Spring in the Merced River Canyon

A road trip. A quiet time. Four days by myself to get back to nature, to re-experience the rebirth of spring. I found myself in Mariposa, at the gateway to Yosemite. Exploring the Merced River Canyon on Highway 140 turned out to be....soul quenching, taking my breath away, living deeply in the moments...gratitude that I can have this experience here and now. The wildflower bloom is said to be the most abundant in more than 30 years. At the feet of burned out trees from last summer's fires, the poppies carpet the hillsides in a thick mantle of orange. Along the Hite Cove Trail, further up on Highway 140, poppies, lupines, bluedicks, and all manner of wildflowers white, yellow, purple, blue, and pink cascade down to the south fork of the Merced River. I have never seen such a profusion of spring color on such a massive scale.

I feel alive and renewed.

Violence and Peace in Our City

This has been a very disturbing week in Oakland, the city I have lived in for over 30 years and have come to love. Four police officers were gunned down and killed by a black man in East Oakland over what seemed like a routine traffic stop. This man himself was killed as well. The face of this man if familiar to me...he is the face of so many of the children who I taught and tried to steer to the right course during the whole of my career as a teacher and school principal. Some - many, actually, of these kids turned out great. Others have never found their way out of the abyss of poverty and hopelessness to which they were born. It makes me incredibly sad. Today, I felt compelled to drive to the crime scene and take photos. Afterwards, I joined some YMCA friends for a tour of the new Roman Catholic Cathedral by Lake Merritt. There was so much irony in this day. A black minister on the street praying for the murdered officers, and across town, a beacon of light - glass and steel - against the sky. Can we have peace in our time in this wonderful city by the bay?

Monet in the Mustards

Up at dawn this Friday morning, headed to Sonoma County for another try to capture the feeling of getting lost in the color and textures of the bloom that I get from the acres and acres of mustards which are in their full glory this year. I drove back to Highway 12 in the fog and waited for a bit of sun to break through. I squeezed off lots of shots, but still not satisfied, I decided to take Stoney Point Road heading back to the 101. Eureka! I found this bit of fence and old irrigation wheel and discovered that using the guassian blur filter in Photoshop gave me just the dreamy effect I wanted. This image captures my feelings perfectly. A moment with Monet on the eve of the first day of spring.



See it bigger and on black here http://barblee.zenfolio.com/p636431592/hebd2f96#hebd2f96

Northern California Almond Bloom

On March 8, I took a Sunday drive north on the 550 to Esparto on Highway 16. Intending to head into Guinda to see the blooming almond orchards, I got distracted by a wonderful old abandoned building at the intersection and took a wrong turn. I spent a lazy 3 hours alone driving these back roads, savoring the blossoms, the birds and the bees. Just me and the sun and all of these glorious harbingers of spring.

Spring Mustards Along the Russian River

The mustard is in full bloom again along the Russian River. On Sunday, March 15, we spent the day visiting several wineries as part of the annual Russian River Barrel Tasting event. Tracy and our friends gave me some space to stop and take photos...I will head back there later this week for much more. Our weeks of late winter rain have made this a particularly lush season for the mustards. It was a gray overcast day, which helped to get these lovely saturated colors.

This old barn is on Westside Road near the Hop Kiln Winery. I lightened the barn in Photoshop to give it better contrast with the gray skies.

A Showing of Photos from Greece

I am just back from a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks in Patagonia, will be blogging about that trip soon. My recent focus has been to get 20 of my photos from Greece, taken in October, 2007, printed, framed, and up on display for a December show at Nelly's Java, a coffeehouse near my home in Montclair. It has been a project several months in the making. I printed each photograph on an Epson 7800 ink jet printer that I have been able to use at the Berkeley City College print room. I am taking Photoshop courses there, which give me access to these amazing printers. They are printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper. I taught myself to cut mats, and have set up a little workshop in the garage. I like using my hands and appreciating this "crafty" part of being a photographer.

We are having an artist's reception on Saturday, December 6, from 1:00 - 3:00; you are welcome to drop by! The photos will be on display all of December, and of course, are for sale. I am showing photos from Athens, Santorini, and Rhodes. Shown here are Dawn Cafe, taken on the Plaka in Athens, Old Windmill from Santorini, and Harbor Boats from Rhodes.

Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii

Tracy and I are just back from a wonderful week on the Big Island. We celebrated our niece Crystal's beautiful wedding on the grounds of the Sheraton at the end of a week of fun family gatherings. We got there a bit early, so were able to have some adventures on our own, including a day trip to the top of Mauna Kea in a rented four wheel drive. The road to the top of this 13,700 foot peak is dangerous and steep. I was glad that the gravel portion was shrouded in thick fog; I did not have to look down the drop off! We emerged from the clouds at the end of the gravel road to see the last 2 1/2 mile paved 12% grade road winding to the top. Even though we had stopped at the 10,000 foot visitor center to acclimate, we both felt the effects of the altitude. Tracy stayed in the truck while I wobbled around outside getting photos.







We headed down just as the sun set beneath the cloud cover. It was glorious! At the visitor center, I had been able to visit the exclosure they have set up to protect the endangered Silversword plant from hoofed animals, and am pretty happy with the photographs I came back with. We're now ready to venture to the top of Haleakala on Maui to see the Silversword and cinder cones there.