I love fall, the crisp chilly morning air as the days grow shorter and cooler. The vibrant colors of trees as they come alive…somewhat ironic when you consider they are shedding their leaves for the upcoming cold winter. One last glorious burst until the cycle starts again next spring. For the last few years we’ve tried to make at least one trip to the Eastern Sierra’s as summer turns to fall. It’s actually a crapshoot, for the most part you have to plan your trip well in advance, but the reality is the magnificent scenes of colors are but a short moment and unpredictable. The photos above are from Hope Vally along the north fork of the Carson River outside of Lake Tahoe in Eldorado National Forest. As you can see the trees are in a mixed state. Some have turned, while others are in the process of turning, creating a mixed palate of color. This year we are taking a different tact, heading to Yosemite and Half Dome…but a few extra days thrown in to the mix so maybe we’ll get lucky in the high country.

We hiked through the Eastern Sierras so you didn’t have to. What an amazing and spectacular place.

As summer comes to a close we’ve been lucky enough to make a few quick road trips (which means I have a big backlog of photos to go through!). We recently took Sierra on her first ever trip to her namesake, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in this case specifically up CA 395 to Lake Sabrina outside of  Bishop. A few marvelous days of camping at the Lake Sabrina campground…some fishing, some hiking, and some relaxing by the crackling campfire.

One of our days up there we took a loop hike from Lake Sabrina up to Blue Lake and back. Not being used to the high elevation, the 8 miles and 1500 foot elevation gain were an ass kicker. Then again it probably didn’t help that I carried 30 pounds of camera equipment and my sturdy tripod. whew….not sure I’ll be doing that again. But on the plus side it allowed me to capture this image of Lake Sabrina as the sun was setting behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the last bit of sunlight lighting up the peaks far in the distance as the crescent moon makes it’s way across the twilight sky. HDR shot using 3 photos and merged using photomatix pro.

How did Sierra do on her first foray in to the mountains? Let’s just say there were mixed reviews. She did fantastic handling the distance, and for the most part did great off the leash on the trails…and it was a laugh riot seeing her run along the lake shoreline. But she is a helluva whiner when leashed up in the campground!

Another great turnout at the August Fullerton Art Walk. Thanks to all of you who stopped by to show your support (and a special thanks to those of you who purchased some of my work!). We will have to hit the pavement and find a new location for the upcoming art walks, but Unity Salon has been a fantastic host the last few months.

Prior to the Art Walk we took an impromptu trip up to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. Seeing as it was last minute, to a national park, in the middle of summer…it took quite awhile to find a camping spot, but we found a fantastic one right near Grant’s Grove. One our one full day in the park we did the big tree gamut…a nice walk through Grant’s Grove and then a 10 mile hike (according to the GPS) through the Giant Sequoia Forest near the Sherman Tree. Starting at the Sherman Tree Parking lot we ventured through the Congress Trail, the Sequoia Trail and along Circle and Long Meadows before heading back. Wildflowers were visible through the forest, creating a fabulous foreground…and we timed the hike so we finished around late afternoon…creating some great photo opportunities. The contrast required utilizing photomatix pro (HDR) to maintain both highlight and shadow detail.

I posted an oil painting version of this shot using Topaz Simplify on the redinkphotography facebook page.

Here’s some additional shots from the hike

Fullerton Art Walk

For those of you not following our facebook page (and why aren’t you?)

I will be participating in the Fullerton Art Walk on Friday, August 6, 2010. Photos from my series, Scenes of India, will be exhibited at Unity Salon during the Art Walk, and for the entire month of July.

Date: Friday, August 6, 2010

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Location: Unity Salon (map), Downtown Fullerton

I will be at the Salon from 6-10. There will be wine, snacks, and hopefully a nice crowd of friends and visitors. Framed images from the series will be available for purchase, as well as signed copies of my book, Scenes of India, various matted prints and potentially a video slideshow. Special show only pricing will be available on prints, as well as future orders.

I am also offering a 10% off Pre Art-Walk special. Order a print prior to the Art Walk and I will sign, matte, and deliver the print at the Art Walk. 10% off…Plus you save on shipping! Please contact me directlyfor Pre-Art Walk orders.

There sits an old restaurant along Euclid Avenue near the border of Fullerton and Anaheim. It’s an ancient place that looks like it has been there forever, or at least since the fifties. The La Palma Chicken Pie Shop. Fifties Americana food…chicken pies with thick gravy, fresh baked pies and two owners who are so tied to the business, when they take a vacation the restaurant shuts down.

Everything about this photo was wrong. Taken in the middle of the day, poor composition, boring subject matter (parked cars in a lot?)….yet somehow it works.

Fullerton Art Walk

For those of you not following our facebook page (and why aren’t you?)

I will be participating in the Fullerton Art Walk on Friday, August 6, 2010. Photos from my series, Scenes of India, will be exhibited at Unity Salon during the Art Walk, and for the entire month of July.

Date: Friday, August 6, 2010

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Location: Unity Salon (map), Downtown Fullerton

I will be at the Salon from 6-10. There will be wine, snacks, and hopefully a nice crowd of friends and visitors. Framed images from the series will be available for purchase, as well as signed copies of my book, Scenes of India, various matted prints and potentially a video slideshow. Special show only pricing will be available on prints, as well as future orders.

I am also offering a 10% off Pre Art-Walk special. Order a print prior to the Art Walk and I will sign, matte, and deliver the print at the Art Walk. 10% off…Plus you save on shipping! Please contact me directlyfor Pre-Art Walk orders.

One of my favorite parts about New Orleans is the weathered wrought iron you find all over the city. In front of buildings, along courtyards, in the cemeteries…beautiful, distressed, aging wrought iron. During our trip to the crescent city we spent a lot of time walking through various neighborhoods, I’d walk by a building, wrought iron would catch my eye and I’d start composing various images while Andree was once again forced to wonder what the hell I was looking at. Sometimes I’d look for patterns in the repetition…other times I’d focus on the shape. When we returned I tossed all the wrought iron shots in a collection and forgot about them. The other day I was sending off some prints to replace some that sold in the recent art show and Andree asked if I could order a shot from New Orleans she especially liked. As I’m wont to due I was quickly distracted by my collection of wrought iron and ended up creating a series of toned black and white shots using Silver Efex Pro. I used a Holga style treatment of the photos with medium Selenium toning, the subject matter suited to the mystery and historic feel you get from that combination.

Fullerton Art Walk

For those of you not following our facebook page (and why aren’t you?)

I will be participating in the Fullerton Art Walk on Friday, August 6, 2010. Photos from my series, Scenes of India, will be exhibited at Unity Salon during the Art Walk, and for the entire month of July.

Date: Friday, August 6, 2010

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Location: Unity Salon (map), Downtown Fullerton

I will be at the Salon from 6-10. There will be wine, snacks, and hopefully a nice crowd of friends and visitors. Framed images from the series will be available for purchase, as well as signed copies of my book, Scenes of India, various matted prints and potentially a video slideshow. Special show only pricing will be available on prints, as well as future orders.

I am also offering a 10% off Pre Art-Walk special. Order a print prior to the Art Walk and I will sign, matte, and deliver the print at the Art Walk. 10% off…Plus you save on shipping! Please contact me directlyfor Pre-Art Walk orders.

Gallery of Wrought Iron

So, maybe I’m a little behind, we did get back close to two months ago…but here are some photos from our trip with Ace, Michael, and Genghis, backpacking through Southern Utah. Photos were shot with a Canon G9, still not entirely used to using my small handheld to take large landscape photos…in the middle of the afternoon. The photo above is of Michael, Ace (and Andree hiding in the corner) as we get ready for our final descent in to the canyon on our first day. We ended up camping/sleeping in the small canyon, in the deep shadows, about 1/3 of the way up the photo (from the bottom).

Here’s a gallery of images from the trip.

Two more days until the Art Walk in Fullerton. We met with the fine folks at Unity Salon last night and hung 10 framed prints on the walls. It was an interesting experience, watching my framed art hung on the walls. Yeah, we’ve hung a few photos around the house, but this was different…a nice little ego boost for sure.

15+ venues will open their doors on Friday night for the Fullerton Art Walk, so there should be something for everyone (though I would obviously expect you to spend most of your time with us!).

Date: Friday, July 2, 2010

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Location: Unity Salon (map), Downtown Fullerton

I will be at the Salon from 6-10. There will be wine, cheese, and hopefully a nice crowd of friends and visitors. Framed images from the series will be available for purchase, as well as signed copies of my book, Scenes of India, various matted prints and potentially a video slideshow. Special show only pricing will be available on prints, as well as future orders.

Date: Friday, August 6th, 2010

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Location: Unity Salon (map), Downtown Fullerton

I will be at the Salon from 6-10. There will be wine, cheese, and hopefully a nice crowd of friends and visitors. Framed images from the series will be available for purchase, as well as signed copies of my book, Scenes of India, various matted prints and potentially a video slideshow. Special show only pricing will be available on prints, as well as future orders.

I am also offering a 10% off Pre Art-Walk special. Order a print prior to the Art Walk and I will sign, matte, and deliver the print at the Art Walk. 10% off…Plus you save on shipping! Please contact me directly for Pre-Art Walk orders.