Muir Woods in Black and White, and a Wrap up of Northern California

Since my wonderful trip to Northern California in January, I have posted a number of articles featuring the photography from this visit.  Sadly we have come to the end of the line – at least until I visit again.  The photography featured in this post comes from Muir woods.

Before talking about Muir woods, Here are links to the previous posts from San Francisco, and north to Point Arenas, Sonoma Valley and Napa.

California Wine Country in the Fog

• California Wine Country in the Fog Part II–Black and White Part II

Northern California Seascapes

California Cows are Happy Cows

California’s Golden Gate Bridge

• The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White
• The Golden Gate Bridge–Black and White Part II
• San Francisco Fishing Boats–Details
• Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, at Sunrise
• Alcatraz at Sunrise
• San Francisco Fishing Fleet at Sunrise
• San Francisco Street Car Diptych
• Minimalism–Foggy Field at Point Arenas California

If you are displaced Northern Californian, I hope these posts satisfy your need for familiar and beautiful scenes from the bay area.

We took a very invigorating hike through Muir woods – about 5 hours of hiking which seemed to be up hill every step of the way.  The enormity of these redwoods is difficult to describe or even capture in the photography.  Sure, people benches and other objects provide a certain sense of scale, but even so, they do not convey the majesty of this beautiful park.

Muir Woods National Monument was established by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Consisting of 295 acres, Muir Woods becomes the 7th National Monument, and the first created from land donated by a private individual.  The Monument is named after naturalist John Muir, whose environmental campaigns helped to establish the national park system.

Aside from the massive scale of these trees, one of the very interesting things you notice early on in your trek is the fire scaring on many of the trees.  In some cases, the fire has actually hollowed out “caves” in the base of the tree – many large enough to walk into.  What makes this even more interesting is that although this scaring looks fresh, the last forest fire that occurred in Muir Woods was over 160 years ago.

The average age of these tremendous trees is between 500 and 800 years.  However, these are just youngsters in comparison with the elders estimated at over 1,200 years old.  These old redwoods can stretch as high as nearly 400 feet.  The tallest tree in Muir woods is considered a runt at 258 feet.  But trust me, when you are standing at the foot of these giants, I dare you to distinguish a 300 foot tree from a 400 foot tree.

If you have the opportunity to visit Muir Woods, you will not be disappointed.  The views are spectacular and unforgettable.  The trails in the park are reasonably well marked and well maintained.  The layout of the park is well suited for a casual stroll or other more ambitious options.  If you want a little burn in your glut’s, Muir Woods can help.

The last two photos are here to help provide a sense of scale.  As you consider these two shots, keep in mind that these are the “babies” running along a ridge line.  The elders are down in the valley and simply dwarf these infants in both girth and height.

Thanks for joining  my tour through a small and beautiful slice of Northern California.

Have fun and go make some great photography

Craig

California Cows are Happy Cows

While visiting northern California last week, my wife and I drove quite a few miles through wine country as well as the surrounding agricultural areas of Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.  As we were driving, we both commented that the cows looked happy…just as the commercial for California dairy claims.

Before you get two wound around the axle, I will admit that I have no idea what differentiates a happy cow from one with a bad attitude.  However, if I were able to show you a scenes of cows laying on a sloping hill leading to a Pacific sunset…all cow eyes glued on the sunset…you might get a sense of the happy cow feelings flowing from the California pastures.

Happy or not, the cows added some interest to these beautiful landscapes…and I thanked them all personally for the wonderful truffle cheese I was enjoying.  With respect to the photography, there is nothing particularly special to mention.  All shots were taken on a hand held Canon 5D with a 24-105mm f/4.0L.  Each of the photographs is a three shot HDR.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

California Wine Country in the Fog Part II–Black and White

As promised, I am back with more California wine country photography featuring some black and white compositions.  I am happy with the color shots featured in the predecessor to this post, but am particularly drawn to several of the black and white photographs – particularly the first two which represent a minimalist approach which I favor.

The next two photographs tend increasingly away from minimalism, yet remain simple, contemplative photographs.

The last in the series is certainly the busiest of the four with some added tension as the spikes and vines contrast against the smooth rolling tones of the clouds above.

I have not decided on the subject of the next several posts, but you can be sure we will be revisiting Northern California at some point.  I was lucky enough to spend a little time in San Francisco, Mendocino County, and Muir Woods.  I am very excited about the shots from Muir Woods National Monument, but have a lot of sorting, selecting, and processing to do.  In other words, I may not get to this right away.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

California Wine Country in the Fog

I was lucky enough to spend last weekend in California wine country (Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley) with my wife…and my camera.  Notice I said “wife” first, and “camera” second.  We had a wonderful time visiting some boutique wineries (those that either do not distribute, or have a very limited distribution and low case production) and were fortunate enough to be blessed by fog.

From a photographic point of view, fog is very exciting.  Follow this link to see some of the previous entries I posted featuring fog.  Generally, fog is another great excuse to process photos in black and white; a clear preference of mine.  However, I wanted to share these photos because they run counter to my black and white predisposition.  In each of the photos, my opinion was that the color added an important dimension to the final product.

I am a bit short on time at the moment, so my commentary will be similarly limited.  Check back in a couple of days to see another set of California wine country photography in black and white.

 

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig