It's Always January

New Canoeing Website

2011-05-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

I had been planning for some time to start a website dedicated to canoeing in Northern California, and I finally got started on it last weekend. To say the least, it's been a difficult week, so I took some solace in burying myself into getting the site together. Sometimes distractions can help, at least for a little bit.

Anyways, without further ado here is the site I have put together:

NorCalCanoeing.com

It's still a little raw, but I think it's coming together fairly nicely for only a few days of work on it. Upon entering the site you'll see the splash page with static content. I'll update that periodically with whatever is going on at the time, but mainly it's just a welcome. On the top are tabs for the blog, the forum, and one to register or login.

The blog will have regular new entries about canoeing from myself and other paddlers in the area. Topics will be trip reports, upcoming classes, tips on technique, and anything else paddling related that we feel like writing about.

The forum is a way to get people who are interested in canoeing together to talk about paddling, organize meet-ups/paddles, buy and sell gear, and whatnot.

The account you register works both for posting comments on the blog, as well as participating in the forums.

You'll notice that there are currently no ads, and there will never be a fee for using this site. All the time and energy I put into it are purely for the love of the art and sport of canoeing.

A Great Loss

2011-05-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my family and I learned that we had lost one of our own. My nephew, who was only a few years younger than I and more like a brother to me, had taken his own life. Alone in a car in some back alleyway he had ended his own suffering of a pain that none of us will ever fully understand.

Who was Brian Clay? I'm not sure that any one person knows that answer fully. Instead he chose to expose only a little bit of himself to each person that he trusted enough to have contact with as he drifted in and out of our lives. He was a good guy though, and I don't think I ever heard him speak out in anger. Even when we fought against each other earlier in life, as boys growing up close in age tend to do, we never held bad thoughts for one another. Although I always seemed to get the better of our fist fights, he always bested me on the courts; whether they were with a basketball or a tennis ball. Seeing him play sports were the times I would see that glow that he seemed to be missing in the rest of him. If only he could have dribbled a ball through life, and launched a mean serve at all those wallowing feelings inside of him. If only, if only...

Early in life things seemed to be as normal and happy as can be. He had two loving parents and a sister that he was close to, and they lived in a nice house in a new neighborhood. Nothing unusual in high school either, as he scored well in his classes and seemed destined to go on to college and live a perfect normal life. If someone were to compare us at the time, I was the one going down the wrong road and living a troubled life. Alas, things in life are not always as they appear. His parents divorced leaving his mother (my sister) heartbroken and devastated that the life they had was over. Wanting to move on in his own life, his Father grew distant and more involved with the one he started over with (** EDIT I just wanted to add that I'm not placing blame here. Relationships are very complex and I can't claim to know much about theirs. Brian never said a bad word about his father to me **). Though he always maintained a love and connection with his sister, they too seemed to drift off in their own directions.

Everything changed then. Numerous attempts at going to school always seemed to fail. At one point we were taking classes together at Riverside Community College. I was focused at that point, intent upon changing the course of my life and moving on to greater things. He seemed lost without any drive. We lived together for a short period during this time, and as I moved on to a University, he seemed to regress. At one point he got accepted to a University in Missouri, but there he only collected debts he could not repay and found himself getting deeper and deeper in a hole that he could not dig himself out of.

As my life evolved into a career and a family, he struggled to hold down a job and drifted between Riverside, Missouri, Las Vegas, and Wichita Kansas. Somewhere in the middle of all of this he tried to take his own life by ingesting a bunch of pills, but this attempt failed and it was unclear to us if he really intended it or if he was calling out in desperation for help. The family rallied around him and gave what support we could. My sister in Kansas took him in and helped him find work, but over time he slipped back into that shell and shut us all out again.

The last I heard from him was after I got back from my trip down the Lower Colorado River. Upon checking my voicemail I received an upbeat message from him telling me he was back in Missouri, working, and optimistic about getting back in school. By this point it had become a routine. Disappear for months or years without a word, then show up out of nowhere upbeat about his new plans to get everything back on track. There didn't seem to be a middle ground for Brian. Things were either at their darkest, and he never liked to speak to anyone he was close to then, or they were bright sunshiny days and everything would change with this new plan he had. He'd always apologize for not getting in touch for so long, and explain that he just didn't want to bring anyone down while he was depressed. I tried to convince him that those times are when you need the people you are close to the most, but he had his own way of looking at things and could not seem to change them.

Anyways, I called him up and we spoke for quite awhile about his new job at California Pizza Kitchen. He said he wanted to be a manager there, and that with his previous experience in restaurants that they were going to "fast track" him. I was surprised to hear that he also wanted to come out and hike the Lost Coast with me. I gave him the information and told him I had everything he would need; just get yourself here. It turns out that was the last time we would speak on the phone. I emailed him about the trip, and he got back that things were not looking so good now. Money was tight again, and he had forgotten how much he hated working as a waiter. I told him not to sweat it, that there were many other trips yet to come down the road. Had I known that time was running short I would have bought him a ticket myself, I would have driven out and gotten him; anything to stall the momentum towards the train wreck he was heading for. I guess after all the years of drifting in and out I took it for granted that someday he'd drift back in. I don't think I really knew that there was only so much wind in his sails, and that his journey was coming to an end. The signs were everywhere, but through it all I had grown deaf and blind to it. Was he calling out for help again, in his own way? I'll never know...

About a month ago I got a series of messages from concerned friends in Missouri that he had up and disappeared again. I wish I can claim to have been really concerned, but he had done this so many times. I spoke to a close friend of his who was convinced something was wrong. He had disappeared before, but never had he left money behind. It turned out he was in Kansas staying with another one of my nephews. We breathed a sigh of relief, but the danger was not gone. After staying with him a couple of weeks he left without a word. This time he would not be drifting off to somewhere else. This time he would not be calling months later with an upbeat mood and another grand plan to change his life. This time it was the end.

I didn't cry when I got that call that Brian was gone. It should not have been a surprise to me, but truth be told I was shocked. As I'm sitting here writing today a day later the tears are finally coming. The reality that he is never going to just show up in my life out of the blue again is setting in. I can't stop thinking about all the times we were together growing up. I can't stop regretting not reaching out to him more. I can't stop feeling the loss for someone I thought I had lost long ago.

Over the last 4 or 5 years Brian had started painting off and on. Here's a few of his works from his facebook page (as well as the one above). I tried to encourage his new found passion for art. I always planned to send him supplies. I regret not doing that tremendously. He had mentioned having some newer ones last time I spoke to him, but I never got to see them.

We'll miss you Brian!

*** Edit to Add ***

Learning more about Brian's death, I discovered that he took his life using a mixture of common household chemicals to create Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) fumes. This is known as chemical suicide or detergent suicide and apparently it's becoming more popular in the United States after originating in Japan in 2007, spread mostly by websites on the internet.

I realized that in this day in age we're all connected online, and that people looking to take their own lives, as well as those coping with loved ones that have already taken their lives, might find there way across this posting. It is for this reason that I am adding on to this post directed more at them then towards myself and others who knew Brian.

As my good friend Rob commented below, depression is not a weakness, but rather a sickness in the brain. We should blame those with depression no more than we would blame those that have cancer. It is not their fault, and it is not something that can be simply turned off. Much like cancer it is something that must be treated, and those battling against it have no guarantee that they will win. Likewise those suffering from depression should feel no shame for it. You do not choose to have depression, and I have as much respect for those battling it as those battling the deadliest forms of cancer. Just know this; you are not alone and there are good people out there that care and will help you in any way that they can. Never give up hope, for no matter how bad things seem there is always a way out. See a doctor, speak with a counselor, take advantage of your support group of friends and family. Battle against it as you would battle against a disease, for that is what it is.

Here are some resources for those battling with this condition:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Suicide Prevention Resource Center: www.sprc.org

Here are some resources for those who have lost a loved one to this disease:

Connect with other parents that have lost a child: childsuicide.org
For Suicide Survivors: www.forsuicidesurvivors.com

My hope goes out to all those battling depression, and my heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one to this disease.

Canoeing Workshop

2011-05-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in a workshop for Red Cross Canoeing instructors to refine our paddling skills and improve our teaching abilities. We were able to fly out Randy Carlson, an ACA certified instructor trainer, and his assistant Zak clear out from Minnesota. We did one day of tandem flatwater paddling, focusing on techniques for teaching the fundamentals of canoeing, then did two days on moving water (The Lower American River which was flowing at 8,000 CFS); one in tandem and one in solo boats. Thanks to a generous grant from the American River Parkway Foundation this amazing training workshop was available to all instructors in our program free of charge. I felt quite lucky to be involved!

For more information and instruction on canoeing in the Sacramento area go to redcrosscrc.org/canoeing.

Here are some random photos of the weekend (the green boat is Randy Carlson, the instructor trainer, and his assistant Zak)...

Lost Coast Gloom

2011-05-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am really behind on my blogging here, as I took yet another trip to the Lost Coast two and a half weeks ago and have yet to share it. Turned out to be a wet and gloomy weekend on the coast, but I'm finding as I explore this area ever year that it has many faces and all of them are quite beautiful.

We decided this year to explore the southern section of the Lost Coast that parallels the King Range (north of Sinkyone and Shelter Cove). I had heard that Shipman Creek was a great place to camp. On my first trip to the area we had blown by it without exploring, heading on to Buck Creek to be closer to getting out the next morning because a high tide was coming in fairly early. This year I wanted to spend two nights there so I could explore and enjoy the vicinity without the worry of "putting in the miles" each day.

So we headed back down that familiar road to the place that calls to me each early Spring. The weather seemed fair enough in the Sacramento area, but as we hit the 101 the clouds began to appear and slowly the sun was being blocked out. Had I known I would not see that sun again until we were on our way out I might have stopped right then and there on the side of the road to bask in it one last time.

We reached Nadelos campground just outside of Shelter Cove fairly early, and found it to be nearly flooded out. In the rain we searched each of the walk in campsites for tent spots that did not resemble reflecting pools whose images were rippled and distorted in the onslaught of drops from above. Nothing looked very promising so we held off setting up, choosing instead to go for food in town and hope the conditions improved. Alas, there would be no break in the rain that night and we drove back up the road to the campgrounds armed with bottled spirits and firewood to brave the weather.

We drove on past Nadelos campground to try our luck at Wailaki just up the road. The sites did not appear nearly as flooded as the others had been, so we staked a claim and began setting up our tents in the light but steady rain. After a few Eel River Amber Ales, and some Lagunitas IPAs (both fine beers) we challenged ourselves with starting a fire in this damp dreary weather. With the dry (though not seasoned) wood from the store and a fire starter brick we got the fire going, but it was rough going and needed constant attention to stay lit. By the end of the night I had it self sufficient enough to leave a warm flickering light on the tent as I closed my eyes amidst the chattering sounds of raindrops, but it never put off much warmth beyond the edge of the fire ring.

The next morning we set off down the coast, heading north to cover 7.5 miles in a strange misty wet haze. Creek crossing were a bit of a challenge this year. None were particularly dangerous, but often did I find myself slipping off a slick rock and coming to be calf deep in the moving cold water. This would not be as big a deal on a sunny day that one could hang their socks on their packs to dry, but this trip would prove difficult for drying out much of anything.

While having lunch and waiting for the last of the high tide to recede, I happened across this massive ~~bear skull~~ (A reader has corrected me that this is actually a large Sea Lion skull....I had no idea they got that big, or had teeth like that!). It always amazes me all the things I find along this shoreline. Everything from bones, to exotic shells, to massive trees, to ship debris intermix with the rock and black sand. You could spend hours walking searching the tide lines.

We arrived at Shipman Creek and found it to be completely abandoned. I had worried with it being such a prime spot that others might have beaten us to it considering we had a Saturday departure. The camp had a series of large logs providing some shelter for the tents and a nice spot for a fire ring which wouldn't see much use on this wet weekend. We explored the area and found a beautiful flowing creek sheltered by trees with Queen Anne's Lace growing abundantly. On the north side of the creek a trail goes back to a nice sheltered campsite. The mosquitoes are probably horrendous at the right time of year back in there though.

We spent the remainder of our trip enjoying the area mostly to ourselves. This area has a number of small waterfalls cascading down to the beach, and is really beautiful to see in any weather. We hiked up to Big Flat to see if any surfers could be seen at the break there, but between the weather and the pretty small swells we saw none. We saw lots of pretty wildflowers and other interesting things just about everywhere we went. The constant mist and off and on rains kept us pretty wet all weekend, but we still managed a humble fire the first night and kept dry in our tents at night. It also helped to have some trail screwdrivers and some vino that I had carried in. Here's my recipe for perfect trail screwdrivers for those interested...

Start with a small nalgene bottle that shows volume in ounces, a good quality vodka (I like Ketle One), and a single serve packet of orange Gatorade mix.
- Fill the vodka to 4 ounces
- Add the Gatorade mix
- Fill with water to 14 ounces.
- Shake well and divide with partner (or drink up!).

After sharing a few of those we enjoyed our wet wonderland and slept well amidst the sound of pounding waves crashing in. It was a little disappointing not seeing a single sunset the whole trip, but I think I found other interesting things to photograph instead.

Other highlights of the trip were getting to meet both the new Lost Coast Ranger Paul, who was making his rounds, and the old Lost Coast Ranger DC who was through hiking the 25 miles from Mattole to Shelter Cove with a group. Both are very nice people and very knowledgeable about the area. Truly great resources for having a fun and safe trip in this region.

Some tips for dealing with a wet camping trip:

- Most good modern tents will stay really dry on a wet trip if you follow a few guidelines. First, I like double walled tents with a separate rainfly. Condensation collects on the inside of the outer rainfly, but the inner tent walls remain dry if you keep them well ventilated and make sure they don't touch the outer rainfly wall. I can't stress this enough. If you have too much gear, or the tent is too small for you and the wall is pushed out against the rainfly, you will get moisture coming in at that point. Also, most tents have a weak spot on the outside where the fly touches the ends of the tents. For this reason there is often a loop sewn in there. Attach some nylon ripcord to this loop and tie it off so that it holds the ends of the rainfly off the tent.

- Rain gear. I always take rain gear on the Lost Coast this time of year. Tops, bottoms and a pack cover. If you don't have a pack cover a thick large black trash bag works nice. Slide it over your pack and cut out slits for the shoulder straps to come through.

- Dry bags. I keep my sleeping bag and any clothes I want to keep from getting wet in dry bags within my pack. I could literally fall into the Ocean and assuming I don't get pulled in (a real risk here!) I will have dry clothes and a dry sleeping bag available to me.

- Pack up your rainfly separately on in-between days. If you are having to pack up in the rain and set up again that night (in the rain likely), then you want to keep your tent that you have done such a great job of keeping dry under the rainfly as dry as possible (it'll get a little wet rolling it up). Rolling the tent up with the rainfly will ensure a very wet inside of your tent when you set it back up. Not the dry comfy place I want to sleep in.

- Leave the cotton at home! As they say, cotton kills. It keeps moisture right on your skin and does not dry well at all. Wool, Polypropylene, and other quick drying fabrics that draw moisture away from your skin are essential in foul weather.

- Layers. I wear a light waterproof shell and a breathable soft shell underneath. The shell itself gets clammy and moist inside without a breathable layer in-between.

Gear that worked:
- Ex Officio Nio Amphi pants with vented knee. These things are amazingly breathable. Nothing else dried very well all weekend, but these things stayed dry even in the soaking mist.
- REI Quarterdome UL tent. Light, easy to set up, and stayed dry inside. Perfect size for one person.
- SeaToSummit Event compression dry sack. I love these things. Water can't get in, but air can get out so that you can compress them down real small. I have two small ones that fit either a down sleeping bag or clothes nicely. I also have an Outdoor Research Airpurge compression dry sack that is a little bigger and fits my synthetic sleeping bag.
- Marmot Precip jacket and pants. I'm kind of on the fence still with these. My precip jacket had already failed within a year of buying it so I washed it and my new precip pants in Nikwax prior to the trip. They kept me dry, but after three days in the rain I could see where it was beginning to soak through and fail on the jacket. Great light weight jacket for light rain, but I think I want a Gortex jacket now for serious bad weather.
- Slik Pro 613 CF Carbon Fiber tripod with Gitzo G1177M Magnesium Series 1 head. Slightly over 2 pounds, but is very stable, giving a working height between 7 and 39 inches off the ground, and folds down to a little under 20 inches including the head. It's my ultimate compromise between weight, cost, and stability in a tripod.
- Canon 5D camera. This thing amazes me every time I use it. For not being weather sealed it seems to handle shooting in wet environments very well (your mileage may vary!). I keep it covered as much as I can, wipe it down from time to time, and get the shots I want even in the rain. Shower caps work well to keep some water off.
- Starbucks Via. Not really gear per se, but I really love a great cup of coffee in a light package with almost no cleanup. It's the only coffee I drink on the trail now.

See everything I took along here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/5606598801

I have some video that I shot with my GoPro HD camera mounted on my hiking staff that I'll upload as well when I get a chance.

Lost Coast 2011

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in California

More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157626539338886/

See my other trips to the Lost Coast for more information about this amazing area. Just click "Lost Coast Trail" under labels on the right. Or just click here.

Also I suggest visiting the new King Range Wilderness (including the Lost Coast) blog here: http://lostcoastranger.blogspot.com.

Check out the old King Range Wilderness blog as well for lots of information: http://kingrange.blogspot.com

Rules and guidelines for the Lost Coast can be found here: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/arcata/kingrange/index.html

Tides Tables (which are very important to know on the trail) can be found here: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/get_predictions.shtml?year=2011&stn=6841+Arena%20Cove&secstn=Shelter+Cove&thh=%2B0&thm=6&tlh=%2B0&tlm=5&hh=*1.04&hl=*1.03&footnote=

Lower Colorado River Canoe Trip GPS Data

2011-03-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

OK, I finally got around to getting the GPS coordinates off the GPS and uploaded the data onto EveryTrail. The best way to view it is to click it to go to EveryTrail, click "view map fullscreen", pause the slideshow and close the image, then zoom in on the route clicking the red dots to view the photos at that location. You'll notice the first portion from Walter's Camp to just before Draper's Cabin is not very accurate. I had forgot to start the Waypoint Tracking on my GPS. From Draper's Cabin on it's very accurate!

You can download the gpx file of the trip on EveryTrail by clicking here: http://www.everytrail.com/downloadGPX.php?trip_id=1016499.

Lower Colorado River Canoe Trip

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in California

Lower Colorado Canoe Trip Video

2011-03-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Put together a video of our trip to the Lower Colorado River. See the full trip report here: http://www.alwaysjanuary.com/2011/02/lower-colorado-canoe-trip.html

Red Cross Canoeing

2011-03-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Aside from canoeing down the Lower Colorado river and picking up a new canoe, I've been spending a lot of time helping out to get ready for another season of teaching canoeing with the other volunteers in the Red Cross Canoeing committee. I've mentioned it a few times here, but it really is a great program of canoeing classes in Sacramento. The program has been around for over 35 years, and there are some seriously good paddlers teaching for it.

Anyways, one of the things I have been doing to help out in the program, and in promoting canoeing in the area in general, is to work on the Red Cross Canoeing website. In the past the canoeing classes were just mixed in with all the other American Red Cross courses. This year I have been working with the folks at the Capital Region Chapter to create a bit of an identity for the program. To start with we added a dedicated canoeing section for prospective students to check out. From there, a description of each class and a photo illustrating the class can be found. I'm also adding a photo gallery for pictures we have, and in the future hope to add photos submitted by students of the class and the canoeing they do after taking the class. It's coming together pretty good, and I'm hoping it will help to boost enrollment this year.

Check it out here: http://redcrosscrc.org/canoeing

Navarro Canoe

2011-03-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and I have been keeping our eyes open on the local craigslist for a little bigger canoe (okay, maybe it was mainly me looking). We looked into an 18 foot Kevlar Wenonah Jensen, but I had too many questions about it that we passed on it. At the same time a friend of mine told me about a Navarro Canoe that might be coming available. I had seen a few here and there, and let me tell you they are some beautiful canoes. I started searching for more about them and found one listed, but it was in Ashland Oregon (some 4.5 hours away). Seemed too far to go, but I emailed the guy selling it anyhow to get more information about these boats that I was quickly becoming highly interested in. I exchanged a few emails with him, and long story short, he and his wife offered us a very good deal on not only a beautiful 17 foot boat, but some nice paddles, a canoe cart that's more heavy duty than my old one (see my Daddy daughter canoe trip report to see what happened to my last one), and a bunch of miscellaneous PFDs and flotation pads (we can always use extras for guests). They liked the idea of selling the canoe to us, as they too had a boy and girl and used to enjoy canoeing with them when they were younger. It was just too good of a deal to pass up.

So Jennifer and I made a weekend of it, traveling to Ashland and staying right in the heart of town at the Plaza hotel. We had a really great time there walking around downtown, exploring Lithia park, eating at the Black Sheep pub, and having fun at the Science Works kids center after a delicious breakfast at Morning Glory's. Ashland is a really cool town in a really beautiful area.

Anyways, getting back to the main reason for our visit, we came back the proud new owners of a beautiful 17 foot Navarro Loon canoe. It is made out of fiberglass with thin cherry ribs lining the inside and beautiful wood gunwales and thwarts. I can't wait to get it out to some of the beautiful lakes that we like to paddle.

It's going to be like having a beautiful model and a Sherpa to come along on our trips :-)

Here's a few more shots taken out in the front lawn after I gave it a washing and put a UV repellent coat on the gelcoat.

Seven Wonders

2011-02-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." -Walt Streightiff

Lower Colorado Canoe Trip

2011-02-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

This will be my second season being involved with the Red Cross Canoeing Committee here in Sacramento, and this year some of the core members decided to organize a group paddling trip down 43 miles of the Lower Colorado River starting at Walter's Camp near Blythe and finishing at Squaw Lake.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about paddling the Lower Colorado in Southern California. I grew up in Riverside, which is within a couple of hours of the area, and I made it a point to avoid such places as Blythe which is the nearest town to our put-in. On top of that, it's a pretty major commitment to dedicate a whole week to a trip, not just for me, but for my wife who would be home all alone with our two young kids (7 and 3 years old). Still, I have this unrelenting hunger for adventure, and this trip promised plenty of it, so knowing that I'd owe Jennifer big time (which I'm sure I'll be reminded of for quite some time) I hopped on-board for a journey that did not disappoint in the slightest.

We started our trek from Sacramento to the Lower Colorado by making our way down to Cottonwood Group Campground at Joshua Tree National Park. It was only a short drive off I-10 right on our route to the put-in at Walter's Camp, so it was the perfect stopping point and it gave us a chance at an equipment check prior to setting off down the river. I'm ashamed to say this is the only time I have ever been to Joshua Tree NP. It's an amazing place, and someday I'll devote a whole trip to exploring it.

The next morning we made our way over to Walter's Camp after a short stop off in Blythe for some last minute supplies. Robert, the guy that runs the camp and the camp store met us as we pulled up and was a great host for us. Not only was he able to accommodate shuttling our vehicles to our take out at Squaw Lake ($70 per vehicle as of this posting), but he and his wife May also treated us to one hell of a Superbowl Party at the bar in the store (with some of the best fried chicken and other party snacks thrown in for free). We all had a blast. In fact, we probably had too much of a blast as the next morning was quite the struggle to get going. I awoke at 3' in the morning feeling like crap and unable to sleep, but upon getting up to relieve myself I was treated with an amazing array of stars above me. I just had to go back in the tent to retrieve my photo gear (much to the chagrin of Jack who later commented I that I had zipped more zips than any F'er should be allowed in one night). I think Jack later forgave me when he saw the photos I had captured (or perhaps it was the chocolate cake I baked in the dutch oven, but that's for later in the story).

The morning started out in slow motion with nobody seeming to get it into a higher gear. Eventually we had gathered all the gear and the canoes at the water's edge and began our first loading. Most of us were doubtful that we'd be able to load up two truck-fulls of gear into the boats, but to my utter astonishment everything was quickly swallowed up into the belly of our paddling beasts. I'd like to see someone try to pull that off with kayaks :-)

So as it was, we set off down the channel quickly arriving at the confluence with the Colorado River which would carry us down through an epic journey. Patrick and I paddled the 19-foot Wenonah Jensen referred to as the River Hippo(I in the stern since I was slightly less hung over) with Russ and John in the Mad River Explorer, Kurt and Noel in the Dagger Legend (Ruth), and Jack in the Bell Wildfire solo. Some of us were paddling harder than others this morning, but none-the-less we arrived without too much effort at our first stop, Draper's Cabin just south of Draper's Lake.

Draper's Cabin was a nice little stop to start the trip. We all agreed that Miner's Cabin further down river had more of an authentic feel to it, but it was still neat to see all the odd stuff (perhaps some original, and some certainly not) and get a feel for what it must have been like to live way out in the middle of nowhere. The view of the river from the hill behind the Cabin is worth the short hike to the top. Since the landing was so narrow we couldn't easily gain access to our food for lunch here, so we paddled a short ways down and across the river to Lighthouse rock for our first meal on the water.

The current on this stretch was moving us at a brisk 2.8 miles per hour with an average paddling speed of 5.3. Even still it was a long first day of paddling with 15 miles to be covered before reaching our campsite. There was some confusion finding 4-S camp as my GPS waypoint appeared way off. I later figured out that the coordinates I had gotten from a Boy Scout troop online was shifted by one site (I had 4-S camp labeled as Outpost camp, Carrizo labeled as 4-S, and so on). We stopped for a bit at Outpost camp as I was feeling a bit ill (ever since I was a kid I periodically get this strange throat constriction that makes me nauseous). By good fortune we decided to push on to 4-S (with Patrick taking over the stern), and we were rewarded by a quite amazing campsite right on the river with a wonderful view of Hoge Rock across the way (see the first photo on this posting above).

We all agreed that 4-S is the prime spot to camp along this stretch of the river. One of the great features of this camp was the new pit toilet system they have there with a solar powered fan that keeps them absolutely non-smelly (works amazingly well!). Though a 4wd road can access the camp, we saw nobody on land or water during our stay here. What about air you say? That's a different story. As I was resting from my illness and my fine camping buddies were unloading and setting up camp (they even set up my tent, what a great bunch of guys!), we heard a helicopter in the distance. Suddenly this Search and Rescue helicopter flew by (perhaps Coast Guard, but I'm not positive), giving us all a wave. They seemed to have flown away after that when suddenly they came in again this time really low doing a partial circle around our camp at an extreme angle all the while smiling and waving. We were hooting and cheering and giving them a big thumbs up for the show. It's good to know there are fine men like that out there to save our butts if we should need them, and it's great to know they like to have some fun just as much as we do.

That evening Patrick treated us to an amazing Mexican dinner and John, needing only a few words of instruction baked up a yummy batch of Trader Joe's corn bread in the dutch oven to go with it. The food was great, the spirits were flowing, and the stars were nothing short of amazing this night. Noel gave tours of the night sky through his high powered binoculars while Jack entertained us with some great (and often hilarious) songs with his Baby Taylor guitar. I slept with my rain fly off that night and stared up at the stars as I drifted off to sleep for my first good night's rest of the trip. It really doesn't get much better than this.

The next morning we packed up and headed down the river towards Picacho State Recreation Area. I was in the solo boat for this day and each of us that paddled it agreed that we must find a way to drown Patrick in the river so that we can steal his boat (just kidding Patrick :-). Unfortunately the winds were blowing hard this day, and we even encountered a small section of the river with white caps from the gale. I hung close to the bigger boats and rode out the waves, trying to enjoy my white knuckle adventure. We had planned to enter into the Norton's Landing inlet from down river, but once we saw the entrance to Adobe lake we decided to take our chances through the narrow passageway and dead tree laden lake rather than stay out in the main channel. Let me tell you, I had an absolute blast maneuvering through the twisty passageway and stump filled lake. Unfortunately I had not turned on my GoPro HD camera properly to get this section of the paddle, but I did discover it on our break in Adobe Lake so I got a bit of the dead tree maze and a small section of the reed passageway to Norton's Landing. I'll post those video clips soon.

Norton's Landing was an interesting mock mining town. We almost didn't land, as it didn't appear too friendly to those not on a private tour, but we had been told it was a "don't miss stop" by a local who had paddled here often, so we took a quick peak around being very mindful not to disturb anything. It was a bit touristy for my tastes, but the wide array of stuff from old mining artifacts, to rocks, to just antique'y looking things were kind of interesting.

After our short stop at Norton's Landing, we headed down river trying to find the petroglyphs on river left. From my maps and GPS I figured it was just before the first outcropping of rocks that reached the water after the bend in the river down from Norton's Landing. We saw an opening in the reeds, but Patrick made the call that it didn't look navigable for some of our more barge-like canoes. We were bummed to have missed those.

Just down river a mile or so on river right we came across the first of the Picacho Campground docks. There was a slight disagreement of nomenclature as to which of the two docks was the "upper" and "lower". Needless to say, most of us agreed the one up river was the upper and that is where we first landed to investigate our camping options. From the upper dock we hiked in to see the main car camping campground. This is a nice camp complete with solar showers which I hear put out some great hot water even on a February evening (after my freezing shower at Walter's Camp I abstained). The drawback is that it's a good long walk to the campsites (I'd guess half a mile or so), so we hiked over to the boat-in camps at the lower dock (Patrick's upper dock). There are two group canoe camping sites here, and we were told that we really should have gotten a reservation ahead of time. Fortunately neither of them was taken, so we paddled down and set up camp for the night. Even though it was closer than the other campground, it was still a good 150 yard haul to get our voluminous amount of gear up to camp.

This evening we split up into a few groups with some of us hiking off to see the Stamp Mill, and some fishing down on the river. The hike to the Stamp Mill in the evening light was really beautiful. Being more of a mountain forest dweller for the most part, I don't give the desert enough credit for the subtle beauties it possesses. The last hour of the day really makes those elements shine.

The Stamp Mill was once a large building constructed in the late 1800's of native hand cut rhyolite stone. It's said that at one point 700 men worked here processing ore from the mines, but that it's productivity was greatly exaggerated and the whole operation was built on speculator's investment money. It was a regular dot-com boom of the that time that ended by 1910 and the town supporting it was flooded in 1938 by the installation of the Imperial Dam further down river.

That night we had another fabulous dinner of pasta with sauce complete with sausages and meatballs. There was a great debate between the mixers and the separators of the pasta world, but we compromised by having the separators serve themselves first, while us mixers patiently waited as long as we could for the sauce to penetrate to the core of the noodle bringing pasta perfection. During the preparation I had resumed my dutch oven duties and set out to bake the perfect chocolate cake. I had taken my 12-inch dutch oven aluminum insert, and hand folded it down to the about a 10-inch diameter, placing it in the oven with the cake mix raised on a trivet to get it into the middle of my 14-inch "deep style" dutch oven. After patiently waiting a half hour or so, complete with periodic quarter rotations of the oven counter-clockwise, with a quarter rotation of the lid clock-wise to ensure even heating, it was ready to be taken out. It looked good as I smeared a whole container of chocolate frosting on it, but it would have to wait for some of that massive dinner to digest.

We spent the next half-hour or so smoking cigars around the fire, sipping wine and taking pulls off of flasks filled with scotch and whiskey while Jack played us some good music on the guitar. For some reason I had wanted to look at the maps I had with me, so I got up and headed towards my tent when I came face to face with a raccoon entering the camp. The words of our friendly park ranger who had collected our fees and treated us with some fresh oranges and lemons came to mind. "Watch out for those raccoons at night, they enter camp frequently". No sooner had I smacked my hands and run off this first critter, than I had turned and saw his buddy getting his first taste of chocolate cake. Oh hell no!!! I charge that sucker with intent to maim and ran him off before inspecting the damage done. Luckily I had gotten there just as he had put his paws on it. Two distinct paw marks had marred my camp culinary masterpiece, but nothing else. We took it over to the fire and promptly sliced that bad boy up, careful to serve out the non-coon slices. Let me tell you, that cake was so moist and delicious that Jack helped himself to another serving that the coons had imprinted. Best damn coon cake on the river!

The coons enacted their revenge for missing out on the cake by attempting to tear into the trash cans and our action packers pretty much all night long. Patrick had left a granola bar or two in a bag that fell pray to them, but after Noel had single-handedly fought them off and recovered the bag, nothing further was lost other than the ripped and teared remains of the trash bags coming out of the trash cans about three feet from Russ' tent. The rocks had held though, so the cans remained sealed in the morning though they had been ravaged all night. Keep that in mind while camping here.

On the good side, while packing up in the morning a friendly State Park worker came by and offered to give us a hand with our massive amounts of gear to make up for them having to start work close by with heavy machinery at 6:00 in the morning (didn't wake me, I was already out shooting by then). What a sight it was to see our massive pile of gear swallowed up into this front loader. The fact the we still had a few odds and ends to carry down puts it in perspective just how much stuff one can fit into canoes. I was hesitant to share this, as I don't want to get him in trouble nor do I want every passerby bugging them for a free gear ride, but it just illustrated to me how wonderful the California State Park system is, and how great the people are working for it. Seriously folks, if you live in California vote 'yes' next time the Park System funding initiative comes up. We're very fortunate to have such a treasure in our state.

Once loaded up again, we set off for our first stop of the day, Island Lake. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me, navigating through this long maze like passageway in the reeds to a lovely lake. Noel and I landed on a small island in the lake and relaxed and enjoyed the day while others fished, paddled, and explored. What a spectacular way to start the day.

After an hour or two of enjoying the backwaters of Island Lake, we navigated back out to the main channel and headed over to Miner's Cabin and Eureka Mine. This is a great spot to stop and explore the surrounding areas. The cabin is a quaint authentic looking structure (well maintained by the park service), and the area around Eureka mine is great for hiking around and observing the landscape. Russ and Patrick lead a great tour with Russ the biologist giving expert plant identification and Patrick, who used to be an archeologist, giving information about rocks and other interesting features. Being the photographer that I am, I pealed off from the group half way through and took my time backtracking so that I could take in every little detail I found. Below are a few things that caught my eye.

After a delicious lunch of tuna and avocado sandwiches, we paddled the remaining 7 or 8 miles down river to Ferguson Lake for our final night's stay. This paddle felt the hardest for me, as Noel and I were is the Dagger Legend, which I suspect is much more at home in faster moving water than what we were paddling. None-the-less, Ruth got us there in one piece, and we even got to see a bald eagle feasting on a sandbar along the way.

Once at the inlet to Ferguson, we were met head on with civilization. A massive river paddle boat was steaming it's way up river towards us. Noel thought it would be neat to see it go by, so we stopped to watch, but slowly we came to the realization that it was headed straight for us into the lake channel. We turned and high tailed it to trying to get out of this massive ship's way, but it slowly but surely gained ground until it was right on us. Pulling to the side, we all prepared to T-up to the wake. For those unfamiliar with paddling one of the biggest fears paddling a heavily loaded canoe is getting hit broadside with a large wake off a motor boat. T'ing up is turning your boat into the wave so that it has less power to tip you over. Anyways, it was quite the surreal experience after a few days of not seeing much of any other soul to have this massive tourist machine going by with about twenty of those on-board firing away at us with their point-and-shoot cameras. I guess for a short moment we were local celebrities.

After riding out the waves, we made our way through the strong head wind to camp. A couple of friendly folks from Canada were fishing in the spot we had hoped to land at, but after landing elsewhere and hiking over to talk with them they were more than happy to scoot over and allow us to land and set up. Nice people!

We had another wonderful meal of pot roast and biscuits (which I had actually managed to slightly under cook the bottom of them in the dutch oven with the raised platform inside working so well) along with a very good bottle of wine that Noel had brought. Around the fire we did our best to finish off the beer and spirits, with Noel taking a particular interest in the scotch. The music was great, the companionship second to none, and as the fire began to fade it was time to wrap up the last night of our trip.

The next morning we high tailed it over to the Arizona channel hoping to avoid many boat encounters. We got there without incident, and had a great time paddling this channel that none of us had been on before (Patrick and Noel have done this stretch of the river, but through the California Channel at the end). For the most part the way is well marked with buoys, but we did get lost once or twice. The scenery through here was very pleasant and only left about a mile of the main channel to paddle to our take out point at Squaw lake. There was a nasty head wind for the last quarter mile or so across the lake, but we all felt surprisingly strong all the way to the end. It was bitter sweet loading up the gear and canoes. Sad to be closing the final chapter of this adventure, but really starting to get home sick to see my family.

I talked to my 3-year old son on the phone later that day and got all teared up when he asked me if I had found any treasure on the red 'X' on the map. He had seen one of my maps before I left and told me to dig for treasure there. He was so excited about it that it had not left his mind all week. I was a little disappointed to tell him that all I found there was a camp site, but hopefully someday he'll look upon these photographs and read the words that tell a story more valuable than any treasure a pirate can bury. Then he'll know that even in spite of such a wonderful journey, that the treasure I sought most at the end was to see him and the rest of my family that I am truly blessed to have and thankful towards for supporting me in my seemingly never-ending hunger for adventure.

Here's one last shot of the whole gang at the Squaw Lake take out. From left to right Russ, Jack, Kurt, John, Patrick, Noel, and ours truely:

The whole set of trip photos can be found here (I highly suggest clicking the slideshow, but also select "options" and deselect "Embiggen small images to fill screen", otherwise the photos will look like crap as I purposefully upload them small for my copy-right protection):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157626040109578/

GPS Data can be found here: http://www.alwaysjanuary.com/2011/03/lower-colorado-river-canoe-trip-gps.html

Video of the trip can be found here: http://www.alwaysjanuary.com/2011/03/lower-colorado-canoe-trip-video.html

I want to give a special thanks to Norma Miller from the Southern Arizona Paddlers Club for giving us a wealth of information and maps to boot on the area, guiding us to such great points of interest on an amazing trip. The fact that she took so much time to convey so much information touched us all.

Sledding

2011-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful weekend in Northern California, so the family and I headed up to our little secret spot for sledding. It's really just a pile of rocks in a campground, but it makes for some fun quick sled rides in all directions. I took my new GoPro Hero HD camera along to see if I can get any fun clips. I'm really impressed at the video coming out of such a small camera!

Here's a video of us sledding:

And here's us making a snowman with the camera set to snap a photo every two seconds. The memory card ran out just before we finished, which is why it jumps a bit at the end, but I have the remedy for that on the way in the form of a 16GB SD card. Definitely a fun little camera!

Washington DC

2010-12-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

I was on a business trip in the vicinity of Washington DC in early December, so I took advantage of the circumstance and make a couple quick visits into the capitol to see some of the sights. I only had a few hours one night (which was freezing quite literally!), and another couple of hours in the day before my flight back, but I tried to make the most of it.

After wandering past the White House and freezing my butt off at the base of the Washington Monument, I made my way over to the Lincoln Monument. This was my favorite of the monuments, and it was quite awe inspiring lit up at night. I had initially planned to join a "night tour" of the monuments, but while lingering here, dwelling on the words written on the wall, and soaking up every bit of inspiration I could, I saw the crowds of tours come and go. Most of them stayed long enough to snap off a series of shots with flashes blazing at the Lincoln statue, glance around the interior, then disappear. It was in those quiet moments in between waves that I really got to feel the full impact of this amazing structure and statue. A great tribute to a great man.

Shaking off the bitter cold and biting wind I continued my lone tour in the night. My next stop was the Korean memorial. I only think that experiencing it as I did that night was how it was truly meant to be seen. Walking alone, the dimly lit figures began to appear before me and I was met by a soldier was seemed startled, like he had just heard a sound coming from my direction. I continued on, and was furthered moved by the expressions on each of their faces. So different, so full of emotion, so life like. It felt almost disrespectful to set up my camera and take these photographs, but I did it with a solemn heart, reflecting on the realities that these statues portrayed.

With my fingers in pain from tightening down the tripod and shooting a set of photographs, I continued on in the 20-some degree night (not counting the wind chill) and headed across the way to the Vietnam Memorial. Walking down the wall alone at night I was crushed by the weight of all those names. Piling higher and higher as you descend the path, the reality of the sacrifice hits you hard and leaves an empty feeling inside. Once again, I almost left my camera in the bag. There is really no image that can purvey the feeling I had here on this bitter cold night. I stood in silence for awhile, touched some of the names, then I took these photographs.

With a cold body and a colder heart I headed to the metro station went back to my hotel, unable to take the cold any longer, but satisfied that I had gotten to experience a place visited by so many people in such a quiet and intimate way.

The last day of my trip I set off back into DC before my flight. It was still cold, but not nearly as bitterly as the night of my last visit. With limited time I rushed to the National Archives and spent an hour or so marveling at the founding documents of this country. The words written upon those documents are quite remarkable. I then rushed over to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum and only slowed for a few photos and a quick stop to get souvenirs for the kids. I never got close to the capitol building, but I snapped a quick shot with at 200mm and headed off to walk the loop around the Jefferson Monument, through the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Park, and along the backside of the Lincoln Monument as I hurried off to catch my plane. Was neat to see these sights, but I wished I could have taken my time a bit more to reflect on the words and further appreciate the grandeur of it all.

Yosemite in November

2010-12-31T13:11:00.000-08:00

Catching up on some old trips. For Thanksgiving this year we went down to Southern California to visit some family, but not without stopping on the way to spend a few nights at Yosemite with it covered in snow.

We had a blast, and it snowed all day the full day we were there. Seeing Yosemite in the snow is absolutely beautiful and I highly suggest it to those who have never experienced it.

Winter Paddle

2010-12-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a little video of my seven year old daughter Megan and I paddling around Willow Creek on Lake Natoma in late December. There are perks to living in California.

Sawyer Stingray Paddle

2010-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

The first paddle I bought was a Bending Branches Arrow, and that was fine for starting out. It was starting to show some wear though (some of the wood grain was splitting on the shaft) and it isn't really cut out for white water paddling, which is what I'm starting to get into. I wanted my next paddle to be really nice (and really durable). It was a tough choice picking a good paddle for white water, that I also wouldn't mind using on the flat waters that I frequent. I pretty much had it narrowed down between a Mitchell Premier, which is what just about everyone I paddle with uses, or a Sawyer Stringray that I ran across on Sawyer's website.

All my friends rave about the Mitchell being the best of the best, but I have to admit I wasn't particularly drawn to the black carbon fiber blade. I love the look of a fine wooden paddle, and I fell in love with the photos of the Stingray on Sawyer's website. It didn't hurt that this paddle was co-designed by Bob Foote and Harold Deal. It also helped that it was about $50 bucks cheaper, and I liked the fact that it was made right here on the west coast just 5 or 6 hours north in Southern Oregon.

At 29 ounces this is no ultralight. Everything about it screams tough though, from it's three piece ash shaft, to it's beefy 8.5 x 21" inch blade, to it's fiberglass coating with a Dynell tip and Sawyer's Tough-Edge. It just feels amazing solid in hand, and I'd feel confident in it's strength in any conditions or grade of moving water.

Paddling in moving water is really this paddles bread and butter. The tag that came with it says that it is ideal for WW Canoes and Paddle Rafts. My first paddle with it was in an all day solo canoe class taught on some class I moving water of the lower American River. I had paddled this stretch quite a few times both tandem and solo, and I was instantly amazed at the progress I could make while ferrying and catching some small standing waves as compared to my old paddle. At one point I was crossing a section of the river with swift current and aimed well above the point in the eddie that I wished to enter. I put some muscle to the paddle and before I knew it I was in the tree over hang well above my ultimate target point (and ducking to avoid low hanging limbs). That big spooned blade moves the boat with so much more authority than my old paddle that I was somewhat shocked.

My next experience with it was on the Coloma to Henningsen Park section of the South Fork of the American River. My first Class II white water experience. That weekend was supposed to be the Red Cross white water tandem class, but it was canceled due to low attendance so the instructors (friends of mine) invited me up to try my hand at it in my solo boat (a Dagger Genesis BTW). What a blast! I got myself into a bit of trouble earlier on and flipped, but after that I had a really fun run all the while enjoying the power that this paddle affords me. The burst of speed that a good spoon faced blade gives is great for punching out of eddies, ferrying strong currents, and catching the next eddie on the other side. I can't wait until next summer to get up there again!

Unfortunately I don't have a case yet that I'm suitably comfortable with taking my nice camera out in white water, so I took some photos on a flat water trip just to illustrate the paddle. I actually enjoy it just as much paddling calm glassy waters as I did in the frothy white stuff. Jennifer could tell the difference right away in the way I can whip our tandem around effortlessly with a few quick sculling strokes. The blade slices through the water very nicely due to it's thin profile (made strong by it's fiberglass coating). It really feels great moving the boat along.

The only problems I have with it on flat water lakes and such is the T-grip, which is great for White Water control, but not as comfortable for long paddles, and the asymmetrical nature of the spooned blade. This has got me already dreaming about the Sawyer Voyager paddle. It's another beauty paddle made by Sawyer that was made for flat water paddling. At 18 ounces and with a standard pear grip it would be amazing touring lakes or for paddling the Indian Stroke which has in-water recovers that require rotating the paddle (this doesn't work so well with spooned blades).

All in all though I'm super happy with my purchase and look forward to using this paddle more on moving water and am content with it on the flat stuff until I get another one of their beautiful paddles. I'm quite impressed with the quality, aesthetics, and functionality of Sawyer paddles!

Here's some photos to illustrate the curve of the blade and the overall look of the paddle. It's a real looker and a useful tool to boot!

Daddy - Daughter Canoe Camping Trip

2010-08-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

I spent two nights last weekend canoe camping with my soon to be seven year old daughter Megan. We had a bit of a rough start, but ended up having a wonderful trip.

Originally I had planned to park at the Lindsey Lakes campground and hike the 1.5 miles in to Culbertson Lake, pulling my canoe and all our gear on the canoe cart. Due to a bit of a late start, we ended up changing the plan and going to a lake that was a closer walk from the car.

Boy, let me tell you, I'm glad we changed our plans. After initially loading up the canoe it seemed to pull rather well in the flat dirt parking lot. Then we hit the first hill. Man that's tough pulling about 150 lbs of gear and canoe. Next we hit dispersed rocks on the hill of the dirt road. Every time the wheel caught a rock it was a dead stop and a heave to get it going again. Within about 40-50 yards of the put-in I got a little bold and started trying to power through it. The momentum helped a bit on the first few rocks, then the wheel caught a big root and SLAM the canoe went down. After inspection I found that the aluminum bar holding the wheel had sheered clean off. We wouldn't be using that cart anymore.

Well, whatcha gonna do huh? I immediately set out carry the gear up the remaining portion of the trail (which was even steeper and rockier...in other words the cart would have never made it). After 4 or 5 quick loads the job was done and we packed the canoe up and headed off across the lake; none too soon as the sun was beginning to set at this point.

With a light breeze, the conditions were beautiful for a paddle. We bee-lined to the opposite shore and began searching in earnest for a suitable camp. The first cove was disappointing, as the terrain past the shore was steep and thickly wooded. The next cove provided a spot or two that may have worked, but were far from ideal. Even with the light fading fast I decided to push on. Finally at the far north-eastern corner of the lake a perfect camp came into view. It had a nice soft grassy landing, followed by the intricate fire-ring hidden behind a fir tree that someone had made with a wind block built in against the prevailing winds and complete with a log bench. Just beyond that was a ring of thick White Firs with a perfect flat and cleared section for a tent. Beyond that was a hillside covered in wildflowers. What a great find!

The first night felt kind of like a mad rush. It was already coming up on 8 o' clock by the time I had set up the tent, got some beans cooking on the stove and started a fire to cook the hotdogs. Soon after Megan had retired to the tent to read some books while I dragged our food bag/ice chest off into the dark woods to find a suitable set of trees to hang from. It didn't help that one of my three ropes that I usually use was missing from the bag (I use two 25 foot sections to hang carabiners from trees, and a third 50 foot section between the two, to which the food is attached in the middle and raised). I made due with what I had, but only managed to get the food about 8 feet off the ground. About two to three feet short of my normal minimum (I managed to get it a bit higher the next day).

Fortunately, no bears (at least no tall bears) visited our camp that night, and we slept rather well. In the morning I got to check out the area a bit more, and was even more pleased at the spot we had found. Clear across the lake near the trail that goes into the backcountry was the only other occupied camp on the entire lake. Voices drift easily across the water, but still the separation was plenty that we felt very isolated in our surroundings (Megan was a little bummed about this at first, as usually she likes to make friends with neighbor kids while we are car camping).

We spent the rest of our stay (which included that day, another night, and the next morning) hiking, paddling, fishing, and swimming in the chilly waters of Island Lake further up the trail. We saw an Otter family of three constantly swimming near our camp (and munching on crawdads by the sound of it), found an eight inch brook trout connected to a line from a spool that the previous occupants mysteriously left behind, and watched in wonder as an Osprey dove down right in front of us to snatch the same fish from the water after I was unable to revive it enough to survive.

I had a wonderful time spending some quality alone time with my little girl. Too rarely do we get time like this to spend together uninterrupted.

The paddle and hike out was a real challenge without the cart. I calculated the distance from the car to the put-in to be about four tenths of a mile. With each round trip being near a mile I carried as much as I could and we managed to get everything in three loads (including the canoe). Man I was sore and tired after that!

Still, I would do it again a thousand times over again (though maybe I'd bring less stuff if I knew I'd be carrying it all out).

** I was purposefully vague about this location, as it is a short distance from the masses of people. Anyone with a blow up raft could make the paddle to this gem of a spot, so I thought I wouldn't make it so easy to find through a google search. Still, anyone familiar with the Grouse Ridge area would know where this is right away. Email me if you would like more details. **

Lassen Volcanic National Park

2010-08-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Finding yourself depressed in late July as the wild flowers are gone, the heat has sunk in, and everything is turning brown? Head on up to Lassen Volcanic National Park where Spring is just kicking into gear.

My family and I did just that, deciding to embark on our longest straight camping endeavor with the family totaling six nights.

Our first destination was the southern campground at Summit Lake where we had reservations for a site that was close to the lake. Ascending into the mountains out of the scorching valley was a pleasant drive. In under 3 hours we had made the journey from the Sacramento area and found ourselves passing through the gates of the national park. Entrance into the park is $10 per vehicle, and it's good for a full week.

The road into the park is through hillsides covered with beautiful yellow flowers (mainly Mule's Ear), and evidence of volcanic activity comes into view all around.

Soon we were climbing the steep winding roads with Lassen Peak getting ever nearer, and we found ourselves coming across lots of snow! What started as patches here and there quickly lead to 8-10 foot snow drifts on the side of the road and large frozen over lakes with bright aqua blue waters melting from it here and there.

At last we arrived at our campsite and began to settle in. It was a decent site. Not the largest or most private site I've ever been to, but not crammed either. The lake was in view, but we were not right on it as I had hoped. Between us and the lake was a lush meadow with a beautiful clear creek running through it. Then there were the mosquitoes. Not long after arriving we were scrambling for bug juice and shedding our shorts for long pants. The onslaught can only be described as a hoard of hungry bloodsuckers; eager for a bite on the newcomers. I quickly learned that the "non-toxin" "natural" stuff is just junk. They darted right through that like a runner broaching the tape of the finish line. Take my advice, bring the good stuff!

I'll tell you what though, I'm sure we got more mosquitoes being so close to this meadow, but it was one of the more beautiful meadows I've ever photographed.

Once we got over the initial shock of the clouds of tiny little blood suckers, we carried the canoe down to the lake and set off for a short paddle. Short is really the only way to describe paddling on Summit lake. We were literally doing laps around it in intervals of less than ten minutes. It is also not as clear as many of the high alpine lakes in this area, but it has a certain charm to it. Beautiful Red Firs line the shore, and from the far east side there is a fabulous view of Lassen. I also enjoyed paddling it solo in the morning, hunting for the rays of sunlight coming through the trees and illuminating the misty fog left on the surface.

The next morning we headed over to the Kings Creek trail head for a couple mile hike to Kings Creek Falls. Looking for a sign, we drove right by the unmarked parking area until I finally used the GPS to find it. There was plenty of parking right off the road, but not a single car was there (the advantages to visiting a National Park on a week day).

The hike was very pleasant, descending gently with the creek for the first mile or so through patches of snow and past beautiful meadows. The next part of the trail was supposed to be down a rock staircase along the cascades leading to the falls, but we found yellow caution tape stretched across the trail, an obvious indication that this section was closed. We had to detour around on the "horse trail", which added quite a bit of distance. All in all we ended up hiking a little over 3 miles round trip, which isn't bad, but it's pushing it a little with two young kids (especially carrying the 3 y/o down and up the steep part). Still, it was worth the trek and we got to visit a beautiful waterfall with no one around. I'd like to come back and see it again when the flows are not so intense. From pictures I've seen it gives a more spread out "spidery" look.

We capped off the day stopping off at the south entrance visitor center to learn all about volcanoes and have an ice cream. As a last activity of the day we headed to Sulfur Works to see some neat volcanic activity, but only the parts right along the road were open. The path leading up into the hills where the rest of the sights were was free of snow, but it was still closed. I'm thinking they had not gotten a chance to put up the walking platforms, but I'm not really sure. It seemed to be a theme of closures and missing signs with no real apparent reason. I would not say good communication is one of the strong parts of the park. On top of that Bumpass Hell was also closed (this one due to snow), so we didn't get to see a ton of gaseous steam or other neat stuff. There was some pretty cool boiling mud along the road at Sulfur Works though. All the more reason for us to visit again.

The next day we took it easy and visited the northern section of the park, hiking to Lily Pond, learning more at this visitor center (including a good movie), and stopping in at the store at Manzanita Lake for supplies and a shower (this is the only shower facility in the park). Bring some cheap flip flops if you need to shower here, as the smell of mildew was quite pungent.

We spent the last evening relaxing at the lake. We took a last paddle, and had smores around the campfire. It had been a good spot to explore the main portions of the park. The kids had made friends in a neighboring camp whom they had snow ball fights with in a snow patch and played constantly on the hammock with (which they affectionately called the "hang-a-mat"). We had fought hard to deal with the mosquitoes, and they had either started to lighten up a bit, or we had started to run out of blood.

Soon it was morning and time to pack up and move on to the next site. I had taken one last morning solo paddle on the lake before lugging it back up to camp to load it up with all our other stuff for the hour drive or so to our next stop at Juniper Lake. We stopped for lunch in Chester, and to restock one last time before taking the dirt road up to the campground with not even running water (just a pit toilet).

Pulling into the camp road, I begun to feel a bit nervous as quite a few cars were parked at the trail head outside. Then we saw all the inland sites, save one, filled up. This seemed odd on a Wednesday. Another turn of the road and the reason became clear. I gate now blocked our way with a crude sign stately simply "Road Closed, Walk-in camping only" with a date of the prior Friday. Oh man, this was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

I walked down to the lakeside camps and found a couple occupied, but mainly open sites. The site we had taken last year, the one I had dreamed of while planning this trip, lay open in front of me. I tied my red bandanna to the pole to mark it mine, and set my resolve and I walked the near quarter mile back up to the car. Jennifer knew right away that I had set my mind to it, and quickly I began unloading and starting the long haul of carrying most of our stuff down on my back. Megan kept me company while Jennifer stayed and watched over the sleeping Andrew. After a few trips Jennifer carried a few things down while I rested. A few more trips later and I was carrying the cooler loaded with ice; and setting it down to sit awhile; and carrying some more. I'd guess it took a little under an hour in all to "portage" all our stuff down including the canoe.

After setting up the tent, there was only one thing to do. I got into my bathing suit and lunged myself quickly into the chilly water. Whew-wee that was a rush!

I must say, I was a bit sore from the haul, but the payoff was worth it. We had a prime spot on one beautiful lake with only a few neighbors. You could literally make a day out of watching the beautiful waters change to all kinds of shades of blue and green throughout the day, and it was for the most part peaceful and quiet (at least as quiet as can be with a 3yo and 6yo along).

After a long day we enjoyed the sunset over the lake before having some smores around the fire, and then finally got the kids down for sleep. I went out again after they had dozed off and enjoyed the fire and the peaceful serenity of it all. As the moon came up over the trees I was drawn out onto the lake to paddle in silence over the calm water. The lake is so pure and clear that I could see the rocks on the bottom some 20 feet or more below in the moon light. Simply magical!

The next day we set off intending to hike to Horseshoe Lake, but we never made it there. A little ways in to it we realized that we were all a bit too tired to make the hike and turned back, choosing instead to picnic at the northern shore. The rest of the day was split up between swimming, paddling, and just hanging out. Not a bad way to spend your time.

On our last full day we hiked up to Crystal Lake. Though it is a bit steep at parts, it's not far at all, and even Andrew made the walk there and back all on his own. What a great little hiker! The kids waded in the shallow lake, which was somewhat warmer than Juniper, and we enjoyed a good snack up there.

The hours drifted away our time on this beautiful lake, and before we knew it we were turning in for the last night. The road still lay closed, and I was giving up hope that it would reopen before we left the next morning.

Sure enough morning greeted us with beauty all around, but not with a road to drive out of it. New neighbors that had joined us the day before gave me the idea for an alternate exit; and exit on the water. The group camp, which had suspiciously opened itself (it only had some caution tape crossing the road when we first went by it), was my destination. With canoe loaded down I paddled the short ways over and dropped everything off at the shore. Only one more trip was required to get a few more things and the family. We did one last loop around the camp area before pulling in for good and loading up the car which we parked a short ways from the beach. This proved to be much easier than carrying it all, but the funniest thing of all was the Ranger showing up as I got the car to load it. The road was opened as we pulled away.

Utica Reservoir

2010-07-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

My wife and I had our first opportunity to get out for a few nights without the kids to get a little sanity time. We talked about everything from backpacking to staying at a B&B someplace, then the idea came up to get out far enough away from people like backpacking and yet take some of the comforts with us. This is made possible by traveling in a way that natives people have done for thousands of years. By canoe.

We arrived at our destination after a short paddle of a mile or so. The canoe, loaded down with everything we'd need for two nights of camping, glided through the water with little effort and felt quite stable. So comfortable have I become paddling in this canoe, that I rarely stow away my expensive camera anymore so that I have it on hand to take shots during the journey.

Our camp, located on the south-eastern portion of the largest island on the reservoir, was a beautiful spot to stay. We had a large opening with a fire ring and big flat cooking rock, all surrounded by a ring of tall trees. It worked out perfect that our cooking and eating areas were down-wind of where we hung our food, which was down-wind of were we pitched our tent. This is ideal in bear country that gets enough use that they have become accustomed to getting food from camps (even on an island; remember they do swim). Unfortunately we didn't see any though.

As we had come in late in the day, we had only time left to set up camp, cook a delicious meal of chicken fajita burritos, enjoy a cold beer and some wine, and relax by the fire.

The next morning I got up early, as usual, and had lots of time to make some coffee (Starbucks Via instant coffee is a godsend!), take a quick solo paddle on the glassy water, and explore the island a bit before Jennifer awoke. Mornings like this make life worth living.

After breakfast we set off and paddled the further reaches of the lake. It's such a beautiful place to paddle with all the granite rock and pine trees. The only thing missing is a high snow covered peak to give it some scale. All the same, it's hard to complain when you are slicing silently through clear waters with the sound of the birds and the breeze being your only distractions.

We did a small hike to an unnamed lake (a pond really), but did little else except relax and enjoy the solitude.

The winds kicked up in the middle of the day, so we spent most of our time hanging from a hammock, reading a book, and for a short while revisiting civilization over at the neighboring Union Reservoir boat launch for a quick visit to the pit toilet.

All in all, it was a fabulous day, but before we knew it we were grilling sausages for dinner, swatting mosquitoes as the sun went down, enjoying a roaring fire, then I found myself alone on a tall rock behind camp in pitch dark staring up at the milky way. Memories like this make up a well lived lifetime.

All good things come to an end though, and with canoe laden with gear we set off on the mirror of soulful water and with each dip of the paddle drew ourselves closer to the drive home. This is not such a bad thing though, as even after only a couple of nights we grew to miss the little ones. We return home with a little more glow in our lives knowing that yet again we have experienced something special.

If you'd like to visit Utica Reservoir, take highway 4 out of Angels Camp east into the Sierras past the town of Arnold. Before hitting Bear Valley turn right on Spicer Meadow Reservoir Road and take the paved road 6 or 7 miles until the junction to Union and Utica Reservoir. Take this dirt road a few miles, staying to the left toward Utica Reservoir at the split with the road to Union. Bring a boat, but leave your motor at home as only self propelled watercraft are allowed on this lake. Camping is allowed all over the lake, so even on the most crowded of weekends you'll likely find a great spot if you don't mind paddling for a short while to find it (most good camp sites are only a mile out with the furthest being 2 miles).

Also, if you area in the are be sure to stop by Calaveras Big Trees State Park. We stopped in on our way out and walked the North Grove trail which is a flat one mile loop with amazing trees along the way.

As usual all photos and hyperlinked words can be clicked for a large photo view.

The full set of photos that I processed from this trip are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157624483475846/detail/

Desire to Create

2010-07-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

I feel strange today. I have this desire to create, but I have no vision. I feel really disconnected from my artistic side yet I yearn to get it back.

I was going through some images I have created and this one seemed to reflect my mood. It's inspired by an Arno Rafael Minkkinen image done in the same pose (though much better than mine). Sometimes all we can do is marvel in the creation of the masters and hope to glean a spark of their imagination.

Camping at Lake Britton

2010-06-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

My family and I spent Memorial weekend car camping at Lake Britton and exploring the area. It was kind of a last minute decision (within a couple of weeks) to go camping over the holiday weekend, and as expected just about every place we looked into in the Northern California within 3 to 4 hours of Sacramento was all booked up on reservations. This led me to start looking for "first come first serve" spots, and it turns out that PG&E has quite a few of them. I narrowed my search to the Hat Creek and Burney area and decided we would just go from campground to campground until we found a spot. First stop, Lake Britton where the majestic McArthur Burney Falls pours in to.

The first campground we checked out was Dusty campground which is just over the bridge once you hit Lake Britton heading north on highway 89 after passing the town of Burney on highway 299. This small campground only has 7 total sites, two of which are group sites. This is a very no frills campground with a couple of pit toilets, no running water, and no campground host. What it has though is pretty direct access to a narrow finger of the lake. Nearby is also the railway bridge made popular in the movie "Stand By Me" (the one they ran across and were nearly hit). Unfortunately every site was taken, but based on the generators and speakers mounted in the trees, I wasn't all that disappointed.

Next up was North Shore campground. We were hopeful since it has 30 sites, but all the same being the Friday of a holiday weekend, I was getting nervous that we wouldn't find anything on the lake.

To our relief we found the campground with many sites still available. We scored a spot with views of the lake that was just a short walk down to. I would have liked to be a bit more spaced out from our neighbors, but all the same I've stayed at more cramped. We staked our claim, unloaded the canoe and camping gear, and settled down for a relaxing rest of the day. It was a pretty uneventful day aside for loud redneck fight breaking out somewhere in the campground an hour or two after we went to bed. It really shows a lot of class to scream obscenities at each other in a family campground in the middle of the night. Luckily the kids are heavier sleepers than we are and were thus spared the episode.

The next morning after breakfast we loaded up the canoe and headed west along the north shore with Clark creek being our destination. Donna Sylvester of Eagle Eye's Kayak Guide Service was kind enough to give me this information about the waterfall at Clark creek and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing this great tip. If you ever were to need to rent a kayak or hire a water guide in the area, don't hesitate to contact Donna for her services. She seems to really know the waters in the area well and is a very nice lady.

From Donna:
Take the hike up to Clark Creek Falls. It is a little rugged in parts, but well worth the 1/2 mile hike. The water going into the cove is shallow, stay to the right of where the creek flows in, but not too far. Look for the rocky area near the shore. That is the best take out spot. Otherwise you will sink into some really nasty black mud. The trail is a little to the right of that. It starts out pretty nice, but will eventually look like it ends. Look for the rocks we stacked up. You will have to climb to higher ground by the rocks and walk up on the newer trail up there for a little ways until it looks like the trail ends again, then go down a short, but steep embankment, back down to the original trail. The falls are beautiful right now; as is the creek. I have never seen them so big and full of water.

This proved to be a wonderful tip. We had a great time paddling to and from Clark Creek falls seeing otters, turtles, ducks, and even a bald eagle. The falls themselves were beautiful this time of year and from what I hear were flowing a bit more than usual with this wet year.

We seemed to make it back to our campground just in time, as the lake suddenly started to fill up with fast motorboats dragging skiers and tubers alike all over the place. Some were even blasting loud music as they went. What a stark contrast to the serenity we were just afforded with our quiet paddle and peaceful hike.

Later in the day we made our way over to McArthur Burney Falls State park to see Burney Falls. Andrew fell asleep on the way over, so we spent the first half an hour or so hanging out by Burney Creek upstream of where the falls were. This proved to be a nice quiet spot to sit in the shade and watch the numerous fly fisherman reeling in the occasional Rainbow Trout.

The Falls themselves were spectacular, but by then it was not the ideal light to view them. All the mist was lit up by the harsh sun and pretty much washed out the view. Compare with the photos I got last time I was here under better light.

After taking in the falls and hiking back up, the kids (and Jennifer) had some ice cream before we headed up the road to the Hat Creek Recreational area.

Our destination up the hill was one big cavern. Subway Cave is a massive lava tube leftover from when the region was shaped by massive amounts of volcanic activity. There is a series of reflectors along the path within that signal sign posts that tell about the features seen within the cave. All of us thoroughly enjoyed walking through the long lava tube. Be sure to bring flash lights and a sweat shirt if you go, as most of it is in complete darkness and it's quite chilly in there year round.

After a full day of exploring the area we had little problems falling asleep this night (well, after I asked the neighbors to turn down their police scanner that is).

The next morning we loaded up the canoe and headed east to paddle the waters of Ahjumawi Lava Springs State park. The put in is located at a place called the Rat Farm. It's called this as it used to be a muskrat farm. In fact, you can still see many muskrats in the area as when it closed down they simply released them (sigh...).

I have to admit I was a little nervous going on such an ambitious paddle with both the kids (mainly with Andrew the 3 year old). I couldn't get the visions out of my head of paddling the amazing aqua blue clear waters of the springs though, so we stashed away some secret weapons (lollipops) and hoped for the best. The paddle in went really well. We had magnificent views of both Lassen and Shasta along the way, and though it was a bit further than I remembered before long we found ourselves approaching Ja-She. The waters here are simply magical as they become completely clear as you get closer and they start to take on an amazing shade of blue.

We took out on a bank to the left of the bridge, and spent the next hour or so eating lunch, fishing, and just marveling at the water.

After coming this far I just had to go further, so we portaged the canoe over to the other side of the bridge and continued up the springs to the head water. Quietly paddling along here you find yourself asking is this really so amazingly beautiful, or am I dreaming the whole thing. It's that stunning.

Unfortunately, a three year old has not experienced enough life to know what an amazing thing he is experiencing. So quickly it was time to go, and fast. We abruptly headed back for the Rat Farm, even taking the most direct route through where the motor boats pass to get back as quickly as possible. Though I feared the melt down was eminent, it never really came. Jennifer complained a bit of the long paddle, but over all we kicked some serious butt in covering the 3 miles or so in 40 to 45 minutes.

It was sad to leave, but all the same I feel very lucky to have been able to share this amazing place with my whole family.

A couple of things to watch out for if you visit Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park are the rattlesnakes and the stinging nettle. The rattlesnakes are a dark almost black color in this region, and blend in quite well with the dark lava rocks. Just move around with purpose and make a bit of noise and they'll either get out of your way or give you a good warning not to proceed. The Stinging Nettle grows abundantly around the banks of the water and you'll know if almost immediately if you get into it. They are covered with fine white hairs which deliver a nasty sting of formic acid if you touch it with your bare skin. Hydrocortisone cream will aid in relieving the pain if you happen to get it on you.

We headed back to camp for a relaxing dinner and debated heading out that night. We decided to stick it out though and got to hear some amazingly loud good ole boy music as we were trying to get to sleep :-) What can I say though, you sometimes have to put up with stuff like this on a holiday weekend. All in all though, it was so worth it to take in all the amazing sights. We counted 11 or 12 bald eagle sightings (unfortunately none in good range of my camera), countless turtles, otters, many waterfalls, amazing springs. Not a bad weekend at all!

** Click any photo on this page or hyper-linked words for a bigger view. **

More photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157624363152998/

Lost Coast Again

2010-03-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've been real quiet in blog-land, but I finally got out on another adventure; this time back to The Lost Coast. This year I decided to just do a portion of the trail so that I could explore some of the ridges above the beach, and so that I wouldn't have to pay for the shuttle (which is reasonable if you must do the whole 25.5 miles, but still $200 is a bit expensive). I got a hold of my nephew Josh and he readily agreed to accompany me on a few night stay.

Wednesday I got off work early, met up with Josh and headed to REI for some last minute pick ups (namely he needed a bear canister) before heading out on the long drive to Mattole beach. We made pretty good time to Garberville (that place can be a whole story in and of itself....Weird place!), but just then the "light rain" that was forecasted hit us and we had to drive through a constant downpour for much of the long winding road to the coast which took a few hours. I had planned to stay one night at A.W. Way state park campground, but we figured if we're going to get dumped on it might as well be at the trailhead, so we pushed on to the beach.

Surprisingly, once we pulled up the rained stopped and we had plenty of time to set up our tents, drink a six-pack of beer(Eel River Brew Co. Porter), and explore the beach a bit in the moonlight before heading off to bed. Seemingly minutes after retiring to bed it started to pour again. Timing is everything.

The next morning the rain magnificently had stopped again, and we made a quick breakfast and packed up for the hike in to Cooskie Creek. Last year we had eagerly headed straight for the water to start the hike, but this year I knew better and stuck up high by the hillsides finding large sections of bluff trails that were so much easier to walk on. So quickly was our progress on these trails, that I was amazed to see the lighthouse come into view just as we reached the private cabins at four-mile creek (which funny enough is only about 3 miles in...Somebody sure liked to exaggerate). A nice thick log provided a perfect bridge for our first major creek crossing which went smoothly.

At the Punta Gorda Lighthouse we took our packs off and explored the tide pools a bit, as we had arrived at close to low tide (this is particularly important for the next few miles of the trail). The weather was great as we spied on lounging seals, and discovered all kinds of neat things in the pools and about.

As we returned to the sheltered lighthouse the rains came on and proceeded to pour. It was kind of surreal to watch out at all the rain while cooking and eating a hot lunch in the dry shelter. Once again fortune smiled upon us, as just when we started to pack up the rains stopped again.

For a good couple of miles the weather was fair, and at one point I started to lather up in sunblock as the sun dared to show itself. It was at about this time that I marveled at how fortunate we were and the gods decided to show me who is boss. I had just about enough time to put away my camera, put my pack cover on, and get out my light rain jacket before it started to rain on us. It was not real heavy, but certainly not a sprinkle either. I do have to admit, I rather enjoyed the shower. In the back of my mind I was a little worried that we'd get dumped on all weekend though.

Before long we had hammered out all 6.8 miles to camp (man it sure felt easier this year). The whole way in I had envisioned us staying in this large drift wood shelter on the north side of the creek, but to my amazement the entire thing was gone when we arrived. A smaller piling of drift wood had replaced it a bit further from the creek (which I suspect wiped out the prior one), but we decided to cross over to the south side and stay where I had set up camp last year.

This crossing was a bit more dicey than the one at four-mile creek. There was a very thin (and very wet) log up river a ways where the current was really moving, or rock hopping down by the waves that were still pretty far receded from the tide. I opted for the log, Josh opted for the later. In the end we both crossed dryly and met at our camp for the next two nights.

We enjoyed another clearing in the rain to set up camp and check out the area. Unfortunately a campsite just back from us was littered with camping gear that was apparently abandoned by whomever had inhabited it. I couldn't believe all the crap they hauled out there and left. There was a collapse 4-man tent (Some Wal-Mart brand), two burner stove with a full canister of propane (they must not have stayed long), a big rectangular Coleman sleeping bag, a thick car camping sleeping pad (more of a mattress), a dog leash, and bits of food and food wrappers all around. I was disgusted by what I saw, and took photos of everything and I sent them to the local ranger after we got back. I was relieved to hear back from him stating that he's planning a trip in the next week or so with an empty pack to recover the mess. I hope he gets a volunteer or two to help drag all of that out (if I was local I certainly would lend a hand).

Anyways, after consolidating the mess a bit, I put that behind me and returned to enjoy our camp. The rains came back for an hour or so, which had me holed up in the tent for a bit listening to music and hanging my socks to dry. At 4:00 or 5:00 the rain was heading out, so I enjoyed a hot meal hunched up by the wood shelter (wearing my flip flops of course...I'll never go camping without them again!). By the time I had finished eating it had cleared for good and we were presented with a double rainbow as a peace offering from the gods. The light was fantastic and the sunset most memorable!

We drank vodka and Gatorade mixes with an occasional pull off of Josh's flask full of Johnny Walker, and worked hard to get a fire going in the wet conditions. We tried about everything, tissues, white fuel from my stove, but it continued to fizzle out. Finally Josh pulled out his propane stove and held it to our bundle of wet kindling until it dried enough to stay ignited. It still took a good half an hour to forty-five minutes before we had a decent size fire, but it was so worth it.

The next morning I awoke early and enjoyed the first light of the day with a hot cup of Starbucks Via coffee. That stuff is really good; perfect for backpacking! From a hill behind our tents I sat and watched spout after spout shoot up from near the horizon and could even occasionally see a whale breach. To top it off the sky was blue and it promised to be a beautiful day.

After a long slumber Josh awoke and we packed up for the day. Our plan was to head up river and catch the Cooskie Creek ridge trail that was eight tenths of a mile up. We planned to then head up to the ridges to the south leaving the ridges to the north to explore the next day with the packs. That is until we began to realize how hard going it is bush whacking up this creek. It took us well over an hour to make our way up, and we decided then and there that we would not be taking the packs up this way the next day. Perhaps when the water level is lower it would be easy going, but after all the rain of the last few days it was flowing pretty good. We climbed steep hills covered with poison oak (mostly following animal trails that dead ended), hugged rock croppings along the waters edge, and trudged through the mud of a whole hillside that was sliding towards the river.

At one point I was holding what I thought was a big stable rock while I maneuvered around a corner only to have it come loose and pull me right off the ledge and into the creek. Luckily I landed on my feet and my expensive camera gear was spared the bath. Quite a start to an eleven mile hike we had planned for the day (most of which would be with wet socks/boots).

Once we found the trail I washed the mud off my boots and hung my socks to dry as much as they could (the sun was being stubborn and hiding behind clouds). I had an interesting backpacker meal of Tofu Pesto Pasta, and pumped enough water for us to get up and over the ridge.

It was nice to get on an established trail, but this was not designed as a hiking trail. The path is an old 4WD jeep trail leftover from when this area was not a protected wilderness. It was super steep and unforgiving without a single switchback that I could count. The views were nothing short of spectacular though, and I was motivated to keep moving knowing that we had to cover 4 miles up the ridge before hitting the trail junction that goes 3 miles back down to the beach all the while gaining 2400 feet and losing it all. To add to the sense of urgency we estimated that we needed to get down to Randall Creek on the beach by 5PM so that we'd have enough time to make the remaining 2 miles back to camp before the tide came in (that part of the trail is impassible at high tides). This would sure be a good test of my knees!

I was amazed at how good of time we made making it up to the first ridge at about 1,200 feet. The ocean below was spectacularly beautiful, juxtaposed beneath the steep green hills we were hiking upon. The ridge we would come down looked so far away though, we were only at half the elevation and it was already after 2:00. We pushed on keeping up a good pace, stopping once in awhile to take in the majestic views and snap a photo or two.

By 3:30 we had reached the summit and the junction of the Cooskie Creek Trail and the Spanish Ridge Trail that we would be taking down. Words can't describe very well how breath taking the view was, and my photos pale compared to my memory of it. The tide was coming though, and we had an hour and a half to descend 2,400 feet on a steep 3 mile trail.

Shortly after the peace, the solitude, the quiet beauty of our surroundings were shattered by two dirt bikes approaching quickly. They knew they were breaking the law, and I glared at them harshly as they flew by us; both of them gunning it as they passed to throw up debris probably in an attempt to keep me from photographing them. I reported the time and location of their activities, but I wish I had fired off some photos to get something to identify them. Who knows though, out there miles from anything I might have gotten myself run down if I had attempted it. Jerks like that absolutely disgust me.

Soon after all that was left of them was they track they had cut into the trail and the hillside. The views soon took over, and I was too busy enjoying myself to think of them any further. That's about when I heard an odd sound coming from a dark forest that we had approached off a side trail that cuts northwest towards Randall Creek. Three deep toned primal sounding hoo sounds. I called to Josh and asked him to listen. Again, "hoo hoo hoo" hit my ears clear as day. Josh heard nothing. Thoughts of Sasquatch, skunk apes, big foot or what have you crossed my mind. This is after all the Humboldt Coast which mythically is home to such creatures.

I later talked to a Ranger who had a much more logical explanation that I can buy. He says these parts are home to owls that can have a particularly deep tone. Still, it is kind of fun to think "what if".

Diving into the woods to get a photograph of Big Foot would have to wait. We have a high tide to beat to get back to camp. We continued down what I can only describe as the steepest "trail" I have ever been on. Surprisingly I held up rather well though with only a bit of a burn in my knees. Josh, who makes a living hiking up and down hills with the Forestry said even his knees were hurting, so that's to be expected. Within an hour we were a stones throw from the shoreline, crouching down to get some photos of a few poppies that had popped up.

At 5 o' clock on the nose we crossed Randall Creek and headed north through the tidal zone. We still have plenty of room to get by, but we could see in places where it would have been tough if we had waited any further.

Once at camp I had my favorite backpacker meal (lasagna!), we drank lots of spirits and enjoyed the sunset before starting a roaring fire with the drift wood that had dried out all day. So comfortable were we by the fire sipping Whiskey and smoking a cigar that before we knew it, it was midnight. What a fabulous day!

The next morning we were pretty beat from the long hike and decided to pass on exploring the northern part of the Cooskie Creek Trail (another 2400 foot climb just didn't sound fun anymore). Besides, we had to move our camp further north and we would be stuck until after lunch waiting for the high tide to go out.

By the time we hit the trail we made great time moving north. So much, that as we passed Sea Lion Gulch and the Lighthouse we decided to just keep on moving and head all the way out. Another storm was set to come in over night, and the thought of getting all wet again just to pack up in the morning and leave was not too appealing.

By 5:00 we had covered the whole 6.8 miles, changed into some clean clothes, and dunked our heads into the cold water from the spigot (people passing by in full on jackets seemed somewhat amused).

All that was left was the long drive home.

See what was in my pack here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/4448610795/in/set-72157623614577555/

Full set of photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157623614577555/

GPS data is posted on EveryTrail here:
Lost Coast March 2010 at EveryTrail

Map your trip with EveryTrail

Be sure to check out my Lost Coast Trip from last year: http://alwaysjanuary.blogspot.com/search/label/Lost%20Coast%20Trail

BTW, clicking on any photo on this page will give you a slightly larger view (on black of course), and any word that is a different color is a link to a photograph.

My Mean Face

2009-12-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

I've found it fascinating for quite some time that by far my most popular image on flickr is the the one above featuring "my mean face". This image has been viewed over 5,000 times, well above any nature image, or beautiful child portrait that so much of my stream features.

Truth be told, I'm kind of partial to it myself. I'm really not a mean person, but the image kind of captured that spark of rage that we all possess somewhere inside of us (some of us just hold it deeper inside I think).

Anyways, the real reason I'm posting about this is that the other day I got an interesting request on flickr. A graphic design artist contacted me asking for permission to display in her portfolio a print work art piece that contained my image. Being a lover of art I agreed right away. I must admit, I've always had a strange curiosity of how an artist would interpret one of my self portrait images as well.

Anyways, without further ado, here's the work of art featuring my ugly mug by an artist who goes by monasita and entitled "ill give you love":

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/ill-give-you-love/372874

Pretty cool huh?

Burney Falls

2009-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Every since moving up to Northern California two years ago, I have had two waterfalls on my mind that I absolutely had to visit. One was Mossbrae Falls, which I hit up earlier this summer on my Lake Siskiyou camping trip. The other was Burney Falls.

Seeing as how McArthur-Burney Memorial State Park was only six miles off the highway I was traveling on for my trip to Ahjumawi, there was no way I was going to let this opportunity slip by. So heading back down highway 299 towards Redding we turned off on highway 89, heading north for the short drive to the park and the falls the lie just within.

Compared to the long hike down the side of railroad tracks in the glaring sun to get to Mossbrae, the experience at Burney Falls is instant gratification (there are advantages to both though, with more seclusion to be found at Mossbrae). A short walk from the parking lot gives your first view down into the canyon that the falls are pouring into. Breathtaking even from here.

As you descend to the base of the falls there are a few nice stops for taking it all in before being dumped into the spray zone at the bottom. Determined to get some great closeup shots I continue along the edge of the pool working my way up as close as I could get to the falls. This turned out to be a great decision, as the mist shooting off the crashing water was not blowing in this direction leaving me with a dry vista with perfect views of the falls.

I was also fortunate in that this time of year (just after the start of fall) the sun is far enough south in the sky that even at around noon the canyon remained mostly in shadow. This allowed me to get nice even exposures with relatively long shutter speeds on the tripod to blur the water into the silky form that is seen in these photographs.

I must say, Burney Falls did not disappoint. If I had to rank all the waterfalls I have ever seen on beauty and majesty alone, Burney Falls would currently fall at the top of this list. It was an amazing experience standing below, feeling the power of these falls, and witnessing the splendor in which they make their decent. Astonishing!

Ahjumawi

2009-10-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend paddling and camping at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. Basically it is a huge collection of springs flowing into where Big Lake, Fall River, Tule River, Ja-She Creek, and Lava Creek converge. Together they form one of the largest collection of fresh water springs in the entire country. Yet this park only gets about 2,000 visitors a year making it the least visited park in the California State Park system.

A good part of the reason that this park is so infrequently visited is the fact that there are no roads to it. To get to this special place you have to go by boat and parts of the waterways do not allow any motorized boats at all. So this seemed like the perfect place to test out my canoe with a weekend trip.

With the canoe loaded with tents, sleeping bags, stove, ice chest, fishing gear and everything else we needed for the weekend, a buddy of mine and I paddled our way the two miles across the lake and over to our destination Crystal Springs campground (it actually ended up being further by the time we paddled up and down a few waterways looking for the camp).

Finally we caught sight of what appeared to be a landing spot. Sure enough just inside the tree line was one of the three available camping locations in this campground (there are three separate campgrounds, Horr Pond, Crystal Springs, and Ja-She Creek each with three well spaced out sites). This turned out to be our favorite of the three sites, so we unloaded and called it home for the next two nights.

We spent most of the first day settling in and doing some fishing. There are some seriously big rainbow trout that call this place home. My favorite spot to fish was right off the footbridge on Ja-She creek.

We started off the next day by hiking the spatter cone loop trail. I wasn't all that impressed by the spatter cone itself, but it was really neat seeing all the lava rock strewn about, and the lava tubes were really cool to climb down in (literally cool as it was 10-20 degrees cooler than the outside air of the hot day). We also found this black berry bush on the way that was just overflowing with ripe berries. Oh so good!

My favorite part of the trip by far was when we paddled up Ja-She Creek. The water there was amazingly aqua blue (see the first picture on this page), and I wish I had done it justice photographically. We saw lots of neat rock fish traps that have not changed since the Pit River Indians used to use them for harvesting spawning fish. The clarity of the water and the hues of blue were spectacular. I hope to go back sometime in the spring (and fight the hordes of mosquitoes) to see the waters when the clarity extends beyond where the creeks and springs come in (this time of year the main body of water was pretty murky and green with algae growing everywhere).

Until then I'll have thoughts of paddling my canoe solo Canadian style in the first light of day, gliding on the crystal water coming out of volcanic springs.

To get to Ahjumawi take the 299 out of Redding towards Burney and McArthur. At McArthur turn north on Main st (a left if you're coming from Redding). This turns into a dirt road. The way isn't marked very well, but stay right, across the canal, and follow the road to the Rat Farm parking lot. Launch your boat here, and paddle up the narrow water way until it reaches the main lake. From here head across to the northern shore line and follow it towards the west. After a short while you'll see Horr Pond. It's marked with a series of State Park Property signs and is enclosed by small islets that ring it. No motor boats are allowed in here and the first campground is located on the shore. I personally found the other two campgrounds more attractive.

Continue west, exiting the Horr Pond ring of islets, and follow around the next peninsula you hit. On the far side of this peninsula head up into the cove to Crystal Springs campground. You'll know you are in the right place when you see an old abandoned cabin at the northern most part of the cove. This is where the "iron ranger" is, which is where you deposit your camping fees.

In front of that cabin in the main landing spot and where I would land for camp site number 6. Number 6 is not right on the lake, but up the road a short bit to the east and on the left (this might be attractive in peak mosquito seasons).

For campsite 4 there is another landing just to the left of that "main" landing. This campsite is where the pit toilet resides and is fairly close to the water.

To the right of the main landing, past all the rock ringed (fish traps) springs is another takeout for campsite 5 (this might actual be a better place to land for site 6 as well, but you have to go through 5 to get to 6). This was where we stayed and it provided the closes access to the water with a nice shady spot just inside the tree line.

The final campground, Ja-She creek, is a bit further west of Crystal Springs. You'll see a concrete boat ramp, and this is the takeout for all three campsites. It's a little ways from the ramp up to the sites, and I found them to be a bit closer together than the Crystal Springs sites. Still nice spots, and they are closer to my favorite area of the park which was Ja-She creek coming in further up into the cove from the boat ramp.

BTW, while you are in the area I highly recommend stopping off at Burney Falls. We stopped by on our way home and I blogged about it here: http://alwaysjanuary.blogspot.com/2009/10/burney-falls.html

Juniper Lake

2009-09-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to give in to the end of camping season just yet, my wife and I decided to get away for Labor Day weekend and try someplace new. We had always wanted to check out Lassen National Park, and recently we read about a beautiful pristine lake there called Juniper Lake. What a magnificent place it was.

The lake sits in the south eastern portion of Lassen National Park about 15 miles outside the small town of Chester. The road up isn't too bad until you hit the last 5.5 miles which is a barely maintained dirt road. Clearance is not an issue on the road, it's just wash-boarded really bad in certain areas. You can easily cruise along at 15-20 miles an hour most of the way, with just a few spots so bumpy you have to slow to a crawl for a minute or two to keep from rattling your teeth out. All in all the half hour spent on this part of the road is well worth the treasure that awaits on the other side.

The lake itself is not that large, only about a mile and a half long with 5 miles of shoreline. It's really the perfect size for paddling around in a canoe or kayak, which is particularly of interest here as there are no motor boats allowed. It won't take long paddling out to realize why they have protected this gem from the possibility of pollutants of motorized boats. The clarity of the water and the shades of green, to blue, to aquamarine are just unreal. It really struck me as a miniature lake Tahoe in the beauty of the water and it's colors.

With only 18 sites in the campground, and our hopes set on one of the four prized lake front sites, we decided the best way to go was to have me leave a day early, arriving on Thursday. It's a good thing I did. I was initially one off of the four prime spots, but while unpacking a friendly neighbor stopped by and let me know that the people at the site on the other side of him were leaving early the next morning. What a great tip this turned out to be (Thanks Mark!!), as by next morning I found myself setting up (again) in one of the most beautiful campsites I've ever stayed in. The views of the lake were just unreal, and we had perfect access to put our canoe in the water.

Fully relaxed from my night and morning alone in paradise, I decided to take a hike up to Crystal Lake before going back down into Chester to meet the family. What a great little lake that was as well. With only about a half a mile hike from the trail head up a fairly steep trail, I was rewarded with this beautiful lake that I found myself completely alone at. Yup, a quick skinny dip was definitely in order and the water felt great! I took a picture set up on a timer, but Jennifer didn't seem too happy with my idea of linking to it (no matter how many disclaimers and warnings I put along with it). It's probably a good thing. The human eye can take only so much brightness. Below is a g-rated photo of the lake.

Once clothed and down the trail again I met up with Jennifer and the kids down in Chester. We only spent a couple more nights there, but it was an amazingly beautiful place to spend the weekend. We paddled the canoe, hiked around a bit, and just hung out and relaxed. What a wonderful place to camp that I'm sure will end up being a yearly trip.

Artist Reception

2009-09-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

My whole family and I made it down to the Urban Hive for the Vox Artist Reception night of the Second Saturday show that is going on tomorrow. A ton of great work up there. Didn't get a chance to talk to many people. Was too busy taking it all in and chasing my son around keeping him happy and out of trouble.

Above is my display (on the left) with the family "posing" in the foreground. It was awesome to see my prints up on display at such a cool venue amongst so many other great photographers.

Here's a few more views of the show:

Can't wait for tomorrow!

My First Art Show

2009-09-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

VOX Sept flyer
Originally uploaded by jillallyn

So this weekend I'll be showing some of my photographs at the Vox Second Saturday Art Show. Every second Saturday in Sacramento there is a big art walk going on, so the people at Vox put together different showings with local artists. This month they are featuring local photographers that are part of the Sacramento Photographers group on Flickr. So it's not really like I was singled out for my talents or anything, but all the same I'm really excited to be a part of it.

So I went down there last night to hang my prints and finally got to check the place out. It's a shared business place called the Urban Hive and had lots of cool old brick walls and was a pretty laid back casual environment (my kind of place). I grabbed a spot the wall just inside the front doors and large windows that can be seen from outside and was lit quite well. It was kind of a pain to get thirteen 11x14 frames all lined up and looking decent, but damn it looked cool once I was done. I'll get some pics of the display this weekend.

All the prints I have hung at the showing can be seen here:
http://www.januaryphotography.net/impressions-of-sf/

**Edit to Add** Just in case coming to see my fabulous art isn't enough reason, maybe this will sweeten the deal: http://theurbanhive2ndsat.eventbrite.com/?ref=esfb

Been a busy week getting ready for this, and we went on an amazing camping trip last weekend. I'll try to get some photos and a writeup on that later this weekn.

Fun in the Tub

2009-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Had a little fun with bathtime the other day with Andrew, and pulled out my Westcott Apollo softbox. That thing really puts out a great light. It doesn't take much either. I think I had the Strobe set to 1/16th power (maybe it was 1/8th, I don't remember). That power is perfect for shooting portraits at F/2.8 or so. Nice shallow DOF, clean crisp focus, nice soft yet directional light, and recycle time is nonexistent.

I did have a little scare with my Elinchrom El-Skyport radio triggers though. Hooked everything up, went to shoot, and then my flash didn't fire. Checked the channel, sync cord, everything looked good but it wouldn't trigger. Luckily I keep my good old trusty fallback home-made sync cord around. That thing always works, and I always have it in my lighting bag just in case!

Turns out my trigger (that goes on the camera, as opposed to the receiver that plugs into the flash) had a dead battery. 10 bucks and trip to Radio Shack later and it's working just fine and I know have a backup battery in the bag. I still think the Elinchroms are a great alternative to the more expensive Pocket Wizards.

So hopefully I'll be pulling my lighting kit out a bit more often again, and I'll try to sneak in a subject or two that isn't a child of mine. What can I say though, I'm blessed with cute kids that love the camera :-)

More Paddling

2009-08-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and I spent some more time paddling the backwaters and creeks of Lake Natoma. It was such a beautiful evening. Between the soft light of late day, and the rhythmic sounds of our paddles cutting through the water, our trip was so peaceful.

It's so great to have a little getaway spot so close by. It's the perfect place to melt away the stress of a workday and bond with the woman I love. I'm so lucky to have someone who appreciates these things in life as much as I do.

We're slowing discovering new places in the area to go paddling around, and I'm slowly getting more comfortable with leaving my camera out of the dry bag to get some photos along the way. We've already explored the amazing Consumnes Reserve; a river sanctuary on the last remaining river that flows from the Sierra mountains to the ocean uninterrupted (we'll be hitting this place up again soon and I'll be sure to get some better photos). Next up is some high Sierra lakes starting with Lake Fuller this weekend.

Learning to Swim

2009-08-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

As you get older, you start to take for granted all the things you've learned in your lifetime. When you have kids you gain a whole new perspective on what it's like to learn these things when you're young. Watching my daughter Megan learn how to swim has been one of those experiences, and I can't explain how proud I am of her watching from the side lines (pool side in this case).

She's definitely the cautious type, personality wise, so it was great to see her confidence grow to the point where she's jumping in and swimming 10 to 15 yards on her own. I think the program they have here helps a lot too. Basically it's just a ton of high school aged kids out there with all the little ones. Usually two instructors to 3 or 4 students so they lots of one-on-one time. They're very enthusiastic, and the kids seem to take to them well.

More photos from swim class can be found here.

Speaking of learning new things, she starts the first grade tomorrow! I'm so amazingly proud of her. I think she's the coolest girl in the world :-)

Paddling Lake Natoma

2009-08-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

We've been spending a lot of time at nearby lake Natoma, paddling around in our new canoe. It's a great spot to paddle, and is only 25 minutes or so away from us(no freeway needed). Natoma is basically a flow control reservoir in-between Lake Folsom and the American river that flows into Sacramento. Since the water comes from the bottom of Folsom it is always cold (which the trout love), and since it is used to make the flow into the American fairly constant the water level stays pretty much the same year round. It's a particularly good lake for canoes and kayaks as motorboats are restricted to 5mph on the entire lake (and hence, you almost never see any of them).

It's been a fun place to explore and see lots of wildlife, and for being so close to everything it feels like you're far from it all.

Our favorite spot to put-in has been at the Willow Creek access, but Negro Bar and Nimbus Dam are fun to paddle around as well. It costs 3 dollars to park at Willow creek, and 8 at either of the other two (maybe that's why we like Willow Creek so well).

Speaking of Canoeing, I'll be helping out in the Fundamentals of Canoeing class put on by the Red Cross this weekend and I'll be taking their River Canoeing class later this month. They have a great program, so if you're interested in canoeing and live in the Sacramento area check them out:

http://www.sacsierraredcross.org/Education/catalog.aspx?c=540

Mount Shasta and Lake Siskiyou Wrap Up

2009-08-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

There's something spiritual about spending time in the presence of a sleeping volcano. Shasta dominates the horizon at Lake Siskiyou; you simply can't help but stare at it in awe. Covered in snow even in the middle of summer, Shasta boasts the only known growing glacier system in the continental US. These seven glaciers help feed one of the purest water sources around (see my posts on some of the local waterfalls). The whole area just seems to resonate an energy that revives the soul.

For the three nights we were here, we camped at the Lake Siskiyou camp resort. I wasn't sure what to expect staying at a private campground with the word "resort" in it's name, as we usually frequent public lands with less amenities. It was actually a pretty pleasant stay. The campgrounds were relatively removed from the RVs, camp store and restaurant/bar, and other such things. Though there were over 200 spots to stay, it didn't feel too crowded. The beach access had a bit of a touristy feel, but it was actually quite a nice place for the kids to swim and play in the sand. The only bad thing about staying here in mid July was that it was quite hot in the middle of the day(you shouldn't be at camp mid-day anyhow...There's way too many things to see in the area), but by night it was pleasant to hang out by the fire and pass a few bottles of wine around under the starry sky.

Middle McCloud Falls

2009-07-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday of our trip to Lake Siskiyou had us exploring the McCloud river and stopping in to see the Upper and Middle Falls. The Middle falls were particularly breathtaking and had some nice swimming areas around (which the kids took advantage of).

The hike down to these falls is fairly easy. It's a about a 15 minute walk down some switchbacks with one set of stairs (with 31 steps). We managed to get the jogging stroller all the way down and back up without much trouble, so it's not that bad at all.

It was a short visit, just time for a few photos (some of which were balanced precariously on a rock due to me forgetting my tripod) and a quick dip of the head and feet. I definitely want to return to this place for some more photos and to do some fly fishing.

Kids Fishing Day at the Hatchery

2009-07-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

On the Saturday morning of our trip to Lake Siskiyou, we took the kids to the Mount Shasta State Fish Hatchery. Three days each summer the hatchery allows kids to fish the holding ponds and catch two rainbow trout each. They supply the bait (worms) and have loaner fishing poles and tackle if needed (we brought our own). The best thing, the whole event is free!

The kids had a wonderful time reeling in their fish, and all three of them limited out in less than a half an hour (it was serious speed fishing). The hardest part is going to be next time we go fishing, having to explain to them why they are not getting a bite every 10 seconds :-)

We took our catch to the marina at Lake Siskiyou where they have a cleaning table and prepared them for our meal that we'd have later that night. Let me tell you, they take really good care of those fish there. Every one of them had a nice pink color to the meat, and they were really really yummy :-)

Mossbrae Falls

2009-07-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

The photo above look better larger.

The family and I met up with another family at Lake Siskiyou and had a great time exploring the area. Figured I'd blog about it a little at a time and start off with a falls I've been wanting to go to for a long time, Mossbrae Falls.

To get to the falls you have to hike along the railroad tracks for about a mile. This part of the trip was pretty miserable. There is not much shade, and all the rock around the tracks just radiate the heat back up at you. We didn't see a train coming or going, but if you have kids with you keep them nearby. You'll hear it coming, and I've been told they blow their whistle a lot going through the area, so just be aware and keep in mind where you'll go if one comes. Most of the path has plenty of room for getting out of the way, but there are a couple of short narrow portions that I moved a little faster along.

After that scorching hike, the cold water under the falls was quite exhilarating. I meant to swim all the way across and get my picture taken under the falls, but this is as far as I made it. Burrrrr!

It's a really nice place to hang out for awhile and enjoy one of the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen. The light wasn't ideal, so I didn't get shots of it all, but it extends well off from my photos and wraps around a bend in the river. The kids had a ball climbing on the rocks (or just throwing them in), and we really enjoyed ourselves here.

I'll probably process a few more photos from this spot and post them soon. It's also on my list of places to go back to during better light to get some nice soft even long exposures. I'm guessing morning light would be very nice as by mid-day the sun was partially hitting the falls causing some contrast issues.

Paddling the time away

2009-07-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

(Image taken by previous owner)

Haven't posted in awhile, but just thought I'd share in my latest passion. My family and I just bought ourselves a canoe! (See photo of it above)

It started off with Jennifer deciding she was going to take an introduction to canoeing class being offered through the red cross. I thought it was a little silly at the time. I mean how hard can it be, just get in and paddle right?

Well, she had a ball in the three hour class and signed up for the 2 and a half day class. We talked about how fun it would be to get the whole family out on the water, but she said wouldn't feel comfortable about it unless I take the class as well. So I figured, what the heck, and signed up for it on a different earlier weekend (we couldn't take it together as 17 hours is a long time to get a baby sitter for).

Let me tell you, I really had a blast in the class, and I had no idea just how much there is to it (at least if you do it right). Saturday I was S-Curving all over the lake, trying to figure out the 13 or 14 different strokes, but by Sunday I was keeping us in a pretty nice straight line and found myself getting really addicted to it. That, and the instructors were really fun people and much to my surprise taught the classes on a completely volunteer basis.

One of the instructors, Kurt (who when I first met him had a hilarious shirt on with a depiction of two people paddling with the words "Paddle faster, I hear banjos" (Google the movie Deliverance if you don't get it)), had a used canoe that he was looking to sell. So the other day we took it out for a test spin and bought it on the spot.

So we're now the proud owners of a 16 foot Wenonah Aurora canoe. We took Megan out on it last night (with her very own kid sized paddle), and we all had a great time paddling around as the sun set. Lots of fun, and I look forward to lots of adventures in that canoe!

For anyone interested in canoeing in the Sacramento area, the Sierra Chapter of the Red Cross has very good and very reasonably priced classes that go all the way up to white water level. The volunteers that teach the classes are very knowledgeable and very fun at the same time.
http://www.sacsierraredcross.org/Education/catalog.aspx?c=540

Showing Some Class with the Lions

2009-06-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

I see myself as your average guy who likes to do "manly things" like hiking, camping, fishing, and talking about lawns over a cold beer with the neighbors. Every once in awhile though, you've got to clean yourself up, put on a nice shirt, and go do something with some class. In this case it was taking the family (sans the littlest one) to a Broadway production of The Lion King, which was showing here in town (and I had to get tickets for almost 8 months ago).

I'll be honest though, I'm not usually the type that enjoys musicals and such, but this play just plain rocks. Everything from the elaborate costumes, to the talented performers, and my favorite part the amazing live music. Really a great show.

So there I found myself with a glass of red wine in one hand, and my daughter's excited grip in the other, watching the amazing performance unfold and seeing it reflected off her beaming eyes as she stared in awe. Another one of those "this is what it's all about" moments in a completely different world from where I was by that alpine lake just a few days ago.

Fathers Day

2009-06-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Spent a great Fathers Day hiking in the mountains and fishing with the family. It was a nice day and I had one of those "this is what it's all about moments".

Just some snapshots to share from or little light weight point and shoot camera. Decided to leave the heavy gear at home this time around. I'm pretty amazed at the quality of the pictures from such a little camera though (Canon SD750).

Was also fun trying out a few new things on the trail. One being my new Merrill shoes, which I'm loving so far, and the other being a test run of trying to push our Kelty Jogging stroller up the mountain.

It actually handled real well over the rocks on the trail, and I had very little problem pushing it the mile and a half up to Island Lake (note, we were actually hanging out at the little lake next to Island Lake, which even though nobody seemed to believe me has no official name). We're thinking in a month or so we'll go back up there with our camping gear and stay a night or two. It's really the perfect place for the kids first backpacking trip.

In other news Jennifer (my wife) and I are taking some canoeing classes and are thinking about buying a 15 or 16 footer. I'm already dreaming about paddling out to some remote boat-in only campsites, or just cruising on one of the many small lakes in the area. Fun fun :-)

Family Camping in Yosemite

2009-06-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago (I know, I'm a slow blogger) the family and I did some car camping in Yosemite Valley. Was kind of a strange trip, even from the beginning. Pulling in to gas up at my usual last stop before the valley at Crane Flat, there was a dusting of snow all over. Snow in June! Crazy.

Usually camping there in the beginning of June I kind of dread the mid-day heat, and the camp sites can get pretty dry and dusty. Not the case this time. We had off and on rain the first two days, and spent most of the time there with jackets on, often sitting under the large tarp we hung. I kind of liked it though. Something different, that's for sure.

I didn't do nearly as much photography hunting this trip. Usually I'm trying to get to all the spots along the valley and the immediate vicinity at the optimal lighting times, dragging my tripod and family all along the way.

This time we only did a couple of hikes; one up to the base of Vernal Falls, and one up to the base of Yosemite Falls. I think it was the first trip we didn't even bother to hit up all the usual stops (tunnel view, cathedral beach, Pohono bridge, Bridalveil falls, etc, etc). We spent a lot more time hanging out relaxing (in-between two-year-old tantrums), drinking cold beers and good wine, and eating good food.

Maybe we've gone to the Valley one too many years in a row and we're finally getting jaded to it, or maybe we just needed one of those kick your feet up weekends. Either way, it wasn't a bad trip. Just a bit different than most years.

...In other news, REI gladly took back my "over a year old" boots, and I traded them in on a pair of Merrell Moab Ventilators and some green superfeet insoles. I'll update later after I have a chance to use them (Should get my first hike in them tomorrow), but these should be much better for keeping my sweaty feet dry and hopefully blister free (fingers crossed).

Bye Bye Boots!

2009-06-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

I tried to make it work. Alternating socks, laced up tight, laced up loosely, and everything in-between, but I've officially made the decision that I'm breaking up with my boots. My heels wanted me to burn them, but I think instead I'll take advantage of REI's kick butt 100% satisfaction guarantee return policy.

I was at an REI used gear sale this weekend when this decision occurred to me. Boot after boot, and shoe after shoe I looked at, and the comment on the card read "customer returned due to causing blisters". Some of them were almost completely worn down at that point (making me wonder if the customer was being very ethical in their decision). I spoke to an employee and asked about their return policy, explaining how I've had these boots for over a year now, but every time I take them on the trail I regret it and come home with sore blistered feet. They seemed to think that is a perfectly good reason to return them. Who am I to disagree? :-)

So this weekend (or sooner) I'm taking them in. Maybe someone with better feet than mine will get an awesome deal on a lightly used pair of Montrail Torres at the next REI used gear sale. As for me, I'll be trying on a nice comfy pair of lightweight Merrells. No more mega-boots (and mega-blisters) for me.

Speaking of gear, my latest online addiction is monitoring www.steepandcheap.com all day for killer deals on outdoor stuff. Someone I met at the used gear sale turned me on to this site, and I've been checking it off and on all day. Basically they list one item at a time for a limited time (usually 15-20 minutes) and at about 50-75% off. Thanks (I think...).

Impressions of San Francisco

2009-06-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

My company sent me to San Francisco for two days of training connected to the big JavaOne Conference going on all this week. I won't bore you with the details of Software Engineering training, but I did want to share some photos from my wandering in-between sessions.

I actually found it kind of difficult to get good photos here. Everything I shot felt contrived, boring, like a tourist snapshot. That's when I kind of let go and starting playing around with motion and blur to try to capture the feel. The results were something completely different than what I usually shoot, and I liked that. I especially had fun playing with the lensbaby that threw most of the scene into chaotic disorder, much how the urban landscape felt to me at the time.

It was a fun trip, and I look forward to visiting this place again that is only a couple of hours from where I live.

View all the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/januaryphotography/sets/72157619092470675/show/

Chaos

2009-05-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

"It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order - and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order." Douglas Hofstadter

Back on the Trail

2009-05-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

Took a short hike out to camp at Island Lake up in the Sierras a little over an hour from where I live. It's amazingly beautiful up there, especially with all the snow right now, and I was glad to get in before it got too over-run with people.

I had really meant to stay up at Penner Lake another mile or so from where I ultimately stopped and set up camp. I wasn't expecting there to still be so much snow up there though, and my poor heels still soft and weak from my last trip that rip them apart started to feel raw again almost immediately down the trail. Don't get me wrong, I was surely appreciative of the water-proofness of my boots on such a wet trail, but all the same I was tempted to throw them in the fire for what they have done to my feet over the last two trips. Definitely a hundred a twenty bucks down the toilet on those podiatical torture devices. A nice comfy pair of trail running shoes are my next purchase...

Anyways, thanks to stopping short of my intended destination, my feet really didn't get too bad. So aside from boot frustration, things went really well.

It was nice spending the better part of the day by myself exploring my way up to Penner lake (The trail was almost impossible to follow without constant consulting of my GPS), fishing a bit (though they weren't biting), enjoying a fire, and taking photos. I finished off my day of solitude cooking up my favorite backpacking meal, the lasagna, which I spread thickly on the nice warm tortillias that I cooked up right on my little stove. Soon after I had hung my food for the night, photographed the last light of the day, and then happened by a couple of families heading in looking for a camp after a long day of fighting the traffic from the bay area.

We spoke briefly about how they make the journey out here every year for memorial weekend, and that they were trying to get to the other side of the lake just past where I was camped, hoping to find a spot there not covered in snow. I had a hunch that they wouldn't have much luck, especially with the light fading fast, so I offered to share my quite large camp area with them if they couldn't find anything on the other side.

About fifteen minutes later I had the fire roaring and was delighted to play host as they came trudging back with their heavy stuffed packs. Turned out my decision benefited more than just my karma, as they were a really nice group of people to hang out with and they came bearing gifts of wine and a flask full of Bourbon with a touch of sweet vermouth. I'm horrible with names, but good with faces, so hopefully we'll meet again out there some time. I do recall that one of them worked for Lazzari Fuel Company, so if anyone knows him let him know I said thanks for sharing his flask full of a very dry Manhattan.

The rest of the evening was spent helping to pitch tents in the dark, watching the teenage boys roast marshmellows stuffed with jelly beans, and sipping spirits under the vast starry filled skies by the fire. Quite an enjoyable way to spent the night.

On the way out I had to stop off and admire my favorite flowering trees, the dogwoods. All along where Bowman Lake Road meets highway 20 they were in magnificent bloom.

It's that time of year

2009-05-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to my camping trips this time of year. I've been limited to car camping for quite some time, but here I am all packed up for my second backpacking trip of the season. This one is much more mellow, just a quick over night'r up to a small alpine lake called Penner Lake. Sounds like there is still quite a bit of snow up there, and the road in to the trail-head is still closed. The ranger seemed to think I can get at least half way down the last 2 and a half mile dirt road turnoff, so I'm figuring I'll leave my truck somewhere along there and hike in.

I haven't been up in that area in over ten years, so I'm looking forward to getting back there and hoping with the road closed I'll have most of it to myself.

BTW, the picture on the top is from last weekend. The family and I stayed at a little campground on Folsom lake called Beals point with some other families from my wife's girlscout troop. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it with the forecast of a 100 degree day and my vision of Folsom not being the prettiest of places to camp, but surprisingly it was actually pretty nice. We had lots of shade, it wasn't nearly as hot as I thought it would be, and the water level at folsom is really high right now so we even took a little dip in the lake. The kids had a ball running around and playing on my old hammock. Just goes to show, even if it's only 20 minutes from your house, camping out for the night always beats staying home.

Next up for family camping is our yearly trip to Yosemite in two weeks.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wishing the happiest of days to all good mothers out there!

Eyes That Pop

2009-05-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

One of the most striking elements you can add to a portrait is eyes that really pop. The problem is, nowadays people get lazy and try to do this too much in Photoshop, rather than with the camera using proper light. So my tip of the day is how to find that light.

It's simple really, once you think about what brings life into the eyes. It's just light. Interesting eyes in portraits have what we call catch lights. It's the bright area on the eyes. If you're using the flash on your camera you get a catch light, but unfortunately it's not a very attractive one. The tell-tale sign that your on-board flash fired is that one dot on each eye that we call pin-lights. Pin-lights are seldom interesting.

So what makes a good catch light? To me I like broad lit areas across the eyes. Reflections of bright skies, big walls, or just about anything large that is brightly lit. This is why so many people prefer "natural light" photography, which typically means not using flash. This one is gonna really throw you though, the image at the top did use a flash. The key is to balance your exposure so that the off camera light source blends in with everything else bright behind me. That's a different topic though.

So now that we understand what makes the eyes look interesting, how can we position ourselves to make it happen. Typically it's as simple as getting your subject in open shade so that behind you it's really bright, and behind them "not so bright". Expose for the skin, and those eyes that are reflecting the scene behind you will pop out of the screen. No crazy photoshop tricks needed.

In the case of the shot above there is a big strip of concrete directly in the sun behind me, he's on a covered swing (thus in shade), and behind him are flowers in sun backed by the lower portion of a tree that is shaded.

Wonder

2009-05-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

We got an unseasonably wet weekend, so no new photos from me. I'm not complaining, I love the rain and thrilled that everything will get greened up one last time before the oppressive summer heat sets in. Felt like posting again though, so here is another older photo with a quote...

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life." -- Rachel Carson

Flashback October 31, 2008: Coarctation of the Aorta Artery

2009-04-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to write about this for quite some time, but I have a tough time getting the words out. It was a really scary and draining ordeal that I wouldn't wish upon any little one or their parents.

A few weeks prior to Halloween, my wife took my son in to see the pediatrician due to him picking up pink eye from one of the neighbors boys. It was during this visit that we heard the first words that nobody wants to hear. The doctor was listening to his heart, and heard a murmur. She felt it was serious enough that we should make an appointment with a specialized pediatric cardiologist as soon as possible. Within a week, my wife was at the UC Davis Medical Center where my son would undergo a echocardiogram.

I remember it well. I was with my daughter outside her ballet class when I got the call from my wife. She was on her way back, and didn't want to talk on the phone. She'd meet me there and we'd discuss it.

I don't know what was worse, the reality that I was about to be told, or waiting there 15-20 minutes wondering what was going on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she was there sharing a sketched diagram that the doctor had used as a visual aid to explaining the problem to her. Just above the heart, the aorta artery comes out and feeds the blood to the body. On the lower portion, right after where it splits off between the upper portions of the body and lower portions, a narrowing of the artery called a coarctation was present. This causes low blood pressure in the lower portions of the body, and a higher blood pressure in the upper. Complications from this occur later in life as the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the narrowed portion. If gone undetected, and/or left untreated, the average life expectancy is only 35 years of age with many dieing much younger and 90% by the age of 50.

The seriousness of it all hit me like a bag of bricks, and I was left stunned, shocked; not wanting to believe a word of it. All while this discussion was going on, my eyes kept going to my son; running around, climbing on everything, a model of what I believed a healthy year and a half boy should look like. How could this be happening?

The following days were a blur. We met again with the doctor in a week, and he went over what he explained to be the only option, surgery. The good news is that it was not "open heart" surgery we were facing, where they open the chest and hook the patient up to a machine to pump the blood. For this type of procedure they would come in from the back inbetween two ribs, clamp off the artery and remove the portion narrowed portion. It is then quickly reattached and the clamps removed to once again allow blood to flow to the lower portion of his body. I remember the words he said, probably to make us feel better. There's only about a one percent chance of complications. One percent...My mind imagined this surgery 100 times, and one of those times would end very very badly. That's the biggest one percent I have ever faced.

Barely home from this appointment, we get a call that there was an opening for his surgery, but the only day available was October 31st, and that his surgeon would not be able to schedule another date until after the new year. So here we were, only a week after getting the news, barely enough time for it to settle in, and we're already facing the surgery a week later. A day that we had planned for laughing and playing while going door to door in costumes had turned into something far scarier than I had ever faced on Halloween or any other day.

The day came fast, and we found ourselves getting up early packing the car and taking our son to the hospital. Every ounce of my body wanted to turn the car around and just drive away, somewhere, anywhere but here. Anyplace but this reality. It just seemed so unnatural to take our healthy boy and expose him to the risk of a serious surgery. My mind raced, and my thoughts were filled with scenarios that something would go wrong and we would have cheated him out of many many healthy happy years of his life. How could I live with myself if this happened? Ultimately the voice of reason in us was that if we could meet the man he'd become, no longer healthy and facing a premature death, wouldn't he have wanted to face the somewhat small risk (if any major surgery can be considered small risk) now, and have the opportunity to live a full healthy normal life. It would be supremely selfish of us not to give him that life.

Well, we made it there, and though time passed slowly, before we knew it they were prepping him for surgery. I held him half naked wrapped in a blanket in my arms and tried to comfort him amidst the confusion and chaos. His meds were starting to kick in, and it became time to put him on the bed, as they wanted us to leave while they put him under and intubated him. I resisted leaving, and I got the feeling that some people thought it was because I was afraid and that I couldn't handle to watch what was about to happen anyhow. It had nothing to do with that. I didn't want to leave for the sole reason that I did not want him to see us go and become scared and panicked. Nothing that they could do would have any affect on me more than seeing him distraught, so I waited until it was clear he was relaxed and heading off to sleep. Then I left, upset that we were being forced to leave his side, and fearing for the risk of never seeing him smile or hearing him laugh again.

Leaving the room for a brief time while they intubated him turned into over an hour in the waiting room. I felt like a caged animal pacing the room, wanting to lash out at anyone that got in my way. Time just seemed to go on and on and on, until finally we were told he was about to be moved to the surgery room and that we could accompany him on the way. Seeing him unconscious and hooked up to a breathing machine just amplified the reality of the situation. Thoughts of taking him in my arms and running far away flooded my mind again. I was overcome with so many emotions, that it just is not describable. Then they rolled him off through the doors and we were left with nothing but fear and hope.

The next couple of hours were the absolute longest in my life. We seldom spoke, and spent a lot of time watching the doors and holding our breath. A doctor came in and spoke with an older woman in the room. That's when I learned that seeing your doctor enter one of these rooms was never a good thing. I hoped and hoped to see someone soon with news. Anyone but the surgeon.

After what felt like an eternity, the head nurse entered the room with a smile. Things had gone perfectly without any problems, and they were in the process of "closing up". I don't know that I've ever taken a bigger breath in my life. It still felt too premature to be fully relieved, but it felt a whole heck of a lot better than I had felt just moments prior.

After another hour or so we were guided back to the Pediatric ICU where we'd be spending all of our time over the better part of the next week. We stayed in shifts where one of us would be there for most of the day and all night, then the other would take over. I needed ever second of rest on my "off nights", as there was little to no rest to be found in the ICU.

His first days he was weak, tired, and extremely drugged up. You'd think he'd sleep a lot in this condition, but he was very restless and while in the ICU if there is any given it's that the moment you close your eyes is the moment somebody walks in the room. X-Rays, examinations, beeping machines, and medication deliveries never seemed to end. The care in the ICU is tremendous, but there came a point where the one thing he needed to get better was rest. Something not to be found here. By day four I pleaded with them to move us to a room, or just let us go. His vitals were stable, but the only thing holding us up was his blood pressure being a bit too high and they were afraid to turn down the intravenious medication for it. That paired with the fact that he was fighting taking his oral medications. I literally wanted to scream or cry or rip my hair out if he wasn't given the opportunity to rest soon.

That is when the surgeon entered the picture again. I heard him discussing the issue with the lead ICU doctor and finally he raised his voice and said "Look, just turn off the drip and I guarantee his blood pressure won't go up. He needs to get off of this and into a room where he can get a good nights rest, then his blood pressure will go down". I was seriously teared up and I wanted to burst through the curtain and give the guy a hug. I still cry when I think about everything that he did for my son.

As you might guess, they turned off the IV, and low and behold his blood pressure did not go up. It was still higher than they wanted, but it was stablized. The next hurdle came when they said they would move him to a room in the child recovery ward, but that none were available right now. I just wanted to curl up and die.

Fortunately later that night one became ready, and we were whisked away from all the lights, beeping, and attached wires, to a quiet private room with only a blood pressure cuff on his leg. The room came complete with a pull out chair that converted to a bed for me. I felt like we were staying at the Hilton, and for the first time in 5 days he slept for about 5 or 6 hours in a row.

The next morning I paraded him around the ward in a fancy red wagon and we discovered the play room. He took his first shaky steps, and that glimmer in his eyes began to shine again. Later that day we were given the okay to take him home, and by days end he was chasing his sister around the house screaming and laughing. My wife and I stood and watched the two of them filled with joy, exhaustion, and a million other emotions.

Once home we got the oral meds under control. Sometimes I think you just need to give it to the parents and let them get it done. With all the fear that was being expressed at the hospital that we might have a hard time, we simply pinned him down and made damn sure every last drop made it in him. Within a week he was taking it without a fight, and within a few months he had been weaned completely off of it.

Now he's just a typical two year old boy, running, screaming, and laughing with his older sister, with a peculiar looking scar on the left side of his back.

Mysterious

2009-04-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
~Albert Einstein ~

Vernal Pools

2009-04-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Today I tagged along with my wife and daughter as they had a little outing to the Mather Field Vernal Pools with their girl scout troop.

The vernal pools are basically small basins that have a hard layer underneath them that prevents water from absorbing into the ground. As they evaporate tons of small wild flowers fill them in brilliant shows of gold, green, purple, and white.

It's nice to see areas like this put aside for protection. Especially since it is estimated that California has lost over 90% of it's vernal pools.

Clean New Look

2009-04-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Wiley and Clean: 17-40mm F/4L @ 29mm, F/4, 1/200th ISO 200,
Manual flash at 1/4 power fired in Softbox about 2 feet away.

Making some changes with the blog, and I hit on it a bit with the last post. I think it's a much cleaner, streamlined look, and I'm liking it much better. None of the templates were doing what I wanted, so I figured 'what the heck, I'm a software engineer', and I went into the html and fixed it myself.

Started out by making the whole page a bit wider. I may be screwing it up for a few people, but according to my stats page only one or two people that have ever visited here have a small enough screen resolution to be affected. My apologies to those, but I'm out for the greater good here. If you have the same problem that the post area of you blog is cutting off your photos that you link from flickr or elsewhere, just go into the "edit html" portion of the layout tab (this is for blogger blogs of course), and find the outer-wrapper and main-wrapper definitions. I up'd the widths to 760px for the outer-wrapper, and 510 for the main-wrapper. This allows 500 pixel wide photos to be displayed with a small border around them, such as the ones appearing on this blog.

Bathtime: 17-40mm F/4L @ 28mm, F/4, 1/200th ISO 200,
Manual flash at 1/4 power fired in Softbox about 2 feet away.

The next bit of cleaning up I did was to change the behaivior of the "label" links. It was driving me crazy when I clicked the link for my Lost Coast Trip, and the posts were in reverse chronological order (ie, newest to oldest). If I was reading this for the first time, I'd want them in order. After doing some research, there is no "setting" to get this to happen how I wanted it, so I could either reverse the dates on the posts (lame!), or add some javascript to reverse them manually.

So basically, if you have no clue what javascript is, then this is probably not for you. If you are somewhat comfortable with html and some basic programming languages, then this is pretty easy to do. Keep in mind, these instructions start off using Douglas Bowman's minima black template. Others may vary a bit, but the overall logic is the same.

The first step is add a <div> tag to the posts so that the javascript can find them. Go to the Edit Template HTML portion of the Layout tab (take a moment to download your current template as a backup), and click the Expand Widget Templates box. Go down and find where the posts are inserted into the html. In the case of my template there is a comment labeled "posts", and there is a loop below where the posts are inserted. Just inside the loop I added <div class='BlogPosts' expr:id='data:post.id'> tag (don't forget to close the tab just before the loop closes).

OK, so now we can identify the posts both by a generic class "BlogPosts", and a unique identifier for each one. All that is left is to add the javascript to find them and reverse the order. I added this bit of code at the bottom just before the </body> tag.

<script type='text/javascript'>
if(document.URL.search(/search\/label/) != -1)
{
var mainElem = document.getElementById("main-wrapper");
var tags = mainElem.getElementsByTagName("*");
var idArray = new Array();
var count = 0
for(var i=0; i < tags.length; i++)
{
if(tags[i].className=="BlogPosts")
{
idArray[count++] = tags[i].id;
}
}

var swap1;
var swap2;
var content;
for(var j=0; j < count/2; j++)
{
swap1 = document.getElementById(idArray[j]);
swap2 = document.getElementById(idArray[count - j - 1]);
content = swap1.innerHTML;
swap1.innerHTML=swap2.innerHTML;
swap2.innerHTML = content;
}
}
</script>

So basically, what this does is first checks to see if the page is displaying a label search lookup by checking the URL for "search/label" (I may want to change this later if I want only some label lookups to be reversed. This may end up not being desirable for large collections that don't need to be sorted by date. I thought about adding "Sorted" to the label or something, and keying off that). If it's not a label search page, then the default newest first order remains. If it is, it searches for all the tags that have the className of BlogPosts, and grabs the unique Ids for them. Then it takes those unique Ids and essentially reverses their order in the document. Voila, it is done.

Clean Smile: 50mm F/1.4 @ 50mm, F/2.5, 1/200th ISO 100,
Manual flash at 1/4 power fired in Softbox about 2 feet away.

The "clean photos" were brought to you thanks to a Daddy's night complete with bath time. My wife and daughter went to see a play and we were left to be silly, get clean, and capture some great photos in the process.

These are all lit by a 28x28" Westcott Apollo Softbox
being triggered by a set of Elinchrom El-Skyport radio flash triggers. I love this setup, as it sets up quick, gives great light, and packs down small. The triggers are really reliable as well, as opposed to cheapie ebay radio triggers, which just plain suck, and Canon's infrared system which can be very flaky as well.

Flashback(December 19, 2008): Old Town Auburn

2009-04-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Continuing my flashback series, partially because I have nothing new, and partially because I regret not sharing all the interesting places I've discovered over the last year....

Placer County Court House: 17-40mm F/4L @ 17mm, F/8, 1/500th, and ISO 400

Auburn is a cool little town only about 20 minutes from where I live, and I figured it would be the perfect place to test out my new camera. I had talked about meeting up with somebody from work for this little outing, but he ended up being busy so I was left to explore on my own.

The old town district is not too big, easily walkable in a half an hour to an hour at a leisurely pace. The parts that I loved the most were the old brick walls and wrought iron railings. It's easy to imagine the place in the height of the gold rush, with dusty roads filled with horses and wagons, and the buzz of promised riches that so few would ever really achieve.

Alehouse: 17-40mm F/4L @ 17mm, F/4, 1/60th, and ISO 1600

I ended my short outing with a beer at the Auburn Alehouse Brewery, which is a very cool looking bar with tasty drinks. I'm sure my wanderings will bring me back to this place again soon.

BTW, you may have noticed I changed the template. Two reasons for that. One, I think photos pop better on black. Two, I link all my photos from flickr, and the default "medium size" that I was using for photos that displayed on the blog were being cut off on the right side. Every template that I tried did the same thing, so I went in and edited the template manually to make the writing area larger to facilitate my 500 pixel wide photos. If anything looks "odd", please let me know.

Flashback (December 18, 2008): New Camera

2009-04-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was a lazy blogger over the last year or so and I have decided to flashback on a few events in no particular order.

This one was a key event for my photography. I had been using a Canon 20D camera over the last four years or so. It was a great camera, and I took some amazing shots with it, but over time I grew to know it's limitations all too well. The main problems to me were the flaky autofocus and crop sized sensor. I admired the 5D from afar for quite some time and envisioned myself going after the successor to it. Well, the successor came, and though an amazing camera, I wasn't blown away by the new features enough to sink that much cash into it. My decision therefore was to get a good condition used 5D instead.

This like new condition beauty came from KEH, and as far as I can tell it was never even used.

Taking advantage of this being a "flashback" post, I can tell you that I am utterly amazed by this camera. I was worried it would take some time to adjust my style to fit the full framed camera, but it came so naturally and I can't imagine ever going back to a crop sensor.

Even my kids prefer posing in front of the 5D :-)

Thoughts on The Lost Coast

2009-04-12T21:37:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed my journey down the Lost Coast. Like all good trips, it was much more than the footsteps that made up the 25 miles. There's something about being out in the wild, with everything you need on your back, to make you feel like you're alive. You become more aware of the air you are breathing, the sun that is on your face, and beautiful sights that your eyes are witnessing. Sounds are more clear, thoughts more focused, and everything just feels right with the world. It is a feeling I used to know well when I was younger, and I am thankful to have it rekindled in my soul.

When I close my eyes and think of the trip, the pain in my knees and on the blisters of my feet have faded much like the raw sores on my heels cleared up this last week after returning. All I see now is the golden poppies on green hills backed by deep blue skies, powerful waves breaking on clean pristine beaches, and the sun setting on the vast sea. I can still smell the fresh ocean breeze, and hear the sound of the surf crashing and rumbling around the rocks beneath it. The battery indicator on my soul is at full bars, and I can only hope to plan another great adventure before they begin to fade again.

As to what I've learned of the trail, I would characterize it as an intermediate level trip. Those with no experience in the backcountry might want to cut your teeth first on a shorter trail that offers the option of turning back. Once you are dropped on that beach in Mattole it is a long 25 miles across ever changing terrain back out again. All the same, I wouldn't call it difficult. I would only suggest to take care of your feet, know your tides, and respect the ocean (as all the literature says, never turn your back on it). Water and firewood are plentiful, and the camps at the various creeks are wonderful places to stay. Tread lightly, and help keep this pristine stretch of coastline as pure as you found it.

If you haven't already, check out the hike on a map with the GPS points linked below. It's kind of cool to zoom in and see the terrain. I especially like the Google Earth trip here. Just download and install Google Earth if you don't have it, and load the trip. Hit play trip and then press the arrows to move between photo points.

Lost Coast Trail at EveryTrail

Map your trip with EveryTrail

Leaving The Lost Coast

2009-04-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Day 4, Racing the waves out:

The final morning started early at about 6:30. I broke down my tent and packed everything up while boiling water for our final breakfast on the coast. We ate fairly quickly and headed out around 7:30, which was a good thing because we were surprised at how high the water had come already.

A combination of the high tide that was due at 10:00 and some quite large waves had the water line coming clear up to the cliffs at times. According to the maps we had 1.5 miles to cover to get out of the dangerous tidal zone. Let's just say that I was inspired to move quickly. At one point I was taking a little breather and a wave came rushing up and I jumped two and a half feet up onto a ledge where I held the rocks to keep my balance. It's amazing how fast one can move with a bit of adrenaline, even with the sorest of feet.

After clearing the first mile and a half to Gitchell Creek with barely a stop between, we decided to keep on moving another two miles up to Horse Mountain Creek which is only a mile and a half from the trail head.

This proved to be a good decision, as we still encountered many areas that the water was coming up quite high and we had to be ever vigilant to watch for large set waves coming in.

We made really great time the whole morning, and even after stopping to take our boots off and have a good snack at Horse Mountain Creek, we still got to the trail head by about 11:00 or so. Pretty fast to cover 5 miles in sand on blistered feet.

The long hike ended with Rob walking up the steep hill to get the truck, and a nice sponge bath in the parking lot bathroom before driving on home.

Hiking The Lost Coast

2009-04-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Day 3, Last Camp:

I woke up early this morning, got the fire going again, and ate some instant oatmeal and warmed up tortillas. Our sheltered spots in the Beachwood Inn proved to be nice and warm out of the ocean breeze, and I had slept pretty well. We were in no rush, and I took the time to try and tape up my blisters as well as I could.

The days hike started off taking us a bit higher up the hillside where we actually got into the pines a bit briefly. We enjoyed the view from up on the hill, and I enjoyed every moment that I could get my boots off.

After a bit we descended down into the Big Flat area, past a fancy private home complete with it's own runway, and had lunch at Big Flat Creek. The area was dotted with driftwood structures, and we saw more people here than anywhere else. Most of those camping here were surfers after those epic waves that break over the reef here. We spoke with a few, and they all seemed pretty friendly.

Leaving Big Flat we passed Miller Flat before being dumped back onto the beach for good. This started the last big stretch of tidal zones that are not passable during high tide. We had timed our departure this morning and lunch today to get us to this point at low tide.

Along this beach section many little streams came down through the cliffs, and due to the low tide there were spectacular tide pools. My desire to take photos was tempered by my blistered heels, so I mainly just kept on trudging along looking forward to the next camp were I could get off my feet.

It was a long days hike, but despite the pain I found it a bit easier than the final portions of yesterdays hike. Arriving at Buck Creek we set up camp, pumped some water, washed up in the fresh water and took a bit of a nap. Dinner was a mix of everything we had left. I contributed a veggie Kathmandu Curry dish and some dehydrated ice-cream. Rob put in some mashed potatoes and beef stroganoff. It was quite the feast.

With bellies full we walked down the the beach to watch the sunset. I only took a few photos, then just sat back and watched the sun go down. Some moments are best seen without a camera in your face. This was one of those moments for me.

The day ended talking around the fire where we were joined by a couple of other backpackers. I hit the sack somewhat early, as we had a high tide coming in at 10 the next morning and still had 5 miles to the trail head with a couple of them being impassible during the rising water.

Lost Coast Trail

2009-04-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Day 2, my struggles begin:

I tossed and turned a bit the night before, with my knees aching and my feet feeling a bit tender. Yet, it was a beautiful morning. The winds had died down, and the weather was feeling a bit warmer. After a breakfast of instant oatmeal, I broke camp, packed up, and was ready to move on.

The terrain beyond Cooksie Creek was more sand and rock, and is an area that is not passable at high tides. Much of the landscape was barren rock cliffs and eroding hillsides. The only thing of real interest to me was the bear tracks we spotted of what appeared to be a momma and her cub. We never saw the bears themselves, but it was interesting to see evidence of them explore the beach.

My spirits were a bit low through here, and my feet and knees were starting to hurt. At a break I discovered that I had half-dollar sized blisters forming on both of my heels.

Just when I started to let myself feel a bit miserable everything changed again. The trail led up onto the bluffs above and the landscape transformed to rolling green hills covered with beautiful Poppies. It was really a spectacular sight and lifted my spirits instantly.

A good three mile stretch after that followed an old dirt road that felt so good to walk on. We made great time, slowed only occasionally by the streams we had to cross.

All good things come to an end though, and I was forced back onto the beach for the remaining mile and a half before making the next camp. I made it half way through before shedding my pack and shoes for a break that I did not want to end. Checking my GPS and looking down the coast I could literally see our destination three quarters of a mile ahead. No amount of motivation was going to get me to put those boots back on though, so I strapped them to my pack and finished off the days hike barefoot trudging through gritty sand and bands of small sharp rocks.

Finally arriving at Big Creek I was greeted with a quite amazing structure of drift wood that people had built. Within an hour I was feeling better again after a cold sponge bath in the creek and a cup off freshly pressed coffee (Rob's Jetboil rocks). I had an amazing meal of backpacker lasagna(which I highly recommend!), then we headed to the creek to enjoy that last light of the day that is always the best for photography.

The evening ended with a strong mixture of vodka and Gatorade fruit punch mix and some backpacker chocolate cheesecake desert. The fire was warm, I was thoroughly buzzed, and my spirits were high again. I slept much better this night, and for the remainder of the trip I never let myself get quite so low as I did on this day.

Here is Rob's day two. He got a great shot that really captures the moment for me trudging through those tough tidal zones. There's also a great Poppy shot there that I'm super jealous of (why, oh why didn't I get my 85mm F/1.8 out???).

The Lost Coast

2009-04-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Being a father of two young children, I don't often get the chance to get out and be adventurous. So when the opportunity presented itself when my wife planned a trip for 12 days to visit friends and family with the kids, I jumped on it and started planning a trip as wild as I could come up with. I knew I wanted to go backpacking, but the prospect of camping in the snow wasn't as appealing as it once was when I was a crazy youth. Thus, I thought about exploring somewhere near the coast. What better coast in California than the Lost Coast. So I got a hold of my buddy Rob and talked him into joining me on a 25 mile journey down one of the only remaining stretches of pristine coast line in the country. Below is day one of our trip. I'll be adding the rest over the next few days.

Day 1, The journey begins:
The day before I had left work early and picked up Rob at the airport along the way. We had a pretty uneventful ride in that included a much too long meal at Garberville's interpretation of Mexican food that caused us to arrive at Nadelos campground well after dark. Surprisingly the campground was completely empty so we set up under the headlights of my truck and got to bed early.

The next morning we got up early and broke camp fast before heading off to pick up my bear canister and get into Shelter Cove to pick up some breakfast before catching our ride to the trail head. Someone from Sherri's shuttle service arrived right on time to pick us up from the Black Sands parking lot, and we headed off down the long winding road to Mattole Beach where the trail begins.

As we headed off down the sandy trail the wind was blowing hard and cold. We spent the entire first day in full thermals and sweaters seldom looking back towards the north where the wind was howling from. It didn't take long to realize that hiking with full packs in the soft sand was even more difficult that we had imagined. The sand would give way to rocks, that turned to boulders, and occasionally we were blessed with nice firm dirt paths on the bluffs above the beach.

After a couple of hours we rounded Punta Gorda point and arrived at the lighthouse where we were blessed with the perfect place to take off our packs and cook up a good lunch out of the wind. It was a beautiful area around the now abadoned beacon, and we spent an hour or so enjoying the views and taking photos. Finally we slung our packs back on and headed back down the trail.

A little ways down the trail I spotted a rock on top of a larger rock and recognized it as the "hat rock" that marked a now impassible portion of the trail. A well marked detour sent us up the side of a cliff through fairly steep switchback in the relentless winds. My right knee that had already begun to hurt earlier burned all the way up. It was at this point that I realized that I might be in for a hard time, as I still had some 18 miles to go in the next few days.

We arrived at Cooskie creek and setup camp well before sundown. This gave us plenty of time to relax, drink some Vodka and Gatorade mix, and wait until the sun was more agreeable for photos. I cooked up a backpacker meal of Kung Pao Chicken, but was rather disappointed with it. It's definitely not one I would recommend. Being well fed and slightly buzzed we headed down to where the creek met the sea and took some photographs while the light was good. The evening finished off with a roaring fire, some more vodka, and a few long exposure shots with the cameras.

A map of the trip with waypoints and photos can be found here.

View Rob's take on the day here: http://www.momsaysimrunningaway.com/blog/the-lost-coast.html

A few more shots from the day:

Artificial light doesn't have to look artificial

2008-08-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Too many times I've heard the term "natural light photographer", and with it how much better it is than "artificial light". There seems to be this perception in some circles that any photog using a strobe is producing those boring staged shots where the lighting is more obviously fake than the painted backdrop. This does not have to be the case.

Light is light, and it's really as simple as that. Once you understand lighting direction and temperature you can make natural looking lighting conditions, or enhance what natural light is already there.

I was trying out my new Elinchrom El-Skyport triggers for my flash system, and decided to do a little project at the same time.

First I set up in the backyard and captured the natural lighting as is.

Then I added a main light, which is a manual old Nikon SB-28 strobe fired into a 42" silver umbrella, and trigger with my new Skyports. It's set up just outside of camera view to camera left and about 2-3 feet ahead of me.

This gave some directional light but didn't help the background much.

Next I added a backlight to camera left and behind me. This is an old Nikon SB-26 set on optical slave mode. I stuck it up real high and fired it into the grape leaves. It triggers automatically when it detects the main light going off.

This gave some interest to the background to the left.

I figured what the heck, and added another light low and behind me to camera right firing up. This is an old Nikon SB-24. It doesn't have a built in optical slave, so I plugged a wein peanut into to. The peanut is an external optical slave that will trigger the flash when it detects the main light going off.

It looks a little overdone to the right in this shot, but I hadn't tweaked it down yet.

Finally I swapped lenses to my 85mm, and took the shot I had been planning on. I loved the interesting dynamic lighting. The foliage came to life with the strobe hitting at different angles, and once I tweaked them just how I wanted them I pulled off a bit of rim lighting on my right shoulder and left chin as well. All the same, it's subtle. At first glance it doesn't scream "artificially lit", and good lighting shouldn't.

Here's a couple of other shot of the whole setup:

And one more shot of that beautiful Elinchrom receiver hanging from my main light. I had perfect firing results throughout my little project. I can't say how much that rocks after dealing with the cheapie Chinese triggers off of ebay.

Venice Again

2007-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

15mm Fisheye F/8 1/160th ISO 200 with a little fill flash.

Just wanted to post a few more shots from Venice beach. I really didn't get a chance to edit the ones I posted before very well and didn't do the trip justice. Also check out Rob's post on the trip in his blog(I'm the local reader Randy, I feel famous now :-)

70-200mm F/4L @ 200mm F/4 1/1250th ISO 200

85mm F/2.8 1/500th ISO 200

17-40 F/4L @ 35mm F/7.1 1/160th ISO 200

Finding The Art In Photography

2007-09-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

OK, it's no secret that I'm a technical geek when it comes to photography. I love to study all the how's and why's of the medium, and I shoot everything in manual because I like to have my hand in all the elements that make up the photo.

Lately though, I just haven't been getting the fulfillment from it that I once did. I think as I jump over more and more technical hurdles the truth of my goal with photography becomes clearer and clearer, that I want to take profound images. Something moving, something emotional, something thought provoking. Something art.

As much as my photos have gotten technically better in the last 6 moths or so, I think I'm just scratching the surface on discovering the art of photographing. I was building a business of child portrait photography, but I started to realize that what I was perfecting wasn't necessarily art, but more a craft. Some of the images I created of children I would consider art, but I think my focus was lost on it, and they were more a byproduct of the craft I was creating.

I've decided to branch out some more, discover my passion again, and not focus so much on one small part of photography. Part of this was my trip to Venice beach last week(which I still have a ton of images that I haven't processed). I needed to get away and shoot something different.

Another new outlet I have is my 52 weeks challenge on flickr. Basically I joined a group on flickr where the members submit a self portrait every week for an entire year. Could be kind of cheesy, I know, but I've taken advantage of the opportunity to try to and spark my artistic creativity. I decided each of the 52 portraits will reflect a part of my personality. The first couple were relatively tame, as some of my personalities are, but for the third I decided to dig deeper into my consciousness and portray a powerful raw image of humanity. As much as I deplore being in front of the camera, I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

17-40 F/4L @ 24mm F/9 1/200th.
External flash fired into a softbox to the right and away from the camera with a white reflector just out of the frame camera left. Black velvet material used as a background.

Anyways, the point of this is not to show off my skinny self or anything. More it's to encourage all the photogs out there to step outside your comfort zone. Challenge yourself and try something new. You never know what kind of image you'll produce.

The Family Circle

2007-08-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Just realized I'm a few posts in and I haven't even introduced my family.

17-40 F/4L @ 17mm F/5.6 1/160th

This is my wife Jennifer, age unspecified for my safety, my daughter Megan, almost 4, and my son Andrew, about 4 months. I'm the ugly mug on the bottom if you haven't deduced it.

There is a lot to balance trying to be involved in a family, work a full time job, start a small side business, and still try to have a life outside of it all on occasion. It's not the easiest life, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. Everytime I look into their eyes I know I made the right decisions. Anything else I accomplish in life is just gravy.

Anyways, for the photo curious, this shot is done by us all laying on the floor and I have the camera outstretched over us. My flash was pointed backwards and slightly to the side so that it fired into the ceiling and the corner of two white walls coming together to give a nice even light with a hint of direction. In photoshop I bumped the contrast, applied a B&W layer to tweak the skin tones nice and light, and then burned in the corners a bit.

Street Photography

2007-08-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm not much of a street photographer, and my photos here prove that, but I was just dying to get out and shoot something other than children. Not that I don't love to photograph them, especially my own, but I was ready for a break.

I had also been meaning to meet up with a fellow photograph that I knew online and haven't met who writes what is pretty much my favorite blog to follow, "Mom Says I'm Running Away". It's currently not working right now, but I strongly recommend checking it out once it's back up and running(see my links).

This is Rob:

Rob has a very cool job(or lack thereof). For the last year or two Rob has been travelling the world, photographing it, and sharing it with us lucky readers.

Rob has some nice gear:

And he let me play with some of his toys.

It was a fun meet up.

Anyways, here's a couple of quick edits of shots taken from Venice Beach. Like I said, I'm not really a street photographer.

Dynamic Lighting Done Naturally(well, kind of)

2007-08-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

50mm @ F/2.8 1/60th ISO200

For me, what really makes a portrait come to life is dynamic lighting. There's many ways to do this, but I wanted to touch on pulling it off using natural light only.

The shot above was taken late in the evening at the beach with the sun very low and off to the far right. With the sun so low the entire sky becomes a diffused light source with the point near the sun being a bit brighter, so what you get is a wrap around lighting and that is feathered from the far right of her tailing off to the left.

This is a key point that I want to stress here. The hardest thing about mastering natural light photography is realizing where your light source is. I'll give you a hint, the sun is not the only "light source" in natural light photography. Take this shot for instance taken at what people call the "worst time of day to shoot", which is around high noon with the sun high in the sky.

85mm @ F/2.8 1/500th ISO200

So with the harsh sun glaring down how did I pull off this beautiful soft lighting? Simple, I took advantage of the situation and found a location with secondary light sources. What are these secondary light sources? Well, in this case she's inside a small playground train car. The sun is so high that it's not going directly into the windows and door opening. What can of you think of that is providing her light? Now you're thinking light sources. This train had sand all over outside of it and concrete beyond that. This is all reflecting back up into the train. Further out bits of open sky and such are also reflecting light back. These are all light sources. Using these properly is how you achieve dynamic lighting. Look at the interesting catch lights in her eyes. These are direct reflections of those bright areas reflecting in.

To make a portrait have that dynamic lighting look, you'll want to find a spot and an angle such that you can use one light source as a main and others for fill or possibly back lighting, rim lighting, etc. Think of it much like you would to set up studio lighting, only the sky is your large softbox and other reflected objects and areas can be your other lights.

I can't stress enough how important good use of light sources is in creating a dynamic portrait, but there are some photoshop tricks you can do to enhance this once you've captured it. I'll go through my normal photoshop conversion process for a B&W photo to illustrate a few tricks.

For these B&W shots I start out with my color photo and first add a strong constrast with a new curves adjustment layer. You can use the PS defaults if you have a version with those, the increase contrast and strong contrast defaults work pretty good but are usually too strong. This is ideal actually because it allow you to tweak it until it's just right. If you don't have the defaults google around for "S-Curve" adjustments and play around with it. Once you've applied this layer go to the layer "opacity" and lower it down until the contrast look more right. I usally end up bumping this up a tad more after I convert to B&W, but just keep in mind you can control the contrast with that slider from here.

The next thing I like to do is make the eyes pop. In my portraits the eyes are meant to be the focal point of the entire shot so I like them to stand out a bit. Just be careful not to overdo it, which it is very easy to do. Start out by creating a duplicate background layer by pressing ctrl-j on a PC with the background layer selected. Next change this new layer's mode to screen. You'll notice your entire image just got brighter. This is also my favorite way of lightening an image. You can move the opacity slider for the layer down until you get just the right brightness and can even selectively brighten with use of a mask. That's what we're going to do with the eyes, but for now leave the opacity at 100%. Next hit the mask button on the layers pallete will holding the alt key to create a mask the covers the whole layer(alternatively you can make an empty maks and use the paint bucket on it with black selected). Now you'll notice all the brightness of the layer is gone, so what we're going to do is bring some back. Zoom into the region around the eyes and select the paintbrush and make it's color white so we can paint to remove the mask. Also make sure the brush type you select has a soft edge. Hard edge edits are easy to spot. On a well exposed shot with good light already in the eyes I start off with the brushes opacity at between 25-30% and paint just color parts and pupils of the eyes(not the whites). I then lower the opacity to about 10-15% and paint in the whites. Zoom back out and click the little eye ball next to the layer you were working on and see before and after of your eye pop. If it's too much lower the opacity of the layer until it looks brighter to bring attention to the eyes, but not so bright that it looks like glowing alien eyes. One other thing I sometimes do to the eyes is add a little sparkle with a light dodge of the catchlights. To do this select the background layer, zoom way in so you can see both eyes on the screen, and use the dodge tool set to 10% strength and highlights to lightly dodge the catchlights on the colored parts of the pupils. I can't stress enought the word lightly as it's easy to overdue. If you touch the whites, just barely do it.

Ok, so that's way too much information about making the eyes pop, but the eyes are an important element to me. Next you want to convert to B&W. In CS3 I use the new B&W adjustment layer. This is a cool new feature. It allows you to click and drag parts of the photo and all the tones corresponding to the color at the spot your clicking either are lightened or darkened depending upon if you drag left or right. You can also manually tweak the individual color sliders to lighten and darken tones corresponding to color. I like this method because it reminds me of how true B&W film used to work and dragging the sliders is like adding colored filters. What's really cool about using it as a layer is that you can mask out certain areas that you don't like how the conversion is going and put another B&W adjustment layer on top of it that will only affect the areas you have masked from the first one. Take this shot for instance.

17-40 F/4L @ 29mm F/5.6 1/125th ISO100

I loved the B&W conversion I had going on, but by making her skin go super white it raised the red slider considerably. This had the effect of making her lips really bright. I wanted some contrast here, so I masked them out of the first B&W layer. This left a B&W shot with red showing through only on her lips. I then applied another B&W adjustment layer and darkened the reds to get the shot you see.

If you don't have CS3 google the net and there are dozens of ways to conver to B&W.

Finally I like to go through and selectively darken some areas to make others pop. This really helps to enhance the dynamic lighting. There's many ways to do this. Sometimes I simply use the burn tool set to shadows and about 10% strength. Other times I'll create a duplicate layer and change the mode to multiply. This works the opposite of a screen layer, so I can mask it out and selectively paint back the darkening using different strengths by altering the brush's opacity. The top image has this kind of multiply layer applied and I did about a 20% brush over the left portion of the image to let a fifth of the darkening come through, and a bit stronger brushing over the top left region. This gave a darkening while falling away effect. I also applied the opposite screen layer with about 20% coming through right on the face to brighten it. The contrast of the two makes the image pop and the focal point is firmly established. It also reminded me of the old Hollywood movie film lighting effects so I named the image Hollywood Starlit.

Anyways, just wanted to share a few tricks for enhancing your image, but I can't stress enough that's it's better to enhance a well captured image than it is to try to photoshop a bad image into a good one. In camera decisions are very important, as are taking into account your light sources around you.

Getting Into the Flow

2007-08-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I'm slower than a faucet drip getting these posts in, but I'm going to double my efforts to get that faucet flowing, even if I have no readers at this point.

This above shot was taken with my new poor man's macro setup. I took an old manual 50mm lens from my first SLR setup, which was a Konica TC-X manual everything camera given to me by my Dad and reverse mounted it to another lens. I haven't taken pictures with this in 5 or 6 years, but it's still special to me as my late father gave it to me, so it was great to put that 50mm F/1.8 lens to use from it. To mount the lenses face to face I took two cokin mounting rings, which are threaded on one side and have a flat ring on the other side, and superglued them together. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures of the mounting ring or of the lenses mounted together, but here's a few sample shots I took with it. Hope to take some more soon.

You really need to stop down your aperture to get any kind of usable DOF. These are taken at F/22 and have a DOF of about a millimeter or so. To get enough light for this I took my 430ex flash and connected it to my camera via the Canon off camer shoe cord 2. This is one of the few times you'll ever see me using E-TTL for off camera flash. I usually use old Nikon flashes in full manual, but for this application I found the E-TTL just plain easier. Anyhow, the beauty of photographing some so small is that your bare flash becomes a large light source. Putting it just outside the frame is equivalent to taking a normal portrait with a large softbox. Remember, it's not the fixed size of your light source that matters, it's the size relative to what you're lighting. In converse if you try to light a large object like a car, you better have a huge light source if you want it to be soft(ie, not harsh shadow lines like a hard light provides). More of these topics in later posts.

Not bad to get a 2:1 magnification using things I already had plus an 8 dollar trip to the local camera store. Now I just need to figure out how to keep the bugs still while I get in within an inch or two of them to get them in focus.

Kick Off

2007-07-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not real sure where this blog will end up going, but for now I'm going to use this as a place to put down some of my thoughts and share some of my photos. I'm big into photography, so I'm sure I'll eventually have a whole series of posts related to different aspects of photography. I might share techniques on some, or just share my work on others. Though that'll be a big part of this blog, I don't expect it to be the only thing going on. I'll also be posting about my life, my views, and anything else that I feel like posting.