Photo: Sunrise on east face of Mount Whitney, Sierra Nevada mountains, California. May 2010
If everything has gone alright, something similar to this should be my view this morning and I should be on the top in a few hours…
Apr 282012
Photo: Sailing towards Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
…Continuing from my last post –click here–
After leaving San Miguel Island we arrived at our first nights anchorage on the islands at Becher’s Bay on Santa Rosa Island. The next day we departed in mid morning and sailed towards Santa Cruz Island.
We made a brief stop for some exploration of Painted cave, the worlds largest sea cave. It’s quite eerie once inside and completely dark. I had a large spotlight we me on the dinghy, but in the heavy, misty air inside the cave, it hardly did anything.
The wind had pretty much died here on the north side of the island so we motored our way to the anchorage at Pelican Bay. Here the skies got dark and we were in for a raining night on the boat.
To be continued…
Photo: Leaving Bechers Bay at Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Sailing between the islands, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Kayaks at entrance of Painted Cave, the worlds largest sea cave, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Darkness inside Painted Cave, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Looking out of Painted Cave, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Calm waters on north side of Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands national park, California. April 2012
Photo: Panoramic view of anchorage at Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel Island, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Last week was a double first for me: my first time on a sailboat and more importantly, my first time on the Channel Islands. Despite looking at the islands nearly every days since I was born, it took me 31 years to finally get out there. They where always some place that I’d wanted to go but plans never really worked out or I’d head up to the mountains instead. Well now at least I can say I’ve had a ‘proper’ islands trip.
We left the Santa Barbara harbor on a Sunday at midnight with the compass set towards San Miguel Island and motored the 40 nautical miles by stars and moon. My buddy Tim and I pulled the 4am to 7am shift. Taking 20 minute turns at the wheel in the damp, cold night air we navigated by stars until Island fog crept in and then we had to use the moon as best we could to keep position. Just before dawn, after a six and a half hour crossing, we pulled into Cuyler Harbor which would be anchorage for the day. The fog cleared just enough for a fantastic sunrise over the Santa Barbara Channel and then I headed back below deck for a little bit more shut eye.
In the late morning we launched the dinghy and headed to shore. We had an appointment to meet the island’s ranger up at the station and then she led our group on a 3 mile hike out to Harris point. On the way we saw an Island fox hunting and catching something at a pretty close distance, most likely a mouse, which is a pretty rare sight. On the way back we also came across two juvenile foxes standing right in the middle of the trail.
We were back aboard the boat by around 5pm and then set sail towards Santa Rosa Island and our nights anchorage at Becher Bay. More on that and the rest of the trip in the next days…
Photo: Heading to shore on the dinghy for a beach landing, Cuyler Harbor, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Landing the dinghy on the beach, Cuyler Harbor, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Northern Elephant Seal pup, Cuyler Harbor, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Passing seals on the beach (they where everywhere!), Cuyler Harbor, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Looking back towards the beach as the trail begins to climb, Cuyler Harbor, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Scenic view from Harris Point at the end of the hike, Channel Islands National Park, California. April 2012
Photo: Rugged coastal landscape of Montana De Oro State Park, California. March 2012
From Thursday to Sunday I was up camping at Montana De Oro State Park. It’s only 2 hours north from me here in Santa Barbara but this is only the second time I’ve been there; the first being only last year and just for a quick stop on the way to somewhere else.
I struggled with the weather on a few days. Often it was a near impossible task to keep my lens dry while standing so close to the sea with heavy waves crashing all around me and I had a few wet feet moments where I pushed things a little too far. By the second evening I almost run out of lens wipes as I hadn’t refreshed my supply yet since getting back from Europe and my February trip to Lofoten had already nearly cleared me out. When photographing on the edge of the sea (and especially with saltwater) the disposable lens tissues are a much better option than using microfiber lens cloths as they tend to build up too much moisture and contamination from the salt and other crap in the water that they become rather infective after only a short while. Dry lens tissues in combination with ones pre-moistened with cleaning solution are the best combination I’ve found for working situations with lots of sea spray.
The central California coast is a bit of a black hole for me that I’ve never spent much time exploring, even famous areas like Big Sur I’ve only ever spent a day or two photographing at. I think it comes from memories as a kid that on the few times we would go up there it seemed like heading to the end of the world. So for some reason in my mind now it feels like the 6 hour drive to Bishop and the Eastern Sierra, where I never went as a kid and have no recollection of the journey, is quicker than heading 2-3 hours up the coast. Or maybe I think it’s too close to home and therefore less interesting than if it would be further away. I don’t know. But there is some absolutely amazing coastline up there and being so close, I hope to make it back on a more regular basis from now on.
The only negatives I feel about camping on the coast is that California State Parks are a complete and total ripoff at $25 (and up to $35) a night for a primitive camp site without even a shower, whereas on the Eastern Sierra I can largely camp for free. When traveling alone, as I largely due, that adds up to a hefty bill quite quickly. It’s actually cheaper to stay in hostels in Europe than to camp in California these days.
Photo: Coastal landscape of Montana De Oro State Park, California. March 2012
Photo: Rugged coastal landscape of Montana De Oro State Park, California. March 2012
Photo: Panoramic coastal landscape of Montana De Oro State Park, California. Nikon 24mm tilt/shift lens. March 2012
Photo: Rugged coastal landscape of Montana De Oro State Park, California. March 2012
Mar 302012
Photo: Cliffs at Å in Autumn, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Sept. 2011
What a difference a few months make to the mood of a landscape. This scene is at and the end of the cliffs past the village of Å. It is pretty much the furthest west/south one can easily get on the islands. To proceed further means traversing those mountains in the background, something I’d like to do one day, but better suited for summer.
I’ve found this to be a good photo location recently as there are various places to get down among the cliffs where one can be sheltered from the winds. And in the winter months it’s also a decent location for sunset as the sun will be low in the sky over Væerøy (such as the photo HERE) and finally disappear behind the ends of Lofoten. Lots of other little place to explore out there as well.
Photo: Cliffs at Å in Winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb. 2012
Mar 282012
Photo: Colorful winter sunrise over Norwegian mainland, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
A layer of clouds was hanging over the islands with only a thin slice of clear sky in the eastern horizon. This light lasted a few minutes and then turned to gray and my camera didn’t come out of the bag for the rest of the day. I was hiding behind a rock to try and get a little protection for the winds – the sea is dark, but you can see it’s a bit rough. This was the 2nd best/most colorful sunrise of my February trip. The best was the day before as I was looking out the window of a bus, in my typical expertise of missing good light.
The arctic sun is deceptive in the fact that it rises so slowly in the sky. In my head I have what I expect as a standard length of time from when I start to see the light of the sun building below the horizon until it finally breaks it. In the north I end up standing, jumping around the keep warm, and telling the sun to come on and hurry up so I can get back in the car as I can’t feel my toes anymore. Although the benefit of this is that the light last so much longer and you take take a little more time to work with each scene before the light fades, all depending on what the clouds are up to of course.
Mar 262012
Photo: Olstind rises from waters of Kjerkfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Olstind, as it rises from the waters of the Kjerkfjord is probably the most iconic mountain view of the Lofoten Islands. It is often a scene that literally says ‘take a picture of me.’ Changing angles from Hamnøy towards Reine can give a different look to the mountain. My favorite view (below photo) is from down near where the E10 crosses to Andøya. It’s best to walk out on the rocks to get the most unobstructed view. Though be careful of an incoming tide, I almost got stuck out there on a lone rock when not quite paying enough attention.
Photo: Olstind reflection in partially frozen Kjerkfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Photo: Olstind, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Feb 272012
Photo: hiking towads Fan Y Big, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. Feb 2012
As luck would have it, my final days here in Wales took a turn from the usual gray, rainy days, for a weekend of brilliant sunshine. Saturday saw us heading up Fan Y Big and Cribyn. I was hoping to wait around until sunset, but clouds descended late in the afternoon. I still walked away with over 1100 photos for the day, which for me is quite rare. The forecast for Sunday was for cloud, but as I was stirring in the morning hours I could see sunshine coming through the blinds. So instead of going climbing as the original plan had been, we once again took advantage of the weather and headed up to Hay Bluff and wandered a bit down Offa’s Dyke path for a couple hours.
Tonight is my last night in Wales, so I’m glad I got a few final days out in the hills. Same thing happened last year as well, maybe it’s the California sun trying to welcome me home…
Photo: Big views from Fan Y Big, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. Feb 2012
Photo: Heading towards Cribyn, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. Feb 2012
Feb 262012
Photo: Snow on Urvatnet, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Photo: Rock breaks through ice on Nedre Heimdalsvatnet, Eggum, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
With the relatively low amounts of snow during my two weeks on the islands I often found myself using ice as a foreground subject. Normally, even with only 10cm or so of snow, the frozen lakes and fjords would just be flat areas of white without much contrast or anything of interest. With the snow mostly melted from rain or blown away by the wind I found the crack patterns that formed in the ice to be patterns for study. The frozen areas of tidal inlets where rocks would break through the ice and form unique shapes and patterns were especially interesting. This also helped add a bit of contrast to the scene on otherwise flat and overcast days.
Being from California, ice isn’t exactly a common sight for me. I probably looked pretty funny at times trying to negotiate my way around. Especially after the days of rain when the ice was especially slippery and I would have to use my tripod as a sort of walker to keep me from falling on my ass. Though I still managed that a few times as well. On one somewhat windy day, my tripod (without camera) was blown about 20 meters while standing up. It was a bit funny to watch it just slide across the lake until I realised that it ended up a bit farther from the shore than I was comfortable in walking; I usually stuck to areas where I could see that the bottom wasn’t much more than knee deep if the ice was to break for some reason, although it was plenty thick enough.
The following two photos illustrate just how much a night of rain can change the scene. In the first photo the snow helps emphasise the crack patterns in the ice, giving a bit of contrast to the scene in the flat light just before dark. In the second image, the cracks are almost without detail and the contrast in the scene comes from the changing hues of the ice as it is elevated upon a rock below the surface and the water covered ice reflects like the surface of a lake.
In case you missed my post from the other day, HERE’S THE LINK to my gallery of the trip.
Photo: Frozen shore of Ytterpollen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Photo: Frozen shore of Ytterpollen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Feb 242012
Photo: Edge of the World, Å I Lofoten, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2012
Lofoten Islands Winter 2012 Image Gallery –CLICK HERE–
The first images from my 2 weeks in early February 2012 on the Lofoten Islands are now up on my archive. Overall there is a more variety than the images from my January 2010 trip, but I think the 2010 collection is still better overall; more dramatic and better light conditions. It was definitely a struggle this year at times. From what I’ve seen online in recent days, it seems conditions improved greatly after I left. Bad timing on my part I guess. I’ve had pretty bad conditions for my last 3 Lofoten trips, so I think I’m due for some better weather next time. One of those 25˚ C summers with no rain would be nice! Maybe if I can get back in July…
Lofoten Islands Winter II – Images by Cody Duncan
