Back in the summer of 2004 I was enjoying my new (actually refurbished) Nikon Coolpix 5700; and while I’m now certain I never learned to use all its features properly, having this camera definitely got me out and about. I started to learn how to look at the world through a camera and to see things I’d never paid much […]
Yes, it’s still only February — but to walk along the Lake Natoma bluffs on a morning like this, you would never know it wasn’t the middle of April. For me, it was literally a bluebird day; these beautiful Western Bluebirds seemed to be in tucked into every tree and working busily in the grass along the trail. The sparrows […]
I chose to feature this Classic episode of California’s Gold, first aired in 1992, because I recently saw an Instagram post by California State Parks highlighting the town of Allensworth as part of Black History Month. One thing that struck me during this episode was the number of people who said they had only recently learned of Col. Allensworth and […]
One great thing about getting my photo files at least partially organized is finding images that I had forgotten about — even ones shot as recently as last summer. Today, with the sun shining in a bright clear sky and a cold north wind gusting, looking back through pictures of the wide variety of plant life gathered into just one […]
Yes, (in case it slipped your mind) today is Valentine’s Day! We don’t do a whole lot to celebrate it in our house these days, but some people get great enjoyment from decorations, lots of hearts, plush animals, and maybe a box of chocolates. I couldn’t resist sharing some of the Valentine’s Day 2010 photos in the album, and I’ve […]
It’s been a dry start to the year in Northern California, with spring-like days and very few clouds in the sky. While the weather is great for getting outside, we keep hoping that the rain will return before much longer. The last time we saw rain here was late December. Here are some images from our hike at Rattlesnake Bar […]
It normally takes quite a lot of patience, concentration, and good timing to produce the best photos of small birds in the wild. I’m sure I’m not the only photographer who has shot many, many not-so-great pictures in search of one decent one. Of course, if just anybody could easily do it, those truly great nature photos we all admire […]
I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me as I made my way along the path at Phoenix Park this morning. I had been on the lookout for small birds in the trees — but I nearly missed this bright-eyed Fox Squirrel gazing alertly down at me from on high. Well, maybe not completely alert. That morning sun […]
I’m not sure I need another gimmicky sounding series, so maybe I shouldn’t refer to this as “Throwback Thursday.” Still, in looking through my many years’ worth of pictures stored on Google, I realized there are a lot of fairly decent images I’ve not shared here before, or else I blogged them so long ago they’re not in my WordPress library. So I figured maybe this could be a good place to give those photos another airing. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I am. A few of the places in these photos may look familiar, as they are spots I’ve returned to repeatedly over the years. Caples Lake is a perfect example. My first blog post featuring images from my hikes along the shore of this high mountain lake was in June 2017; but I believe the first time the Big Guy took me there was in May 2004. I was using my beloved 5.0 megapixel Nikon Coolpix E5700, my first non- point-and-shoot camera, and while I still had much to learn about taking quality pictures (and still do!) I think these shots give a pretty good idea of the lake’s beautiful surroundings. I’ve tried several times over the years to shoot this waterfall along the trail, and I’m never fully satisfied with my results. In the spring of 2004, sunlight reflected off the snow complicated things for me.