To see the Milky Way, the ideal time is summer during or around a new moon so that the moon light doesn’t drown it out. Head to a place far away from the pollution of city lights. To photograph the galactic core, I suggest making sure you don’t have a city positioned to the south of your location. Your long exposure will pick up the light from the city.

Taken with a Canon 5D Mk II with the Canon EF 16-35mm 2.8 lens. Settings: f 2.8, 20 second exposure, 6400 iso.

In the video below, you’ll notice a meteor burning up and leaving a cloud of smoke at around the 00:32 second mark.

[View with PicLens]

This is a photo of Yosemite Valley taken from Tunnel View in the early morning after a previous day of rain. This is why I love this magical place.

An absolutely gorgeous morning in Yosemite after a previous day of rain. View from Valley View of El Capitan with the Merced River in the foreground. More photos to come!

Horseshoe Bend, a place in the Colorado River where it winds 270 degrees. The cliffs surrounding it drop about 1000 feet straight down. Great view from the edge as long as you’re not afraid of heights

This photo was taken at sunset using an ultra wide angle lens. It’s hard to take this shot otherwise since it is so wide. If you’re in the Page area, this is easy to get to. About 5 minute drive from town and then a 3/4 mile hike to the bend.

Happy New Year everyone! First sunrise of the new year, taken from the top of Griffith Park.

We’re having a cold spell here in Los Angeles and I caught my cats, Moo and Miao, snuggling together in one of their cat beds by the front balcony. Very cute! Miao is the orange one in the front. He was found when he was only a few weeks old, alone and flea ridden, in Hawaii. Moo is the black and white cat in the back. He was adopted from the Glendale Humane Society shortly after Miao arrived in Los Angeles as an companion and younger brother for Miao. They are almost polar opposites in personality. They fight and argue from time to time but at the end of the day, they really love being together.

Yosemite in Autumn

Autumn in Yosemite is a beautiful sight. Trees turn all shades of yellows, oranges and reds. The trick is knowing when the colors turn because it is weather dependent. This picture was taken back in October on a bridge crossing the Merced River.

Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeon

Native to the dry and flooded forests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the Scheepmaker’s Crowned Pigeon is related to the common gray pigeon we see on the streets of big cities around the world. Their unique feature is their striking headdresses of blue-grey lacy feathers and beautiful maroon feathers on their breasts and bellies.

Full moon over an ancient bristlecone pine

At over 4,700 years old, the Ancient Bristlecone Pines are the oldest living trees in the world. They are found in the higher elevations of mountains in the American Southwest — California, Nevada, and Utah. The oldest trees live above 10,000 feet in extreme conditions where soil, nutrients and moisture are scarce, and winters come packed with 200 mph winds and minus 30 degree temperatures. Ones that live in more hospitable conditions do not live as long.

In California you can find a large forest full of them at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains near Big Pine. There are two groves in this forest. You’ll first arrive at Schulman Grove on the southern slope of the mountain. Here, the trees average 1,000 years old. An unpaved road leads to the more remote Patriarch Grove on the northern slope where they average 2,000 years old.