Category

Photography

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses

Lunar eclipse sequence, showing total eclipse (left) through full moon (right). While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving…
December 23, 2015
Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015 Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015

Each August the Perseid meteor shower takes place. This year it peaked during a new moon, which offered prime conditions for seeing many meteors. I photographed the Perseid meteor shower in Joshua Tree National Park using two compositions/locations: with Arch Rock as one feature and with a single joshua tree…
August 16, 2015
Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015 Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015

The Perseid meteor shower occurs each August, peaking on the evenings of August 12 and 13. It happens because the Earth is plowing through the trail of dust left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseid meteors are named for the constellation Perseus in the northern sky, from which the meteors…
August 14, 2015
Aerial Panoramic Photo of Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, California Aerial PhotographyBeautiful Views of San DiegoPanoramasSan Diego

Aerial Panoramic Photo of Sunset Cliffs, San Diego, California

This past spring my daughters and I took a couple flights over San Diego to shoot panoramas while the conditions were good. This is one of my favorites, showing the beautifully scalloped coastline of Sunset Cliffs, north of Point Loma. You can even see the sandstone outcropping we jumped off…
August 5, 2015
Photographing Macrocystis in La Jolla’s Beautiful Forests of Giant Kelp La JollaUnderwater LifeUnderwater Photography

Photographing Macrocystis in La Jolla’s Beautiful Forests of Giant Kelp

I have been photographing kelp forests in California with a passion for 25 years, from the Mexican border on up to Monterey including all the Channel Islands. Usually when I go diving in kelp its to San Clemente Island, which arguably has the most beautiful underwater scenery anywhere in California.…
July 6, 2015
Aerial Panorama of Point Loma, Cabrillo Monument and San Diego Bay Aerial PhotographyBeautiful Views of San DiegoPanoramasSan Diego

Aerial Panorama of Point Loma, Cabrillo Monument and San Diego Bay

This is a highly detailed aerial panoramic photo of the southern end of Point Loma, with Cabrillo Monument and both old and new lighthouses visible. The original Cabrillo lighthouse is seen atop the bluff, while the new lighthouse is down near the water's edge next to the green lawns. North…
May 11, 2015
Aerial Panoramic Photo of La Jolla Cove and Scripps Park, San Diego Aerial PhotographyBeautiful Views of San DiegoLa JollaSan Diego

Aerial Panoramic Photo of La Jolla Cove and Scripps Park, San Diego

Panoramic aerial photograph of La Jolla Cove and Scripps Parks (center), with La Jolla's Mount Soledad rising above, La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Caves to the left and the La Jolla Coast with Children's Pool (Casa Cove) to the right. The undersea reefs of Boomer Beach are seen through…
April 29, 2015
Aerial Photographic Survey of San Diego Marine Protected Areas for Lighthawk Aerial PhotographyCaliforniaSan Diego

Aerial Photographic Survey of San Diego Marine Protected Areas for Lighthawk

I recently made a special flight with my pilot friend Steve Parker in collaboration with Lighthawk. Lighthawk's mission is "to accelerate conservation success through the powerful perspective of flight". On this flight, we were trying to produce new aerial images of several Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the San Diego…
April 26, 2015
Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014 Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014

For the eclipse of April 14/15, 2014, I wanted to depict the course of the eclipse across the sky with some recognizable landscape features in the foreground to anchor the composition. As the day of the eclipse went by, I watched the weather reports and decided Joshua Tree National Park…
June 9, 2014
Delicate Arch, Milky Way and Iridium Flare at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Delicate Arch, Milky Way and Iridium Flare at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

I have shot Arches National Park a number of times, including a very fruitful trip some years ago to shoot astrophotography landscapes. I returned earlier this month for more, and found that I have reached a point where I need to find alternatives to the usual compositions. This one was…
May 13, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014 Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreePanoramasThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014

The lunar eclipse of April 14 and 15, 2014 was a wonderful event to see. I went up to Joshua Tree National Park to photograph it for two reasons. First, the weather forecast in the high desert was for clear skies and, for the most part, the skies were indeed…
April 29, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park

This is the first of my photographic efforts shooting the lunar eclipse the evening of April 14/15 2014. I spent the entire night out under the stars in Joshua Tree National Park, where I often shoot when looking for clear skies and stars at night. I photographed several compositions and…
April 17, 2014
Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park

Things are always better at astronomical twilight. Venus was often referred to as the “Morning Star” by ancient civilizations (and as the “Evening Star” as well). On this day, it was indeed the morning star, rising just moments before astronomical twilight began. This allowed for a very brief window of…
April 11, 2014
California Sea Lions at Los Islotes, Baja California, Mexico Sea LionSea of CortezUnderwater LifeUnderwater Photography

California Sea Lions at Los Islotes, Baja California, Mexico

Los Islotes, the small island just off the northern end of Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez, is my favorite place in the world for photographing California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus). These wonderful pinnipeds are very comfortable with the presence of, and famous for the willingness to interact with,…
March 3, 2014
Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California Astrophotography and Night ScapesSierra Nevada

Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California

Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California. I made this image several years ago but neglected to share any images from that evening's photographic efforts on my blog. I have made many visits to the Volcanic Tablelands, at all times of day, to explore the rocks, admire…
February 27, 2014