Drought and Rain

Just a Hint

Just a Hint of Green

The cycles of drought and rain trade places in California. One can  read about this in some of the wonderful books by John Steinbeck, a native Californian. I celebrate my 40th year as an immigrant to California this year. After an extremely dry fall and winter, we finally received the first rain a few weeks ago. It prompted me to venture out after the storm had passed. Amazingly, just one heavy rain storm woke up the ground. I caught the view of this lovely hill, sprouting just a hint of green.

Two Bodies of Water

Two Bodies of WaterThis is still one of my favorite images of water: the juxtaposition of the Pacific ocean covered with scattered clouds, to a man-made pool of water. A palette of blues, grays, and aquas.

After the Fire

After the FireThis was an amazing sight: a fire had destroyed much of the vegetation on a sand dune of all places, but (a year later I’m guessing), the miracle of new life had sprung up in the dunes. This black & white version lends a different kind of drama to this landscape image.

About to Tumble

About to Tumble

About to Tumble

This is another image I converted to black & white. It was taken in one of America’s magnificent National Parks: Yosemite. Creation in all its grandeur. To give you a perspective on size: some of the boulders sitting on this massive rock slab were enormous, I would guess 10 – 15 feet in diameter.

Carved by Time

Carved by Time

Carved by Time

This is another image converted to black & white. It brings out the beautiful lines carved out by time of this ancient weathered tree growing in the bristlecone pine forest.

Bristlecone Pine

Bristlecone pine

Bristlecone pine

I originally captured this image in color, but decided recently to print it in black and white as well, to see what it would look like. What do you think? Some of these weathered bristlecone pines are over 5000 years old, one of the oldest living things on earth — a marvel of Creation. I sure wouldn’t want to be the one to count the rings of the tree and lose count though…