Happy Feet

My opinion: feet are meant to be used, not hidden in shoes. The above shot is from over the summer. A self portrait after wandering through the sierras barefoot for a few hours. The earth is better felt with unshod toes. The below is a shot I took for my friend, E.P., helping her out on a school project. She had the idea and I executed. Climb trees barefoot.

There Are Adventure to Be Had

Off to Zion! Picture is irrelephant.

Freedom Comes Tomorrow

Remember my Day 365 post, Onto the horizon? Well this shot reminds me a little bit of it. My last final is tomorrow. Sorry I have been so absent these past few weeks, but school has gotten the better of me. Soon enough, I will be spending some quality time in Zion, hopefully with my camera as well (though it would be quite the weight for backpacking, we will see).

Similar Shots

I love it when I'm looking through my shots and I find similarities between them. These two were taken about a month apart from each other. One was taken under a dock, exploring in Lake Tahoe. The other was taken while exploring the rocks and caves around Bishop Peak in San Luis Obispo. Both cast some shadowy figures against a light backdrop with some unique natural framing.

Phantom Limbs

Backpackers Eat Children for Breakfast

I'm trying to get in one last backpacking trip before school starts. Looking at either Warren Lake in Desolation Wilderness or Lower Mill Creek in the Ishi Wilderness. Also, open to suggestions! trying to make it a 2-4 day trip for a small group, ideally near water and not too far (within a few hours driving) from Davis. Let me know if you know of any good ones!

By the way, this is a shot I took of the Upper Yosemite Falls from the hike earlier in the summer.

A Small Skate Journey

lunch break and turn around point at the bridge

nose manuals on the way there...not a cloud in the sky

It was only about 15 miles, but was still a fun push nonetheless. Gorgeous day too. Went out to a local decrepit looking, graffiti covered bridge.

credit for the "decrepit" link: John Kenn love that guys stuff...

Mendocino Landscapes

Amber waves of grass, indeed, and another shot of a different arched rock. I'm not entirely sure what type of grass it is, sadly. I didn't care to take any samples of it even though it is fairly common. Looking at some brief photos I thought it may be some Purple three-awn or California melic, but I'm pretty sure I'm way off base.

EDIT: after some more research, I've decided it is either American marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata) or it's invasive sister, European marram grass (Ammophila arenaria)

And thus ends my shots of Mendocino, hope you enjoyed!

Around Town Mendocino

Mendocino is one of those quirky little towns where you can find a whole lot of detail just about anywhere. It has a lot of subtle character, something that I enjoy a lot. I really need to start sucking up a bit more of the atmosphere of place by taking more portraits of strangers (talking to them first of course); I feel like the small towns like this are made up more by the people who live there than any other towns. Here is a shot of one of the weird little antennae caps that I remember from the 90's and a water tower. Water towers in towns are so quaint.

Hiking On the Coast

Like I said, I took a pleasant hike through the forest the other day while in Mendocino. What did I find? Well, here are some beautifully red orange colored lichens right on the coast, and then when I went a little deeper I found this baby Amanita muscaria (also known as fly amanita or fly agaric). I love finding these little guys, they are on of the few mushrooms I am confident that I can identify correctly. The lichen was another sweet find (that I have yet to identify) since I just finished a sort of introductory course on them. Lots of sweet symbioses and things going on.

I realize the true bio nerd comes out in me whenever I'm on a hike in a forest (or anywhere really). I stop and flip over logs and constantly listen for birds and other creatures; it's great.

Day 365: A Look Onto the Horizon

So, if you weren't aware, I initially started this blog to try and do a 365 project. That is, where I post a photo a day for an entire year. This plan went extremely well (with a few exceptions when my computer died and I had to stop updates for a bit) in my opinion and definitely helped me develop my photography a bit more.

And what exactly does day 365 mean for you, my loyal followers? Well, don't worry, not too much will change on my site. I will likely stop the daily updates and only post when I have new photos that I'd like to share. Also, I may start posting multiple photos together instead just one a day. Who knows? Anyways, I'm glad you have joined me in photography journey and hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!

The photo above is of a lighthouse in Point Arena. I won't stop daily updates yet since I still have a few more Mendocino photos to post.

Also, I should be getting a new camera soon =D

Mendocino Forests

Walking barefoot through the mud of a damp redwood forest as the sun comes up.

So, I Took a Trip

Solo mini roadtrip up highway 1 to the Mendocino are. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I ended up stopping at so many state parks and beaches along the way that I lost count. Here is one of the photos I took of the classic rock arch at the Mendocino Headlands Park. If you ever have the opportunity, you should definitely go.

You Can Hike Near Davis???

I know, I was surprised too, but yesterday (Sunday) I went with a group of fellow wildlifers to go hiking in Stebbins Canyon Reserve, which as it turns out is probably about 25 minutes away by car. So, since I rarely drive anywhere, that means its only an hour or so away by bike! I fully intend to head back there at some point while the weather is still this gorgeous.

Anyways, it was a beautiful day and I got to see a bunch of new herps and birds. Got to see a Lewis's Woodpecker for the first time which I was super stoked on! The coloring was magnificent.

So, over the next couple of days, don't be surprised to see some wildlife popping up on here. At the moment, here is a shot from the top of the ridge, looking out towards lake Berryessa.

The Twelfth Night

Saw the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble's production of The Twelfth Night Yesterday by complete chance. Went for a stroll with a friend, which turned into a wandering event, which turned into us following the sound of amplified music, which turning into us getting tickets to sit in the cold and watch some Shakespearean comeday. TOTALLY worth it. It was hilarious. I actually kind of want to read it now, just so I can use some of his lines in every day situations.

Oh, the picture is unrelated, by the way.

"Do Not Pick Our Lemons!"

This tree was found right next to the sidewalk on the street in San Rafael. Talk about your forbidden fruit. The sign is almost comical, like it were out of some childhood cartoon. It was a bit upsetting because there were a lot of lemons laying on the ground, looking like they were going to waste.

Finals Are Over

And in two days, I'll be spending most of my time here.

A Bit of History

Relics gathered from traveling the world hang above my head while I sleep in my room in my San Rafael house. It's kind of comforting. I hope, one day, I can say that I traveled as much as my uncle had.

Written while listening to this.

Norcal State of Mind

Got to go home for about 24 hours yesterday, which was pretty nice. Bummer my parents weren't there but I did get to hang with my sister and dog. Went for a nice long hike saturday morning with the dog through some old fire roads near china camp. Can't wait for thanksgiving break...or winter break, really.

Backpacking

So I was scouring through a garage sale that was near my house and something bright orange, blue and green caught my eye. Lo and behold it was an awesome backpacking backpack. In an Australian accent, the women behind the counter shouted out "Free to a good home." I talked to her a bit and it turns out that she had taken it all over europe with here. Im super stoked to have picked this up. Made in New Zealand too! Hopefully i'll be taken it to some far off places this summer. I want to do a long day hike with it in the next few weekends...maybe the 20 miles out to Lake Berryessa? We shall see.