Heading Out

Reflecting the Setting Sun

For this picture, and the previous one below, I used our black & white program, which is so much fun to work with, to add a burnt edge, a color filter, and toning. Then, back in Photoshop, I changed the blending mode from Normal to Luminosity to blend the effects into a color image with unique lighting.

Yacht Club

Cruise Ship

I learned an important detail today about how to use our sharpening software. It makes me want to go back and redo every photo I've done for the past 6 months, which I'll try to resist. But it does make the details pop ever so nicely.

Downtown San Diego from Shelter Island

I love the contrast of small sail boats and larger military ships.

Maidenhair Falls

As the trail continued to climb up to 900 ft above the desert floor, the canyon got narrower and the boulders got bigger until we're climbing over these minivan size behemoths. The trail also started to weave back and forth across a tiny trickle of a stream and a few palm trees appeared. Finally, after going further than we ever planned on a trail way more rugged than we were ready for, we sprawled on the broad, flat top of one of those boulders to rest before heading back down.

I knew there was something special at the very top of the trail and I didn't think we were very far from it, so I told Steve and Jeff to enjoy the sunshine and I'd be back in half an hour. After hiking exactly 15 minutes up the trail and crossing more and more water I came to Maidenhair Falls.

At 18 feet and little more than a trickle most of the year, Niagara it's not. But after hiking in the desert for a couple hours, coming to this cool, shady place with the sound of falling water and a cool clear pool to soak your feet in, it may be better.

The first thing I did? Pulled out my cell phone, of course!

Steve and Jeff, back down the trail, exhausted on the rock, wondering 'what did he get us into?' Hearing the phone ring. Thinking there wouldn't be any signal out there. Dammit!

I think they enjoyed the falls. It certainly was a memorable trip. We'll see what they say next time I suggest an outing.

Steve let me use these shots he took with his camera. He got lots of excellent photos with his amazing little Canon point-and-shoot.

Hellhole Canyon

After walking around the Anza-Borrego Desert Visitors Center we drove a couple of miles to Hellhole Canyon. The trail starts out in a wide desert meadow meandering by ocotillo and teddy bear cholla, then rising gently between steep ridges. The beginning of the hike was pleasant if not pretty. Not many flowers were blooming near the start. But as we started feeling the exertion of the constant rise, we noticed the higher we went the more blooms we saw, until we're looking around in amazement thinking this may be the most color we've seen in the desert.

More from our Picnic in Anza-Borrego