September and October 2008

Had a fantastic couple of months, fall is a great time for photography. Did a few local shoots as well as a long weekend at Sequoia National Park and another in the Eastern Sierras.

South San Diego Bay

Did a photoshoot of the South San Diego Bay after work with Frank the first week in September. The colors reflecting on the Bay at twilight were spectacular, and even the Wullenwebber Antenna looked really cool. Here's a link to some pictures from the shoot.

Mineral King

Took my third trip to Sequoia National Park the second week of September. Decided to camp out and explore Mineral King. Mineral King is located in the southern end of the park and is known for its alpine lakes. It's not easy to get to them though! Had to do a 10 mile round trip hike to get to this lake, Lower Monarch Lake, but it was worth it! Views and photo opportunities were fantastic all along the trail. Here's a link to some of the photos I took.

Balboa Park

Did a night shoot of Balboa Park with Frank the next weekend. What a blast! The long exposure shooting created some incredibly colorful the pictures, full of oranges, aquas, and purples. Here's a link to some of the shots I took.

Coronado Speed Fest

Every year the Naval Air Station North Island hosts the Coronado Speed Fest, a racing event for older model race cars. I decided to check it out this year with Phil and Frank. Loved watching the older race cars buzzing around the track. It was fun trying to pan shots of the cars as they zipped by. Here a link to some shots that I was able to get.

San Clemente Island Shrike Survey

Twice a year, Naval Base Coronado conducts a survey of all the Loggerhead Shrike on San Clemente Island. The loggerhead shrike is an endangered bird species found only on San Clemente Island. The surveys are done by volunteers, and so I decided to try my hand at birding. I can't say that I was terribly successful, saw a lot more unexploded ordnance than shrike. But it was great having a opportunity to see the more remote areas of the island anyway! I wasn't able to bring my Nikon DSLR with me while I walked around, but was able to get a few shots off with my Canon point and shoot. Here's a link to some of the pictures from the survey.

Eastern Sierras

The Eastern Sierras are well known for their incredible scenery: the large rock formations of Alabama Hills used in movie shoots, high elevation alpine forests and lakes abutting Sequoia National Park, and the Owens river valley. Decided to do a weekend fall color trip with Phil and Frank to check the area out and wasn't disappointed! Night shooting was incredible. We also enjoyed a 4 mile round trip hike to Gilbert Lake and stopped at a number of places along the drive, including Manzanar Historial Site where Japanese-Americans were interned during WWII, and Fossil Falls where lava has immortalized a river valley. Got a wide diversity of pictures, here's a link to some of them.