A few weeks ago, the Bay Area went through a really cold spat. On one of those cold days, a storm was slated to pass through, and bring some precipitation with it. For one reason or another, I absolutely love the pursuit of photographing snow in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It happens a few times a year, but is unpredictable and usually doesn't stick long. So since I thought this little storm had the potential to bring snow to those hills, I set my alarm for 4am and prepared for a sunrise outing to Russian Ridge.
When I got there, however, it was clear that all the precipitation had been rain. Nevertheless, I was still excited, because the clouds looked to be shaping up for a perfect sunrise. That is the benefit of winter in the Bay Area: we actually get the chance to look at some clouds! The skies are dreadfully boring in summer. This photograph is from Borel Hill, just moments before the sun rose into view, as is evidenced by the bright gilding on the very furthest clouds.
Winter's GiftSunrise came a few seconds later, with stunning intensity. I did my due diligence and snapped a bunch of shots -- bracketed, panorama, etc. I was editing them and had almost finished, but then thought 'you know what, this just isn't doing it for me.' It was beautiful and 'in your face', but it was just too similar to all the other sunrise photographs I see people churn out. I'm kind of striving a more subdued, painterly, almost impressionistic feel lately, so I decided to trash this sunrise photo, and not publish a finished work from it. But nevertheless I decided to show you guys a quick jpg here, just for documentary purposes.
The sunrise blend was also hard, because as the sun was rising, a bank of clouds began to pass through, so the light was changing super fast. I was really happy though, because when I pulled my eye out of the viewfinder, it was clear to me that I had gotten the snow I sought! This little sunrise storm was indeed bringing that elusive snow, and it was such a beautiful moment to be alive. Hard to capture though. I scrambled to try, and ran a few steps down Borel Hill to this vantage. I'm not sure how much I like this photo, and am unclear whether I want to publish it, because most of the people I show it to think it just looks like sand. Either way, here is my attempt. You can tell from the clouds that the sun is still rising being, but that up on the hill we were totally socked in.
I kept hiking for a while after the clouds passed. It was a really pretty morning, with a thin layer of snow settled on most of the landscape, but not enough to make out in photos. Here's a photo that I captured on Ancient Oaks trail. I like this photo because to me, it displays the thing that I've found hardest to capture regarding California's chaparral landscapes: the character of the oak woodlands. These forests have so much personality, but I find it really difficult to bottle it into a photograph. It seems everywhere you look there are gnarled branches, fallen logs, and clutter completely covering the ground. In general, they are just very chaotic. Other types of forest seem like harmonious residences or architectured masterpieces. This one seems like a war zone. I've tried to portray this ambiance before, with little success. But this time, the clearing skies, scattered light, and snow covered debris (yes, that is snow on the log) really helped to pull together the sense of constant struggle that I get from walking through these woods (even though these forests don't
necessarily endure relative hardship)
In the ForestAlso, the very background of this photo is similar to the vantage I used to create the work I posted earlier,
MistfallsOne more photo. Whenever I'm at Russian Ridge, I can't resist visiting my favorite trees – especially if there is a good chance of them having a somewhat unique appearance that day. So after the brief dusting of snow, I had to pay a visit to this cluster of California Buckeyes. I still like this photo because of its dichotomies: the dichotomy between the snow and the grass, between the bare buckeyes and the dense oak forests beyond, and between the valley fog and the passing storm clouds above.
Thanks for looking ( /reading
), hope you enjoyed!
