Featured Galleries

Calero - Serpentine Loop - Bald Peaks Trail : This loop is located on the backside of Calero Park. A great place to spot deer in the early morning hours. This is my first mixture gallery, the photos are all from the same trails but a mix of visits, so you'll see Fall browns and colors mixed with Spring greens and wildflower colors. This has rapidly become one of my favorite nearby hiking spots for it's variety of habitats, wildlife and good challenging uphill climbs!

Calero - Serpentine Loop - Bald Peaks Trail

This loop is located on the backside of Calero Park. A great place to ...

Updated: Mar 23, 2013 7:41pm PST

Calero - Lakeview Loop : Varied terrain and the ever present Calero Lake make for some great hiking and photography. This gallery contains a selection of shots from all my various hikes on these trails. They cover a range of seasons from the fall tans and browns to the all the colors of spring. Also a great place for wildlife both at the lake and the pond at Fish Camp on the Javelina Loop.

Calero - Lakeview Loop

Varied terrain and the ever present Calero Lake make for some great hi ...

Updated: Apr 20, 2013 2:52pm PST

Almaden Quicksilver Historic Trail : This great park, just a few miles from my house, was the site of considerable Quicksilver mining from the mid 1800's until 1976 (Quicksilver is the source rock for Mercury). Since being made aware of this Park's existence by a fellow hiker in my neighborhood, I have been hiking it a lot in the last couple months. It seemed fitting to take the Historical Trail as my first Photo Excursion into the park (first of many more). The Historical trail is a combination of trails and has been laid out and annotated in a informative brochure by a local Boy Scout Troop. I took a somewhat altered version,but I still hit all the highlights. All throughout the park there is still quite a bit of remaining mining equipment and buildings but this particular route has a very high concentration. It even includes a restored mine shaft you can walk into for a short way. Also some great scenery. Due to the fairly large elevation changes, this walk, along with most of the trails in the Park, is probably not for the casual walker.

Almaden Quicksilver Historic Trail

This great park, just a few miles from my house, was the site of consi ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 4:52pm PST

Slideshow

Your Bio

Hi and welcome to my Site!

I really appreciate you spending some time here and hope you enjoy looking at my photos. I'm not a professional photographer, just an enthusiastic amateur. You can click on the "About Me" tab for more on that subject.

There are several ways to view photos on my site. My favorite is the Slideshow. This shows each photo in full screen mode with a nice black background so the photo's really pop. Just click the Slideshow button in the upper right area of the Gallery page. Once the Slideshow starts you can adjust the speed, skip forward and backward, pause and even select photos from a thumbnail view that is at the top of the screen. Just move your cursor and you'll see all these tools.

Also check out the "Search By..." tab for a multitude of ways to find stuff on my site including most recent additions, keywords, dates, etc... and make sure to check out the "FRIDAY FREEBEE" feature!!!!! for a free photo download updated on the first Friday of each month (last Menu at top of page)


You can comment on any picture or Gallery on my site. Just scroll down to the bottom left of the page and click on the "Comment" button and comment away! Just remember that these comments are available for all who visit the Gallery to see. If have a more private question, comment, suggestion, or whatever.... just click the Contact link at the bottom of every page. Either way, I look forward to hearing from you.You can also give the photos you really like a "Thumbs Up" on the Gallery page by hovering your cursor over the displayed photo and a pop-up window with the "Thumbs" icons will magically appear (you can also give a "Thumbs Down" to the ones you really don't like if you feel the need to). I'd appreciate any "Thumbs Up's" ratings as that helps get my photos more visible throughout the SmugMug world. If you do give one a "Thumbs Down" I'd appreciate a comment as to why.

As I said, I'm not a pro but I do get an occasional good shot (well OK, I think I do!). If you see something you'd like to own you can buy it here in a multitude of formats. Just look for the Buy button. (And remember to check the "Friday Freebee" for a free download with a new one posted the first Friday of every month)

Most of all though, I just hope you enjoy looking around.
bc

LATEST POSTS

4.28.13
Just added 10 new recent shots from Russian Ridge OSP. Caught some great fog and a new bird I've never seen. Unfortunately my camera battery inexplicably died on me after about 20 shots. The plus side was I was forced to get my iPhone out and experiment a bit with it's camera. I did manage to get a couple passable shots though I did miss my DSLR! Check it out at: http://smu.gs/10lUrIG

4.27.13
A whole bunch of stuff for this post some in the form of new photos and some in the form improvements to the site. First I've posted a new gallery from a new location for me, Skyline Ridge OSP. Check out the shots of the beautiful lake, panoramic views of the Santa Cruz Mts all the way to the coast, spring flowers, lizards and more! Here's a link to the Gallery: http://smu.gs/10khZ0p. In the area of site improvements I made some adjustments to the "BC's Picks" and "Single Subject Collection" galleries in the Collections section. The biggest improvement is that now most the galleries have been tweaked to include just my best shots of each subject or are broken up into smaller categories so the galleries have fewer photos in them. If you visited these galleries before and were frustrated by the large number of photos in them (of which not all were necessarily that good), please check them out again. I think they are much better now, here's a link to the Collections page: http://lcphoto.smugmug.com/Collections

4.19.13
Most of my shooting these days seems to be of the spring wildflowers. I am revisiting some old trails and going to some new ones as wells. With the old trails I pretty much just update the existing galleries rather than having multiple galleries for the same trail. I realized that anyone that has visited those galleries before may not want to go through all the old stuff sooooooo I created a gallery with just the new spring wildflower shots. The latest shots are first and will probably be updated about once a week or so, so check back often to see what's new.I hope spring is either happening for you wherever you may be (or at least just around the corner). Click this link to be whisked away to Wildflowerland: http://smu.gs/ZYV8HE

4.7.13
Only a couple days late but the spring spectacular Friday Freebee is now up. Umm my excuse... well I did have to mentor my 2nd cousin on Saturday photo shoot on the coast south of Half Moon Bay who is just starting in photography. And while that doesn't exactly excuse me from not getting something done the day before that, it should at least get me some "good guy" brownie points! Go to: http://smu.gs/14MiVTl to check out my ode to early spring.

4.2.13
With an upcoming week trip to SoCal's Leo Carrillo State Beach I decided I'd better clear the decks for a big influx of photos. So with that new motivation I've begun to hit the backlog of photos on my hard drive. Here's 3 new galleries, yes count em' that's three! Spring has gotten me out to take some shots of the early color so that's a big part of what's new. My backlog of photos is mostly from local hiking spots so in some cases the new photos are blended in with other photos from the same trails.In some cases everything is new. Anyway, there is a new gallery from Almaden Quicksilver County Park at http://smu.gs/14MhWCz , and two sets from the 15+ miles of the Coyote Creek Parkway Trail. Pt 1 is at http://smu.gs/14MiPuR and Part 2 is at http://smu.gs/14MiVTl. Look for more soon as the "Spring Cleaning" of my hard drive continues!

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Galleries

BC's Most Recent Picks : A collection of what I think is the best of my latest shots.

BC's Most Recent Picks

A collection of what I think is the best of my latest shots.

Updated: May 02, 2013 5:47pm PST

Friday Freebee : It's your lucky day! It's Free! It's Free! You've arrived at the spot on my site where, on the 1st Friday of every month, I'll post one of my favorite photos for you to download for your own personal use and enjoyment. (personal use only, please) There are several sizes of each photo available ranging from a whopping 1920x1200 to a mini 400x250 (sizes are approximate as I choose not to crop my photos to fit, instead I adjust picture size to the largest dimension. In the largest size here 1920 pixels). Here's a quick guide to the sizes. First size is in pixels, the second is print size at 150dpi (the same resolution used on this site for purchases) S = 400x250 or 2.5x1.5 M= 600x375 or 4x2.5 L= 800x500 or 5x3 XL= 1024x640 or 6.5x4 X2= 1280x800 or 8.5x5 X3= 1600x1000 or 10.5x6.5 O= 1920x1200 or 12.5x8 (perfect for a desktop picture on that 21" widescreen monitor!) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DOWNLOAD PROCEDURE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1. Click on the photo you want to download. The photo will open in an overlay window on top of this window. 2. At the top left you'll see a list of sizes S, M, L, XL, X2, X3, and O. Click on the size you want to download. 3. Probably the easiest way of downloading is to just click and hold on the photo and then "Drag and Drop" it to your location of choice on your computer. Alternatively, you can Right-Click on the photo and select the download option from the pop-up menu that appears. (Control-Click on a Mac. Sorry, I'm not sure of the equivalent on a PC). 4. Your photo will magically appear where you dropped it in the "Drag and Drop" method or wherever you've specified for downloads to go if you use the Right Click method. . 5. Enjoy PS: If I miss a posting here and there, please don't send me angry emails. And please check back again as I may just be a bit late or better yet, out and about taking more photos! Plus while you're here, why not look around a bit? An easy way to start is to simply click the link below each picture which will take you to the Gallery that photo is from. bc

Friday Freebee

It's your lucky day! It's Free! It's Free! You've arrived at the spot ...

Updated: May 02, 2013 5:33pm PST

Rancho Canada del Oro - Mayfair Trail Loop : This mostly unknown Open Space Preserve is locate adjacent to the backside of Calero County Park. In fact it shares a parking lot with the entrance to the backside of Calero (another unknown area). In my opinion both are gems of the County Park and Open Space Preserve systems in the area. Abundant wildlife (I have almost always seen deer, and even seen some coyotes), great scenic views, open grassland spaces, dense Oak forrests, a variety of spring flowers, grasses and other Flora.

Rancho Canada del Oro - Mayfair Trail Loop

This mostly unknown Open Space Preserve is locate adjacent to the back ...

Updated: May 02, 2013 4:20pm PST

Santa Teresa - Stile Entrance Loop : This moderate 7.2 mile hike traverses mostly moderately hilly terrain. There are a few steep sections but none are particularly long grinds. This loop takes you through a lot of open grassland doted with patches of Oaks. There are also some heavily wooded areas of Oak and Bayberry with fern covered forest floors. On the part of the trail that skirts the city side of the park there are several ravines with densely packed Eucalyptus groves. This same side of the park provides maybe a bit more city/residential neighborhood views than some might like, though in the fall there are some great fall colors in the street trees.

Santa Teresa - Stile Entrance Loop

This moderate 7.2 mile hike traverses mostly moderately hilly terrain. ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 4:52pm PST

Almaden Quicksilver Historic Trail : This great park, just a few miles from my house, was the site of considerable Quicksilver mining from the mid 1800's until 1976 (Quicksilver is the source rock for Mercury). Since being made aware of this Park's existence by a fellow hiker in my neighborhood, I have been hiking it a lot in the last couple months. It seemed fitting to take the Historical Trail as my first Photo Excursion into the park (first of many more). The Historical trail is a combination of trails and has been laid out and annotated in a informative brochure by a local Boy Scout Troop. I took a somewhat altered version,but I still hit all the highlights. All throughout the park there is still quite a bit of remaining mining equipment and buildings but this particular route has a very high concentration. It even includes a restored mine shaft you can walk into for a short way. Also some great scenery. Due to the fairly large elevation changes, this walk, along with most of the trails in the Park, is probably not for the casual walker.

Almaden Quicksilver Historic Trail

This great park, just a few miles from my house, was the site of consi ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 4:52pm PST

Moonbeams and Starshine : Admittedly this is a new area of phototgraphy for me and I don't have any special gear but I am facinated by Astronomy so what the heck!

Moonbeams and Starshine

Admittedly this is a new area of phototgraphy for me and I don't have ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 3:06pm PST

Bridge Over Troubled Waters : From foot to super-highway, ornate to plain, over to under, new to old, if it spans something it might turn up here.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

From foot to super-highway, ornate to plain, over to under, new to old ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:48pm PST

Spring Wildflowers 2013 : 4.16.13 Here's the place to look for new updates as I traverse the Bay Area looking for spring color. Newer photos are first so if you've been here before you don't have to look through the older ones to see the new. I generally get out once or twice a week and things are happening color-wise here in the SF Bay Area so chcke back often! I'm trying to learn the names of all these flowers. You will notice some have names listed in the caption beneath the phto. If you know I'm wrong or know the name of a flower that is nameless here PLEASE let me know the name. It's as easy as posting a comment (or you can also email me through the Contact link at the bottom of every page. Thanks for your help.

Spring Wildflowers 2013

4.16.13 Here's the place to look for new updates as I traverse the Bay ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:41pm PST

Birds of a Feather... : My photographic ode to our fine feathered friends.

Birds of a Feather...

My photographic ode to our fine feathered friends.

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:40pm PST

Musicians - The Singers : I'll admit I'm partial to instrumentals, but it's also hard to argue with our gut reaction to the sound of the human voice.

Musicians - The Singers

I'll admit I'm partial to instrumentals, but it's also hard to argue w ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:39pm PST

Musicians - Keyboards : To all those who "tickle the ivories"...

Musicians - Keyboards

To all those who "tickle the ivories"...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:33pm PST

Musicians - Percussion : All jokes about drummers aside, music would not be anywhere near as powerful without the folks who strike, beat and shake things.

Musicians - Percussion

All jokes about drummers aside, music would not be anywhere near as po ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:27pm PST

Musicians - Strings : Anything that's plucked, strummed, or bowed…..

Musicians - Strings

Anything that's plucked, strummed, or bowed…..

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:21pm PST

Musicians - Brass : Slides, Valves and a lot of tubing!

Musicians - Brass

Slides, Valves and a lot of tubing!

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 2:08pm PST

Musicians - Woodwinds : If it's got a reed….. wait a minute, what about the flute? Well, this is the Woodwind section. And yes, I'm a bit biased toward this category. I play Sax.

Musicians - Woodwinds

If it's got a reed….. wait a minute, what about the flute? Well, this ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 1:58pm PST

Russian Ridge : I first discovered this Preserve when in March of 2010 I finally got around to exploring some of the hikes highlighted in an article I had seen in Sunset Magazine called "35 Hikes Off Skyline Blvd". My first hike here was about a month too early to experience the wildflowers the area is known for. I meant to go back but I got real busy with some other stuff until 3 years and a month later when I finally made it back (April 2013). I had a bit better luck with the wildflowers but lack of rain that year probably limited the wildflower display. All that aside this is a great place for open expanses and panoramic views of the Coast and the South Valley (Borell Hill gives a 360 degree view of both). There are also dense Oak forests and easy access to Skyline Ridge OSP's Alpine Lake. I look forward to future visits and I will update the gallery as I do.

Russian Ridge

I first discovered this Preserve when in March of 2010 I finally got a ...

Updated: Apr 28, 2013 2:01pm PST

5 Star Picks - The Film Years : The best shots of my pre-digital, film years. (At least those I've gotten around to scanning!)

5 Star Picks - The Film Years

The best shots of my pre-digital, film years. (At least those I've got ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 3:14pm PST

5 Star Picks 2009-2011 : This is a collection of what I consider my best shots from my entire library (not including the ones in the Most Recent Gallery or my film days)

5 Star Picks 2009-2011

This is a collection of what I consider my best shots from my entire l ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 3:13pm PST

5 Star Picks 2012-2013 :

5 Star Picks 2012-2013

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 3:10pm PST

Signs Of The Times : Signage that's unique has always intrigued me, be it oddly worded, beautifully done, funny, sad, or just plain informative. (my favorites are the ones that make you ask "Did they REALLY mean to say that?")

Signs Of The Times

Signage that's unique has always intrigued me, be it oddly worded, bea ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 2:52pm PST

Sunrise, Sunset : I always try and notice a great sunset (and sunrise on the rare occasions I'm awake at that time). So I guess it makes perfect sense that this is a favorite photographic subject for me.

Sunrise, Sunset

I always try and notice a great sunset (and sunrise on the rare occasi ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 2:48pm PST

Grand Canyon '11 : This year my trip with my Mom and Sister was to the Grand Canyon. I have been to the canyon a few times, though not since my teen years when we rode to the bottom on mules. This trip started with a day-long drive from San Diego to Williams AZ. The next day we boarded a Grand Canyon Railways train for a ride to the Grand Canyon. For some reason I got the idea that this train ride would be incredibly scenic. Unfortunately it turned out to be pretty bland. It was an OK trip due to the onboard entertainment and relaxing nature of it. Probably not something I would do a second time though. We arrived at the canyon around noon and began to explore. We had 2 days so we managed to cover most of the vista points on the Rim Trail. I had initially planned to spend most of one day hiking as far as I could on the Bright Angel Trail. Unfortunately, when the time came, I didn't feel quite up to it and since it is a pretty demanding hike I decided not to do it. I was a bit disappointed in myself but, hey, what are you going to do. In end it worked out better for getting more photos as I had more time to see the canyon from more different vista points. The return trip on the train proved to be slightly more scenic due to the fact that we were descending which made the views more panoramic. On our arrival in Williams we broke up our return to San Diego by driving to Laughlin NV for the night. We got up early the next day, watched the sunrise over the hills, walked by the river, had breakfast and finished the drive to San Diego. It was pretty hazy the whole time we were at the canyon which proved to be challenging photographically. Even with that, it was impossible not to be awed by the beauty and sheer magnitude of the canyon. I hope the photos here convey even a small fraction of that beauty and magnitude. Enjoy, bc

Grand Canyon '11

This year my trip with my Mom and Sister was to the Grand Canyon. I ha ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 2:32pm PST

Skyline Ridge : This is a great preserve in it's diversity of terrain and flora. From the beautiful, and aptly named, Horseshoe Lake to the dense Redwoods and Oak forests to the panoramic views the coast. And while the lovely Alpine Pond is much more easily accessed from the Russian Ridge parking area it is technically in the Skyline Ridge OSP.

Skyline Ridge

This is a great preserve in it's diversity of terrain and flora. From ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 2:24pm PST

A Rose By Any Other Name.. : Macro to eye-popping panoramas, if it blooms I'll snap a shot or two of it.

A Rose By Any Other Name..

Macro to eye-popping panoramas, if it blooms I'll snap a shot or two o ...

Updated: Apr 27, 2013 2:17pm PST

Calero - Lakeview Loop : Varied terrain and the ever present Calero Lake make for some great hiking and photography. This gallery contains a selection of shots from all my various hikes on these trails. They cover a range of seasons from the fall tans and browns to the all the colors of spring. Also a great place for wildlife both at the lake and the pond at Fish Camp on the Javelina Loop.

Calero - Lakeview Loop

Varied terrain and the ever present Calero Lake make for some great hi ...

Updated: Apr 20, 2013 2:52pm PST

Santa Teresa- Coyote Peak Loop : 6.18.10 - This park is almost on my doorstep. Yet in the 10 + years I've lived in this neighborhood I never knew it existed. The back entrance to the park can be hiked to from my house through an interconnecting set of trails I've hiked before, though it would be about a 8 or 9 mile hike one way. You can see the segments of this that I've done in the "In About an Hour - 2001 and 2009 Almaden Lake Trail and 2011 Calero Creek-Stiles Ranch galleries. I was really surprised and impressed with the beauty of the contrasting color of the straw like dead grasses, the still vibrant green of the trees and the remaining few persistent flowers.

Santa Teresa- Coyote Peak Loop

6.18.10 - This park is almost on my doorstep. Yet in the 10 + years I' ...

Updated: Apr 08, 2013 6:09pm PST

Almaden Quicksilver - Whispering Pines Entrance : Almaden Quicksilver is a large park so there are multiple entrance points. This is from the northern most entrance on Whispering Pines Red. The gallery contains collected phoots from numerous hikes. The longest is a tough 8+ miler with a lot of elevation change but there are numerous cut-offs to shorten the trip and ease the up and down. There is agreat variety of flora, fauna and scenic views. Additionally there are some historic items from the qhicksilver mining days that are the pparks namesake.

Almaden Quicksilver - Whispering Pines Entrance

Almaden Quicksilver is a large park so there are multiple entrance poi ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2013 7:28pm PST

Coyote Creek Parkway 1 - North : This gallery is the first half of the Coyote Creek trail. Though the "official" start of the trail is at Hellyer park I discovered the trail actually heads northward toward the Bay from the north end of Hellyer Park so the set starts with that section. I'm not sure what the trail is called though. This gallery ends at Bailey Ave (See Pt 2 for the continuation). As with all my Hiking The Bay Area Galleries this is a selection of all the photos I've taken on various hikes at varies times so the season and weather varies from shot to shot.

Coyote Creek Parkway 1 - North

This gallery is the first half of the Coyote Creek trail. Though the " ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2013 3:40pm PST

Coyote Creek Parkway 2 - South : This last gallery covers the south end of the Coyote Creek Parkway from Bailey Ave. to the end of the trail at Cochrane Rd. It includes photos from a once a year event, the Model Aircraft show sponsered by the local Model Aircraft Club. Lot's of fun. It happens in early July so their website at: http://www.sccmas.org for more info. Like all my Hiking The Bay Area Galleries the photos here are a compendium of all the hikes I've taken so the seasons and weather varies from photo to photo.

Coyote Creek Parkway 2 - South

This last gallery covers the south end of the Coyote Creek Parkway fro ...

Updated: Apr 02, 2013 2:58pm PST

Calero - Serpentine Loop - Bald Peaks Trail : This loop is located on the backside of Calero Park. A great place to spot deer in the early morning hours. This is my first mixture gallery, the photos are all from the same trails but a mix of visits, so you'll see Fall browns and colors mixed with Spring greens and wildflower colors. This has rapidly become one of my favorite nearby hiking spots for it's variety of habitats, wildlife and good challenging uphill climbs!

Calero - Serpentine Loop - Bald Peaks Trail

This loop is located on the backside of Calero Park. A great place to ...

Updated: Mar 23, 2013 7:41pm PST

Almaden Lake & Trails : I had lived in various areas of San Jose for about 25 years when I moved to a neighborhood in one of the areas of town I was least familiar with. About 3 years after moving there I discovered this wonderful walk nearly on my doorstep. There are two trails tha lead from Almden Lake. The Los Alamitos trail heads toward the Santa Cruz Mts. and the Guadalupe Creek trail heads towards downtown San Jose (neither trail arrives at either location).

Almaden Lake & Trails

I had lived in various areas of San Jose for about 25 years when I mov ...

Updated: Nov 27, 2012 8:17pm PST

Skyline to the Sea Trail & Waddell Beach : Fall 2004 - As I've said elsewhere I have hiked the beginning of The Skyline to the Sea Trail from Castle Rock many times. On this excursion I decided to start from the opposite end at Waddell Beach.

Skyline to the Sea Trail & Waddell Beach

Fall 2004 - As I've said elsewhere I have hiked the beginning of The S ...

Updated: Nov 27, 2012 7:24pm PST

Fremont Older OSP : During a brief stint of learning to Mountain Bike back in the early 90's I lived near this park. I was learning to windsurf at the same time and that sport eventually won out and I stopped Mountain Biking. I also moved away from the immediate area of the Park and have not been back till 2012. In the interim the park has been renovated with all new trails. Now on foot, I have more time to appreciate the scenery.

Fremont Older OSP

During a brief stint of learning to Mountain Bike back in the early 90 ...

Updated: Nov 21, 2012 8:10pm PST

Mother's Day Weekend 2010 : May 6-7 2010 - My Mom came to town for a visit and we toured some of the sights around the Bay Area ranging from Napa to the south San Francisco Bay.

Mother's Day Weekend 2010

May 6-7 2010 - My Mom came to town for a visit and we toured some of t ...

Updated: Nov 01, 2012 4:50am PST

Bodega Bay Part 4 : The final installment from this great Spring trip is one last hike before I hit the road home.

Bodega Bay Part 4

The final installment from this great Spring trip is one last hike bef ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2012 7:59pm PST

Bodega Bay Part 2 : In this Gallery, after exploring the local Marinas (see Part 1) my second day continues with a stop at the southern most section of the Sonoma Coast Park at a place called Bodega Head. It was windy and cold but the beauty and power of the rugged coast kept me exploring for most of the remaining morning and well into the afternoon. After a good nights rest the gallery continues with my first stop of the third day, a place called Goat Rock. Goat Rock is located near the northern border of the Park just south of the town of Jenner and the mouth of the Russian River.

Bodega Bay Part 2

In this Gallery, after exploring the local Marinas (see Part 1) my sec ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2012 7:47pm PST

Bodega Bay Part 3 : In this set of shots from my spring trip to Bodega Bay CA I've got everything from rock climbers, crashing surf, sunsets, sandy beaches and even a rainy day photo shoot from the protection of the inside of my car!

Bodega Bay Part 3

In this set of shots from my spring trip to Bodega Bay CA I've got eve ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2012 7:47pm PST

Bodega Bay Part 1 : May 2012 - Part 1 from 5 days of exploring and photographing around Bodega Bay California. Most of the pictures are from Sonoma Coast State Park which streches from Bodega Bay to a little north of Jenner. Go to www.parks.ca.gov for more info. It's funny how many trips end up having some kind of theme. This one could have been summed up by twisting around that old adge "If life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade. However in this case you would substitue Driftwood for lemons and lot's of driftwood shots for Lemonade! The weather ranged from a bit cool, windy, cold, wet, foggy and even a little sunshine. Of course that's just normal for this part of the California coast. I hope I managed to capture a bit of that essence in my shots. This Gallery covers my arrival day and my first walk on the beach. After a late night moon shot it then continues the next morning with a visit to the local Marinas.

Bodega Bay Part 1

May 2012 - Part 1 from 5 days of exploring and photographing around Bo ...

Updated: Oct 24, 2012 7:46pm PST

2012 Pt. 2 :

2012 Pt. 2

Updated: Oct 15, 2012 8:12pm PST

Highway 1 Coastal Cruise : 7.17.09 - A trip down Highway 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. This was the first excursion I made with my new DSLR. As it turns out I had some setting set, well, pretty screwy, but the photos still came out pretty good.

Highway 1 Coastal Cruise

7.17.09 - A trip down Highway 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2012 7:25pm PST

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My SmugMug Site Files (Do Not Delete)

DO NOT DELETE. This gallery was created for you by SmugMug. Please do ...

Updated: Oct 06, 2012 7:06pm PST

2012 Pt 1 :

2012 Pt 1

Updated: Oct 04, 2012 5:33pm PST

San Jose Jazz Fest 2012 : Another year of the San Jose Jazz Fest. I'm not sure if it was just me but this years festival was a bit of a disappointment. I had not really heard of most of the acts and when I checked them out on the internet I wasn't real jazzed about most of them. Some high-points were the Jazz Crusaders, Dianne Reeves, Fatum Brothers' Peacetet, Terence Blanchard and Marcus L. Miller and Freedom Jazz Movement backing up the Lula Washington Dance Theater. I didn't get any usable photos from the dance show as it was indoors, low light, lot's of movement and I don't have a really fast glass zoom lens. Anyway I'm not sure if it was the music or me but I wasn't real inspired to shoot photos either, but here;s what I got.

San Jose Jazz Fest 2012

Another year of the San Jose Jazz Fest. I'm not sure if it was just me ...

Updated: Sep 11, 2012 8:27pm PST

The Mission Mission - Part 4 : Part 4 of the trail starts with San Miguel Arcangel just a bit north of Paso Robles. It's probably one of the easiest Missions to find as it is right next to the freeway. In fact, coming from the South, the bell tower is clearly visible from Highway 101. At the time of my visit they were in the middle of what looked like a major reconstruction/building project so maybe in a year or so I'll visit again. Even so there was plenty see with what was currently there. Next up is San Antonio de Padua. This ones a tough one to find. It's about 30 miles off the freeway (through some beautiful wooded canyons) and located behind a military base. In fact you have to enter the base to get to it. It's located in a valley tucked into the Coastal Range of mountains and I was told that during most springs the valley is covered in wildflowers. This one is close enough to where I live that a day trip would be possible some spring (possibly in conjunction with the previous Mission?). There are plenty of outdoor ruins of old structures, gardens and a good museum to explore. This set finishes with one of the more modest Missions, Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. I'll admit this was my first stop on this project and I was a bit concerned that if they were all as modest as this one that the project was going to be a bust. It was still interesting even if a bit modest in scope.

The Mission Mission - Part 4

Part 4 of the trail starts with San Miguel Arcangel just a bit north o ...

Updated: Jul 27, 2012 8:40pm PST

The Mission Mission - Part 3 : In Part 3 of The Mission Mission project I start off with the 19th Mission built. The Santa Ines Mission is located in the beautiful Santa Ines Valley in the town of Santa Ines. The Mission itself is fairly plain but had a good museum and nice courtyard. Next up is the 11th Mission to be built La Purisma Conception which is located just outside of Lompoc.This is one of the better restored/developed Missions. This is probably due to the fact that it is actually a State Park so there are funds other than private donations available for development. Extensive displays in multiple buildings on huge grounds makes for a lot to see. I finish up this part with a couple photos from San Luis Obispo de Tolsa, the 5th Mission built. Unfortunately I passed this Mission twice on this part of the trip and both times where right around closing time. I did have time to explore the grounds and inside the church though there was not too much to see. According to the literature they have one of the better Museums but it was closed or just getting ready to close both times. Hopefully I'll be in that neck of the woods sometime in the future and can get to the Museum.

The Mission Mission - Part 3

In Part 3 of The Mission Mission project I start off with the 19th Mis ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2012 8:31pm PST

The Mission Mission - Part 2 : Part 2 covers the next 4 Missions on the trail. Starting with the two Missions in the Los Angeles area, San Gabriel Arcangel is in San Gabriel and was the 4th one built. Next is San Fernando Rey de Espana in Mission Hills which was numero 17. Up a bit further on the coast is San Buenoventura in Ventura the 9th mission constructed and Santa Barbara in, you guessed it, Santa Barbara number 10 on the construction list.

The Mission Mission - Part 2

Part 2 covers the next 4 Missions on the trail. Starting with the two ...

Updated: May 29, 2012 7:59pm PST

The California Mission Trail Map and Backstory of The Mission Mission : The idea for this project took shape over several years. The first inkling of the idea occurred to me one day as I was driving down one of the freeways that crisscross my hometown of San Jose. I happened to notice how many signs there were along the roadside pointing towards Historical Sights. It occurred to me that, even though I had lived in the area for several decades and even noticed the signs before, how few of these places I had ever visited. It further occurred to me that this might be an interesting photo project. At the time I was pretty busy so I never really had the chance to pursue the idea and as time passed, I soon forgot about it. The idea didn't resurface until a few years later while I was heading down Highway 101 (I think to my 40 year High School reunion) and I noticed the same type of signs for the Missions of California. I had visited the Mission at San Juan Batista several times and even taken some photos there. Plus, any time I would get a little further south on 101, I would always take note of the Mission at San Miguel, which sits in plain view right next to the freeway, and I'd think to myself , "One of these days I should stop and check that out". At the time I didn't know exactly how many more Missions there were, though I did know there were quite a few more than just these two. After a bit of web research I found out there are 21 Missions stretched over a 730 mile path from San Diego, near the Mexican border to San Rafael, a bit north of San Francisco. With that discovery the idea solidified in my mind as something I'd like to do. Even though it's not a unique idea, there are many sites dedicated to "The California Mission Trail" (see below for some links), since my web research didn't turn up any purely photographic explorations I decided to plunge ahead. There are some unique challenges to a project of this nature. First and foremost is the logistics of covering the 730 miles of travel from the southern most Mission to the northern most one. Fortunately, since I have relatives in the San Diego area, I was able to tie in a visit to the "Southland" with this project and I knocked off the "Southern 13" in one trip. As luck would have it the remaining nine are close enough to my home base that I easily finished them up with several day trips. There were also some photographic challenges that I hadn't considered. Foremost among these is the fact that you are taking a lot of pictures of very similar things (crosses, bells, statues, altars, arches etc...) . That's not necessarily a challenge in itself except that, if you have any kind of creative streak in you, then you start to run out of "new" ways to take the same subject pretty fast. A challenge yes, but I highly recommend that any photographers reading this try something like this as it really opens you up to seeing things differently than you normally do. Fairly early on I decided to take this challenge to a new level as I noticed several "Themes" developing. The most prominent was that almost every Mission had a statue of the guy in charge of the founding the Missions, Father Junipero Serra (in most cases exactly the same statue). Another feature found at most of the missions is the "El Camino Real Bell" (and again, mostly exactly the same bell). I also found the "Arch" to be an architectural device found prominently in most every Mission. There were a couple failed "Themes". For instance the first several Missions I visited had Sundials which became an early theme but then disappeared when I failed to find them with any regularity. Also some of the "Themes" didn't develop until after I had done a few Missions already. So anyway look for these "Themes" throughout my photos here. Another challenge was the amount of indoor, low light shooting that is required (inside churches and museums mostly). I decided to forsake the flash attachment and concentrate on using my tripod (which I usually dutifully carry around but rarely use) and go for longer exposure times. Yes, it's a bit more of a pain and takes a bit longer than that quick snap with the flash, but boy am I'm glad I did it. Rather than the usual unevenly lit, unnatural looking photos you get when using a flash I got these wonderfully natural looking, saturated photos. I'm a tripod guy from now on! (Yes, I do know that the flash is still an important tool in the right circumstances.) I do have to say that I strongly recommend that any budding photographers out there reading this should try doing a project of this nature. Because of the many challenges that you need to overcome in doing a project like this you will definitely expand your photographic horizons and become a better photographer. I know I did. Some things about the Missions themselves. I was surprised to learn that each Mission is privately funded so the condition of each Mission varies. Most confusingly the rules about photography vary considerably from Mission to Mission and very few post these rules. I only found about them when someone working there told me the rules. Some would say no flashes allowed, one said no tripod allowed, one said I couldn't sell any of my photos (and after some web research on photographers' rights I decided that might be an issue with all the Missions so none of these photos are for sale), and one told me I couldn't post any of the photos on the web. That said, I found most of the staff at the Missions to be very friendly, knowledgable and helpful. A bit about the photos themselves. As I mentioned there is a lot of similar subject matter in these photos. In order to get some variety in the presentation of this similar subject matter I not only tried to come of with different ways of shooting the subjects but I also explored various digital post-processing tools that I have at my disposal. I do believe that photography is an art form so as a photographer I should use all the tools available to create that art (albeit hopefully the proper tool at the proper time). I've tried to keep a good balance of "reality" vs. "art" in my choices, but some may disagree. What I'm trying to say is that some of these photos are real representations of what was there and some more impressionistic. 'Nough said? As far as the order in which to present these photos, I came up with three choices: in the order that I shot each location, in the order the Missions were built, and finally, in the South to North sequential order of "The California Mission Trail" (strangely not the same order they were built, check the map below) . There were good and bad points for each method but in the end I chose the latter (The Mission Trail one). I felt it was the most straight forward and meaningful way of the three for the general public. I felt both the other two methods only had any kind of order or value in a historical sense (the order I shot them would be my personal historical sense and the other a factual historical sense). A final story and then on to the point of this whole thing, the photos. At San Juan Capistrano there was a plaque that explained why the Spanish built all the Missions. I have to admit that I always assumed it was an enterprise that the Catholic Church undertook to spread Christianity. However it seems that the King of Spain at the time (late 1700's) was actually the main instigator. It seems he was concerned that the Russians were going to claim the California coast for Russia and he wanted to claim the land for Spain. He didn't want to make it appear to be a political move so he contacted the Church and, offering some financial backing and other resources, asked them if they would be interested managing a program to build a string of Missions in California (Oh,and while you're there, would you mind claiming all the land for Spain?).... and, as they say, the rest is history. I guess it just goes to show you that politicians have been trying to hide their real motives for things for a lot longer than we think. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope you found it at least somewhat informative but now stop reading a get to the photos! bc PS: SOME LINKS For More Info on the Missions: http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22722 ------ http://californiamissionsfoundation.org/home.html -----http://www.escusd.k12.ca.us/mission_trail/missiontrail.html

The California Mission Trail Map and Backstory of The Mission Mission

The idea for this project took shape over several years. The first ink ...

Updated: May 29, 2012 7:50pm PST

The "Early Years" : Anything I find of interest in my archives that dates anytime before the other years listed here.

The "Early Years"

Anything I find of interest in my archives that dates anytime before t ...

Updated: May 24, 2012 5:33pm PST

2011 :

2011

Updated: May 24, 2012 5:29pm PST

2009 :

2009

Updated: May 24, 2012 5:13pm PST

Spring 2012 : This particular spring I took two trips to San Diego to help my Mom out. I was mostly needed as a driver, as my Mom no longer drives, so there was plenty of downtime. We took the opportunity to do a few things around town and I took my camera on a few of our excursions (the ones I had not done before). Most of the shots here are from a trip from the San Diego Port to Coronado Island by ferry. I took some shots of the downtown architecture while waiting for the ferry and also on a walk from the the port to Seaport Village after the ferry trip. This was my first real attempt at some "architectural photography" and I was fairly pleased with the results. The last shot is from the second trip when we went to Fiesta Island to walk in the wild daisy fields.

Spring 2012

This particular spring I took two trips to San Diego to help my Mom ou ...

Updated: Apr 25, 2012 1:12pm PST

The Mission Mission - Part 1 : The first three Missions of the "Trail". San Diego de Alcala - in San Diego and the first Mission built, Mission San Luis Rey - just outside Oceanside which was the 18th one built and San Juan Capistrano - in San Juan Capistrano number 7 on the build list.

The Mission Mission - Part 1

The first three Missions of the "Trail". San Diego de Alcala - in San ...

Updated: Feb 11, 2012 8:19pm PST

El Sereno : 2.27.11 - The sun was out after a spell of heavy rains and I had a bit of time so I tried out this trail that's close to home that overlooks Lexington Reservoir (and some pretty nice houses!). It wasn't the most scenic trail I've been on, with long stretches bounded on either side by 7 to 8 foot tall scrub. Still, it was nice to get outside and take some photos. The trail is in the El Sereno OSP.

El Sereno

2.27.11 - The sun was out after a spell of heavy rains and I had a bit ...

Updated: Feb 02, 2012 7:32pm PST

Dominican Republic : Feb. 1991 - Though I had done some windsurfing on previous vacations, this was my first official "Windsurfing Vacation". I chose this location because Caberete (the town I was in) was supposed to be a great spot to learn wave sailing. Unfortunately, windsurfing-wise, it turned out to be a bit of a bust. Fortunately, the Dominican Republic is a quite scenic location so I got some great pictures. Things got off to an ominous start when I realized upon my arrival that it was raining. It was fairly late at night so I pretty much just got to my hotel, checked in and went to bed. When I woke up the next day the rain had turned to a torrential downpour. It rained continuously until around 3 PM and every time I looked outdoors it seemed to be raining harder than the last time I looked. Fortunately I had a good book. By the next day it had pretty much cleared up but it still took a couple days for the wind to recover. So with "Plan A" on hold (which was basically windsurf until my arms fell off!) I resorted to "Plan B" and became a "Windsurfing Tourist" (this is a somewhat limited version of a regular tourist in that since there is a chance the wind could pick up at any time you need to frequently return to check on the wind, severely limiting the distance you can travel away from the windsurfing area). I did most of my photo taking during this couple of days. As I remember there was one day of really mediocre wind in there somewhere. On Friday the wind came back pretty strong but unfortunately I woke up with the worst case of "Montezuma's Revenge" I've ever had. I was plagued all day not only by the physical distresses of that disease, but also the vision of myself chewing on some ice from a drink I had in a countryside restaurant I'd been in the day before. If that wasn't bad enough, later that evening at dinner, being really thirsty, I instinctively grabbed and chugged a glass of (non-bottled) water sitting on the table. I'm a fairly seasoned traveler and know better than to do either one of these things, so I guess all in all I sort of deserved to get sick. Anyway, Saturday turned out to be a good day for windsurfing and I vowed to try and make it back to Caberete to try again. As it's turned out so far I haven't made it back yet. But at least I've got some photos.

Dominican Republic

Feb. 1991 - Though I had done some windsurfing on previous vacations, ...

Updated: Sep 13, 2011 11:46am PST

San Jose Jazz Fest 2011 : Twenty-two years and still going. This year marks a name change that may reflect some changes in the festival. It's now called the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. I think that's meant to reflect a slight de-emphasis on the Jazz part as, of late, the music has taken a slight turn towards a more pop, commercial vein. That said, if you are willing to explore the smaller stages, and I always am, you can still find plenty of great Jazz. I spent the majority of my time at the smaller stages which fit well with my decision for this year to explore mostly artists I had not heard before. In fact I only saw 3 acts at the Main Stage and only caught 2 acts that I have seen before. Overall, it was not the best experience I've had a this particular festival mostly due to the fact that I was wasn't feeling particular well for the entire weekend. But trooper that I am, I plugged on anyway! Anyway here's the photos I got.

San Jose Jazz Fest 2011

Twenty-two years and still going. This year marks a name change that m ...

Updated: Aug 20, 2011 3:23pm PST

Highway 395 2009 : We arrived in Reno NV on June 14, 2010 from our various points of origin to begin a four day adventure to discover some of the many sights along Highway 395. We travelled from Reno to Lone Pine and back, covering a bit over 800 miles including all the side excursions. My Mom served as guide, being a veteran of many previous excursions into this territory. For my sister and I, most of this area was new and previously unseen. It was pretty cool having someone along who was so familiar with the territory. For my sister and I, it was pretty much drive until my Mom said turn here. Also, if we saw a sign pointing to something she could fill in the details and tell us if it was worth a side trip to see. This was the last trip for my trusty 25+ year old Nikon N2000 film camera. It's now retired having been replaced by a new Nikon D90 Digital SLR. The photos posted here are slightly less resolution than I would like and hopefully one day I'll find the time to rescan them at a higher resolution (yeah right, you should see that to do list!). But till then, I hope they at least adequately represent some of the scenery I saw on this great trip

Highway 395 2009

We arrived in Reno NV on June 14, 2010 from our various points of orig ...

Updated: Aug 16, 2011 5:17pm PST

Salt Point : May 2011 - Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 35+ years it's almost embarrassing to admit I have never explored the coastal areas north of San Francisco. With that in mind I decided to remedy that fact and take a 3 day weekend trip there. So where to? After some online research I had picked out a few spots but soon found that I was a bit late in my planning and found most everywhere booked solid. I had never heard of Salt Point and knew nothing about it but there where some vacancies, so decision made! As it turned out that decision turned out to be fabulous. I have explored a lot of coastal areas but I have to say the Tofani rock formations found at Salt Point are some of the most intriguing rock formations I have ever seen. Add to that the rugged, rocky Northern California coastline, the crashing surf, large seaweed covered tide pools and a wide variety of coastal wildflowers and you basically have a photographers dream. Although at times I was literally overwhelmed by the choice of things to shoot. I'd literally take a shot, turn several feet and take another shot, turn a bit more take another.... Of course, like all good things in life, there are a couple downside things. First it's reeeeeeally cold here. The wind blows almost constantly, even in the tree sheltered campground. At times it was in the 2O to 25 MPH range. In fact it was so cold I cut my trip down from the 3 days I had planned and left a day early. The other is poison sumac. I have no idea what it looks like but apparently I knelt in enough of it, with both knees, for the offending agent to soak through my jeans and.... well let's just say that the following several weeks were not a pretty sight. All that aside, the discomforts were well worth the incredible sights, hopefully captured in the photos shown here. I highly recommend Salt Point just be prepared for cold weather and look out for the poison sumac!

Salt Point

May 2011 - Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 35+ years it ...

Updated: Jun 17, 2011 7:08pm PST

Montana 2010 : Given that I have a cousin who's daughter is into horses and my sister lives in Montana, this trip was bound to happen. I am not into horses myself. In fact, some of my most terrifying memories of childhood occurred on the back of a horse. But that's between me and my therapist! I am however, an avid hiker and photographer so, given the incredible Montana scenery, the trip was a no brainer for me as well. We all met at my sister's place in Big Timber and departed to the Gallatin National Forest for 3 days of hiking, riding, relaxing and photography (depending on each individuals proclivities). Our timing was excellent as it had been raining pretty regularly up until the week before our arrival so the lakes and rivers were full and the wildflowers were in full bloom. bc A technical note: I realized about halfway through the last hike on the final day of this trip that I had the White Balance on my camera set to Fluorescent (from a previous shooting session). Since this was before I began shooting in RAW (camera white balance settings don't really matter for RAW) the resulting JPEGs came out with a rather strong purplish tinge that I could only correct for to a certain degree in editing. I learned a couple valuable lessons from this experience, always check ALL your camera settings before beginning a shoot and shoot in RAW!

Montana 2010

Given that I have a cousin who's daughter is into horses and my sister ...

Updated: May 15, 2011 7:12pm PST

Pismo Beach : Sept 2010 - I had this vacation week coming up but was short on cash to go anywhere. After racking my brain trying to figure out a way to get out of town, I came up with the idea of a camping trip. Now where too? I remembered a "father-son" bonding trip I took with my Dad to the Pismo Beach area when I was about 7 years old. I'll never forget one night we were getting ready to eat dinner and my Dad asked me if I wanted some salad. I said yes. He then proceeded to break a head of Iceberg lettuce in half, grabbed a bottle of salad dressing, and poured some on the half head of lettuce and took a bite. He gave me the other half-a-head of lettuce and the salad dressing and said "Have some salad". I think that's probably the funniest thing I ever saw my Dad do and I remember at the time thinking it was pretty cool too! Anyway, the area has changed quite a bit since that trip in 1959 and while I didn't stay at the exact same campground, I did find the one we stayed at. Even though it was mostly non-stop foggy I still hiked a lot and took a lot of pictures.

Pismo Beach

Sept 2010 - I had this vacation week coming up but was short on cash t ...

Updated: Apr 26, 2011 12:11pm PST

Seacliff State Beach 4.17.11 : I had been wanting to get over to the coast for quite a while. Unfortunately a lot of cold, foggy, cloudy, rainy weather, plus a realllllyyy heavy workload at my "day job" had been preventing me from making the trip. Finally a clear, warm day happened on a Sunday so off I went!

Seacliff State Beach 4.17.11

I had been wanting to get over to the coast for quite a while. Unfortu ...

Updated: Apr 24, 2011 3:29pm PST

San Jose Jazz Festival 2010 : This is the 21st year of this great festival. As a long time resident of San Jose and an even longer time as a Jazz fan, I wish I could say I've made it to all 21 but I have missed a 3 or 4. I have to admit I had some concerns about the line-up for this years festival which seemed a bit skewed towards what I would consider to be a bit more the "Pop" side of the Jazz realm. Plus, not as many well known acts seemed to be in evidence (not necessarily a bad thing, maybe a chance to discover some new favorites?!). I've taken snapshots of the festival before but this is the first year I seriously approached taking some photos. As I have admitted, people pictures are not my strong point and I have to admit that, in this situation, I have considerable shyness about getting out of my seat and going up to the foot of the stage to take some shots. So most of these shots were taken from whatever place I happened to be sitting at. I will work to overcome that shyness in future outings. For more info on the Festival go to: http://jazzfest.sanjosejazz.org

San Jose Jazz Festival 2010

This is the 21st year of this great festival. As a long time resident ...

Updated: Apr 13, 2011 7:58pm PST

Hakone Gardens : 11.12.09 - Though it my seem like an odd place for a Japanese garden, Hakone Gardens, nestled in the foothills just outside of Saratoga, is a great place for a relaxing walk through a mixture of native California plants and an impeccably maintained Japanese plant and sculpture garden. Mixed into the landscaping is a Tea House, Koi Pond, Bridges, and various other buildings and areas. This is a mixture of photos from two different trips to the Gardens with the last 4 photos from a visit around Mother's Day 2010. Around 15 or 20 minutes travel time (again depending on time of day). For more info go to: www.hakone.com

Hakone Gardens

11.12.09 - Though it my seem like an odd place for a Japanese garden, ...

Updated: Apr 01, 2011 7:38pm PST

Los Trancos : 7.12.10 - Another from the 35 Hikes Sunset Article. This is one of many areas in the Santa Cruz Mountains set aside as an Open Space Preserve. I visited here on a beautiful (though unseasonably cooler) day in late July. Besides the wonderful Oak shaded groves this trail spends the majority of time wandering through and the great contrasting scenes of dried tannish-brown grasses and green trees, the thing I remember the most was this incredibly wonderful sort of earthy, oakey, decomposing smell. Hmmm.... reading that it doesn't sound all that good. I guess you had to be there. Take it from me it smelled great! This ended up to be a 4.5 mile hilly loop with very little flats. There were several fairly steep climb/descents with one being a 220 foot descent in 1/3 mile. I followed a fairly convoluted path and had to consult my map several times. This actually added to the confusion because I parked in a different spot than I thought, so my initial bearings were wrong! For more info on the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserves go to: www.openspace.org/ Technical Note: This was my first foray into using the raw format in my camera. It's a bit more work, though if like me, you end up making some adjustments to almost all the photos you take anyway (even in the JPEG format), it's not really that much more work. I'm very impressed with the improvement in the quality of my photos and will be continuing to use raw for most of my work.

Los Trancos

7.12.10 - Another from the 35 Hikes Sunset Article. This is one of man ...

Updated: Apr 01, 2011 7:03pm PST

Peter's Creek / Long Ridge Trails : 7.5.10 - More from the Santa Cruz Mts and 35 trails off of Skyline Blvd. This one is pretty close to my home base maybe 30 minutes or so. On this particular trip I caught a lot of great contrast between the drying grasses and the still fresh green trees. Peter's Creek seemed like it could be a nice creek for some water shots but I was a bit late for there to be much water in the creek. A return trip next spring? The trail alternated between flats, steep hills, dry grassy areas, shady evergreens, oaks and even a grove of Manzanita.

Peter's Creek / Long Ridge Trails

7.5.10 - More from the Santa Cruz Mts and 35 trails off of Skyline Blv ...

Updated: Mar 23, 2011 7:28pm PST

Charleston Slough : 3.10.10 - One more walk around another slough area.

Charleston Slough

3.10.10 - One more walk around another slough area.

Updated: Mar 22, 2011 7:04pm PST

Stevens Creek/Shoreline Open Reserve : 10/17/09 - Another walk around a Slough area of the South SF Bay.

Stevens Creek/Shoreline Open Reserve

10/17/09 - Another walk around a Slough area of the South SF Bay.

Updated: Mar 20, 2011 11:53am PST

About Me :

About Me

Updated: Mar 15, 2011 6:28pm PST

El Corte Madera - Tofani Trail Loop : 10.16.09 A shady but pretty hilly trail in the Santa Cruz Mts. This is the second trail I explored from the article "35 Hikes of Skyline Drive" in the April 2003 issue of "Sunset" magazine.

El Corte Madera - Tofani Trail Loop

10.16.09 A shady but pretty hilly trail in the Santa Cruz Mts. This ...

Updated: Mar 13, 2011 3:03pm PST

Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge : 9.7.09 - This is a great walk located at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay just outside of Alviso. This area is part of an extensive conservation effort to restore some of the many square miles of wetlands that have been destroyed in the San Francisco Bay. I ended up covering 3.3 completely flat miles on this trip. I'll just finish up by saying it's a great place and certainly well within the "About an Hour" philosophy Probably about 20 minutes away (well that might depend on what time of day you head out. Traffic, you know!). You can go to: www.fws.gov/desfbay/ for detailed information. My first "In About an Hour..." with my new DSLR.

Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

9.7.09 - This is a great walk located at the southern tip of the San F ...

Updated: Mar 13, 2011 11:37am PST

Villa Montalvo : One day in 2003 I set off to explore one of the trails mentioned in an article in the April 2003 issue of Sunset Magazine entitled “35 Hikes off State 35”. Surprisingly enough, even though I have been a Bay Area hiker for the last 25 plus years, I had only been on 2 or 3 of these trails. I guess having discovered Castle Rock fairly early in my tenure here I’ve just had a tendency to go back there when the urge to hike came over me. Anyway, I set out to explore Skyline and Sanborn trails (#35 on Sunsets list). Now I hate to admit this after living in this area for so many years, but for some reason I’ve always gotten confused about exactly how to get to this particular area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. True to form, I ended up heading to the wrong area. After completing a very pretty loop on Summit and Bear Creek Roads (OK, all you Bay Area people can stop laughing now) I proceeded to the correct area. As I was cruising down Hiway 9 headed toward my destination, I realized that I had killed over an hour on the aforementioned detour, which was going to make things a bit tight for exploring someplace new. Fortunately, I realized this right about the time I was passing Villa Montalvo. Most of my familiarity with Montalvo was as a concert venue though I have also frequently walked briefly around the grounds, which are quite interesting. I have often noted various trails on the fringes of the grounds that head into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. I decided to take the opportunity to hone my architectural photography skills on the grounds and to explore some of the trails. As it turns out the time I had that day (about 2 hours) was only enough to explore the grounds and the beginnings of several trails. Needless to say a return visit is necessary.

Villa Montalvo

One day in 2003 I set off to explore one of the trails mentioned in an ...

Updated: Mar 10, 2011 8:37pm PST

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