introduction

Lupine and Blue Oak Savanna Sunrise

After a busy workweek, and needing to get away for a one night camping trip close to home, my husband and I set the alarm in our camper to get up early for sunrise, and explore this lupine covered blue oak savanna in the Sierra foothills. We blissfully had this location to ourselves, an invigorating morning spent in nature smelling the lupine, listening to the birds, and witnessing a bald eagle hunting for breakfast, as the light changed over the landscape. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

California Poppy in Blue

Poppy therapy, one of the few times it’s best to shoot in mid-day light while the poppies are open and resemble little cups of sunshine. My favorite is to photograph them backlit by the sun with the widest aperture possible. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Manzanita Lake Clearing Storm

After my cold wintery visit to Manzanita Lake this past weekend, I thought I would revisit a shot I took in 2015, and edit a raw file to see how I would do it differently now. Another nearly identical photo I took at the same time, in nearly the same spot, and edited right after I took it, was much more saturated and also my most stolen photo from the internet (thanks to Pixsy for revealing this!). This remains one of the most photogenic scenes I've ever witnessed on Manzanita Lake. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Trees and Clouds, YNP

These snow covered pine trees appeared to be rising out of the clouds so I used the telephoto to capture a minimalist wintery image. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Bridalveil After an Autumn Storm

The morning after a robust and desperately needed rainstorm quenched California, Yosemite Valley transformed into a wonderland of low-lying, swirling mist with replenished waterfalls. The swirling fog at the base of Bridalveil Fall created an ethereal, and constantly changing composition I’ve long wanted to get, I had just never been here when the conditions were just right. The best Thanksgiving treat I could’ve gotten! www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Frosty Grass Bokeh in Blue

Although this weekend’s camping trip was not focused around photography, I couldn’t help but notice the frosty dew at my feet that sparkled in the sunlight as I was exploring around the lake at sunrise. I’m sure I looked like a complete idiot crawling around on my belly with the macro lens, but I found myself lost in a tiny world of photographic opportunity. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Neowise Comet Over South Tufa, Mono Lake

The Neowise comet over the tufa formations of Mono Lake was visible only for a brief few moments before disappearing in the brightening light of dawn. Up at 3am for this scene, we photographed late into the night on 4 hours sleep but all in all a great trip spent with photographer friends. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Yolo County Almond Blossom Bokeh 3

Processing these almond blossoms in a soft, soothing edit as this series is intended for placement in healthcare facilities. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail

A serene path through the ancient redwood forest beckons on a foggy morning. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Jökulsárlón Aurora and Distant Clouds

In October, it was a freezing night watching the northern lights dance across the sky over Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, a large lake in southeastern Iceland. Every day, the lagoon feeds a fresh crop of ice chunks, some as large as an SUV, others as small as a watermelon, into the adjacent black sand beach, ready for a photographer’s compositions the next morning. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Cathedral Peaks Winter Monochrome

Getting older means an increasing frequency of insomnia, and this morning, wide awake at 3am, I found myself looking through the Ansel Adams Gallery website on my phone admiring the drama and grandeur he conveyed in his images with atmospheric conditions and nearly black skies. I processed this one later the same day after work, completely forgetting my earlier maniacal insomnia episode, but I must’ve been subliminally inspired as I rarely ever process images in monochrome. I may keep working this one but I quite like it, especially as it’s a fond memory of the one wintery day I experienced in Yosemite Valley this year. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Coyote Hunting in the Snow

While we were photographing in Cook's Meadow in Yosemite National Park during a very wet and heavy snowfall, a coyote wandered into my scene; I had my 24-105mm wide angle zoom lens on with a rain cover to protect my camera. Although the coyote came very close to me in his hunt for food and did not appear to be bothered at all by my presence, I was hesitant to change to my telephoto lens in such heavy and wet snowfall, so I opted to zoom with the lens I had on instead and capture him in his element. He did not bother to face me at all, he was so intent on finding some breakfast. This photo won an award of merit at the California State Fair's Fine Art Competition for Color Photography. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Boiling Springs Lake Morning, Lassen Volcanic National Park

This morning’s sunrise over Boiling Springs Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park was nothing short of therapeutic after not photographing a proper wild angle landscape in over 2 months! This being our first trip to our second favorite national park this year, we decided to concentrate on this geologically active, yet not very photographed or visited southeast area of the park fed by volcanic steam vents for blissful solitude and beautiful early morning light illuminating the steam of this 125 degree lake surrounded by firs and pines. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Black Oak Burning Mist 1

Mist rising off the grasses of Cook’s Meadow in Yosemite National Park after an autumn storm provided much needed precipitation to California after the worst wildfire season in the state’s history. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Yolo County Almond Orchard and Green Hills 2

Located in the Sacramento Valley, and largely an agricultural region with the funniest name, the almond orchards of Yolo County explode with delicate pink blossoms that I do my best to get out and photograph every February. "Landscapey" shots of the orchards are tough to find because of the pancake flatness of the Central Valley, but every so often, you'll find a slight, undulating hill of orchards to make a composition a little more interesting. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

North Lake, Classic View

Due to wildfires and forest service closures, I had been prepared to forgo many of my favorite California autumn color locations this year until Inyo National Forest unexpectedly announced a partial reopening. I was excited to be at North Lake for sunrise, where I had long hoped to capture this line of aspen that grow above the shoreline in prime autumn color. Distant wildfire smoke blanketed the Sierra crest and gave the peaks a soft, pastel glow, as the full moon was setting. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Dew Drop Grass 1

With dense fog in the forecast, I set the alarm early to photograph some foggy landscapes, but as soon as I saw this patch of dew drop covered grass at my feet upon getting out of the car, my plans changed! This scene reminded me of a tiny wet forest of trees. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Hickman Bridge, Capitol Reef NP

One of my favorite stops along my pandemic camping road trip was Capitol Reef, one of the lesser visited national parks in Utah. I set out with my headlamp at dark for the 2-mile hike just so I could capture the morning light illuminating Hickman Natural Bridge at sunrise. I don’t think that an arbitrary calendar date is going to abscond the hot mess that was 2020, but for me, this image is an apt one for the new year, into the bright promise of 2021. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Shasta Cascade Morning Light

Clearing mist at the top of Mount Shasta, and warm, golden light kissing the foliage surrounding Trout Lake on a peaceful Easter morning. Black Butte can be seen in the distance, further evidence of past volcanic activity along the Cascade Range. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Milky Way Over Bonsai Rock

The first successful Milky Way capture of the season during the new moon. It never ceases to amaze me the light and colors the camera picks up that the human eye cannot see, such as the light on the horizon, which was probably a combination of South Lake Tahoe light pollution as well as the sun below the horizon. I used the Photopills app to determine when the Milky Way would be vertical and in a location that rises from the best angle of Bonsai Rock, off Lake Tahoe's eastern shore. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Cascade Creek

Waterfalls along Cascade Creek off of Highway 120 in Yosemite National Park

Trees in Mist, Ahwahnee Meadow YNP

Beautiful, subtle autumnal colors and low lying mist in Ahwahnee Meadow on an autumn morning. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Bonsai Rock Pink Sunset

Bonsai Rock, on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, during a winter sunset. This photo was chosen among over 1200 entries to be among 180 artworks to be juried at the California State Fair's fine art exhibition, and won an award of merit.

Classic Virgin River View

The view of the Watchman from the Virgin River bridge in Zion National Park is a classic one, and so overly photographed, it’s completely cliché. But no matter, it was the first evening of our epic autumn photography honeymoon roadtrip, and the puffy clouds in the distance, the sunset glow on the red rocks, and the slight hint of early autumn color in Zion canyon made it all worthwhile! www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Autumn Gingko Bokeh

The autumn color in the City of Trees is just gorgeous right now! I thought I would try some more intimate, close up scenes during a weekend walkabout in downtown Sacramento recently, isolating autumn color compositions. In Japanese decorative art, the ginkgo's distinctive fan-shaped leaf has carried symbolism along with its singular beauty: the ginkgo has been a symbol of longevity (the tree can live for a thousand years) and of a more profound endurance (four ginkgos survived the blast at Hiroshima and are still growing today). www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Vestrahorn Rippled Sand

Low tide ripples on the expansive beach surrounding Vestrahorn provided an interesting foreground element to these mighty peaks that appear to generate their own mini weather system. www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Water Lily Fanned Petals

William Land Park in East Sacramento has one pond that has been almost completely overtaken by water lilies. During an overcast day, I grabbed my telephoto for some compositions of the lotus flowers in diffuse light. It was a productive day long mini project to capture images specifically for heathcare environments. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com