Owens Valley

Owens Valley, CA
Canon PowrShot SX40 HS

There used to be a lake in Owens Valley.  It was drained to feed Los Angeles' thirst.  It's still an impressive place.  The Sierra Nevada mountain range rises up as a ten thousand foot tall granite wall from the valley floor.  The range extends roughly forty miles to the South and one hundred fifty miles to the North.  Even today there are only a handful of passes over the range and none in this area.

Point Imperial

Point Imperial -- Grand Canyon National Park, AZ
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/125s, ISO: 100

I took this shot from the North Rim last year.  The South Rim is better for traveling with a dog because most of the rim is open for them to walk on, but the North Rim is better for people there simply fewer folks around.  We had this spot all to ourselves on our visit.  This photo was taken just off of the parking lot.  I didn't have to work for it at all.  That doesn't seem right, does it?

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 189, image #4744.

Capitol Building

Oregon State Capitol -- Salem, OR
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/4, 2s

OK, it's not very outdoorsy, sure.  I've been working on night photography.  This was one of my first attempts taken two years ago,  I need to start playing with the ISO a bit to draw the sky out more.

Growing up in Salem, this building is a very familiar sight to me.  I used to think it was an impressive building.  Now, not so much.  Today it seems kind of funky.  San Francisco's City Hall is more impressive as far as government buildings go.  The capitol was completed in 1938 and according to the offical website it's an example of Modernist Art Deco design.  Huh?  It has a flourish here and there I suppose, but calling this an example of Art Deco seems like a stretch to me.  What do I know?

Golf Deer

Black-tailed Deer -- Pacific Grove Golf Links, CA
Canon PowerShot SD770 IS

Deer are a common sight on the golf course in Pacific Grove.  Actually, it seems like they are common pretty much everywhere in that town.  I took this photo in 2009 with my little SD770.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 187, image #5471.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5,6 IS II, ISO: 250, f/5.6, 1/2000s

Canyonlands

Canyonlands National Park, UT
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, ISO: 100, f/10, 1/100s

Spectacular views abound at Canyonlands National Park.  I wish I had a four wheel drive, I'd have driven down into the canyons below the Island in the Sky.

Bison in the Sagebrush

American Bison -- Yellowstone National Park, WY
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO: 1600

We saw this guy off by himself traveling North toward Mammoth Hot Springs on the West side of the Grand Loop in Yellowstone.  We had him/her all to ourselves for a little while.  We stayed on the opposite side of the road.  This photo was taken completely zoomed in to 400mm and is roughly fifty percent cropped.  I point this out because we were careful to keep our distance.  The people that pulled in front of us and got out of their car within twenty feet of this large animal were not nearly so cautious or respectful.  This is one of my great frustrations with the national parks.  The parks are great but people with their cell phones often spoil what could be amazing experiences with a little more care about their surroundings.