Category Archives: Travel

Abstract Earth Erosion

Driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway, I was quite taken by the patterns in the earth resulting from erosion by the rain. The soil is obviously soft and so has worn in patterns that are quite striking. I think we were driving south when the light was best for the patterns. The shadows were very pronounced. On the way back I stopped to take some shots. They were interesting but the light had moved to be more head on so the contrast was not as pronounced. However, I still think the shapes made some interesting abstract patterns.

Bixby Creek Bridge

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Head south from Carmel along the Pacific Coast Highway and you will eventually come across Bixby Creek Bridge. This iconic bridge is a popular tourist attraction and also the feature of plenty of car commercials and movies. If you have watched Big Little Lies, you will have asked yourself why these people were driving over this bridge so often when it is a long way from where they live and doesn’t take them anywhere that they would normally be going.

We stopped off to check it out while we were driving south. There are some good places to stop just north of the bridge and lots of people are there taking their pictures. Unfortunately, the angle of the light is not good. This didn’t stop me taking some pictures anyway. However, on the way back north, I stopped short of the bridge to take advantage of the better light angle and I am glad I did. I guess most people aren’t bothered by the light. However, they could really benefit their tourist snaps from going to the other side. It would be fun to try this out late in the evening.

Seven Gables Inn

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Monterey Bay is an area that we have visited many times but we have always made it a day trip. With the area shortly to be a lot less accessible to us, we decided to have a weekend down there so we could relax and enjoy the area without having to think about getting in the car for a drive back. Nancy looked at various places to stay and she picked the Seven Gables Inn. Located in Pacific Grove, it sits right on the shore road. We have driven and walked by many times but this time we stayed.

The hotel has a great location. They have a lounge area with views over the bay that you can relax in with wine and cheese in the evenings. Meanwhile, the breakfast room has a panoramic view out over the water. Sitting eating your breakfast while looking out at the bay is very tranquil. The original building is a Victorian structure while additions have been made to expand things over the years. It proved to be a great base for our weekend away.

Looking Down on DC

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I had to make a quick trip across the country to D.C. recently. It was only a brief visit so I didn’t travel with any camera other than my phone. I originally thought the flight back was very early in the morning but it turned out I was mistaken and we took off once the sun had come up. We departed to the north from National which takes you towards all of the most famous views of the National Mall.

The flight path involves a turn away from the good view so you are fighting the appearance of the engine and the wing when trying to get a shot (and that doesn’t take account of the battle you have with the high quality windows of your average airliner. It is the best view you get of the area though so well worth a go. Shooting in RAW also helps to fix some of the issues you can get with a phone when the shooting opportunity is fleeting.

The Sierras Finally Have a Lot of Snow

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Since moving to California, we have been in a drought. There has not been a huge amount of rain and, more importantly, the snowfalls over the Sierras have been very limited. Sometimes I have flown over the mountains and they have been pretty bare. Since the snow pack is a primary source of water for the reservoirs, this is a big deal. This winter has been different. We have received a lot of rain along the coastal areas and the mountains have been getting a decent amount of snow. I flew across a while back and, as we looked down on the mountains, they were totally covered. Normally the snow is clear but the other features show up well too like the forests. This time, everything looked white. It was one uniform texture across everything. I imagine that, not only had a lot of snow fallen but it had fallen recently and hadn’t yet shaken off the trees. It looked amazing out of the window of the plane!

The Highest Waterfalls and the Valleys of the Wet Side

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The Big Island has dramatically different characteristics as you move across it. As we took our trip on the helicopter to see the volcanic activity, we continued up the east side of the island which is considerably wetter than the west. There are dramatic valleys and high cliffs. The terrain looks impressive from the air but I imagine it looks even more amazing when you are on the ground. Our pilot described hiking around some of these valleys. Crossing one ridge is apparently a six hour hike and that is if you are not loaded down with too much gear!

We flew in to some of the valleys to have a look around. The ground towered above us on most sides and you really felt in awe of the geology around you. Everything is so large, images don’t even start to represent what we saw. We also came in to the highest falls on the island. The largest of these drop over 3,000’ down the sides of the mountains. We flew in to a corner where these falls were raining down. The shots are not special but I include them to try and give an impression of what was there. The scale is impossible to judge and I also had plenty of reflections from the cockpit glazing but here they are anyway.

We buzzed around a number of these valleys always surrounded by lush, steep slopes. This is not an area for the faint of heart. We then headed back towards the west up another valley climbing towards the ridge ahead of us. As we popped over this ridge the green foliage was almost instantly replaced by the dry, brown landscape we had originally come from. The transition was instant and rather surprising as, while climbing up, you had no idea what was ahead. Then it was a straight run back to our base.

Akaka Falls

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I am like many tourists in that I am a sucker for waterfalls. I suspect as I go through the many posts on this blog that I will find plenty of waterfall shots. Today I shall be adding one more. Akaka Falls on Big Island are a popular spot. Tour parties seemed to be a feature the day we were there. We saw so many people wearing badges defining which group they were in and you could see the group number change as you walked around and obviously came across a different part of their schedule. However, they were not what we were there to see.

You can take a short walk to the falls from the parking lot. What is nicer is to take the longer loop. You actually get a view of some other falls early on in the loop although they are across a valley and so a little less dramatic. The area is rain forest like in its conditions so you get to see plenty of cool plants and wildlife as you go, some of which has already made its way on to this blog. Near the end of the loop, you come down a slope and the Akaka Falls are in front of you.

They are some pretty high falls. The volume of water rushing over them was substantial and you could see smaller streams of water around the opening. Sadly, the viewing area was such that it was hard to get a good view of the bottom of the falls and the surrounding water so everything felt a little isolated when trying to frame it. I’m sure with more time and persistence, I might have found a better way to get some shots. The blog is most suited to landscape format shots but these falls were stretching the wide angle nature of the lens I was using so portrait was often the best option. They are snapshots of a tourist spot but they make me remember a really cool waterfall.

To See This You Can Hike a Long Way or…

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Big Island is not short of waterfalls. The most well-known ones attract tourists like us who will drive to see them. However, so much of the island is not close to the roads and there are rivers and falls all through this area. Our pilot was a keen hiker and he showed us his favorite falls. Apparently this trip will be a full day hike to get you in and out again. I assume this includes some time to hang out and enjoy the falls once you get there.

If you are slightly less energetic, flying over the falls in a helicopter is a lot quicker to do and certainly doesn’t tire you out as much. The location certainly looked cool though and, from above, you get less of an immersive feeling. Judging by the river we saw on our way to the falls, there are plenty of cool sights to see on the way as well. You do need to be well prepared though. Forget cell phone coverage. You are on your own out there!

Don’t Lose Control of Your Tug Please!

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This is a bit of an old event but I thought it was worth a post. A number of years ago we took a vacation to South Pender Island in British Columbia. We stayed in a hotel by a little harbor called Poet’s Cove and I spent a lot of time watching the comings and goings of the boats and the floatplanes. One afternoon, an old tug boat approached the harbor. It was a rugged looking old beast of a boat but it looked like it had been restored for use as a private boat. It came chugging in towards the harbor, apparently ready to moor up.

What happened next is not entirely clear to me. Whether the person in charge didn’t really know what they were doing or whether there was a technical failure of some sort I do not know. Whatever it was, the tug came in at a decent speed and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. It was heading for a rather nice little cruiser that was on the end of one of the jetties and, sure enough, they plowed right into it.

The whole thing seemed to be in slow motion because, since they are boats, things don’t happen very fast but they don’t stop fast either. The cruiser had a RIB mounted on the stern – at least it originally did – and this seemed to take a lot of the visible punishment. However, judging by the sounds that were made on impact, I am imagining that some of the cruiser on the opposite side from me sustained damage I never saw.

Eventually, the tug crew got things slightly under control and backed out of the harbor and dropped anchor a short way offshore. The people on the jetty seemed to be in shock (can’t say I blame them) and then a deputation motors out to the tug to “discuss” what had happened. I watched things for a while but, once everything seemed to be under control, I retreated to the hotel to tell Nancy all about it over a beer!

Observing the Observatories

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Driving back to our hotel from Hilo took us across the center of Big Island. This is a pretty high drive as you pass between the two big mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Mauna Kea is the home to a number of observatories. We did drive some way up the mountain to the visitor’s center. You are already at quite some altitude at this point and you could feel the lack of air when you moved too quickly. There was an option to drive all the way to the top but we had other things scheduled and didn’t make the trek up.

From the visitor center, you couldn’t actually see the observatories. However, as we drove towards the turn for the mountain, we did come to a pull off where you could see them up on the summit with the sun glinting off the domes of the larger installations. Another time I would certainly like to go all the way to the top. However, I think I shall be alone on that trip as Nancy was already feeling the effects of the altitude.