Posted by John W. Wall on January 23, 2007 at 8:21 PM
If you could spend as much time as you wanted photographing a particular place in California, what place(s) would that be? I'm thinking about smaller places as opposed to "the Sierra" or "the coast".
Posted by Cory Freeman on January 23, 2007 at 9:55 PM
Well, how about "Eastern Sierra"? I would say right here in the immediate Bishop area starting with the Buttermilk region. There is so much diversity in this area for me it's almost overwhelming. I can't wait for what the spring and summer months have to offer, 'cept for the mesquitos.
How about you John?
Posted by Richard Wong on January 24, 2007 at 2:03 AM
The Bay Area. I never tired of shooting there when I lived there, and have only scratched the surface.
Posted by Jim Goldstein on January 24, 2007 at 3:19 AM
The list is too long. I don't think I'll have enough time on earth to photograph everything in CA I want to.
I love the coast. SF & Marin are great. I want to make it back to Arcata and the Redwood NP. I have a love/hate relationship with Death Valley. Yosemite never gets old. Big Sur is amazing.
The great thing about CA is that I always discover something new.
Posted by Carol Hyman on January 24, 2007 at 3:36 AM
John, I agree with Jim. The list is too long ;^)
What about the missions?
The Farmer's markets?
Tahachipi and the railroad and the wind mills?
Pescadera?
Palm desert and Josuha Tee?
And the list goes on ....
Oh, Olivera Street in LA; the buildings in LA, Huntington Gardens.
Yes, Big Sur, and Death Valley.
The Harbors.
It's a big state, so have a wonderful trip and have fun.
Yosemite I have two hiking trips setup one in June for Hetch Hetchy Beehive Meadows, and half Dome in August
Posted by John W. Wall on January 24, 2007 at 1:26 PM
Thanks! I have favorite places too, but I'm interested in stealing new ones. I'm getting more interested in coast/tidepool stuff and just discovered Duxbury Reef, but I also like Salt Point to the north and Franklin Point to the south. Farther away I've been getting into Carrizo Plain and Mono Lake. I like to be off the beaten track (relatively speaking). Even thought I live in San Francisco and have begun a project shooting the various parts of the GGNRA, I'm not really feeling sucked into the mostly urban nature of it.
Posted by David Senesac on January 24, 2007 at 4:06 PM
Much depends on time of year and especially for some places the numbers of wildflowers blooming during that specific season. Most of we photographers would identify places like Antelope Valley but specific locations there during their best wildflowers blooms usually are peaking for a brief couple weeks. Otherwise that area is pretty useless to shoot. Thus the idea of being able to spend as much time as one wants at a location may not be productive. Better is to know when some of the fleeting areas are worth shooting then being there.
There are some areas to shoot that are always very good like El Capitan Meadows however most areas have limited windows when they are capable of producing worthy images. Various photographers have related they would like to know where I've taken some of my images and all I can do is chuckle. I'll let the ones that are not well known in the public domain remain so. Thus I might vaguely describe an image as being shot at Carrizo Plain NM but no more. As long as a person commits to getting away from roadsides, California offers more great frames than one can ever hope to capture in a lifetime. One just needs to get out and explore. ...David
Posted by John W. Wall on January 24, 2007 at 7:49 PM
David, I think your answer reflects a different style of photography than what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for places with the best chance of trophy images as much as places worth exploring in-depth. Antelope Valley would probably be a challenging locale -- but yeah, probably not worth the time and expense for me. Then again, a collection of trophy images from all over the state would be another kind of in-depth exploration.
I think just about any place should work well, since you are attempting to explore it in depth. My suggestion would be to pick one that is close and convenient, otherwise you won't be visiting it very often. For now, my favorite local spot is the San Mateo Coast. In addition, I also try and visit the Eastern Sierra region whenever I get a chance, because there are a few locations there that I have been using for my work in the past few years. I have found that working on a few different projects at the same time gives me the requisite break and often helps out when I am in a rut (which btw is most of the time).
Places I would like to explore more in depth (in no particular order)...
Along Highay 120 in Yosemite from Olmstead Point to The park boundary (Tioga Pass). This includes the Tuolumne domes, Tuolumne Meadows, Cathedral Lake, Dana Meadows and adjacent areas.
Mono Basin; including the Aeolian Buttes, Panum Crater and the area east of Mono Lake (Hiway 120 up and over Sagehen Pass)
The Sonora Pass region: Although I have explored this area in depth, there is always more to see and to photograph.
The Minarets and the Ritter Range.
McGee Creek area.
Rock Creek and Little Lakes Valley.
Paiute Pass and Humphreys Basin.
Bishop Pass trail from South Lake, up and over to Dusy Basin.
The lakes and peaks above Lake Sabrina, aka the Sabrina Basin.
The Buttermilk Country west of Bishop
Big Pine Creek and the Palisades. This includes Brainard Lake and the lakes and peaks of the main Palisade group.
Independence Creek and the Onion Valley area
The Lone Pine/Alabama Hills/Mount Whitney region.
The bristlecone pine forests of Shulman Grove and the Patriarch Grove
Death Valley and adjacent valleys, i.e. Saline, Panamint, Eureka
More of the towns and country of the Motherlode along Hwy 49 from Mariposa to Placerville.
...That should keep me busy for, oh, the next ten years, or so.
-PB
Posted by David Senesac on January 24, 2007 at 11:28 PM
When Galen Rowell finally pulled up his urban stakes and moved to Bishop to open up a gallery, I though wow that's also what I've always wanted to do. And once he was there, in between his international jaunts, he was regularly out about the Owens Valley quietly working areas I know he'd always thought about but never made enough time to work in. If I could manage to find some liveable niche in Bishop I'd never run out of landscapes to work on for far more time than I've got left in these aging bones. I really could not say the same for much of the rest of the state. ??? well maybe if some rich gal in Carmel married me that might work too haha. ...David
Posted by Eric A. Rosen on January 25, 2007 at 1:05 AM
Death valley or the desert areas of California...I have to say though that Death valley is by far my favorite National Park...
Posted by Jim Goldstein on January 26, 2007 at 4:49 AM
There are a lot of great places in the GGNRA... we should meet up sometime and compare notes.
Discussion
13 repliesHow about you John?
I love the coast. SF & Marin are great. I want to make it back to Arcata and the Redwood NP. I have a love/hate relationship with Death Valley. Yosemite never gets old. Big Sur is amazing.
The great thing about CA is that I always discover something new.
What about the missions?
The Farmer's markets?
Tahachipi and the railroad and the wind mills?
Pescadera?
Palm desert and Josuha Tee?
And the list goes on ....
Oh, Olivera Street in LA; the buildings in LA, Huntington Gardens.
Yes, Big Sur, and Death Valley.
The Harbors.
It's a big state, so have a wonderful trip and have fun.
Regards,
Carol
There are some areas to shoot that are always very good like El Capitan Meadows however most areas have limited windows when they are capable of producing worthy images. Various photographers have related they would like to know where I've taken some of my images and all I can do is chuckle. I'll let the ones that are not well known in the public domain remain so. Thus I might vaguely describe an image as being shot at Carrizo Plain NM but no more. As long as a person commits to getting away from roadsides, California offers more great frames than one can ever hope to capture in a lifetime. One just needs to get out and explore. ...David
I think just about any place should work well, since you are attempting to explore it in depth. My suggestion would be to pick one that is close and convenient, otherwise you won't be visiting it very often. For now, my favorite local spot is the San Mateo Coast. In addition, I also try and visit the Eastern Sierra region whenever I get a chance, because there are a few locations there that I have been using for my work in the past few years. I have found that working on a few different projects at the same time gives me the requisite break and often helps out when I am in a rut (which btw is most of the time).
Along Highay 120 in Yosemite from Olmstead Point to The park boundary (Tioga Pass). This includes the Tuolumne domes, Tuolumne Meadows, Cathedral Lake, Dana Meadows and adjacent areas.
Mono Basin; including the Aeolian Buttes, Panum Crater and the area east of Mono Lake (Hiway 120 up and over Sagehen Pass)
The Sonora Pass region: Although I have explored this area in depth, there is always more to see and to photograph.
The Minarets and the Ritter Range.
McGee Creek area.
Rock Creek and Little Lakes Valley.
Paiute Pass and Humphreys Basin.
Bishop Pass trail from South Lake, up and over to Dusy Basin.
The lakes and peaks above Lake Sabrina, aka the Sabrina Basin.
The Buttermilk Country west of Bishop
Big Pine Creek and the Palisades. This includes Brainard Lake and the lakes and peaks of the main Palisade group.
Independence Creek and the Onion Valley area
The Lone Pine/Alabama Hills/Mount Whitney region.
The bristlecone pine forests of Shulman Grove and the Patriarch Grove
Death Valley and adjacent valleys, i.e. Saline, Panamint, Eureka
More of the towns and country of the Motherlode along Hwy 49 from Mariposa to Placerville.
...That should keep me busy for, oh, the next ten years, or so.
-PB