San Francisco Zoo - Patas Monkeys and Chimpanzees

The Patas monkeys and chimpanzees were two favorites from our trip to the San Francisco Zoo last weekend.  We ended up visiting the ground-dwelling Patas monkeys a few times throughout the day, and loved their antics every time.

The chimpanzees were lounging in the warm sun when we came by.  I can't blame them-- it was a gorgeous day in the middle of what seems like weeks and weeks of rain!

San Francisco Zoo - Western Lowland Gorillas

Last Sunday, we went to the zoo for the first time in a long time.  I had been to the San Francisco Zoo once before, when we first moved to California and my brother (who loves animals and wildlife) and his now-wife visited.  I still can't quite get over the peacocks wandering around freely, but it's a nice little zoo, and I was pleased to find that they've been busy upgrading the animals' environments and exhibits since my last visit.  As always, my camera was by my side, and I came home with a wealth of "captive" wildlife shots.

I loved photographing the lowland gorillas-- like most primates, they're incredibly expressive, and you can almost tell what they're thinking....

My husband Josh calls this one "The Modern Thinker".

One gorilla was lunching in a tree, and this photo makes me smile every time-- perhaps the grass needed a little hot sauce or some ketchup...

Have a great weekend, folks!

Alden Lane Nursery, Part 2

I had so many photos I loved from our trip over to Alden Lane Nursery, I just couldn't resist posting a few more!  Welcome back, Spring!

 

Alden Lane Nursery

Spring has sprung in the East Bay!  Located in Livermore, Alden Lane Nursery is a charming, mostly outdoor nursery under large oak trees.  I visited a few weeks ago with some friends from the Livermore Art Association, and we photographed the early spring blooms.

 

 

Happy Monday, folks!

Saguaro - Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak from last weekend's trip to Saguaro National Park.  More to come from from Arizona, and from Alden Lane Nursery soon!

Alden Lane Nursery - Sneak Peak

Happy Friday, everyone!  Here's a sneak peak from this week's flower shoot at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, where the poppies are out in full force!

 

I wish you all a fabulous weekend and a happy valentine's day spent with loved ones!

Yosemite in the Winter

During the winter months, the massive number of visitors to Yosemite National Park disappear, and the mountains and valley are blanketed in feet upon feet of snow.  It's utterly and fantastically quiet.  No traffic jams in the valley.  No battles for parking spots.  Solitude on the trails.  If you like to cross country ski or snowshoe, it's a veritable winter wonderland, with fantastic views into the valley from the rim.  The road up to Glacier Point is plowed up to the Badger Pass Ski Area, and is groomed for cross country skiing beyond.  If you're a little more daring and a good trail finder, there's a network of winter trails starting from the road branching out to places like the Ostrander Ski Hut and various viewpoints along the rim.  Our destination: Dewey Point, on backcountry nordic skis.

Happy Monday, folks!

Free Engagement or Day-After Photo Shoot!

We all know weddings can get expensive fast.  So, I'm offering up a free Engagement or Day-After shoot with any wedding photography package to help ease your budget!  Capture that "We're getting married!" excitement or "Just married!" glow with a personal, on-location photo session, and receive all of your images on CD, free!

Book your wedding package before March 31, 2010 to take advantage of this fun and fabulous offer!

Wente Vineyards

Lately, I've been reorganizing my photo archives to make them more user friendly and to convert my backup files to DNG.  In doing so, I've been coming across photos that I haven't looked at in a loooong time, and I'm falling in love with them all over again!

To that point, here's one from an impromptu shoot at Wente Vineyards one morning in October.

New fine art photography website!

Back in December, I announced Wedded Bliss Images, my new wedding, engagement, family and pet portrait site.  And today, it's with great pleasure that I'm announcing the official launch of my new fine art and travel photography site, Twisted Rock Photography!

I'll be adding new albums to the site, so check the "recently updated" section often!  It's a surefire cure for your case of the "Mundays!"

Scotty's Castle - Death Valley

To say the least, Scotty's Castle is unexpected.  It's a canyon oasis, with a Spanish-style mansion, bath house, palm trees along open flowing water, and one of the most innovative power plants of it's time, all in the middle of a dryer-than-dry desert.

In the early 1900s, a prospector named Walter Scott, better known as Death Valley Scotty, was making a fortune conning far-away businessmen to invest heavily in his fictitious Death Valley mining operations.  One of these men was Albert Johnson, a Chicago insurance magnate and millionaire.  By 1906, however, two years after his initial investment in Scotty's mysterious gold mine, Johnson was noticing a distinct lack of return on his investment, and, with a few other investors, decided to make a visit to Death Valley to check out the mine.

Now, Death Valley Scotty was a very clever fellow, and staged a fake shoot-out to happen while he and his brother were taking their investors to see the mine, so that the city folk would decide it was too dangerous and turn around.  Unfortunately, in all the excitement, Scotty's brother actually did get shot, and Scotty called the whole thing off.  With the ruse exposed, the investors realized they were being conned and pulled out.  Johnson, however, developed a love for the desert and the adventure that always surrounded Scotty, and became close friends with Scotty, forgiving him for his fraudulent behavior.  To that end, he made many trips with his wife Bessie out to the desert, eventually building the oasis that is Scotty's Castle, which even includes a suite built just for Scotty!

Death Valley National Park offers tours of Scotty's Castle year-round.  Now, the pictures!

The mansion is guarded by two gargoyles perched atop a fantastic bright red gate.

Ornate lanterns adorn the mansion.

I just loved all the color-- reds and oranges everywhere, and that unbelievably blue California sky!

I fully admit, I, too, own red dishes-- these, however, are Albert and Bessie Johnson's.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Psychological suspense meets suburban noir

I recently discovered that a friend of mine writes psychological thriller fiction.  Cathryn Grant's stories are about the situations and circumstances that can push an otherwise normal person to madness.  She's been published in several magazines, and is preparing to publish her first book!  A number of Cathryn's short stories and "flash fiction" pieces are posted on her website, www.cathryngrant.com, and, if you like suspense, I highly recommend them for a quick read when you need a break from the every day grind!

And, because every post is better with a picture, here's a teaser from tomorrow's post about Scotty's Castle!

Happy Thursday, folks!

Jack and Arnie - Pet Portraits

Jack and Arnie are my "dog-in-laws"-- they live in Chicago with my husband's parents.  Arnie made his internet debut back in June, and I decided it was high time Jack got a little love on my blog, too.

If you're in the Bay Area and would like an on-location portrait session with your pets, drop me a line!

Redwall Canyon - Death Valley National Park

Redwall Canyon is located in Death Valley's colorful Grapevine Mountains.  Just north of the popular Fall Canyon, Redwall is guarded by a slick, two-level 20-foot dry fall just past the mouth of the canyon.  If you can climb past the fall, you're greeted with serpentine narrows painted in brilliant reds and oranges, with deep undercuts and impressively straight walls.

Little Bridge Canyon - Death Valley National Park

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love love love Death Valley.  It's one of my favorite places on earth, and somehow, though we didn't plan it, we ended up there on our honeymoon.  This time around, though, we started exploring some of the more difficult to get to canyons, as well as a few that weren't in the guidebooks or named on the maps.  Little Bridge Canyon was the first on our list.  Simply getting to the mouth of the canyon requires a couple hour walk across the alluvial fans of Tucki Mountain.  Once you get in the canyon, though, you realize it's totally worth it.  The natural bridge the canyon is named after isn't as impressive as the bridges in some of Death Valley's other canyons, but the colors are fantastic!  Reds, yellows, golds and purples.  And complete solitude as well....