A sunny spring morning along the Big Sur Coast at Soberanes Creek, with fog above the coastal mountains.
This is a spot that is probably familiar to many who have driven down this section of the Big Sur coastline south of Monterey and Carmel, California. To the right, and out of the photograph, is Soberanes Canyon which ascends steeply toward the ridges above Pacific Ocean. A creek flows down the canyon, underneath the coast highway, and then into the ocean.
The foreground bluff looks inviting with its green color and spring flowers. However, I picked up one of the worst cases of poison oak I’ve had on one occasion when I walked across this meadow to photograph the sea stacks and coastline at dusk!
White door and stucco on a building in San Francisco, California.
As I photograph the various usual subjects that appear here, I always have a few background subjects that I’m always looking out for. One of my projects might be described as “urban minimalism,” featuring subjects from the urban environment that are very simple. This is probably about as minimalist as I can get with such images. (Though, now that I’ve written that, I’m starting to think of some even “more minimalist” possibilities. Funny.)
This one gets perilously close to the infamous “Polar Bear in Snowstorm” photo that people imagine from time to time. It is a white door in a white door frame against a white wall. Believe it or not, I had to go back and forth for a while to decide whether to print it in color or black and white – and, no, I’m not joking. Much of the image changes little when I switch between the two interpretations. However, there is a slight coloration to the “white” wall (that is almost certainly not displayed accurately on your monitor) and there is some real color on the metal security cover over the lock. But still… it is almost all shades of white in the end.
The Sierra Nevada in evening light as seen from Aguereberry Point in Death Valley National Park’s Panamint Range.
I made this photograph from Aguereberry Point shortly before sunset. Aguereberry Point is a lonely prominence over 6000′ above Death Valley, high in the Panamint Mountain range, a place of astonishing panoramic views – and often some significant winds. As I drove the gravel road to the point late in the afternoon I saw three or four other vehicles heading the other direction, but when I arrived at the point a bit more than an hour before sunset no one else was there.
Having photographed here a few times previously, I am becoming more familiar with the challenges and the opportunities of shooting here. One of the challenges – as is the case in many spots in Death Valley – is that certain subjects seem to be “photographable” at very specific times and only for short intervals. One of the most interesting views from Aguereberry is southeast down into Trail Canyon and on to the lower slopes of Wildrose Peak beyond. This is wild, rugged, austere terrain. However, because it lies on the east side of this range the light changes quickly from a washed out blast of daytime sun to sudden deep shadows as the sun drops behind the higher ridges of the Panamints. (Trail Canyon is not seen in this photograph.)
Another challenge is that, impressive and overwhelming as the scale of this grand scene is, it can be difficult to pull interesting compositions out of it. I tend to work with longer lenses here, both to isolate smaller areas out of the huge landscape and to compress distance. In this photograph, the silhouetted crest of the highest part of the Sierra Nevada range is on the horizon, with the intervening ridges of the Panamint Range and others probably including the Inyo Mountains and the ridge just west of Panamint Valley.
And, since I tend towards those large and long lenses… wind is an issue! And on top of Aguereberry Point there is nothing to stop the often strong winds of Death Valley. On this evening the winds were howling, so I found a spot below some rocks where it was a bit less windy and then spent a lot time waiting for momentary lulls in the wind when I could make photographs.
High Sierra corn lilies grow profusely near a waterlogged meadow in the high country of Yosemite National Park.
I had spotted this little meadow area on my way to photograph earlier in the morning at Tenaya Lake, so on my return I decided to wander down into this wet, meadowy area where a small creek flows in the early summer season. As I walked up the stream I came upon large and lush stands of corn lily plants in a boggy area where the stream turned and twisted through a flat area.
I have long been a fan of these plants. I’m fascinated by them at every phase of their annual life cycle, from the time when they first poke up from ground newly free of snow, through this phase when they grow thick and wildly green, to the first hints of brown at the tips of the leaves (which always seem to come a bit too early), to the time in late August when they begin to turn brown and yellow and hint at the coming fall, to the dry stalks that fall over in late September and October.
It is somewhat hard to give up the beautiful green color when you photograph the plants at the peak of growth, as these were when I photographed them at the end of June. However, I like the way that black and white abstracts the curving and sweeping shapes of the plants. (And I always think of John Sexton’s wonderful corn lily photograph when I work with this subject!)
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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