Susanville is a unique place. Situated near the base of Mr. Lassen National Park, it is the only town with full services in the Mt. Lassen neighborhood. Long the staging place for cowboys, ranchers, logging, and mining. The town was profiled in a 2007 PBS special titled “Prison Town” that…

Silver Falls State Park in Oregon is a local gem for mid-state Oregonians. For us urban Californians it offers a couple of things we generally need to drive to see, waterfalls and endless forests. According to the Oregon state parks website (www.oregonstateparks.org) this is the “Crown jewel” of their state…

Memorial Day was established as a remembrance of Civil War soldiers, all of them American. According to History.com tributes to the fallen began as early as 1866. While the exact chronology seems to be a little vague, it became a federal holiday in 1971. Originally known as Decoration Day, it…

Here’s the famous Arch Rock at JTNP. After our brief thunderstorm experience we drove down the road about a half mile, walked about 1/4 mile and there it was, marked with a sign. The challenge is to get something unique. I went around to the back side of the arch…

We were at Joshua Tree NP in April enjoying the scenery and looking for a rock arch when my wife called me over to this rock formation with the announcement, “Look Dave, Half Dome of Joshua Tree!” I agree. What do you think?

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Half Dome in black and white (Ilford HP4) and Color (Kodak Porta 160). I did both because I wanted to answer the question, How does a color image transfer to black and white compared to a black and white photo?” The is not…

We arrived at Hornitos, California late in the day close to the golden hour. The golden hour, actually two hours before sunset, makes colors deeper and reduces the contrast between the light sky and shadows. Shadows are our friend when it comes to communicating three dimensions on the flat plane…

I suspect some of the readers of this blog aren’t big on film. I must confess that when I do the math for a film camera and factor in how long it will last compared to a digital camera that will work well for years but is outdated in about…