Alcatraz Island
Saturday I went to Alcatraz Island (and later Angel Island) with Shannon and hundreds of other tourists on board the ferry from Pier 33 in San Francisco. It was an early morning but an unusually clear and moderately warm day in the Bay Area. I’ve always enjoyed visiting and photographing National Parks and this trip was no exception — the NPS does an exceptional job of presenting the story of the origins of the island as a Civil War military installation, military prison, federal prison, Indian occupied island, and park. 82 year old former Alcatraz guard Frank Heaney was on the dock and gave a brief talk on his experiences working on the island. For me, it was pretty cool to be able to experience and listen to a bit of living history. The self guided walking tour up to the prison was very interesting – as was the audio tour that described the various areas and history of the facility. A great introduction to San Francisco – I learned a lot!
Gallery of Photos from Alcatraz
USA: California: Alcatraz Island – Images by Jason O. Watson
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Shannon took me to Monterey over the weekend and we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Really cool place – seemed larger than Baltimore – the big difference between the two, IMHO was that Baltimore seems more focused on the diversity of their exhibits where Monterey’s mission is clearly education based. Both are amazing places that are among my favorites places to go… Cannery Row, etc was also fun… was surprised at the quasi-manufactured tourist look/feel of the surrounding shops, etc. Regardless, it’s very nice to be shooting again after a hiatus from moving to California. Used a polarizer on a 16-35mm f/2.8L to cut through the serious glare on the glass… noise ninja helped some with the high iso needed in the dark rooms. Also learned that nearby Castroville is the artichoke center of the world… the entire town smells like artichokes and even the garbage cans have artichoke logos on them. Random trivia.
More images from Monterey Bay Aquarium
USA: California: Monterey Bay Aquarium – Images by Jason O. Watson
Sherlock arrives on the West Coast
After two trips (one by air, one by land) across the country, Sherlock and I finally made it out to California. I took him to Poplar Beach / Bluff Top Coastal Park, near Half Moon Bay, yesterday for a couple of hours. Sherlock met his first California Sea Lion — I guess it was a little different than the white tailed deer he’s used to chasing through the woods behind Redfields in Charlottesville, but the over effect was the same — Mr. Sea Lion was pissed, made a lot of noise and went back into the ocean. The fishermen in the background thought it was good entertainment. This was Sherlock’s first trip to the ocean since a trip to OBX several years ago, and his first sight of the Pacific. More photos previous trips are in the slideshow below…
In other news, I’m settling into the new job and am very much enjoying the change of scenery. Missing Charlottesville, but it helps that I’m in an amazing place working with and surrounded by top-notch folks. It may take a little while to re-establish regular photoblog updates, but I plan on doing so as soon as possible.
Sherlock and the Beach – Images by Jason O. Watson
Snow Day… photos from around Charlottesville
It took until March, but we finally got a significant snow here in Virginia. I spent my morning and parts of my afternoon driving around Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County taking photos. It’s pretty rare that we get a good snow around here (maybe a couple times year) so there were a bunch of places that I had on my list to cover. First I headed on Grounds to UVA where I did a quick shoot of the Lawn/Rotunda areas. The clouds had cleared and left nothing but sunlight and blue skies — pretty cool.
I then headed towards Monticello and stopped at the mill next to Michie Tavern — not much there as everything was closed off. I then went up to Ashlawn-Highland, home of President Monroe, where I took the photo above at the entrance. Took a quick trip up to Afton to see if Skyline and/or Blue Ridge Parkway were open… nope.
Most of the major roads were cleared by this morning, but secondary and some spots of the big roads were covered in snow/ice. Glad I had my Jeep Grand Cherokee instead of a two wheel drive rental car this time. 
Shenandoah NP: White Oak Canyon
Today I decided to get a jump on the approaching winter storm and go for a hike with Sherlock, my Irish Setter, to Shenandoah NP. Problem is that because of snow/ice last night Skyline Drive was closed. This left a few choices — the best of which was White Oak Canyon, just south of Old Rag Mountain (my favorite hike). I was hoping that the moderate dusting of snow that I had in my front yard was an indicator that there would be a little bit more up in the park… not so much – only traces here and there.
Unlike the last “hike” I took, I decided to bring plenty of food and water, and was quite warm with appropriate gear. Sherlock wore his backpack and carried his own water. I just brought my 1Ds w/ 24-70mm lens and took mostly shots of Sherlock. The weather was less than ideal for getting any spectacular shots, so I considered this as mainly a scouting hike to wear the puppy out and determine whether or not it is worth a return trip later in the spring/summer/fall. It absolutely is.
About a mile and a half from the trailhead are the lower White Oak Falls — pretty neat. I was surprised at how tall they were and how much water was flowing. A truly beautiful place. The hike is pretty much an out and back — up hill the entire way and down hill back… there are several amazing falls on the way up each providing really sweet views. Near the top of the falls it started getting colder and the sky got a couple of stops darker, so I figured the snow storm was getting close and turned it around. 15 minutes later it started snowing — my dog enjoyed it and the downhill hike made for a speedy return to the parking lot. I look forward to heading back soon!
Getting some lucky light… Death Valley National Park
I left Lake Tahoe earlier than originally planned because of a series of snow storms that were headed that way. Given my propensity to find disaster with snow, I decided to head south via US 395 and make it down to Death Valley National Park, one of three NPs in CA that I had yet to visit (Joshua Tree and Channel Is. being the other two).
I really hauled it in the morning to get past the mountains in and around Mammouth Lakes, and relaxed a little bit once I hit Bishop, CA. I made a planned stop at Manzanar National Historical Site just south of Independence and got some pretty nice images (forthcoming at a later date). Then down to Lone Pine for a Black Rock Burger (chili + bbq and some other good things), and I stopped in the interagency visitor center to see if I could purchase my 2009 interagency public lands pass (national parks, etc.) — they didn’t have any, but the lady suggested I might want to visit the nearby Alabama Hills before heading to DVNP. I’m glad I did — pretty neat landscapes, including a couple of famous arches (photos also forthcoming).
Then I headed down towards the national park and was treated with some really nice light. The image above is from Father Crowley Point, just inside the park near Panamint Springs. Storms were rolling between the mountains and provided rainbows and some pretty dramatic late afternoon light. More from DVNP in the coming days…
The Long and Lonesome Road
January 31, 2009 was one of the more challenging days of my life. It started out perfectly with a pre-dawn drive up to Pyramid Lake in Nevada. I caught the first glimpses of sunlight coming across the southeast side of the lake which made for some nice images. Then, I decided to drive north up NV route 447 to find and photograph the Black Rock Desert, site of the annual Burning Man festival as well as the place where folks do things like break land speed records.
The desert and much of the surrounding mountainous wilderness is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is accessed by heading on Rt 34 north of Gerlach, NV. There are several access points to the desert playa off of Rt. 34 (which is flat cracked dirt that’s fun to drive on). Before hitting Gerlach, there is a small town called Empire, NV — there’s a store and a closed up gas station there. The sign on the station reads “Welcome to Nowhere“. This was an omen. After visiting and photographing the playa, I decided to head north on Rt 34 to county road 200 (Soldier Meadows Road) and head up to Soldier Meadows Ranch and Lodge where the BLM map indicated was a restaurant/place to eat.
Thus began a trek of 50 miles on a dirt road to the ranch. I passed some of the most amazing landscapes I’ve ever scene. A truly beautiful drive. So, I arrived at the ranch at about 10 minutes past noon, only to find nobody around except a couple of cute dogs. I was getting pretty hungry and the diet coke from breakfast (6 hours previous) was about empty. After examining the BLM map, I decided my best bet was to head north on Soldier Meadows Road and pick up Summit Lake Road over to NV Route 140 past Summit Lake. From there, I could head down Rt 140 to I-80 where there would definitely be food.
About 10 miles past the ranch the road started getting a little hairy. This was now a muddy dirt road that was starting to show signs of snow, especially as I increased elevation (not indicated on my map). I was driving a two wheel drive (front wheel) rental car and was starting to get worried. As I was driving, I decided to keep momentum until there was a place where I could turn around and then follow my tracks back. Five white-knuckled miles later, the snow started to get deeper and I ended up getting stuck in a rut that a previous vehicle had left in the snow. Not one of my more brilliant moments.
It was 1PM and I was now screwed. I was on the Summit Lake Indian Reservation and there was nothing around me except sagebrush, snow, and mountains for as far as I could see. I tried to push the car out of the snow, no luck. Then I tried to put the floor mats under the stuck tires. No luck. I then tried to dig out the part of the car that was stuck on the snow… nope. I used the car’s jack to lift it up and put more dirt/snow under the tires and then the floor mats and further clear snow… same outcome. In the meantime, when I needed a rest break from digging, I would honk the horn of the car for a while in hopes that somebody could hear me and maybe even help me out. Thankfully, during the day the temperature was in the 40s and despite having to work in the snow, I was staying warm. About 2 hours had passed and I needed to make a decision. My options were keep working on the car and hope I could clear it out by sundown or to start hiking back to the lodge I passed earlier. If I stayed with the car and was unable to free it, I would be spending the night in the wilderness with no food, no water, and the only shelter being my car. Option B required hiking 15 miles through less than easy terrain (even on the road).
I decided that I would hike to the lodge and hope that someone there could help me. Before leaving my car, I moved my valuables into the trunk, including all of my camera gear (except for the Canon G9 which took this blog photo) and wrote a note that I placed on the dashboard. The note gave my name, the phone number of the people I was staying with in Lake Tahoe, and the direction I was headed. Before I left that morning, the very kind folks that I was staying with in Lake Tahoe loaned me a pair of snow shoes and poles in case I needed them while out exploring. Boy did I need them. I also brought along my winter coat, sock hat, gloves, map, iPhone (which didn’t work because the nearest cell tower was 140 miles away but did have a very useful feature: built in GPS), G9, Canon 580ex flash with extra AA batteries (to signal at night if need be).
Thus began one of the toughest journeys of my life.
For the first couple of miles, I kept wondering to myself “Am I doing the right thing?,” “Did I make the right decision?” I’ve seen several survival stories on tv where people were in similar situations and left their car and ended up in a world of hurt. I’ve also seen several tv shows (aka Surviorman and Man vs. Wild) where the key to survival is finding a road (check) and heading towards civilization. I knew exactly where I was in the world and exactly how far I had to go. I’ve run 40 miles before (2003) and many many runs in the 10-15 mile range when I was in HS and college. The gamble of finding help/shelter at the ranch was easily offset by the very real prospect of spending the night in 10 degree weather in the middle of nowhere.
About 4:30PM clouds started rolling in and blocking the sun. The temperature also started to drop a bit and my winter coat and sock hat were welcome companions. Just before dark, I cleared the snowy portion of my hike and was now on dirt, mud, and rocks with the snow shoes hanging on ski poles, off my back, hobo style. I started getting pretty thirsty, and knowing that I was probably dehydrated before I left, I seriously considered eating some snow. I decided against it and put my mind towards the next landmark that I remembered ahead of me (a random wrecked old car in the middle of the sagebrush).
Every 30 minutes or so, I’d fire up my iPhone and check my progress via the GPS app that I installed. I had the rough coordinates of the ranch stored because of the historical marker that was out front (a major project of mine is to photograph and document GPS coordinates of historical markers across the country). When I got to approximately 11 miles traveled on my hike (about 4 miles to go), I came across the BLM boundary sign (photo taken in the day on my way out) and shortly thereafter saw a light shining in the distance. I knew this was the ranch and that really lifted my spirits.
The clouds in the photo above eventually created a very nice pink, purple, and blue sunset. The temperature was dropping noticeably and I buttoned up my coat, put on my hood and started a mini-jog to stay warm. Thankfully, shortly after sunset, the clouds cleared and there was a crescent moon that provided a decent amount of light — enough so that I could see a couple of feet in front of me. I have never seen the stars with such clarity as I did that night. I fully appreciated just how much light pollution is effecting the night sky — even in “remote” areas back home in Virginia, one could not see the stars as well as I did out in the Nevada wilderness.
As I neared the lodge, previously dull pain in my feet began to really get my attention. I stopped, took off my boots, found my blood soaked socks, put the boots back on and really tightened the laces and kept moving forward, albeit at a much slower and hobbled pace. Finally, I approached the outer fence of the Soldier Meadows Lodge and knew it wouldn’t be long. Lights were on in the various buildings which was a good sign. About 1/2 a mile down the road, I came across the historical marker I photographed earlier in the day, and then had about another mile to walk to the entrance and down the long driveway to the buildings. As I approached, I saw several people on a porch smoking cigarettes and laughing.
This is where I met the ranch crew — they were surprised to see me and immediately took me inside. The folks that live and work on the ranch are some of the nicest people I have ever come across. Without any questions, they took me in, got me warm, gave me water, and later a wonderful dinner (steak, potatoes, salad, pasta), gave me a change of clothes while they washed my filthy and wet clothes that I came in with, a warm shower, and gave me a very comfortable and warm place to spend the night. I was happy to pay their lodging rate for the evening — their prices were very reasonable (at that point I would’ve given an arm and a leg for the treatment they gave me). I woke up to clean clothes, a wonderful breakfast and a ride back to my car from one of the ranch workers, a 24 year-old Minnesotan named Thon.
It took a good while to get back to my car, and as we drove in the 4-wheel drive pick up, I kept thinking to myself, “what a stupid idea it was to keep driving on this road.” We finally reached my car, and hooked the body up to the back of his truck and he easily pulled me out. I turned around and headed back down the road — thankfully without further event. Interestingly enough, looking at the Soldier Meadows website, the lodge was due to be closed for all of February 2009. Good thing I got there before midnight on the 31st of January! (The folks were so nice, that I’m sure they’d still help me out even if the lodge was closed).
The lessons learned through this ordeal are pretty obvious. I really screwed up in the preparation part of things — which I normally don’t do, and hopefully won’t ever do again. That said, I’m thankful that I was able to come up with a plan to get out and that I was able to fully execute it. My legs and feet will remind me for the next several days of each of the 15 miles I hiked, but I’d like to think that I’m hopefully a little wiser for the experience. I certainly intend to head back out to Soldier Meadows later in my life — this time with a plan, supplies, 4-wheel drive, and better weather.
End of the trip – Sydney Harbor
Today is the last full day of my 17 day trip to New Zealand and Australia. Minus a few hurdles and difficulties (ear, etc.), it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve seen a ton of amazing things. This shot is from the Sydney Opera House — I waited a while for the light to be the way I wanted it. Pretty much the end to a perfect day — great weather, nice skies, a wonderful city. Time to start thinking about a few last minute shots and packing for the flight home tomorrow.
Australian Pelican
Here is the Aussie version of the pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus). There were a bunch of these guys sitting on the banks of the Torrens River in Adelaide. They weren’t very shy, but were weary of me getting close. It took several minutes to get close enough and then I was losing a lot of my ambient light because of sunset and clouds… so I used a little bit of flash to fill in. I wanted to get something a little different than a standard bird shot… I purposely tried to keep the background dark, mainly because just seconds before along the river banks was a danger sign warning people not to swim in the “polluted water”. It seemed to me to be an interesting contrast that these beautiful birds (and dozens of other ducks, swans, etc.) seemed okay with the water. Then I realized that the part of the pollution might not be man made… the green grass covered banks were covered in tons and tons of bird poop. A humorous, yet surreal part of my day yesterday.
After walking the city most of the day, by the end of the day I knew exactly where I wanted to be. Great light for the most part. Adelaide surprised me a little bit — I came in with mixed expectations and was blown away. It’s a really neat city with a lot going for it.
