This is the entrance to the walkway that leads to the historic Casino building in Avalon, Catalina Island, California.
Avalon, Catalina Island
Avalon, Catalina Island, California.
Earlier this week we moved over to campground in Newport Beach, just in time for a favorable, warm, off-shore weather pattern. I say favorable, because the off-shore winds blow much of the air pollution often found in this area out to sea, providing clearer then normal views of the buildings, surrounding mountains and bright blue skies. We have been running around like crazy taking advantage of this situation. We have hiked the hills around Irvine searching for cityscape locations, been up to Griffith Park on the other side of LA, and spent the last two days out on Catalina Island.
I’m running a bit behind on the blog, but decided to jump ahead and post a photo of the town of Avalon on Catalina Island becuase that is such a cool little town on a pretty island.
Favorite Photos from 2008
Jim Goldstein had a good idea where he suggested photographers post their 10 best photos from 2008 on their blog. I keep putting the post off as we are busy with our travels – but it did sound fun, so last night I made the time even if I am too late for Jim’s blog. I have no idea which photos are my best or worst, so I just picked out my 10 favorites.
Since so many people receive the blog via email, I decided to limit this to small thumbnail sized images as to not over-load anyone’s email account. I do have a link to a much larger size version next to each image. Well, here it goes.
Just seeing this wild lynx in Denali National Park was the highlight of the year, having a photo from the experience made it an easy pick.
The two Grizzly bears in the fall Denali landscape don’t show as well in this small thumbnail, but are easy to see in the larger version.
Horned Puffin, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. These colorful birds were a blast to photograph. This one made the list because I really liked the flowers above the bird. I have some with mouths full of fish that were close honorable mentions.
Seeing the shorebird migration along the Copper River Delta, Alaska was another peak experience for the year.
A sow grizzly teaching a cub how to dig for clams, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. We felt honored to watch such a tender moment between such powerful animals.
Desert Bighorn, Moab, Uath. I really liked the setting for this Desert Bighorn image.
Wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. Given I spent almost two months chasing beautiful wildflowers, you know at least one will make this list!
Mountain biking the Slickrock Trail, Moab, Utah. A fun place to photograph and ride!
Breeching Orca, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. I had to have one from my own “back yard”!
Sea Otter, Chugach National Forest, Alaska. He was too cute to leave off this list.
I really wanted to include a photo of the nesting great horned owls, or some of the rain forest grizzly bear images I worked so hard on near Seward this summer, or a few more desert landscapes, or even a desert tortoise, but I gotta stick to 10 – I hate to play favorites.
It is interesting to see 8 of the 10 are wildlife images as I did make a conscious effort to spend more time pursuing wildlife this year – photographing wildlife has always been something I really enjoyed, but in recent years, I had gotten away from that a bit. Wildlife can be really tough because it can involve a lot of time, and can provide little in return. It would have been interesting to see what the mix of images would have been from earlier years, or for next year!
Salvation Mountain
Salvation Mountain
This part of our visit to Slab City was sure a colorful surprise! This 50 foot high mountain made of straw, adobe and lots and lots of paint is constructed into a hillside near the entrance to Slab City. It is amazing what can be constructed with enough time and effort. This mountain is the creation of Leonard Knight. We were able to meet Leonard while we were there, he was very friendly and passionate man who was nice enough to take the time to give us a nice tour of Salvation Mountain. For a photographer like me who is attracted to bright, bold colors, this spot was a dream! Below is a photo of Leonard while leading the tour.Read More
Slab City, California.
Slab City, California.
Personally, I think those rims are a bit over the top, but that’s just me. 🙂
Slab City is an interesting place. It is a formal military base not far from the Salton Sea. It really isn’t a city, there aren’t any services, utilities or city government, it is pretty much just a collection of snow birds and squatters who are attracted to the free parking, and, well the lack of government. I have a friend from Seward who told me he used to hang out here. Now that I have seen the place, I have lots more questions! There were some interesting things there, but photogenically speaking, it was Salvation Mountain that really stood out – but I will save that for tomorrow.
Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon
Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon, California.
To continue on yesterday’s post on the Kiboko Bag – this was our final destination. This slot canyon is off of Butte Pass Road in the central portion of the park, and is listed in most visitor guides. It may not have the rich reds of a Utah or Arizona slot canyon, but it still has interesting geographic formations, and wonderful indirect reflected light.
Kiboko Camera Bag Review
A self portrait of me in a slot canyon sporting my Kiboko camera bag by Gura Gear, Anza-Borrego State Park, California.
I have been using this new bag since the beginning of this trip. I wanted to give it a complete workout in many conditions before I commented on it, but I can’t wait any longer because I love this bag! It rocks! I never thought I would be excited about a camera bag, but I am.
Salton Sea, the Ugly
Abandoned trailer, Salton Sea, California.
I started talking to an old timer who was walking his dog through this abandoned waterfront trailer park – he explained that back in the day, you couldn’t find a spot in the campground without an advanced reservation. Today, there are just empty spots along with this trailer which he tells me “druggies” removed all the good stuff. He also said that from the 50’s through the 70’s Salton Sea received more visitors then even Yosemite! I found the same stat on the Internet, I don’t know if it is really true, but sounds possible. Supposedly movie stars hung out at the yacht club and and the fancy hotels. Today, there vacant, dilapidated buildings and empty roads, it is really eerie just how far this area has fallen.
I converted this to black and white, I thought it better reflected the mood on the area.
In addition, after upgrading to the latest version of my blog software WordPress, it seems my blogs feeds stopped being sent as emails or RSS. I think I have now fixed it, we will find out with this one. If you want to see what you might have missed, take a peak at: my photo blog website.
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