Northern California

Sailor's Warning

Winter Wonderland

This was the second weekend in a row that Martin and I drove up to Yosemite in the hopes of catching fresh snow in Yosemite. The first time there was some snow, but the skies were clear by the time we got there (4am). This time it took some time for the skies to clear. But as they did we got this magical soft light on the snow. Having grown up in California, I can only assume this is the definition of a Winter Wonderland.

Daddy Daughter Date

Metastable

250ºF

If a Tree Falls in a Pond...

Midas Touch

Peter Pan and Wendy

Renewable Beauty

Rush

The Road to Beelzebot

My first try at a great San Jose location. Couldn't have been luckier, both with the sky (freaking spectacular) and the company (running into Aaron M).

Escape

Showtime

Harvest

The Boulevard

Strike

Marching Water Ants

Having been to this event once before, I knew that getting to the beach early was a necessity. Jens and I drove down and got there around 3 so we didn't have to stress about getting a parking space. We had a lovely time exploring the rest of Pfeiffer Beach before showtime. As the sun was going down and the tripods started multiplying on the beach, I could only imagine that there were even more photographers cursing in their cars unable to get into the tiny parking lot.

Ridges

There's not a whole lot to say about this location since it's become a staple in the Bay Area. I'm just going to describe my most memorable experience here. It's not PG-13. Probably about an hour before sunset, I got to Davenport, walked down the beach towards the crack and noticed a bunch of probably high school aged kids. As I came around the corner there were two teenagers, one, umm, pleasuring the other. As soon as they saw me they jumped, cleaned up and ran back out to their friends apologizing. Let's just say that wasn't the crack I expected to see.

Last Light on Bonsai

Stars, No Stripes

Standout

Milky Bonsai

Trenteadue