“Coachella Valley was just battered by Hurricane Hilary.” — What an odd sentence to write. Today, we’re looking back to times when the idea of this dry lake bed being hit by a hurricane sounded like science fiction.
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Author: adohertyh
Colton’s Dam
Every town between the high peaks of the Adirondacks and the low point of the St. Lawrence River seems to have its own modest hydroelectric dam to capture their slice of the accrued aqueous kinetic energy.
Last Light on a Gazebo
Is there any better place to settle in and watch the sunset than a cozy gazebo atop a cliff overlooking Mohonk Mountain House?
Forest Fortress
Rather than a fortress in a forest, this is a fortress composed of forest—or at least, it feels that way. While the far-off mountains and the lights of Palm Springs may be visible from the air, the ground-level setting is far more constrained and cozy.
P.S. Can you spot your humble photographer in this shot?
From the Beaches of Florianopolis, Brazil
The beach pictures from La Jolla Shores inspired me to revisit some of my other past beach shots—but these are from a bit farther away: Florianopolis, Brazil.
Applying the same low-contrast processing really revealed a lot more of the details on the clifftop figures. I’m amazed when I compare these shots with similar ones I processed years ago. It’s amazing what a decade of practice can do!
Cliffs and Sky: Mohonk
A big dramatic sunset sky and lake reflections provide great context to the wall of stone that is both Mohonk Mountain House itself, as well as the cliffs on which it rests.
A Double Look Back at La Jolla
Building from my “How Did I Miss These?” post from a few weeks ago, these images from La Jolla, California likewise escaped me years ago.
In this case, though, these images are a return to a return.
While I lived in La Jolla in 2007, these images of its beaches weren’t captured until I returned there in 2012.
This bright beach-going moment was also a chance to experiment with a new manifold of photoprocessing options.
Though I typically prefer high-contrast images, the soft sky and ocean hues just weren’t a natural fit for deep, dark shadows.
This is, to my memory, the first batch of photographs in which I’ve ever lowered the contrast significantly.
Lowering contrast while increasing the exposure led to these dreamlike images.
(Though a truck atop a narrow pier is perhaps a different kind of dreamlike.)
Lastly, we finish with a dramatic panorama of downtown San Diego. This one’s definitely worth clicking through to see at full size.
A Night in the Back Yard
Holiday gatherings with palms in place of pines are out of the ordinary to this northeasterner, but the strangest modification remains the outdoor dining.
Storm Rolls in View
The two people looking over the idyllic setting of Mohonk Mountain House from a clifftop gazebo makes this an official entrant in my “the view and the viewer” (alongside this one, this one, probably this one, and definitely this one.)
Rapid Patterns
Though there’s chaos in the turbulent flows of rapids through Stone Valley, I like the rhythm in the repeated lengthscale between crests. The long exposure smooths out the water, but the trees remain sharp and spiky.
Sunrise at the Golf Course
Warm morning light on palm fronds and mountain faces, placid reflections in the water hazards: I’m not much of a golfer, but images like this one help me to understand the appeal.
Garden Beyond the Gates
Much like another shot from Mohonk that I recently shared, the constructed-yet-natural space of Mohonk Mountain House makes finding these kinds of framed images a treat.
Torrent Below the Dam
Movies are filled with imagery of high castle walls holding off hordes of attackers. I suppose this picture of Colton, New York’s dam is a bit of the opposite: the chaos is caused by the wall, rather than the wall being constructed to protect from the chaos.
Zenda Drive at Dawn
Though a photographer might briefly visit many locations, actually staying in a location means being present at the moment when the light is just right. In this case, sunrise pouring into Coachella Valley lights up the mountainsides and the rooftops, but not yet the valley floor itself.
Being there to capture the sunrise picture is great, of course, but being on location in this case also meant being able to follow it up with a sunrise dip in the hot tub.
Summer Job at the Dock
Thanks to the local students working summer jobs who make relaxing afternoons possible.
