Category: Landscape

Landscape

The Mustard Plant; Napa and Sonoma Counties

Photo of mustard plants which are common in vineyards in winter.
Sonoma Vineyard with Mustard

One of the visual treats each winter and spring in the North Bay is the mustard that covers the ground in so many places.  It is especially common in the grape-growing areas of Napa ans Sonoma Counties.

Mustard is not native.  It was brought here by missionaries when they were scouting for mission sites. They carried mustard seeds in a sack slung over their backs.  Each sack had a small hole in it.  As they walked seeds would fall out and later grow.  Thereafter, it was easy to return to the sites previously chosen for missions.

Wine growers found mustard beneficial.  By planting it in their vineyards the plants held soil in place during winter rains that might otherwise erode soil around the roots of the vines.  The growers then began celebrating the colorful plant during the slow tourist months of February and March.  Visits to the wine country increased.

The mustard plant is also high in phosphorus.  When the vines start to leaf out the mustard is plowed under.

Landscape

Another View of the Sierras from Bishop

This photo is a view of the Sierras with rabbit brush in the foreground. This photo was taken from Bishop, California.
The Sierras with a Foreground of Rabbit Brush

Here is another photo of the Sierras from Bishop.  It was taken at the same spot, but a short time after the image in the previous post.  The light has changed a bit and I’ve gone from a wide angle perspective (32mm) to a short telephoto perspective (70mm).  I tried other focal lengths, such as 85mm and 105mm, and they placed more emphasis on the size of the mountains.  I also didn’t like the fact that the trees were emphasized too much at those higher focal lengths.   The previous photo gave greater emphasis to the rabbit brush foreground.  I was a bit taken by the rabbit brush when I was shooting, but I think I like this image the most.   The foreground, midground and background seem more balanced.

Landscape

Eastern Sierras

This photo depicts a view of the Sierras with rabbit brush in the foreground.
The Sierras in the Fall

I took a trip to the Eastern Sierras recently to shoot fall colors.  I had planned to go since some time in the summer, but I learned of a three-day weekend trip being led by Dave Henry, one of Canon’s Explorers of Light, which was scheduled for the time I planned to be there.  Dave has led photo trips to the Eastern Sierras for over thirty years.  He used to be a photojournalist for the Sacramento Bee and has been writing a column for the Bee on fall colors in the Eastern Sierra for many years.  The price for the three day weekend was only $295.  Canon provided one of its reps, John Bell, for the weekend.  John brought every body and lens you could ever want for the trip.  It sounded pretty good to me so I signed up.

It was a great trip.  However, based on a quick trip through the photos I shot, I like this photo of the Sierras with the rabbit brush foreground more than the many yellow-leaved aspens I photographed.

Landscape

Fountain Sculpture; Tiburon, California

Photo of fountain sculpture in Tiburon.
Sails or Fins?

I lived in Tiburon for a while in the mid-1970s.   It’s a beautiful location on the north shore of San Francisco Bay.  Thanks to the hilly terrain, many residents have a view of the San Francisco Bay.  I occasionally go there to return to my Marin “roots.”  It hasn’t changed much, which I like.

One thing that wasn’t there in the 1970s is this sculpture.  It’s called “Coming About.”  I’ve read that it represents five sailboats.  When I first saw it I thought of shark fins.  That also seemed fitting given that Tiburon is Spanish for “shark.”     Some think the sails remind them of birds’ wings.  That would also be fitting given the number of seagulls that hang out at several waterside restaurants.  The sails slowly rotate.   The Guaymas and Servino restaurants provide a backdrop to the scene.

Landscape

Corinthian Island at Twilight

Photo of the west side of Corinthian Island.
Corinthian Island at Twilight

Corinthian Island is one of two inhabited islands on the Tiburon Peninsula.  It straddles a jurisdictional line separating Tiburon and Belvedere, California.

This photo was taken during twilight which is that time between sunset, when reds dominate, and dusk when there is no light (or color) to be seen, except to the extent the moon (or artificial light) is a factor.  During twilight, blues become dominant.  Twilight is sometimes referred to by photographers and painters as the blue hour or “l’heure bleue.”  The length of twilight is determined by the latitude of the observer.  Around the San Francisco Bay Area I think of it as lasting roughly half an hour. Twilight is also that time between dawn and sunrise.  It is a great time to photograph.  It’s also a great time to see wildlife.  Some animals are most active during the twilight hours.  They are referred to as “crepuscular.”

Next time you plan to photograph at sunrise or sunset don’t forget twilight time.  For two good programs to tell you when twilight is for your area, click here and here.

Landscape

Views from Inverness, California

I went out to Point Reyes yesterday, something I haven’t been doing too much of this year compared to last year.  The forecast said there would be fog, but thankfully it was a no-show.  Moreover, the light was fantastic thanks to lots of clouds varying from almost pure white to very dark.  The sun shined through in spots on occasion.   I didn’t see much in the way of wildlife; just the usual ho-hum critters (quail, songbirds, hawks, elk and deer) plus one coyote just before sunset.  I had lunch with a friend who said he saw four bobcats before our lunch.  Another friend told me he saw two badgers there yesterday.  I’m beginning to wonder if I’m losing my touch in spotting wildlife because I haven’t been spending much time looking for them this year.

I was feeling uneasy all day because I only brought my wildlife gear and I sensed there would be some good landscape opportunities at sunset given the good light and the clouds.  Shooting landscape photos with telephoto lenses is, needless to say, limiting.  One thing I’ve been meaning to photograph is Black Mountain, which is a large coastal hill/mountain completely covered in grass.  It is very green this time of year.  I’ve also heard it referred to as Elephant Mountain.  I made a mental note to stop in Inverness on my way home to see how it looked.  I knew it was one landscape scene I could photograph using a telephoto lens.  This is how it looked when I arrived in Inverness.  The green grass of Black Mountain  has been turned to gold by the setting sun.  The water in the foreground is Tomales Bay.  The green hills in the midground are not part of Black Mountain.  I don’t know why it’s called Black Mountain.

Photo of Black Mountain from Inverness.
Black Mountain at Sunset

As I stood there in Inverness, I looked at the rest of the east horizon and saw a nice looking ridge well north of Black Mountain that was also bathed in the last light of the day.  I don’t know the name for it, assuming there is one.  There are two large structures at the top of it, unfortunately.

Photo looking east from Inverness, California
View to Northeast from Inverness

I was somewhat lucky yesterday which counterbalanced my poor planning in not bringing some landscape lenses.  I was lucky in the sense that I made it to Inverness with about 5 minutes to spare before the sun’s golden light left these mountain tops.

Landscape

Point Reyes, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Point Reyes from the Tomales Peninsula.
Point Reyes

Have you ever been out on the coast on a foggy day when some cracks in the fog let the sun shine through?  This was one of those times.  I was driving back from the Pierce Point Ranch area just after lunch when I saw these sunspots on the ocean.

Addendum:  As I posted this WordPress informed me that this is my 200th blog posting.  I started this in May of 2010 as I was leaving on a trip to Yellowstone.   I didn’t know then if I would manage to keep doing it for very long.  I still don’t know.  Twenty two months isn’t that long, but it is a milestone of sorts.  We’ll see how long it goes.