Bay Area and North California
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A waterfall in a Japanese garden. Japanese gardens feature a variety of water bodies. Water is an important part of many Old World cultures, particularly in the religion and ceremonies. The soft light and greens in landscape made the water diffuse and created a tranquil scene.
Black oystercatcher foraging in rain
A black oystercatcher looks for food on a rocky seashore in rain. It had rained all morning and a break in the weather provided the oystercatcher the opportunity to forage, but not for long.
A clump of giant redwood trees glow in afternoon light. I particularly liked the interplay of the light and darkness in the forest.
Frozen dew drops thaw out in early morning in N California. The locations here often see fog in the evenings and night, and the temperatures do not get up above freezing till later in the day.
Moss growth on a tree trunk provides an interesting subject in Redwood National Park in N California. The park sees very high humidity which condenses in colder temperatures in the winter aiding in the growth of the moss.
A pair of juvenile elephant seals engaging in mock fight at Point Reyes National Seashore. After a few days of rain, the weather turned sunny in that area, and the warmth made the seals more active.
Closeup of a male elephant seal showing the origin of its species name
An elephant seal pup snarls as it rests at Point Reyes National Seashore. I was visiting the area with family and came across a small group of the seals by the trail. It gave me some opportunities to photograph them at close range. The pup's relaxed demeanor suggested this was indulging in posturing and playful mock aggression.
A western sandpiper feeds on seaweed on a Bay Area seashore. I wanted to capture the sandpiper against a background of the incoming tide.
A well in a Japanese garden in the Bay Area.
One of the essential elements in Japanese gardens, the bridge over koi pond is an often captured landscape. Here I was lucky to be in the garden during late fall which added contrasting colors to the scene.
A marbled godwit feeding in receding tide in its wintering grounds in the Bay Area.
A fallen giant redwood dominates the forest landscape.
A pair of elephant seal juveniles engage in play and mock fight. The young seals spend most of their time in play, stopping mostly for feeding and rest.
Foraging Sanderling in Winter Plumage
A sanderling forages on a winter morning in the Bay Area coast. These highly active sand pipers are hard to capture as they keep running back and forth with the waves.
A western sandpiper waits for a wave to recede on a winter morning. The tide was coming in the morning as I was photographing these sandpipers, giving me opportunities to shoot them against an active sea.
Bamboo trunks in a Japanese garden provide an interesting abstract. Bamboos are the fastest growing plants in the world and are found throughout South and East Asia. I took this image late one fall afternoon as the sun was setting. The soft light highlights texture of the trunks amidst the green of the trees.
A black oystercatcher forages on a exposed rocky shore. Seaweed deposited by the receding high-tide provides a n interesting color palette.
Roosting willets, godwits and dowitchers along a Bay Area shoreline. The birds are new migrants to their wintering grounds. The recent journey and cool morning temperatures mean the birds tend to rest longer to conserve energy.
A row of frozen dew drops on grass leaves provides an interesting pattern. I made this image in N California in winter, where a combination of humidity and cold temperatures make such phenomena possible.
