Competiton surfer staying ahead of the advancing wall of water that gave him a ride. Mavericks, February 2010.  Taken from the ‘New Captain Pete’ viewing boat.

Berkeley Hills Sunset Rays, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Sunset after a February storm, seen from the Berkeley Hills looking toward San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. HDR image captured while the time-lapse camera setup was clicking away.

This image is reminiscent of one from last year from same spot at same time. As these storms clear I’ll be looking for more broken cloud imagery from interesting places.

Feb. 9, 2010.

Silver Lining, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Clouds part as they cross the Golden Gate, providing a silver lining to the spate of storms that have run across Northern California in the last week.

This is an HDR image made using three frames, bracketed +-2 EV, and composited in Photomatix.

Muir Woods, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Muir Woods on a foggy morning in January, 2010.

kirkwood-2318, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

When the Northridge earthquake cut power in Los Angeles in 1994, Angelenos were stunned to see the night sky without any light pollution. Alarmed callers to 911 wondered if the cloud in the sky had caused the earthquake. For weeks, many refused to believe that the sight of the Orion nebula in the sky was the actual night view without electric lights drowning out the view.

On a recent ski trip to Kirkwood ski resort in the Sierra mountains of California, I made photos on two clear nights from Highway 88. This one shows the Milky Way, among other features. If you click through to Flickr, and view a larger version of the image you’ll note there is at least one additional galaxy clearly visible in the upper left.

I was deeply, deeply moved by the sight of thousands of visible stars in the sky. For me their sight snapped into perspective my place in the universe. It was simply amazing to feel connected to such a vast realm. I found it hard to comprehend the vastness on its own. Framing it with familiar trees helped ground me from the sensation of flying free in space. And time.

I highly recommend night sky awareness to all city-folk. Next time you’re speeding down a lonely highway on a clear dark night, pull over and shut off all of the car’s lights. Step outside and let your night vision acclimate and let the wondrous sights unfold. It’s worth it.

North-facing Stars in Palm Springs., originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Stacked composite of 87 10-second images at f/2.8 at ISO 2000. Stars visible from Palm Springs, November 24, 2009. Angled trails are probably aircraft, though when rendered to video these frames shows that they are all moving from right to left (downward), which may open the possibility that some are meteors.

This turned out to be a classic case of beginner’s luck. This was shot on Tram Drive at about 1500 feet of elevation so there was little ambient light from the town below. Relatively few airplane streaks for a spot so near a major airport, and there was almost no wind to trouble the alignment. I wasn’t so lucky on my second try….

Coyote Moon Composite, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

A composite image of a hunting coyote and the full moon – made at Curry Point in Mt. Diablo State Park, Danville, California. November 1, 2009

Twisted Elk, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

Bull elk on a ridge in Lamar Valley at sunset. Yellowstone National Park, October 2009.

Firehole Canyon Falls, originally uploaded by Pacific Landscapes.

The edge of the falls, revealed by slow motion. Firehole River Falls, Yellowstone National Park, October 2009.