On August 1st, Welcome Books released Lighthouses of America. I am pleased to announce that 2 of my images, St Augustine Lighthouse, FL and Point Arena Lighthouse, CA were included in this great book. Please check it out.
Author: Earthwatcher
I am a very analytical person. My creativity flows from my need to understand and explain. I made a career of distilling processes to their essence and reconstructing them to be more efficient and productive. My approach to photography is an extension of my life’s work. I distill a scene to identify its processes and actors. I try to understand how the processes, generally the forces of nature and the forces of humans, have and are interacting with the actors to create the scene. I focus on one or more of the actors and compose a scene that shares a moment with them in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Actors may be humans or wildlife. They also may be the sun, the moon, a tree, a river, mountain or other object. Each image shares a unique moment showing how its actors and processes have, are, and sometimes even will impact each other. But I also want to entice the audience to linger and to find their own story. I want them to imagine themselves experiencing the sights, the sounds and the feeling as if they were there.
A Special Time in Bodie
Bodie, CA is a ghost town in east central California. It is a state park whose buildings are kept in a state of “arrested decay”; i.e. as they were when the last residents left. I’ve photographed at Bodie many times because there are so many interesting things to shoot. About 2 weeks ago, The Bodie Foundation, a non-profit that supports the park, hosted a sunrise shoot for photographers. We were able to get into the park at 5:00AM instead of the normal 9:00AM and, instead of the normal crowds, there were only about 10 of us. It was a marvelous morning; quiet, comfortable temps, and a chance to watch the sunrise play across the town. I wish I could have cloned myself because there were so many places I would have liked to have photographed simultaneously. I hope you enjoy these images.
Regards,
Larry
Note: Please click on caption to see image in larger size.
These and other image are available for purchase on my website, www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.
A Visit to Yosemite
A few weeks ago, we spent an evening and early morning at Yosemite. Water was running everywhere. The Merced River was a raging snake of whitewater. The granite cliffs of Yosemite are amazing anytime but, when they are covered with ribbons of water falling 3,000 feet, it is really amazing.
I hope you enjoy these images.
Regards,
Larry
Note: Click on caption to see image at larger size.
Birds and Flying Bugs
I want to share a few images from some recent walks around the American River Parkway near Folsom, CA. I’ve also included one from Oak Alley Plantation near New Orleans. Nature provides some beautiful creatures for us to appreciate. I hope you enjoy these few.
Regards,
Larry
Note: Click on caption to see image at larger size.
Note: These and other images are available for purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us
Arches National Park
We took a day on our road trip and spent it at Arches National Park. During an evening and a morning, you can see many of the main attractions but there is a lot to see that require short to moderate hikes. I hope to go back and spend a few days hiking.
The park is located over a geologically unstable salt bed. The movement of the salt bed and the earth’s tectonic forces caused large blocks of sandstone to uplift. Over millions of years, the sandstone eroded forming the arches and rock monoliths we see today. The park service claims more than 2,000 arches; some just a 3 foot opening through a mountain to the largest: 306 feet base to base. There are massive stone walls whose size, shapes and eroded faces bring pagan temples to mind. There were lots of wildflowers and some wildlife.
I left thinking that I’d like to spend time watching the sun, moon and stars rise and set over these geologic wonders. To me, it is a spiritual place. Our mistake was not giving ourselves the time to take in the spirit.
Please click on caption to see image at a larger size.
Regards,
Larry
These and other images are available for purchase by visiting www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.
Gettysburg and Antietam
We were treated to a tour of both the Gettysburg National Military Park and the Antietam National Battlefield while in Pennsylvania last April. These are not parks to celebrate and have fun, for how can we celebrate when our principles could only be imposed by slaughtering one another. Instead, they are parks for reflection and to gain insight into the lessons of history. There are plenty of memorials to those who fought; both the dead and the survivors. I chose not to photograph them. They can be seen online. Instead, I chose to show how nature and humanity has restored the beauty of the countryside – a lesson that time and effort can help us heal. I hope you enjoy these images.
Please click on caption to see images at larger size.
Regards,
Larry
These and other images are available for purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting me at larry@earthwatcher.us
Some Birds From A Recent Trip
On a recent road trip, we got to see a number of interesting birds that we don’t get to see here in California. We also got to see some of the usual suspects.
Here are some interesting tidbits:
- The typical vulture we see in the US is the Turkey Vulture. While the black vulture has a gray head, the turkey vulture has a red head. The black vulture is found in southeastern US.
- The blue jay is found in the eastern half of the US. In the west, we have the scrub jay. The stellar jay and the gray jay are found in areas of the west with cooler temperatures.
Here are images of some of those birds. I hope you enjoy them.
Regards,
Larry
Note: To see the images at a larger size, please click on bird name.
These and other images are available for purchase by visiting www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us
Petrified Forest
On a recent road trip, we stopped by the Petrified Forest National Park. It was another of the amazing wonders that are our National Parks. Sitting among the beautiful desert landscape are remnants of trees that thrived 200 to 225 million years ago. What we see today is not the tree itself, it is a fossil. The living cells have long since decayed and been replaced by silica, calcite, pyrite, or another inorganic material such as opal. What is fascinating is that the remains look like sections from a tree; including the bark. The result is a stunning fossil rich in color. The park is near Holbrook, AZ, not far off I-40. A casual tourist can get a good view of the park in a few hours. I am looking forward to returning for a few days to enjoy the trails and do some more photography.
I hope you enjoy these images. Please click on caption to see image in larger size.
These and other images are available for purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us
Agapantha
It’s a gray day here in Sacramento but spring is just around the corner. With spring comes flowers. I can’t wait for the poppies and the lupin to bloom. But, that is for a future time. Today, I’ll share a summer flower; the agapantha. I hope it brightens you day.
Please click on caption to see a larger, higher resolution copy of this image.
This and other images are available for purchase at www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.
Sad Elephant
I took this image of an elephant at Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. This beautiful but sad face tugged at my heart strings a bit.
Note: These and other images are available for purchase on my website: http://www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us
Earthwatcher 