Wave Therapy

Last week I spent a late evening on the Mendocino coast watching the sun go down and watching the waves roll in. The weather was perfect as it was about seventy degrees and the fog and smoke combined to create some amazing light. All of these images were created with my Canon EOS 7D MKII and a Canon 100-400 mm IS v.1 lens or a Canon EF -S10-22 mm wide angle lens. God's love and blessings to all, Chris  #teamcanonusa

Great Guest Photographer

Today's images are provided by Lenore. She has got a great eye for photography. She has the ability to pick out details in a beautiful way. Here are some images from our trip to Mendocino and even one of a guy that looks like he should be working fishing instead of photographing. God bless, chris Images created with a Canon T5i anda Canon 28-135 IS lens. #TeamCanon

Low Tide

On Monday my brother Eric and I headed out to the coast. We did a big loop starting in the north at Westport and headed south down the coast to Mendocino. For lunch we had some delicious pulled pork sandwiches at the "Q" next to the Noyo Harbor bridge. The tide was way, wayyyy out and we saw plenty of urchins, mussels and Giant Green Sea Anemones. There were many beautiful wildflowers and we did a bunch of walking. When we walked down to the rocks at Ten Mile SMR you could see the ruts from the wagon wheels on the California Coastal Trail as well as lots of broken mussel shells in the dirt left over from the middens from when the Pomo used to gather mussels there. It was such a beautiful day. Enjoy the images and may you have a blessed weekend, chris All images created with a Canon 7D at a variety of settings and lenses.

Delight in the Little Things

Lenore and I headed out to the coast this weekend for a well needed trip together. We had a really nice time enjoying walking around and checking out the shops of Mendocino and the Coastal Trail in Fort Bragg. Photographically speaking it wasn't the best for grandiose seascapes as it was quite foggy at times. I could have used a wide angle lens and created a moody foggy scene but instead I selectively focused my camera on the little things. I used a telephoto lens and by keeping the horizon out of the image and narrowing my vision to some smaller subjects I was able to create some beautiful intimate images. So delight in the simple things and may you have a blessed day, chris

Foggy Day at the Coast

The Mendocino Coast in Northern California offers a multitude of photographic opportunities from scenics to flowers and wildlife(Do bees count as wildlife?). Lenore and I celebrated our anniversary out on the coast last week and we spent some time wandering around the coastal towns of Ft. Bragg and Mendocino. We dabbled in a bit of photography along the way and tried a couple of new restaurants that we haven't dined in before and were quite pleased with the meals we were served. Some fantastic chowder down on the Noyo harbor and some incredible BBQ salmon by the bridge in Ft. Bragg.Just a wonderful couple of days. Here are some of the last of the images from our venture. God's love and guidance to all, chris All images photographed with a Canon 7D with either a Canon 1-22 wide angle lens or a 100mm macro lens

Lift Off

We spent the last two days out at the coast celebrating our wedding anniversary. This morning found us walking through the town of Mendocino and later the Botanical Gardens. I was awestruck by the variety of shapes and colors of flowers which were in full bloom. The bumblebees were drawn to them in force and I spent a lot of time chasing them from bloom to bloom. Here is one photographed in mid takeoff from a blossom. There will be more flowers and ocean scenics to follow tomorrow. The dahlias were spectacular. God's love and blessings to all, chris Image created with a Canon 7D and a 100 mm macro lens. Camera Settings used AV mode, F5.0, 1/640 th of a sec.

GBH

Today did not go as planned. It was our intention to kayak up Big River near Mendocino,CA on the the coast.When we arrived at the river access was blocked with traffic cones and a large orange and black sign that read "Exam in Progress". What in the world is that? I haven't got a clue. Because we couldn't launch the kayaks there we headed down the coast to the Albion River. We paid our five bucks per kayak to launch and headed upstream against the outgoing tide. We were pushed along by and onshore breeze so it wasn't too bad. Just a little past the harbor I came across a great Blue Heron GBH feeding in the Eel Grass on one of the river flats. Much to my great surprise it didn't fly off at my slow approach like they usually do.I felt like I was in Florida where the birds don't fly away from you! I watched and photographed it for about ten minutes or so. The lighting was terrible but I felt excited to just be able to photograph a GBH.I moved on upriver and photographed some seals. I kept paddling upriver and was amazed at how many GB Herons were feeding along the river. But none of them would allow me to get close to them at all. The return trip down he river back to the harbor was pretty unpleasant and I'm going to be sore tomorrow. The onshore breeze combined with an incoming tide were pretty hard to deal with. Somehow I must have pulled up the wrong tide table.Next time I'm going to double check the times and location. Still it was a great trip. God's love and blessings to all, chris