Chasing The Light

This is one of the reasons I love living in California! This is taken from Mt. Pinos in the Los Padres National Forest.

 We have such beautiful mountains and forests here! This was at the end of the day and there was a thin hazy cloud cover that day so it gave a sort of upside down, surreal look to the sky with the blue on the horizon and the pink over it.

Nature's banquet for the squirrels is abundant. Also, a soft, crunchy carpet to nourish and insulate new life under the snow that will come soon.

 Even at the end of the season Nature's patterns and shapes are beautiful.

Lighting is key in capturing interesting photos. This is the same tree just before the sun set below the ridge and again about a half an hour later.

I am awed by the tenacity of nature. Even a tiny seed in an impossible location can aspire to become a great tree.

 I love interesting colors, shapes and patterns. This rock had all of that going for it with it's natural coloring and patterns enhanced by the bright green moss.

I arrived on the mountain pretty late in the afternoon so my time for shooting was limited. I was trying to shoot some small clusters of tiny red flowers that were particularly bright in the setting sun and I could see the light fading as I was trying to focus on them. I never did get the image I wanted of them.

But it was a beautiful day - a little cool, but I fortunately thought to bring a jacket with me and I had on sturdy shoes (lessons learned from previous unprepared trips).

Even if I hadn't gotten any photos it would have been a good day!

I love being in the mountains, probably as much as I like being at the beach, which is why I love Southern California so much.