A trip to California
Earlier this month, I took a 2 week journey to California. I would say that California is probably the most varied state to photograph, with possibilities ranging anywhere from deserts to oceans to mountains. For this trip, I decided to focus on the desert landscape of Joshua Tree National Park and the Central/Northern California coast.
Joshua Tree National Park is a stark place consisting mostly of rocks and yucca plants with some scattered groves of the uniquely shaped Joshua Trees. There are no real iconic places to photograph and you have to look harder for good compositions than many national parks. However, I enjoy the challenge of trying to decide which features to include and not include in my photographs. For 5 days in early December, I did a photography workshop with a company called Barefoot Contessa. Margo and Arnie go to Joshua Tree every year. While they know the park well, one of the highlights of taking one of their workshops are the critique sessions we do in the middle of each day. Not only do you get feedback from some of my own photos, but it is also interesting to see what others photograph. Some were misses, but some were hits. Below are some of my favorite photos from Joshua Tree National Park.
After leaving rather sunny Southern California, it was then on to the Central and Northern California coast, where the weather turned to predominantly foggy conditions with occasional drizzle.
But the gloomy conditions made for great waterfall and forest photography at Limekiln State Park on the southern end of the Big Sur region, where there are plenty of flowing streams and stately redwoods.
One of the icons of the Big Sur is McWay Falls. As I arrived, it was extremely foggy. At first, it was hard to even see the waterfall from the overlook. It is photographed a lot, but still a unique place where a long waterfall spills onto the sandy beach next to the ocean. Thankfully, the fog cleared just enough to get a clear view of the waterfall and beach.
While driving on Highway 1, I noticed a lush gully with some large white flowers (pictured below). These are called Calla Lilies. Below are a couple of pictures from Garrapata State Park, south of Carmel.
After beautiful Big Sur, it was time to drive further north into San Francisco to visit a couple of Bay Area icons. Does anyone else think of the old TV show "Full House" when they see these houses known as "The Painted Ladies"?
Even a brief photography trip to San Francisco isn't complete without some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.
On the north side of the Bay Area is Marin County, home of Point Reyes National Seashore. Inside this, is a little visited waterfall that you have to hike 4 miles (one way) to get to. The name of the waterfall below is Alamere Falls. Most of the walking was pretty level, except for the last part down to the beach. After going down this steep pitch to the beach, I was a little worried if I could get back up the cliff...but i did. Worth the effort to reach these beautiful falls right on the beach!
Another little known and photographed place along the Northern California coast is a place called "Bowling Ball" Beach. I heard about this place from another photographer while visiting Big Sur. After finding the beach on Google Maps, I went up and down the beach to find no large rocks shaped like giant bowling balls. While photographing other rocks on the beach, I started to notice the tide was starting to drop. I then started to wonder if the high tide was covering up the bowling balls. After another trip to the other side of the beach, I noticed the large round boulders were beginning to slowly emerge as the water receded. Bowling balls!
I will be returning to California again in February, but the next trip will include stops to Death Valley and Yosemite National Parks.