My September 2011 Photo of the Month is Downtown From El Prado, an image made in the evening in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
My Favorite Photographs of 2010
In this post, I wanted to collect my favorite images from 2010. I have made 12 selections of my favorite photographs from the past year.
National Park # 1 – Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park was the first National Park I visited, although at the time it was then just a National Monument.  I remember hiking and bouldering as a young kid, and then camping there as a Boy Scout. Both sides of my family also took us there, although I don’t remember doing much beyond … Read more
January 2010 Photo of the Month: New Year’s Day 2010
My January 2010 Photo of the Month is New Year’s Day 2010, a photograph made during one of the greatest sunsets I have ever seen in San Diego.
Now Closed – The Beauty Of Canyonlands’ False Kiva
Update: Due to ongoing careless stewardship of the location by visitors, the National Park Service has now permanently closed this location. Do not attempt to visit it. We are losing our wild places because a few spoil it for the many.
Earlier in January, I visited the False Kiva ruin in Canyonlands National Park and it was an extraordinary experience.Â
New Years Day 2010, Sunset Cliffs
San Diego rang in 2010 with one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen.
I went to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park to enjoy the first sunset of the year. The clouds looked good, and as the sun was getting close to the horizon, I noticed a lot of glow on the clouds. The light was getting through. This was a definite hint to stay for the show.
Moments after sunset, the clouds really started to show some color. This usually takes some time, so I knew something spectacular was about to happen. The color was so red and so bright that it reflected on everything. People admiring the light had red faces. The windows on the homes along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard were bright red. It was astounding.
If you look closely at this image, you will see several surfer relaxing on their boards, enjoying the scene from the ocean. I wonder what they thought of the show, what that moment of nature and peace meant to them. Was it different from me standing on the cliffs above?
My favorite image of the night is the one presented here. It shows Ross Rock and spectacular color. As the light began to fade, there were spectacular dark clouds contrasting with all that color. To me, that is the strength of this image. Dark with light, blending together.
A friend of mine sent me a message later in the evening saying that I shoot Sunset Cliffs all the time, so if I missed the show tonight, I really messed up. I immediately sent him my first edit in Lightroom. No, I didn’t miss it.
Clouds this bright and this red require a lot of water vapor. This doesn’t always happen in our region because the Mediterranean climate is generally arid. That is one reason that we cherish these events when they happen. Thankfully, I was at Sunset Cliffs and waiting for the light.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
Further Viewing
July 2007 Photo of the Month: Half Dome and Merced Watershed, Monochrome
My July 2007 Photo Of The Month is Half Dome and Merced Watershed, Monochrome, an image made at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park.
January 2007 Photo of the Month
My January 2007 Photo of the Month is Red Dawn, an image made before sunrise at Joshua Tree National Park’s Cholla Garden.
November 2006 Photo of the Month
My November 2006 Photo of the Month is Organ Pipe Sunrise, an image I made in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Southern Arizona.
October 2006 Photo of the Month: The Long Track
My October 2006 Photo of the Month is The Long Track, a photograph made in Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa.