Middle Control Road
Middle Control Road has long played an important role in linking communities and recreation areas across the San Bernardino Mountains. Historically, it formed part of …
Spaghetti with Shrimp in Meat Sauce
This combines my wife’s rich, slow‑simmered tomato‑meat sauce with tender sautéed shrimp for a comforting surf‑and‑turf twist on classic pasta night. It’s easy enough for …
Parrot Tulip
Parrot tulips bring a kind of unruly magic to mixed flower bouquets. Their ruffled, feather‑edged petals and dramatic curves refuse to sit politely among more …
Closeup Filters
These entry‑level filters work well for casual macro shooting and are a cheaper “macro” option than buying a dedicated macro lens, but you’ll often see …
Bowl of Tomato Soup
The pleasure of tomato soup begins long before the first spoonful. It starts the moment you decide that today calls for something warm and deeply …
Up from Lucerne Valley
Lucerne Valley always feels like the prologue to a story — wide, open, and a little wild. A dusty ribbon of trail, a stubborn sun, …
Smoked Ribs for Dinner
Naked ribs just off the smoker – no rub, no sauce, only salt and pepper. A rack of ribs seasoned with nothing more than salt …
Extension Tubes
If you’ve ever tried to photograph something tiny—flowers, insects, the texture of everyday objects—you’ve probably hit that moment where your lens just won’t focus any …
Wandflowers #3
Wandflowers: Where the Garden Learns to Breathe Some flowers bloom. Wandflowers — those slender, shimmering stems of gaura — float. They rise from the earth …
Climbing The Old Woman
The first thing you notice in Joshua Tree is the silence—an almost physical stillness that settles over the desert as if the landscape is holding …
Japanese Maple #02
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) flowers emerge quietly in early spring, appearing as small, delicate clusters that signal the tree’s shift from winter dormancy into a …
Ricoh WG-M1
The Ricoh WG-M1 is a rugged digital compact “action” camera. I bought this one over ten years ago to mount on the dash of my …
Coffee for the Keurig
Sometimes, after a late night, when I get out of bed in the morning not fully awake and stumble down the hall towards the kitchen …
Pomegranate Bloom
The pleasure of pomegranate blooms begins long before the fruit ever forms. It starts in that moment when the garden feels half-asleep, holding its breath, …
Strings in the Corner
The pleasure of playing a musical instrument begins long before the first clean note rings out. It starts in that quiet moment when you pick …
At the Feeder
House Finch and two Lesser Goldfinches There’s something wonderfully unhurried about watching backyard birds gather around an open dish seed feeder. It turns an ordinary …
Pork Tenderloin in Mushroom Gravy
Mushroom gravy is one of those quiet pleasures in life that sneaks up on you. You don’t wake up thinking about it, you don’t brag …
Red Tip Photinia #02
The first warm days of spring always pull me outside with a camera in hand, but nothing announces the season in quite the same way …
Fuji X100 T
I bought a Fuji camera a while back (FOMO on the mirrorless camera craze finally got the better of me). It was a bit different …
Canon 2X Teleconverter Lens
For me, this thing was absolutely useless. I couldn’t get it to give me a sharp photograph if my life depended on it. I’ve been …
Morning Sun
Sunrise on the Eastern Sierra Nevada escarpments always feels like the mountains are letting you in on a secret. Long before the sun actually crests …
Fish Salton Sea
I remember five things about fishing the Salton Sea in August: I no longer fish the Sea, but when I did, some of the best …
Chamomile Flowers
Chamomile has a way of weaving itself into everyday life so naturally that you almost forget how many roles this small, sunny flower plays. Its …
Basil & Lettuce
There’s something quietly joyful about tending an Aerogarden. It turns a corner of your home into a tiny, glowing ecosystem where herbs, greens, and tomatoes …
Good Morning
As part of our June Gloom weather thing, coastal marine layer clouds are drifting eastward to give us some thick fog outside this morning and …
Convict Lake
Convict Lake sits tucked against the eastern wall of the Sierra Nevada like it knows it’s photogenic and doesn’t have to try very hard. You …
Staying Active Matters
Adults with mobility disabilities are at higher risk for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and depression—but regular physical activity significantly reduces these risks and improves independence. …
Macro 100mm Lens
I finally bought myself a replacement for the Tamron macro lens that I broke a while back. This is the one I would have liked …
Red Tip Photinia #01
Photinia × fraseri Finding Wonder in the Small Things Close‑up photography has a way of turning an ordinary afternoon into a small adventure. You don’t …
Dandelion
“Beautiful as a dandelion-blossom golden in the green grass, this life can be.”— Edna St. Vincent Millay
I Busted My Macro Lens
The last few years I’ve done most of my landscape photography from the driver’s seat of my car. I don’t recommend it, but that’s what …
