“Aspen Trees and Beaver Pond” — Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees line the shore of a beaver pond.
When I first explored this Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon years ago, I went there to find fall color among the aspen trees. I found that in abundance, and I’ve returned every year since then. There were other interesting features, too, including small ponds flooding the canyon floor far up the canyon near where the road ended. Eventually I realized that these were beaver ponds, something I had not really seen in the Sierra. Although I have yet to actually see a beaver here, it wasn’t long before I figured out where their lodges are located.
“Rural Stone Buildings at Loch Stack” — A cluster of stone buildings in Northwest Scotland.
The northwest Scotland landscape is spectacular in so many ways — the highlands mountains of course, but also the coast, and the lower elevation valleys and rivers. It is relatively “empty,” in the sense that you are often out of sight of signs of civilization, aside from the single-track road you might be driving. But empty as it is, it is not wilderness, and there are plenty of little hamlets and isolated homes and lodgings.
Since several people have asked, I thought I would share an update on installation of my photographs at the historic Stovepipe Wells Lodge in Death Valley National Park. Late last year Ortega Family Enterprises (who also sell some of my photographs at Muir Woods National Monument) contacted me. They were about to take over the management of the facility from the previous concessionaire and were interested in selling some of my Death Valley photographs in the gift shop at Stovepipe Wells.
It turns out that they were also planning some significant upgrades to the lodging facilities at Stovepipe and they asked if I could provide a large number of 16″ x 24″ prints for the guest rooms. To make a long story short, they selected a half dozen of my Death Valley photographs and I went to work making nearly 170 prints of the six photographs, which were then shipped off to their framer for final preparation.
I finally got a chance to see the results when I visited Death Vally in early April. I stopped by and found out that they had begun the process of hanging the prints in guest rooms, and with the help of an employee I was able to get in long enough to snap a shot of one of the rooms. (Hanging in this room are “Transverse Dunes, Death Valley“ and “Crossing Tracks, Racetrack Playa.”) It was also good to see some work being done to upgrade and update the lodge!
It is gratifying to have my photographs installed here for several reasons. Several of the photographs were made virtually within walking distance of Stovepipe Wells, where I often camp when I visit the Valley. I also know that among the many people who visit Stovepipe will be a good number of my fellow photographers – and knowing that they will see my prints here is both a bit intimidating and a quite exciting! Finally, before Ortega took over the facility I often stopped to look at some of the photographs and paintings that had been there previously. (I was glad to see that one wonderful black and white photograph was still hanging in the hotel office.) With that in mind, it seems like there is a good chance that these photographs of mine may be hanging in this historic facility for some time to come!
Wolf lichen on a tree trunk near LeConte Lodge comes back to life with autumn Rains, Yosemite Valley.
If you read the “technical data” at the end of this post, you know that it was dark in this forest! The location is near the Le Conte Lodge (across the road from the Housekeeping Camp) along the south side of Yosemite Valley, and in an area where the tall cliffs approach very closely to the road and trail. Because of this it is deeply shaded for a good part of the day, especially during this time of the years.
I had gone here looking for maple leaves and for the large oaks that grow near the lodge. I just happened to see this interesting bark texture as I hiked past and noticed the brilliant – almost fluorescent – greens of the lichen in contrast to the dull color of the tree. While it was dark here and the shot required a long exposure, an upside was that the soft, diffused light lowered the contrast of the scene to manageable levels.
(I originally referred to “moss” in the title and description of this photo. Thanks to “Dave” for setting me straight and identifying it as fruticose lichen.)
(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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