on that unsuspecting gull to suck his blood.  Poor unsuspecting gull.

In fact, the egret has just touched down for a landing and hasn't had a chance to pull its wings in yet.  That's not nearly as much fun as a vampire bird on a killing rampage photo, but I suppose that's why we have our imaginations.

Cowboy Crossing

Grand Teton National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/60s, ISO: 100

I like the cowboy hat mods on horse crossing signs even better than the Rudolph noses on deer crossing signs.  This one looks like Butch Cassidy.  By the tilt of his hat we can clearly see that he's moseying.

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

San Francisco Bay, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

There's a reason songs get written about this place.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 136, image #2008.

Early Arrivals

Greater White-fronted Geese -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/7.1, 1/400s, ISO: 320

I like how these five geese look like they're just out for a little stroll and a chat.  I wonder what geese talk about.  How was the flight, maybe?

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 640

I don't tend to get very excited about small shorebirds unless they're flocked together in large numbers.  I do enjoy taking photos of black-necked stilts, though.  They're easy to identify and are probably the cutest shorebird on the West Coast.  They're a challenge to photograph well because like egrets their white feathers tend to wash out.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Crane -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 500

I almost passed up on this shot because of the poor lighting.  Glad I hung in there, though, because I like what happened when the front crane turned into the sun.  I ended up with this shot, which I kind of like.

Winter Is Coming

Sandhill Crane -- Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/8, 1/500s, ISO: 400

Winter is coming.

It's hard to tell this year.  The temperatures have dipped only slightly.  We have yet to see rain.  The grass has been brown for months.  Aside from the fact that the days are getting shorter, the only physical indication that we're approaching winter is the departure and arrival of migratory animals.

I took a drive out to Merced National Wildlife Refuge on Friday.  A few thousand sandill cranes have already arrived, with probably an equal number of norther shovelers.  They've been around at least a couple of weeks.  I also saw a hundred or more white-fronted geese.  I didn't see any of those two weeks ago at the San Luis unit.  A few northern pintails and ross'/snow geese were there on Friday.  Soon they'll number in the thousands.

Sam & Pongo on the South Rim

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, f/8, 1/60s, ISO: 100

Pongo's biggest camping adventure was a camping trip we took to Grand Canyon last year.  The South Rim is one of the few pet-friendly National Park areas I've found.  Dogs are allowed on leash on the paved trails around the rim.

OK, technically I'm on the trail taking this photo and Pongo and Sam aren't.  You got me.  Still, you get the idea.

We only made a small dent in covering the South Rim trail before Pongo wore out.  I don't know if Pongo enjoyed the views or not but he certainly enjoyed seeing all the wildlife on those short hikes.  Birds.  Lizards.  Squirrels.  Chipmunks. Good times.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 135, image #0569.

Short-horned Lizard

Short-horned Lizard -- Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, ISO:1600, f/5.6, 1/1250s

We met this cute little lizard at our campsite in Mesa Verde National Park.  He did a nice job of keeping the place clean of insects.  Well, at least until he took off for the evening, then the ants came out.

One More from Monument Valley

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/10, 1/100s, ISO: 100

I think I used this one in a panorama.  It stands up nicely on its own as well.  Well, here's the panorama again,  I posted it earlier.

Horses in Monument Valley

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/8, 1/125s

Horses become part of the scenery in certain areas of Monument Valley.  Used for snapshot poses as well as for riding, the horses add to the mystique of the place even if their presence is clearly due to tourism.  Capitalism isn't always such a bad thing.

Perspective in Monument Valley

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/60s, ISO: 100

This photo gives a little perspective of the size of some of the rock formations in Monument Valley.  They're large, to be sure, but not Yosemite Valley or Grand Canyon large.  It's not their size that knocks your socks off on the driving tour, it's the majesty.

Monument Valley in Sepia

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

Black and white can work wonders with certain types of skies.  Going with a sepia tint seemed appropriate given the subject of the photo.

Desert View

Desert View, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, ISO: 100, f/8, 1/60s

Desert View is my favorite spot on the South Rim.  It has clear views of the Colorado River below and the West-facing cliffs light up at sunset.  There's a goofy gift shop built like a watchtower right on the rim.  I like complaining about that silly thing, but it's kind of fun, too.  The reason to visit Desert View is in the name, it's the unparalleled view.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 134, image #1041.

A Whale's Tail

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5, 1/1600s, ISO: 800

Tough to beat seeing a whale in real life as far as wildlife sightings go.  It's pretty much a guarantee on whale watching tours in Monterey Bay.  That doesn't diminish things, at least in my book.

Monument Valley

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/10, 1/125s

It doesn't even look real, does it?

More Cranes

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/2000s, ISO: 3200

Not the most interesting photo, but I like how the crane on the right is looking right at the camera.  Cranes have such little heads for their big bodies.

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EJ 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 400