Mariposa tulip in the Sierra Nevada, Kings Canyon National Park

The Mariposa tulip blooms in the Sierra Nevada. We found this one along the trail in Kings Canyon National Park, on our Rae Lakes Loop trip in 2012. The term "Mariposa" is Spanish for "butterfly". The characterisitcs of these plants is that they have 3 sepals, 3 petals, 6 stamens, and one three-lobed pistil. The Mariposa tulip is in the lily family. The dark dots at the base of each petal helps to guide the bees that pollinate the flower to their nectar reward. In this image, the flower also has the shadow of an unopened flower stem crosing over the upper petal.

For photos like this, it's a good idea to use a low f/stop setting and a faster shutter speed. For this image, the settings were f/6.7, 1/350 second. The lower depth of field allows the background to blur so that the clearest part of the image is the flower you want to show. The fast shutter speed helps to ensure a sharper image in case of any slight breezes making the flower move. The closer you get to your subject, the more noticeable any motion becomes in the final image. Using a telephoto setting for the lens, allows you to move farther away from the subject, so motion is less noticeable. Some photographers use tripods and clamps to hold the flower stem still, which is a good idea. But, in this case, we were backpacking along a trail trying to make sure we covered enough distance each day. When we got this photo, we still had our packs on and just tried to get a good shot with the conditions as they were.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Trona Pinnacles in the Mojave Desert of California. Where the remake of "Planet of the Apes" was partially filmed.

The Trona Pinnacles are in the Mojave Desert of California. They were formed while underwater in the ancient Searles Lake, which is now completely dry. Where the towers form represents freshwater springs that spewed calcium-enriched waters into the carbonate-laden mineral waters of the ancient lake. Calcium and carbonate combine to form calcium carbonate, the same material that makes up sea shells and cave formations. Mono Lake is famous for its tufa towers that are still forming. The ones at Trona that formed under Searles Lake can't grow anymore.

A few years ago, the Planet of the Apes movie was remade and some of the scenes in that movie were filmed among the Trona Pinnacles. We've also seen some commercials  with these pinnacles in them, as well.

We often stop by the Trona Pinnacles on our way to Death Valley National Park. The small town of Trona is south south-west of Death Valley and along the route from Ridgecrest, Highway 178. The dirt road out to the Pinnacles comes off of Highway 178 and crosses railroad tracks. This area is not a National Park, but is Bureau of Land Management land. They don't have the restrictions that a park would have in effect, so people can drive right up to the features and hike around them. There have been mines here so a visitor should use caution when exploring. Camping isn't allowed, though.

The last time we drove through here, the full moon was about 4 days away, so the nearly full moon was rising well before sunset. We looked at the moon and the pinnacles from several angles. Rick liked this one with the moon between a couple of the pinnacles as a dramatic shot.

Remember it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Subway Cave: a lavatube cave near Lassen Volcanic National Park

Subway Cave is a lava tube cave near Lassen Volcanic National Park, in the Lassen National Forest. Lava tubes form when lava flowing out of a volcanic eruption cools and forms an upper crust, but lava underneath is still warm and fluid and eventually drains out, forming a tube. When parts of the roof collapse, entrances are created. Subway Cave has two roof collapses about .3 miles apart, which allows visitors to take a short hike from one to the other. The visitor can then return to the start through the cave or take a surface trail back.

Northeastern California has at least 300 such caves, but few are as high or as easily accessible as this one, being right off a main road. The cave entrances have cement stairs for easy access. The actual lava tube continues further along than where the stairways are located, but these parts of the cave may be considered less stable and therefore more hazardous. We've hiked into the extended parts of the cave to explore it more and found that the tunnel split. Very fascinating, these features, especially when you try to imagine what the flow of hot lava would look like when the tube was forming.

Anyone wishing a print of this photo will need to keep its dimensions in mind when ordering.  The dimensions that our online photo processing offers that applies to this image is 2x1 (or 8.5x17 legal size paper).

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Sunset silhouette of Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

Delicate Arch is one of the most iconic of all the natural rock spans.  It's not only the symbol of Arches National Park, but also appears on the license plates of many Utah motor vehicles.  It was also shown on a postage stamp honoring Utah on the centennial of its statehood.

This photo shows the 65-foot tall arch in silhouette by the setting sun.  It is one of the most visited arches in the park requiring only about a 2 mile hike to reach.  It was formed out of Entrada sandstone and is a freestanding arch, which is what makes it so distinctive. To make it even more dramatic, it is also perched on the edge of a huge sandstone bowl on one side and a cliff on the other.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

Sentinel Point, in Yosemite National Park, at sunset.

Sentinel Point towers over the south rim of Yosemite Valley. Not as famous as other features, like El Capitan or Half Dome, it can still offer some spectacular views. This image was taken as the sun was setting and Rick was looking for Horsetail Falls to the west of El Capitan picnic area. After gazing westward at the falls, Rick looked east and was surprised to see the moon rising near Sentinel Point, which is the left-most point of rock in this photo. The image was taken in February as the setting sun reflects from El Capitan's east flank, which only happens in November and February, each year. Because this was in February, you can see some  patches of snow on the cliff.

So many people know about Horsetail Falls glowing red from the setting sun in February, that the Park Service has started closing off one lane for parking, so all the photographers can park and be close to the waterfall feature. We've tried several times to get Horsetail Falls lit up by the setting sun in February, but there are other features around Yosemite to keep an eye out for, so don't fixate on one thing to the exclusion of others.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story!

Half Dome reflected in the Merced River from Sentinel Bridge.

Rick has been to this bridge many times to look at Half Dome and see if it reflects in the Mered River. In the late summer and autumn, when the river's flow is low is usually the best time. Many people visit Yosemite in the spring and early summer when the waterfalls have much more water, but that can also make for a lot more ripples in the river's surface. This image was taken at the end of September, 2012, around 5 PM. The face of Half Dome is usually in shadow in the morning, so waiting until the afternoon to photograph will ensure that it is well-lit. Using the trees to frame both Half Dome and its reflection worked out well in this shot. Sometimes landscape features don't reflect in water the way you might expect. In this photo, due to the trees and the angle, there's actually less of Half Dome showing in the reflection than in the straight view, but it's still plenty for the viewer to know what it is.

This view is from Sentinel Bridge, which is near the cliff that leads up to Sentinel Point, which leads further along the high ground to Sentinel Dome. Though less famous than Half Dome, those other features can be photogenic, too. The view from the top of Sentinel Dome might be the best place to see all of Yosemite Falls.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

Bridalveil Falls at sunset with the Cathedral Rocks above and the Leaning Tower above right.

In Yosemite, Bridalveil Falls appears above the trees at sunset. After seeing Yosemite Valley from the Tunnel View, many visitors stop at Bridalveil Falls and hike to the base. Especially in the spring, visitors can get thoroughly drenched by the spray. This makes taking photos near the falls a bit hazardous for the integrity of lenses and electronics.For much of the day, Bridalveil Falls is in shadow. It's only afternoon and evening that the cliff face gets direct light. The setting sun made a slight orange glow on the granite in this January photo.

The Cathedral Rocks above the falls were the first high points in Yosemite to be climbed by mountain climbers and are still popular. Also, climbers ascend the Leaning Tower to the upper right in this image. Together they remind me of something like a Stegosaurus's back with the rocks forming the bony plates, and then Bridalveil Creek flowing over its back before falling. This image was the result of 4 images merged together to capture more detail. It was taken with Rick's 6-megapixel Minolta camera that has since been replaced by a Canon Rebel XSi digital SLR.

It's not just a photo, it's a story.

Yosemite Falls, upper and lower, with a lunar rainbow, or moonbow, with stars.

The mist from Yosemite Falls can turn moonlight into a moonbow, or lunar rainbow, around the time of the full moon. It also depends on how much precipitation the area had during the winter and sping, since the misting water droplets coming off the falls is what separates the white light into the spectrum of colors. The moon-caused bow is dim enough that human eyes can't distinguish the colors. We have rods and cones in our eyes, cells that respond to light. The rods respond to brightness and don't detect color, but the cones do respond to color, but only if their light has enough intensity. Moonlight isn't usually intense enough to trigger the cones. When looking at this moonbow, we only saw an arc of ghostly white light, but the camera's time exposure, 30 seconds, does pick up the colors that our eyes can't see.

This perspective also includes the upper falls and stars so that it's easier to tell that it was taken at night. To get here, you have to be willing to do a little scrambling off of the paved path over granite that is sometimes slick, right up to the base of the cliffs, but it's well worth it. You also should bring along a dry cloth to wipe the droplets off of your lens, since it will get wet. Wearing rain gear to keep yourself dry and protected from the wind is a good idea, too. Waterfalls create their wind. The falling water drags air down with it. 

This image was two shots, lower and upper, then merged together to create one larger image. The two were taken on June 2, 2012. We tried again this year, 2013, but last year's results were better.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story!

Death Valley sunrise

Sunrise as seen from the Furnace Creek Campground in Death Valley National Park in California.  Some of the most spectacular sunrises we've ever seen have been at Death Valley.

Death Valley is famous for being the lowest, hottest, and driest place in America.  The lowest point in the park, the Badwater Basin, is also the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level.  We've seen tourists from Germany here during the summer take pictures of themselves next to a thermometer to show the folks back home what temperatures they got exposed to.  The thermometer showed 117 degrees F.  The record high temperature for Death Valley was 134 degrees Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913 and is considered to be the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.  As for dryness, Death Valley averages just over 2 inches of rainfall annually.  We've visited the park during years when it got over 5 inches of rain and the wildflowers bust out all over thanks to the extra moisture.

We like to visit Death Valley during the winter, because of its relatively mild weather, but we have visited the park in every season.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

The Tetons framed by aspens

Grand Teton, the highest peak in this photo, is the centerpiece of Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming.  This is one of our most favorite places in the world.  This photo is from the eastern side of the park looking westward.

The Teton Range is what geologists call a fault-block mountain range.  Two adjoining blocks of the earth's crust are tilting to the west causing the valley called Jackson Hole to form, part of which is visible in the midground, and the Teton Range to form in the background.  Since the Tetons are on the eastern edge of the westernmost block, this side of the mountains doesn't have foothills.  The Tetons are famous for having the appearance of springing abruptly out of the earth.

Some of our longest backpacking trips have been here.  Bob has done two solo trips, one of 13 days in the southern part of the range and another of 5 days mostly off-trail in the northern part of the range.  Together we backpacked nearly the entire length of the range from north to south over 6 days.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon's tallest waterfall.

Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in the state of Oregon. For the traveler, it is very convenient to see it since it's right next to a major road. You don't even have to get out of your car to see it, but, of course, you'll want to get closer. The bridge that crosses the creek was built in 1914. There's a trail to the top of the falls that Rick hiked and got the view from the brink looking down at the people on the bridge, the Multnomah Falls Lodge and the parking area where his car was parked. This part of the Columbia River Gorge has many other waterfalls along the road and even farther upstream from those, if you're willing to do some hiking.

Because the falls are on a north-facing cliff, it is always in shade. That creates a bit of a challenge for photographers to get the right degree of contrast and exposure to bring out the details. Northern Oregon and southern Washington often have cloudy weather as well, adding a little more to the degree of difficulty. This image is the composite of three images that were merged together to capture more of the detail of the scene. The camera Rick had in 2006 was a 6 megapixel Konica Minolta camera, so the three images minus the overlap from the merge process gets to about 14 megapixels. The merging process allows a photographer to make images that are much greater in image detail than a single image.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story!

Natural Arch in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada is a geologists' and photographers' dream.  Among the red sandstone formations are a number of natural arches, including this one near the Beehives area near the western entrance to the park.  Looking like the landing gear on a big helicopter, this buttress type natural arch is very delicate looking and may not last much longer geologically speaking.  It has a span of 10 feet, a height of 8 feet, a thickness of only ten inches, and a width of 22 inches.  The arch is visible from the park road at the left end of a large outcrop.

Update: We visited Valley of Fire State Park the last week of 2017 and I, Bob, looked for this arch, but couldn't find it.  I emailed the state park about this arch after the trip and they responded saying that this arch was between the Beehives and the West Petrified Logs, but it collapsed many years ago, so this arch is gone.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse lit up

Pigeon Point Lighthouse on the central California coast is one of the tallest lighthouses on the West Coast of the United States.  It has been replaced in its duties by an aerobeacon and is now a state historic park.  In mid-November, the rangers would turn on the lighthouse in an annual lighting ceremony to commemorate its very first lighting on November 15, 1872.  This is an image of that lit-up lighthouse showing the spokes-of-light pattern that the Fresnel lens creates.  The rotating lens would create a flash pattern that was unique to each lighthouse, so that mariners could time the flashes and know which lighthouse they were seeing.

The tower at Pigeon Point has been closed to the public since 2001, because it was deemed unsafe.  The state parks department has begun restoring this tower and the first step in the process was removing the historic Fresnel lens, so that it wouldn't be damaged during the tower's reconstruction process.  So, the good news is that the lens is safe, but the bad news is that the annual lighting of the lighthouse won't happen again for many years, until the restoration is complete and the lens is returned to the top of the tower.

This image was shot at ISO 1600, so it's showing some digital noise.  The very thin fog that helped accentuate the spokes of light, also helped blur the moon in the upper right.

Remember, it's not just a photo, it's a story.