Joshua Tree

The Photographer and the Hare

by Kurt July 6, 2011 in California, Joshua Tree, National Park System 0 comments

When wondering the desert in Joshua Tree National Park, one might catch a glimpse of a jackrabbit. I say a glimpse, because in my experience a jackrabbit will be zooming across the desert away from you as fast as 36mph. You will catch a glimpse of it’s ears bouncing amongst the desert shrubs fading off into the distance. This most recent visit to Joshua Tree led me to this fine specimen amongst the Cholla Garden.

This very unfriendly landscape would make a full sprint exit difficult for the little guy, and perhaps that factored in his decision to allow me to get close and photograph. I was goign to shoot star trail shots here, an idea I later abandoned. As I was wondering the garden around sunset I caught sight of this little hare and quietly switched to my 100-400mm zoom. Slowly but surely I approached, snapping pictures along the way. He (or she) was definitely aware of my presence, but seemed unconcerned. Here he stood at attention, evaluating my threat level.

Ever with one eye giving me a piercing gaze, he foraged for food.

Always a treat to see wildlife up close. Almost certainly the next time I see a desert hare it will be a pair of ears darting away from my approach.

Joshua Tree by firelight and moonlight

by Kurt October 17, 2010 in Desert, Joshua Tree, Night 4 comments

Last night I was in Joshua Tree National Park again. This time it was not a backpacking / photography expedition. However, as I am compelled to do, I brought my camera gear along. At one point I realized that I might be able to take some photos of our camp. I also realized that our huge camp fire was lighting up the surrounding rock walls. So, I set the camera on my tripod and let it go to work. I was blown away when I saw the results!

“Wow!” is what I thought when I viewed this on the tiny LCD monitor. Blown away, I did a second exposure with far less desirable results. Despite the identical exposure, the fire died down significantly and there just wasn’t enough light. So, I decided to try something else. I set the camera up again, knowing that the moon was soon to disappear behind the rocks. This time after I clicked the shutter I beefed up the fire with the help of a fellow camper and spent the next 12 minutes painting the rocks with the fire as I constantly added bits of bright burning cardboard and additional wood.

The result? The starburst effect of the moon shot with a small aperture (f/16) just as it dipped behind the rocks.

After this I gave up on this composition and tried a few others near the fire. These shots combine some moon light (as the moon was still visible from the other side of the campground) with the fire light.

Shortly after this last one I the last bit of moonlight faded from the foreground rocks. I elected to head for my sleeping bag, but discovered there was enough light (and I had just enough energy) to try one more purely moonlit shot from a few hundred feet away from camp.

And finally, here are the two best shots of camp that led to all other night shots from the trip.

Yours truly can be seen in the second one, semi blurred, somewhere in there.

A stormy morning at Joshua Tree

by Kurt October 7, 2010 in California, Desert, Joshua Tree 0 comments

The scene above is one of my favorites from my recent trip to Joshua Tree. The sun had just broken over the top of the thunderstorm line that had produced the lightning show a few hours earlier. The rain left a nice low level fog amongst the joshua tree forest ahead.

Here you can see the ground level fog. The backlight did not last long. As we got closer the sun dipped behind the clouds. We were on our way out at this point. The sun would emerge a short time later but the light had turned harsh. The previous morning was a different experience.

Taken at the Boy Scout Trail head where we began our journey, these three pictures show the storm that would shortly hammer us.

On this backpacking trip we encountered few wild animals. During one rest stop I looked over and spotted this tarantula walking across the southern slopes of Quail Mountain. I am not sure if it was looking for food or if it was a male looking for a mate (and its doom).

Our expedition was to summit Quail Mountain, which is the high point in the Little San Bernardino Mountains and also the high point in the park.

As a landscape photographer, I find a place like Joshua Tree can be very challenging to shoot. The cloudless skies we have in southern California can sometimes make things a bit dull. On this trip however the skies played nice. Clouds tend to make what might be an interesting photograph an exceptional one.

Lightning and Star Trails in Joshua Tree National Park

by Kurt October 4, 2010 in Desert, Joshua Tree, Night 3 comments

I have now visited Joshua Tree National Park twice. Contrary to what one might expect from the desert, both visits (February and October) have involved rain and lightning. I just yesterday returned from this second trip to Joshua Tree, and ahead of the other pictures I thought these deserved their own post. I have always wanted to shoot lightning pictures. I have never had the opportunity to do so from a safe distance. As luck would have it, yesterday morning afforded me the opportunity I had long waited for. I was on a backpacking trip to summit Quail Mountain, the highest peak in the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Starting around 4am, a huge light show played out to our east. I just had my 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens and a tiny Gorillapod Focus (with the ballhead X). A rock outcrop provided a high platform for this setup so I could get a good view of the action from camp. I kept the camera close enough that I could keep an eye on it from my tent, and run out and fetch it if it started to rain, which it did twice.

Thunderstorm and Star Trails at Joshua Tree

Wow! That’s what I thought when this exposure finished. I decided that I would pretty much spend the rest of the morning taking pictures instead of sleeping. Who needs sleep when you’ve got this going on?

As the storm moved north it got closer to us. The lightning became more and more visible. The storm was so electrically active that there was almost a strike or cloud to cloud bolt every second, with a faint distant roar of thunder. It was really quite a show.

Here the sun was beginning to rise on the distant horizon. The horizon was 99% blocked by the storm except for a brief time where I could see a little red on the left.

In this last one the lightning almost seems to wrap around a cylinder of rain. All in all I’m ecstatic about my first ever lightning pictures. What an amazing trip this was!

Finally, here is a star trail picture I took earlier in the evening when the skies were clear.

Which lightning picture is your favorite? Let me know in the comments please!

A few from Joshua Tree National Park

by Kurt February 25, 2010 in Desert, Joshua Tree, National Park System, Riverside County 0 comments

During my time in southern California, I have often wanted to go to Joshua Tree National Park. Often I have been deterred by the summer heat, but just somehow never managed to go out there. Finally, thanks to the WTC I was able to visit this park for the first time and brought back a few pics. With a huge storm hitting Los Angeles, I knew the weather would be interesting and it did allow for some dramatic skies. Here are a few from the trip.