Pagoda Buckwheat
Ever take pictures of things you don’t know and then forget to look them up? Sure you do! Agree with me to make me feel better! This is the Pagoda Continue Reading →
Tag: California
Western Bluebird
I had a chance to go birding with the LA Birders today up in the San Gabriel Mountains, a location on the back side by Big Pines. It’s not a Continue Reading →
What The Heck???
Not sure what you’re looking at here, huh? It took me a minute to remember what it was as well! And I was there. This is the Sundial Bridge in Continue Reading →
More and More Layers
Long time viewers of this blog, now in its 21st year, know I love layers. Okay, maybe not even the long time readers know this, but I do, I really Continue Reading →
The Simple Folly Of Trying To See One Bird You Already Saw Before
A “Big Year” in birding terminology is trying to observe tons of different species of birds in a calendar year. It’s a personal challenge some birders do and I decided Continue Reading →
Black-chinned Hummingbird
There here in LA for some breeding, meet the Black-chinned Hummingbird! #234 on my 2026 list and mission to observe 500 this year. I need to step it up a Continue Reading →
Lake Manly Panorama
It’s a bummer panoramas can’t be properly appreciated on most of our screen, especially if you are reading this on a phone. But I still love taking them and working Continue Reading →
Racetrack Grandstand Mirage
If you don’t like your car too much, take a drive down to the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park. It’s a dry lakebed that sometimes has mysterious rocks roving Continue Reading →
A Light On The Hills
They finally have that new stretch of pavement down and the construction speed signs are gone along Highway 395 in Owens Valley. And from that stretch you can see clear Continue Reading →
Desert High Cloud Sunset
I really love trips where I can combine multiple subjects or hobbies or whatnot and my last quick overnight to the desert was no exception. The day started with capturing Continue Reading →
Weird Shapes In The Alabama Hills
A quick note that if you decide to fly a drone in the Alabama Hills, you need to get a permit from the Bureau of Land Management in Bishop. The Continue Reading →
Upside Down Shimmer
This one is an odd one. The world flipped upside down and a strange coloring to the sun trying to burn through the clouds. Reflected in Diaz Lake out by Continue Reading →
A Second After The Mergansers Dove Down
It’s not always about getting the birds in frame. Sometime, like this time, I was more captured with the abstract reflections on the lake but decided to keep in the Continue Reading →
Alabama Hills And The Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains
It turns out you need a permit to fly a drone in the Alabama Hills so I went through the process last year. The permit is only good for a Continue Reading →
Just Another Beautiful California Sunset
The view from the bluff above Santa Monica Beach offers each chances for great sunsets.
The Pestering Parasitic Jaeger
Here’s a great example of a Parasitic Jaeger living up to its name. It was pestering the tern on the left until the tern dropped its fish in order to Continue Reading →
Surreal LAX And Downtown Los Angeles
I was out on a pelagic birding trip today, where you hop on a boat and look for birds that don’t usually come ashore, when I took this surreal, or Continue Reading →
It’s LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Ticket Time!
No, you can’t buy tickets for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles today, but you can register for a random drawing when tickets are available in Continue Reading →
Adventures In Failure
It’s been said the difference between a professional and an amateur in most fields like photography is the professional doesn’t admit their mistakes. At this point in my career I’m Continue Reading →
The Kite Without A String
Not all kites need strings. This is a White-tailed Kite found by Ballona Creek in Los Angeles. They hover while searching for prey and very much resemble the typical four Continue Reading →
Snowy Egret Hunting For Brunch
One lesson on birding that pops into my head every time I go out is, “You’re not done till you’re back at the car”. So many times I’ve spotted either Continue Reading →
Super Moody
It’s the kind of light photographers drool over. Sun breaking through a mixed layer of clouds with a passing storm in the background. This scene is just outside of Manzanar Continue Reading →
Happiness In The Sierra
This location has become one of my favorite spots to camp with just one trip. It’s not so easy to get to (11,000′ pass) and requires a permit that has Continue Reading →
Mountain Pride
If you looked at yesterday’s panorama of Columbine Lake, it may have looked like a desolate landscape, barren of all life except the backpackers. At nearly 11,000′, not a lot Continue Reading →
Columbine Lake and Sawtooth Peak
One of the best four day hikes I’ve ever done, last summer saw me and two friends hike a 27 mile (or so, we all had different stats) loop in Continue Reading →
Favorite Photos From 2025
It’s time to scroll through the highlights from 2025 and pick favorites. I gave up on the Top 10 list a while ago because life’s short, more photos. This year Continue Reading →
American Kestrel On A Streetlight
Kestrels are compact little suckers with beautiful plumage. The blue and orange combo makes them fairly distinct.
Pied-billed Grebe
I saw a few of these guys tonight while birding the Ballona Marsh Wetlandshere in LA. While not this particular bird, they are easy to tell from a distance with Continue Reading →
The Joy Of The Freedom To Fail
Last night I went to a spot overlooking the Santa Monica Pier to film a timelapse and it didn’t go as planned. The overall lesson that I was reminded of Continue Reading →
The Drama Above And Below
Flying West toward Los Angeles, I was lucky enough to catch the light before a storm came in this past Fall. I think this might have been the storm that Continue Reading →