Noonday Creek Flood, Woodstock

Here's a shot taken right through my windshield yesterday shortly after Highway 92 was closed at the Noonday Creek Bridge, just east of I-575. Westbound lanes were barely passable at this point, but both ways would close within an hour of this shot, as well as the 575 crossing of Noonday Creek just south of Towne Lake Parkway.

Mount Clark and Half Moon

The Big Meadow fire did all sorts of cool things to the evening sky while we were in Yosemite, and it was no different on August 31, our last night there. The peak in the background is Mount Clark, a 11,522' mountain with an obelisk-shaped top. This is one of my favorite shots from the trip.

Reflection, Mono Lake

One of a few shots I've gotten when I've been happy with overexposure. This photo was taken around sunset, but the overexposure in the sky blows it out so much that it looks like fog settling into the valley to the west of the lake. The tufa (salt deposit) and its reflection are exposed fine, so the focal point of the shot is still in tact. See Mono Lake and Lee Vining, CA for more information about the location.

Big Meadow Fire, Yosemite

On August 27th, while on vacation, I got to practice some photojournalism skills. As we drove along our detour around the Big Meadow fire through tiny El Portal, we took a quick turn off the side of the road to witness one of the fire choppers drawing water from the Merced River to dump on the fire. It only takes seconds for the big helicopter to fill the water tank and head back to the blaze. This is a situation where I was less concerned with getting a nice, artsy photograph, and more concerned with the story unfolding. I put the camera on program mode and got several nice shots of the chopper. Later, as we drove back toward the park, I was able to get some good shots of the smoke rising. There, I was able to get back to creative mode...because unfortunately the smoke wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The fire began as a 91 acre prescribed burn on August 26, and quickly got out of control when winds shifted. Immediately, Big Oak Flat Road was closed, causing long detours for visitors trying to get from Yosemite Valley (the Southwest side of the Park) to Tuolomne Meadows (center of the Park) and points east. Big Oak Flat Road just reopened today at 5pm. The fire spread to 7,425 acres before 100% containment yesterday.

Hallowed Ground

This shot is of the church at the Lutheran Cemetery in Gettysburg. I was in the back seat of a car on the driving tour of the town and the Battlefield. I got this shot just in time, and framed the steeple with the tree, and luckily got some clouds on the left side.

The Happy Burger Diner

Because of the Big Meadow Fire in Yosemite, we had to take a detour through a little old mining town called Mariposa. Hungry, we stopped for lunch here - The Happy Burger Diner, with the self-proclaimed "biggest menu in the Sierra." When the classic Oldsmobile pulled up into the end spot outside, I couldn't resist grabbing my camera and getting this nostalgic looking shot.

One Year

It's been an insane couple of weeks, and I haven't been able to do any posting between trips back home to lawyers offices, courthouses, and trips out west to the backcountry of Yosemite. I wanted to post this picture on August 20, the one-year mark since my Dad's passing. This photo of my grandmother was taken at Gordy Memorial Gardens on August 23, 2008 after his funeral. Of course you can see the sadness, but you can also see the disbelief in this shot. A firm believer in God's will, even she had to be wondering why it was in His plan for such an untimely passing.