Sensitive to Green (Leaves)

Fresh green leaves of desert plants (most likely phacelias) growing in Rainbow Canyon, Anza Borrego; January 2019.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more aware of all that is happening in the landscape as the spell of our dry summers is broken by winter’s rains like this year. I’m keenly aware of the macroscopic and the microscopic alike: hillsides gradually take on a soft green hue at first, then almost abruptly shift to a brightly glowing, bold green that makes it easy to forget how barren and pale brown they were just a month ago. And mosses, once dry and pale, stubby little mats on a rock, are now thick puffy cushions, wet and soft to the touch, replenished by ample precipitation.

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Leaf Litter

Leaves of Platanus racemosa (Western Sycamore) on the ground, Los Penasquitos Canyon, San Diego, California; October 2016.

October’s “Photo of the month” is a bit different – an autumnal set of leaves from our native trees. Black Oaks and Canyon Oaks live at higher elevations only, Sycamores and Coast Live Oaks are familiar inhabitants of our riparian canyons (the Sycamores especially with their huge leaves need a lot of moisture so they’re not found outside of the canyons at lower elevations).

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Playing with Time and Color

Table Top Reef tide pools during negative tide; Solana Beach, California; November 2012.

Four more photos from the tide pools at Seaside Beach/Tabletop Reef (made during the same outing as the black & white photos in the previous post). Playing with different exposure times (between three and eight seconds) and various color renditions while the composition remains unchanged. You can tell by the different patterns in the water that it is really four separate exposures. Pick your personal favorite and let me know in a comment! :)

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