Suggestions for California locations in July?

[Stephen Girimont]

Hi everyone,

First post here; hoping you folks can help. I'm going to be in California for a week and a half in July and on a family vacation. My wife will be visiting family in the Palm Deset and San Fransisco areas and I get to run off and do some photography.

I know it's not the best time of year, but if nothing else, I figure it would be a good chance to scout some locations for a future trip devoted solely to photography.

Any suggestions for areas I should check out in these regions? I figured some coastal and redwoods shots while we're in San Fran, and make a two-day run out to the Alabama Hills at some point. Anything of note further south?

The ironic thing about this request is that I lived in Santa Barbara for several years while attending The Brooks Institute, but I was so busy with the school that I never had a chance to really see much of California itself. Planning to change that with several trips over the next few years, thought.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[bobtowery]

If you go North from San Francisco on Highway 1. you'll mitigate the heat and overall dryness of CA in July. Lots to see from the forests to small towns like Bodega Bay, Mendocino, etc.  There is a thread below this one on Monterey which is another good choice. By then I'm sure the landslides will be fixed up.  If it were me, I would focus on these coastal areas.

You mentioned going to Alabama Hills. There is a lot to see on Hwy 395. Check all the usual sources for what interests you.  Bodie? Mono Lake? In Bishop you can visit Galen Rowell's Mountain Light gallery, very nice.

Consider visiting lake tahoe if you haven't been there. A sunrise at eagle falls overlooking emerald bay is something every photographer should do once in his/her life. A couple of Tahoe images:





Although we are having an exceeding cold year here, good luck to the wife going to Palm Desert in July! Normally it's 115 degrees or so then. I was there in February and woke up to 31 degrees.

Have a wonderful trip!

[Stephen Girimont]

Thank you very much for the information! I'll see what plans I can develop.

[Paul Sumi]

As Bob noted, there is a lot to see up Hwy 395 (the Owens Valley).

If you access the Eastern Sierra from San Francisco, the drive is spectacular through Yosemite Valley (summer traffic may be heavy), across on Tioga Pass road and down to Owens Valley.  This will deposit you near Lee Vining/Mono Lake.  The South Tufa is the iconic location.  Bodie also is within easy driving distance.  Be sure to eat at the Whoa Nellie Deli at the Tioga Gas Mart just ouside of Lee Vining.

In addition to Galen Rowell's gallery, Bishop has great Shepherder bread at Eric Schat's Bakkery and the best smoked jerky at Mahogany Smoked Meats.

Up Hwy 168, west from Bishop, are South Lake, North Lake and Lake Sabrina.  The latter can be a nice sunrise shoot with the sun's rays hitting the peaks across the lake.

In Lone Pine, the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History is definitely worth a short visit.  Also, another kind of history can be seen at Manzanar National Historic Site, north of Lone Pine.

Paul

[Vladimir Steblina]

Fog in July.  You can get some great pictures when it breaks up.

Pt. Lobos, Big Sur, Pt. Reyes, Highway 1 around the Bay Area.  Any of the redwood groves.

[mikev1]

Well Joshua Tree NP is a short drive from Palm Desert but it will be so hot your car might melt on the way there!

I love Joshua Tree, the landscape is so unique but I struggle to get good photos there but that might be  because of my talents as a photographer.  I visit every year.

[SeanBK]

BobTowery,
 Those are really nice images, specially the secomd one. Reminds me of what Elizabeth Carmel's famous shot, where was that taken? A trip for that area would great planning.
  Thanx appreciate any & all info.

[bobtowery]

BobTowery,
 Those are really nice images, specially the secomd one. Reminds me of what Elizabeth Carmel's famous shot, where was that taken? A trip for that area would great planning.
  Thanx appreciate any & all info.

Thank you Sean, very kind of you. Liz Carmel told me how to get to this spot, I gave her credit in the blog post from whence the image came:

http://bobtowery.typepad.com/bob_towery/2009/04/stormy-sunrise-at-lake-tahoe.html

Getting there, hmmm. I could drive there myself, but telling someone exactly how to get there is tough. It's on the eastern (Nevada) side. As you head south from Incline Village on the hwy that borders the lake, you'll go past Sand Harbor, a large state park. Basically from that point on you'd keep a sharp eye to your right, in the water (while trying not to drive off a cliff, of course). You can see the island from the road. There are turnouts/parking in several places. Then you have to scramble down a pretty steep trail to get to the spot.  You are going to have to work for it a bit Sean!

Best of luck. Bob.

[SeanBK]

Thanks Bob, appreciate the info. I guess I better hit the gym first. Tough part will be to convince my wife to hit the gym, so she can carry my stuff. ...Hey, I can drean can't I?   
  That location seems so idylic, so it just moved up to #1 spot on my Bucket List.
    Regards.
     Sean

[bobtowery]

Thanks Bob, appreciate the info. I guess I better hit the gym first. Tough part will be to convince my wife to hit the gym, so she can carry my stuff. ...Hey, I can drean can't I?   
  That location seems so idylic, so it just moved up to #1 spot on my Bucket List.
    Regards.
     Sean

"I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Mrs Sherpa!"  Yeah Sean, I'll dream right along with you.

Glad I could help you with the bucket list. It really is a beautiful spot, all year round. This past year we had some older relatives visiting us there. We decided to take them on a tour boat cruise (normally you don't find me on the "tourist bus."  Here's the link http://www.zephyrcove.com/cruises.aspx. It actually turned out to be very fun and informative. The lake has quite the history When you see some of the lakeshore homes (including one where parts of The Godfather was filmed) you are really in dreamland.

My recommendation would be to stay in a central location on the north shore. This is a nice place: http://www.mlrtahoe.com/. You might even get to shoot a great sunset right of their own beach if there is some nice cloud cover. Then you can explore down both east and west sides of the lake (avoiding south lake tahoe unless you are into casinos).

There are also beautiful rivers in the area:

And lastly, do not miss Garfields for food and drink! http://www.garwoods.com/index.html

[BannerB]

From Palm Desert the Salton Sea is not too far.

Depends on what your into but its a weird place and can accommodate many shooting styles in the summer months with dramatic skyscapes on a good day.

[IanP]

Interesting thread, especially the Tahoe info.  I'm spending 2 weeks travelling from Vegas to San Francisco (family holiday) in late July so am looking for any local tips.  We're planning on stopping over at South Rim, Death Valley, Alabama Hills, June Lakes (Lake Mono & Bodie) then on into Yosemite. We want a couple of days at Tahoe before heading to the city so thamks for the info.

Ian.

[Steve Lefkovits]

When in San Francisco, the Marin Headlands provide spectacular possibilities looking towards the ocean and back towards San Francisco.  At sunset, the west ridge of Mt. Tamalpais often has clouds below the summit which allows you to make images of the mountain, coastline, clouds and sun all looking down.  Or with the sun streaming back through the clouds.  Further north along the ridge is Point Reyes National Seashore that has more rugged coastal views and a resident herd of Tule Elk that prowl the ridges and valleys of the area.  If the fog has burned off, the elk and the coastline are a great combination.

Here's an HDR of Mt. Tam at sunset:




And if you make it to Oakland, the Oakland-Berkeley Hills offer dazzling late-day views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. With the shifting cloud formations, it's a wonderful location to shoot time-lapse of the clouds.  Grizzly Peak Road in Berkeley near the Lawrence Hall of Science has several safe places to park and observe and it's well worth it and not in any guide book.  Here's a sample of mine from last year:



Steve