May 2024 Photo of the Month: CBA56

My May 2024 Photo of the Month is CBA56, an image taken at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains.

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Thanks to the hospitality of my friend Jeremy, I was able to work outside of Santa Cruz for a week.  And I certainly came to love the Santa Cruz Mountains (except for the lowered Hondas tailgating and running me off the mountain roads).

The first few days of the trip were very nice, with good marine layer, fog, and a small storm that came in.  The latter part of the trip didn’t have preferred weather, as a heat wave came in.

As usual, I am behind on processing images.  I had a couple other candidates, including a great fog-shrouded sunset, and my first experience seeing the Northern Lights.  But for this month, I went with a much simpler image while we were hiking out to a point on the Russian Ridge.

This photograph is quintessential Santa Cruz Mountains.  Foothills to pine forest, fog rolling in, and a peaceful environment when you are off the windy roads.

While it may be tough to get a SUNSET image that dominates Instagram, I don’t post images to social media anymore.  So this simple, sublime, unassuming, photograph is more my style.

Both the Sempervirens Fund (that has helped protect State Parks and forestland) and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (that owns 26 open space preserves) have done incredible work protecting this land and preserving it for others.  Both organizations deserve immense gratitude and respect for the work they have done.

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.

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T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.