Horsetail Falls III

It's February and it's the time of the year again, when Horsetail Falls acts like a very strong Photographers magnet....( for more info about why, check out my February 2010 blog)
This year even more so, as the media discovered this natural phenomenon, and we all know what that means.

The weather forecast was promising, but since it hadn't snowed much, how much water would be in the falls to light up?
Oh well, a gamble like always!

The first evening, or rather afternoon, found us two hours before sunset, ready with warm clothes, camping chairs and lots of expectations, at the spot we chose for photographing that evening. The reason we were so early was, that parking is very limited, and since Horsetail Falls was all over the news, we just wanted to be safe.
Over the next two hours more and more people arrived, but also more and more clouds filled the sky. By 5.30 pm most of the onlookers had left, when suddenly, very faint at first, a golden glow seemed to come from the bottom as well as from the top of the falls.

All excited I turned around to alert the other photographers, just to discover that not only most, but all except for my friend Cherie and one other gentlemen had left. Well, too bad for them.

The glow grew more intense by the minute...

...and delivered a show I can't get tired of witnessing.

Then, with the last rays of the sun, the falls turned dark red, a color even I haven't seen before. Absolutely stunning!

What an evening!
The weather forecast for the next day was very promising and we were looking forward to another great day of photographing.
Our plan was to get up really early to capture the sunrise at Valley View. Unfortunately I forgot to explain this to our alarm clock, and we woke up as it was already bright day....and to our dismay, completely overcast...so much for that.

But Yosemite is a beautiful place no matter the weather, and after a hearty breakfast we went out to explore. As mentioned, there was not much snowfall this year, so everything was rather brown. But since there was not much water in the Merced river either, it's flow was very slow and basically begged for reflection shots:

Valley View

We were happy to oblige! Monochrome it is.

Yosemite Falls from Swinging Bridge

And again, two hours before sunset, we were ready and excited, back at out favorite spot. Since the weather forecast has been really good, and the news kept spreading the word, a lot of people showed up. We were really happy to have been there in time! Excitement rose when around 5.34 pm the falls faintly started to light up, but fell ever so fast, when a cloud covered the sun and the spectacle ended before it had even started...nature...

But then, all of sudden the sky started to turn really colorful and illuminated the valley with a glowing pink.

El Capitan

I was really puzzled that everybody had left, understandably disappointed about the falls, but missing this amazing light show...

Cathedral Rocks

The next morning the alarm clock cooperated with our wishes, and we got some nice colors at Valley View before the sun rose.

Happy and with full flash cards we said good bye to the park and went home.

February Conservation Tip

Join a CSA

You already going to the farmers market, but you really would like to do more?
Join a local CSA.
The sign ups for the 2012 growing season are starting now and filling up fast with a growing demand for local food.

What exactly is a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture is not really new, but is getting more and more popular in recent years. The idea is easy: the farmer sells "shares" of  the produce he will produce during the growing season, mostly fruit and vegetables, often also eggs, honey and maybe even meat. This gives the farmer the advantage of marketing his crop before the season really starts and having a much better idea of how much to plant. The "share holder" therefore will get fresh, local and mostly organic produce on a weekly basis. Also farmer and consumer get to know each other, often CSA farms offer open houses or you can/have to pick up the produce at the farm. A great opportunity especially for kids to learn where the produce does come from and how it grows.

Another plus, as I see it, is that you get a feeling for what is in season and when. In a time where you can by strawberries and tomatoes year round, it gives you a pointer back to eating with the seasons. And chances are, you discover new fruits and vegetables to be simply delicious that you have never tried before.

Check out the  LOCAL HARVEST  website for more info and to find a CSA near you.

Waiting for the Waves

The Mavericks Opening Ceremony 2012

While most areas in the US have four seasons, Half Moon Bay actually has only three: The fog season, the pumpkin season and the "waiting for Mavericks" season.
Right now we are in the middle of the waiting for Mavericks season, which officially started on January 1st with the opening of the contest window.

The waves of Mavericks, named after a German Shepherd, who tried to surf the waves with his owner in the early 1960, became known and famous after Half Moon Bay surf legend Jeff Clark proved that there are indeed big waves comparable to the ones in Hawaii.
Since 1999, the year of the first big wave competition, surfers around the world gather here, by invitation only and only if the swell is right, for one of the most dangerous surf competitions.

Photo taken at the 2004 Mavericks competition

That Mavericks sure is a dangerous spot to surf even Hollywood star Gerald Butler had to experience, as he almost drowned this December during the filming "Of Men and Mavericks" at Mavericks. Though Gerald Butler got lucky, two other big wave surfers, Mark Foo and Sion Milosky did not survive the waves here.

Photo taken at the 2004 Mavericks competition

Mavericks is located past Pillar Point Harbor, just north of Half Moon Bay. A tiny little beach that didn't get a lot of attention, except during the competition, until recently. Somehow word must have gotten out and now at any given low tide hundreds of people trample more or less carelessly around sea anemones and other delicate tide pool life....

Why do the waves get so big here? A sign on top of the Princeton Cliff explains: "When swells complete the journey across the Pacific [coming from Japan] and reach Mavericks, they encounter an abrupt change in water depth along with a uniquely shaped sea floor. As a result, the wave heights increase dramatically and form perfectly shaped giant waves."

On Jan 6th, seventeen of the competitors, alternates, and former winners came together for the opening ceremony of the 2012 season. They were joined by the "big wave surfers of the future", members of the Cunha Intermediate and Half Moon Bay High School surf teams (see picture above). Instead of announcing a given day for the ceremony, which usually took place in December, this year the organizers waited for a day with a good swell, so that the surfers not only could participate in the ceremony but also were able to surf the big waves.

The ceremony was to begin at 2 pm, but with so many "celebrities", the press wanted to interview almost everybody, here Darryl "Flea" Virostko, three time winner of the Maverick competition, and that took some time....

The onlookers spared no effort to get the best view...

And as word got out, that the helicopter that was flying dangerously low over the waves actually was still filming for the "Of Men and Mavericks" movie, people wandered over to sneak a peak.

But in order to really see something one would have to brave the cliffs as this photographer here was willing to do...

...since I already had experienced that seawater and camera equipment is not really compatible, I kept my distance from the waves...;-)

Finally, some movement came into the surfers...

..and the ceremony began.

After the officials had said their initiatory words and the opening prayer was held, the surfers and the kids from the local surf teams paddled out into the ocean to form a prayer circle in the Hawaiian style:

Now I will keep my fingers crossed that the competition will take place. For the first time since I'm following Mavericks I secured myself a spot on the boat, to get closer to the action!

Meet Scarlett

I just finished editing a photo shoot with a beautiful black Labrador girl named Scarlett:

Guarding her mistress' sweater,

and setting herself in the spotlight on the red chair!

She sure lives up to her famous namesake!

A Nightmare in Bright Daylight!

An addendum to the November Conservation Tip.

I'm feeling so helpless about this ongoing and unnecessary slaughter of these magnificent creatures......

Please watch and share, and help to spread the word.

THIS NEEDS TO END!!!

January Conservation Tip

Most of us are aware that buying local is the way to go, it is supporting the local businesses, has the fresher produce and reduces the carbon footprint. But most often it is also a bit more expensive.

Inspired by the book "How Bad Are Bananas" , the carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee, our son decided to make the carbon footprint of food the topic of his 8th grade science fair project.

With the question: 

"What is the carbon footprint of a burrito with locally bought ingredients VS a burrito with Costco bought ingredients? What is the price difference?" he wanted to find out exactly how much more expensive local food is and exactly how high the carbon footprints are in comparison.....and he did.

After determining what would go into the "test" burrito, he then went to the farmers market and New Leaf to get the ingredients, always checking and noting down where they came from. Then off to Costco to do the same. That was easier said then done, since at Costco one actually doesn't know where the food is produced, only where it is distributed from.  The ground beef, for example, had a huge USDA Select sticker on the packaging, but be aware, that doesn't tell you anything about the origin, this is just the quality. Looking closer, he found out, that this ground beef was mixed beef from: Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and USA.....

After that he had a lot of math to do and these are the results:

As assumed, the local "burrito" was more expensive, it did cost 2.4 x more then the Costco "burrito" , but who would have guessed that the Costco "burrito" had a 111 x higher carbon footprint???? Which doesn't even include the "food miles" from the production site to the distribution center.

Quite amazing, isn't it? 

The good news is, that he made First Place in the Ecology category at the Cunha Science Fair and the Gil Ellis Environmental Award.
He now will be off to the countywide Science Fair.

Congratulations, my Dear!

A big Thank You to Christine from the Potrero Nuevo Ranch and Dr.Volker Enders from Hara for their insightful interviews!

Holiday Puppies

After this rather grief Conservation Tip, here is something to cheer you up!

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to photograph a litter of 12 adorable Labrador Retriever puppies.

They were so much fun to photograph, since...

..they are easygoing,

curious,

adventurous,

sometimes stoic,

playful,

make good stocking stuffers, at least at this age,

and of course, like to chew on everything.

With this I wish you all Happy Holidays 

and a wonderful New Year!

click on the image for a full view of this panorama