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One of the most interesting features of Joshua Tree National Park in California is the Cholla Cactus Garden.
But, it is really hard to get a good composition here. At least that’s what I found. I was disappointed with the photos I made here last year, so this year I was determined not only to be there in good light, but to find a cholla I could isolate.
One of the reasons they are so hard to photograph is that the bottoms of them have this burnt look that isn’t very attractive. When I first saw them I thought they actually were burnt, but they are all like that.
This is the “Teddy Bear” Cholla. The name is actually pretty appropriate because like a real bear, they may look nice but believe me, you don’t want to hug it.
In fact, this type of cholla drops little pieces of itself and those pieces jump out at you as you walk by and attach themselves to your pant legs (you better be wearning long pants). Ray actually had one go through his jeans, through his socks, and into his leg.
Ok, ok, they don’t actually jump, but it sure seems that way.
Mar 06, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: cactus, california, cholla, joshua tree national park, national park | 7 Comments »
Do you process your photos in order? Just wondering… I usually process mine in order because I’m afraid if I skip over something I might never come back to it.
But on the other hand, maybe you’re tired of seeing Joshua Trees by now and I should change it up a bit and save some of them for another time.
I guess if I saved enough of them I would be able to jump around from location to location all the time in blog.
What do you think?
Today’s Photo: Joshua Tree Sunburst
Another photo from Joshua Tree National Park in California.
I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of sunbursts!
Please click the photo to view a larger version.
If you have the sun in your frame, you can make a sunburst effect like this just by using a small aperture. For this image, I used f/25. But remember, don’t look through the viewfinder when the sun is in your frame! Use the LCD display and save your eyes.
Mar 04, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, joshua tree, national park, sunburst | 14 Comments »
This is one of the places I yearned to go back to this winter. Belle Campground in Joshua Tree National Park.
We’ve been to some nice campgrounds. Lots of nice campgrounds. But I always prefer the ones where we can get away from people and enjoy nature.
I particularly like ones where I can stumble out of the RV in the morning and the scenery is right there waiting for me.
This is one of those special places.
I think I could spend all winter here. Except we need to flush our tanks and pick up some water and propane once in awhile! In a place like this, we don’t leave until we have to.
Just down the way is Jumbo Rocks, where I made the photo of the best sunset ever, and the big round rocks. It’s the most popular campground, but the crowds make it less desirable to me. Plus the campsites are really close together and it’s all cramped in there. Our RV wouldn’t fit. Even if it did, I would rather stay at Belle where the beauty is all mine in the morning.
Whenever I’ve been to Belle, I’m the only person out photographing at sunrise. It is one of the most peaceful and enjoyable places. Maybe the most beautiful campground in California. Although there is alot of competition for that title.
I love California 
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Although you can’t see it, our RV is on the other side of the rocks. I made this photo right in the campground.
Mar 02, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, campground, joshua tree, national park | 12 Comments »
A few months ago I wrote about how revisiting photo locations can help you grow as a photographer by forcing you to move beyond the obvious and find new compositions.
Last year when I visited Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park I discovered, through my telephoto lens, an interesting rock formation. Here is last year’s photo:
Since then, I have seen other photos on the internet where there is a second round balanced rock in front of the rock I found. I didn’t want to copy that composition, but I set myself on a mission to find that second rock and then see what new compositions I could create.
Here you see three rocks that stand out from the others. The middle rock is the one I was looking for that I had seen in other photos.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
While I like both photos, I think the second one is a more complex and interesting composition. I also had a great sky that day!
It makes me look forward to what I will create next time!
Feb 24, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, joshua tree national park, jumbo rocks, national park | 25 Comments »
I don’t know if Dr. Suess was inspired by these particular trees in Joshua Tree National Park, California, but as I am driving along I often hear the voice of The Lorax —
“I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues”
– and I think about how this place became a National Park and hear The Lorax again —
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Feb 21, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, joshua tree, joshua tree national park, twilight | 10 Comments »
I think I could spend days photographing in this location. The only problem with it is that the campground bearing it’s name is extremely popular so there are always lots of people at Jumbo Rocks in Joshua Tree National Park.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Our RV is too big to fit in that campground, and I don’t think I would like being near so many people anyway, so we always stay at Belle Campground just a short drive away.
I made this photo just before the amazing sunset I shared with you earlier this week. You can see how the clouds are starting to break up and the colour is coming in. Always a good sign of a stellar sunset!
Feb 19, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, joshua tree, joshua tree national park, jumbo rocks, national park, sunset | 13 Comments »
The desert has amazing powers of preservation!
Joshua Tree National Park wasn’t always a park, there used to be a few ore processing mills here in the 30′s. One of those is the Wall Street Mill which is protected as a historic site because of it’s mechanical uniqueness. The machinery is still intact.
Near the mill you can also find a few abandoned cars – antiques left over from the mining era.
It’s amazing that these cars are probably 85 years old and here they sit with a bit of rust, a few pieces missing, and some very worn out tires!
I decided to try some fun photo processing techniques on this one.
Abandoned car processed with HDR, Topaz Adjust, and Topaz Simplify.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Here are the steps I used to make this image:
- When I visited this location it was the middle of the afternoon in some pretty bright light, so I decided to make three exposures (one for the highlights, one for the mid-tones, and one for the shadows) and combine them into an HDR image to even out the exposure.
- After I made the HDR image, everything was pretty flat so I wanted to add some colour, contrast and detail to the car to make it pop. I used one of my favourite plugins, Topaz Adjust, to do this. Topaz Adjust has lots of presets you can use to do this kind of thing.
- I didn’t like the way the sky and some of the trees looked in HDR, so I brought one of the original exposures into photoshop and blended it with the HDR image. This way the sky and the trees look more natural because they are not HDR nor do they have the Topaz Adjust effect applied to them. This is how the image looked after this step:
Abandoned car processed with HDR and Topaz Adjust.
- I decided to try something fun and used the Topaz Simplify plugin to make a painterly effect on the image.
Processing is fun and every once in awhile I like to try something new to see what kind of effects I can create.
By the way, Topaz Labs is having a sale on the Topaz Simplify Plugin for the next couple of weeks. You can get it for 50% off bringing the price down to just $20!! They also have a trial version so you can try it out before you buy.
Of course, Topaz Adjust is one of my favourite plugins, and it has some painterly effect presets as well. It just depends on what you want, so I recommend trying them out first.
Feb 17, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, car, hdr, joshua tree national park, national park, processing, topaz | 29 Comments »
On our first night at Joshua Tree National Park, in California, the clouds looked like they had a lot of potential, and so Ray and I went to one of our favourite locations from last year’s visit, Jumbo Rocks, where we were welcomed by the most glorious sunset.
Standing on the rocks that night as the sky turned from blue to pink to red to purple was truly magical.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Of course I have a zillion photos of the sunset that night, some with more colours than this one, but I chose this one as my favourite because of the silhouette of the two people standing on top of the rocks in the distance. Those two people give scale to the image and help the viewer imagine themselves there.
On the drive home, I was thinking about all the sunsets I’ve seen, and I think this one might just be the best sunset EVER!!
I made this image with my Sony NEX6 and the 55-210mm lens at 180mm, ISO 200, f/8, 1/100 second.
Feb 16, 2014 | Categories: California, Joshua Tree National Park | Tags: california, joshua tree, jumbo rocks, national park, sunset | 15 Comments »
Ok, this is the last of the photos from the Salton Sea, at least for now.
We were only there for two days and I got so many photos! But it’s time to move on before I get too far behind in my photo processing, so I’m going to save the rest of them to show you another time.
Today’s Photo: Salton Sea Seagulls
The sheer number of birds of the Salton Sea is incredible. It’s partly to do with all those dead fish you saw in my post earlier this week.
By the way, I had a lot of people comment on the blog and on social media about how terrible the dead fish are. It’s actually a completely natural occurance in an otherwise unnatural sea. The summer heat causes low oxygen levels in the sea and the fish suffocate. It happens every summer.
Anyway, back to the birds … the sea is loaded with the fish, tilapia, that provide sustenance for the birds on their journey south. One million of the six millions birds that travel the pacific flyway every winter stop at the Salton Sea, and sometimes it seems like they are all in the air at one time!
At any time you can see all sorts of gulls, pelicans, egrets, avocets, sandpipers and other birds filling the sky and the shoreline.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Next Week … Joshua Tree National Park!
Feb 13, 2014 | Categories: Animals, California | Tags: california, gull, salton sea, seagull, sunset | 10 Comments »
Internet Break!
I’m going to be heading into a National Park for a few days and I wont have internet access. It’s Organ Pipe National Monument actually.
One of the things that is best about the national parks and national monuments is that the lack of cell towers forces you to step away from daily life and immerse yourself in nature. So not only no internet access, but no people wandering around with their heads in their phones!!
So I wont have any new blog posts for a couple of days.
Today’s Photo: Salton Sea Egret at Twilight
The Salton Sea has some of the best skies! When they are cloudy they are so dramatic, and when they are not cloudy they give the mostly lovely pastel shades.
It was a very peaceful evening as I watched this Great Egret strolling along the shore.
Please click the image to view a larger version.
Feb 11, 2014 | Categories: Animals, California | Tags: animal, bird, california, egret, salton sea, twilight | 13 Comments »
