Here in the Anza-Borrego desert we have arrived after unusually heavy rains. The first clue was the pinkish-magenta Desert Sand Verbena coloring the margins of the dunes. Tracks in the dunes were damp where the dry surface sand had been turned up. The hills have been transformed; from a distance
Creosote When you first drop into the Sonoran desert and it has been raining the previous day or two there is, on the air, the unmistakable smell of the creosote bush. Being as smell is the most potent invokers of memory it strikes me powerfully. To start with the smell
Preface:This is not an explicitly political piece though some may take it as so. It is an expression of what I saw and what I know and some contemplation as well. The sky is a cold blue but here it could never be cold enough. Here where the sun
Today we drove up over the mountains and upon spying the white dome on the distant mountain decided to visit Palomar Observatory. It is something of a mecca to anyone who appreciates science especially astronomy or the cosmos. I confess to being such a person having nerded out on books
Imagination is perhaps the quintessential human quality. It appears to be a uniquely human capability and when exercised enables us change our view of ourselves, others and the world around us. The Philosopher Owen Barfield called it ‘an ultimate mental activity’ and ‘the power of creating within forms which themselves
I have written before that I am drawn to longer lenses in my photography. Traditional landscape photography especially in the vast expanses of the American West relies on wide angle, short focal length lenses. 50mm can seem quite constrained and so you see 35mm, 28, down to 10mm or 12mm
I’ve been revisiting photographs from earlier this year, taken as we drove through Zion. The trip wasn’t planned, we had been recalled home unexpectedly, but on the way, we paused briefly in Zion and Bryce. It was late winter, and we were fortunate to catch a light snowfall.
Mollie pulled me into a yard and there, was the dead goose. A small Canada Goose, on its back. It looked whole except perhaps a small spot of red on the breast. Not a feather out of place, it could have been asleep if geese slept on their backs. As
Fuji GFX 100s ii
In my previous post I discussed my decision to try a new photo editing software package called DxO Photolab. Here I thought I would cover what I learned about how to use masks as I applied it to a black and white image, I was processing. The original image I
Fuji GFX 100s ii
This is probably the area of photography I enjoy the least—and that says a lot, considering I once developed my own film and printed images in the darkroom. First and foremost, I’m a cheapskate. I refuse to pay for a subscription to editing software like Adobe Photoshop. For
The snap of a branch The low drum of hooves I turn to look At what was never there
Trees don't snort, usually. This is my experience, but I definitely heard a snort. I was stepping off the trail and stumbling through deep grass that hid fallen trees that I kept tripping over. I was carrying my camera and concentrating on not falling. The trail was taking