Memories in the Mist

Light the corners of my mind

Misty water-colored memories...

Wash your spirit clean!

Keep close to nature's heart...

and break clear away,

once in a while,

and climb a mountain

or spend a week in the woods.

~ John Muir

Watch out!

it's a long way down

the wildflowers sway in the wind

they draw me to the edge

the sun in my eyes

the earth soft underneath my feet

one shot...but I got it! oops!

Winter in Big Bear

Winter came down to our home one night 

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,

And we, we were children once again. 

~ Bill Morgan, Jr.

A merry Christmas to everybody!
       A happy New Year to all the world! 

The one red leaf, the last of its clan,

That dances as often as dance it can, 

Hanging so light, and hanging so high,

On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.

~ Samuel Taylor Coeridge

The Golden Hour

The period of one hour before sunrise or sunset is often referred to as "the golden hour." This description is very appropriate for the Big Bear valley in the mountains of southern California. Whether there are clouds in the sky or not, there is invariably a lovely golden glow to the atmosphere.

Hiking in the forest north of Big Bear Lake,
late in the afternoon, that glow is filtered by the trees.

At Captain John's Marina in Fawnskin, the late day sunlight glitters on the water.

At 6,700+ feet above sea level the low clouds roll up the mountain and across the lake.

The tiny island of boulders for which Boulder Bay is named,
is little more than a dark shadow in the late day light.

Pink Knot Marina has a great view as the sun sets on the opposite shore.

The park at the end of Pink Knot in Big Bear village is a perfect place to watch the sun go down.

The view from the south end of Stanfield Cutoff at the east end of the lake.

Walking along the north shore trail, the setting sun faintly
illuminates the fields of tall grass and wildflowers.

Summer Flowers in Big Bear

June in Big Bear, California means thirty days of beautiful weather. Plenty of sunshine, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s and frequent spectacular cloud formations. A mountain paradise just 100 miles from Los Angeles. Beautiful flowers can be found in the forest and in many yards of local residents. Here are a few of my favorites. I've been experimenting with applying textures to many of my images. I love the effect...especially with florals.

This gorgeous Columbine was growing in a neighbor's front yard. While walking through the forest, I came across some more growing wild. The wild ones were much smaller and less spectacular in color but the identical flower just the same.

Don't know what these are, but I loved how the sunlight hit them.

This is a wild rose I came across in the forest. Tiny flowers, not much more than an inch across, they are probably the ancestor of all the spectacular beauties we buy in the nurseries today.

I found these Sweet Peas growing on the fence of a cabin that doesn't appear to have been occupied in years.
Despite neglect, they've managed to thrive on their own.

Another Columbine...it makes me think of some exotic sea creature.

These roses can be found in front yards all over the area.

No idea what these are. Their "petals" seem more like beans.

Fancy Poppies catching the sun.

A field of wildflowers overlooking Big Bear Lake. Isn't this a beautiful scene?
Well, truth be told, there is a large shopping mall right behind where I was standing when I took this photo.

A Few Sage Moments

About three weeks ago, on my last day spent in Big Bear, the clouds in the sky were spectacular. I drove to my favorite spot on the east end of the lake and set up my tripod in wait of the hoped for gorgeous sunset. It was a little early still so I put my new macro lens on my D80 and walked around the area snapping pictures of the brush that grew all along the shore in this area. Now I am terribly ignorant when it comes to plant life and I haven't been able to identify this stuff from books or the internet. So if anyone should look at these photos and recognize it for what it is, please let me know. It's like sage brush but has a decidedly rusty red color. What I do know is that this very simple weeds catches the sun beautifully and is a delight to photograph.
This photo was taken at the northeast end of the Big Bear Valley near Baldwin Lake.

I took this shot a couple days after the big snow storm in February.

These are the images I shot while waiting for the sun to go down.
Believe me, this plant is not actually pink. It's just the sun playing it's light tricks.
The blue in the background is snow.

It's the same plants is each of these photos.
Just the background or the direction I'm shooting has changed.

Okay, so once I'd had enough of pink, I decided to play a little with Photoshop.
This tone was an accident but I liked what I saw, so I left it.
Now if only I could remember what I did, in case I want to try it again.

And, of course, I always have to see what it looks like in monochrome.
The soft sepia tint adds a little pizazz...Don't you think?

A Walk in the Park

Huntington Beach Central Park is a beautiful park where one can find the Central Library, Equistrian Center, Sports Center, the Shipley Nature Center, dog park and a lovely pond. Thanks to our never ending drought, the pond is rather low but that hasn't deterred a large number of birds from making themselves at home there. I take my dog Mickey there quite frequently for a walk and to play in the dog park. This afternoon, I decided to take along my camera and I found there are lots of photo opportunities there. It's really surprising how, when you have camera and look around wherever you go, you can see everyday things so differently, notice so much more and see so much beauty in common things and places. For example, the photo in my Thanksgiving post of the dolls was taken inside the local Walmart.