A beautiful sunrise over Resurection Bay a couple of mornings ago, Seward, Alaska.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the United States. I know I sure have lots to be thankful for!
Anza-Borrego Photo Workshop
Desert wildflower in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from February 29, 2008.
I am excited to announce that I will be able to offer my weekend photography workshop in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California again this winter! Last years workshops were really fun – I’m looking forward to doing them again. I’m going to keep the format the same, the only change I’m making is the addition of an informal dinner gathering on Saturday night – we did that on the second workshop last winter and it was a great time.
One of the many keys for a good wildflower bloom is rain during the Fall, and much of the desert received a lot of rain in October. I was surprised as to how green the desert was between Las Vegas and Borrego last week. But, there are many more factors that go into a good wildflower year, and there really isn’t any way of predicting the bloom – fortunately there are lots of other cool things to see and photograph in Anza-Borreogo, so if there is a good bloom, the wildflowers will just be a bonus.
Last year I didn’t pull this together until January 19th, and yet both weekends sold out. Since I’m getting this out so much earlier this year and keeping the cost the same, I’m thinking chances are good that they will sell out again – so don’t wait too long, and feel free to call or email with any questions.
The one question I always receive is which weekend is the best? There is no way of telling. Last year was very wet and cold and both weekends ended up being too early for peak bloom. I considered pushing the dates back, but then thought back to the amazing bloom year of 2005, the peak bloom had past by the end of February – so I didn’t want to over react to one cold winter. 2008 was more of an average year – the photo above was captured on February 29th and you can see things were right at peak. Except for 2006, there are almost always some wildflowers, and like I mentioned before, plenty of other cool things including even a few slot canyons!
For more details on costs, dates etc., check out: Anza-Borrego Desert Photography workshop.
Moon over Mountains
A near full Moon rising over the mountains of the Chugach National Forest, Seward, Alaska.
This was from Wednesday afternoon. I have thousands of variations of this scene, but I just can’t help myself. It is funny, but when you see these amazing mountains day after day, they lose a bit of there impressiveness – I begin to take them for granted just a little bit. I must say, after spending 6 weeks in the desert, I’m now reminded of just how beautiful these jagged peaks with a fresh coating of snow really look – they are stunning!
Summit Lake
Summit Lake, Chugach National Forest, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.
Just about every road through a mountain pass in Alaska passes by a lake with the name Summit Lake – the Seward Highway is no exception. I must say, I have yet to see an ugly Summit Lake!
This was yesterday afternoon – water seeping through cracks in the ice melted some of the fresh snow and created what I thought were interesting patterns on the lake surface.
Hyatt Grand Champion
Celebrity Course next to the Hyatt Grand Champion Resort, Indian Wells, California.
This was Monday morning, our last one in California before returning to Alaska. There, it was going to be another 80 degree day. Here, single digit chill factors! But, it is really nice to be home in Alaska!
So what were we doing at such a nice and fancy resort? Well, thanks to my hotel bidding on strategy on Priceline, we were able to pick up a room for $70! Granted there was $24 more for resort fee, and $10 for parking, but it was still just as cheap as a Holiday Inn Express! And much nicer.
I say this every time at the end of our fall trip, but this time I think I mean it. 🙂 I try to post a photo here 5 days a week, but with a busy office load, and a reduced shooting schedule, I anticipate my activity will slow down to just a couple of times a week. I’m usually wrong, but this time I think I will need to cut back.
Judging from the many emails, lots of people are interested in the 2011 photo tour / workshop schedule and as of right now we don’t have any thing being offered except for the sold out bear tours. We hope to have the 2011 schedule in place soon, and recently received tentative approval to offer the the Anza-Borrego workshops again this winter – I will blog about that, and my Alaska tour schedule as soon as I have it completed.
I’m also working on some other very new things that I’m looking forward to sharing, but for now, I need to buckle down and get caught up on the office work – I could blog about the office work, but I really don’t think that would interest anyone. 🙂
Spring Preserve
Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here is another cool thing to do in Las Vegas that most visitors haven’t heard of and that is the Springs Preserve. This is a really well done museum that covers lots of natural history and local history information with interactive exhibits, gardens and live wildlife exhibits – tons of interesting information about the Mojave Desert. To learn more, visit their website at: Springs Preserve.
Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada.
On another note. The next few days will have us busy putting our trailer away and then making the long travel back to Alaska. We should be home in the middle of next week – so there probably won’t be any activity here until we reach Alaska!
Valley of Color!
Colorful rock, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.
This was a crazy patch of colorful rock – the color just seemed to flow through the rock, it was really cool!
Earlier this week we pulled out of Las Vegas and have headed back to California to take care of some business before we fly back to Alaska. Actually, right now we are down in Anza-Borrgo where we intend to store our trailer for the next few months. I gotta say, it is really nice to experience the peace and quite of this remote part of the desert! Even though we were camped away from the Las Vegas Strip, the non-stop noise does get old after awhile. Here, the only noise at night is the howl of coyotes – now that is my kind of noise!
Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.
Joshua Trees in Red Rock Canyon, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
There are two wonderful, relatively unknown areas near Las Vegas. Valley of the Fire is one of them, and the other is Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock Canyon is only a half an hour from the Strip, and has wonderful hiking trails and scenery! This is a place that is only about a half an hour from the Las Vegas Strip!
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