California | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

February 3, 2011March 13, 2018

Lensbaby Allure

California Poppy detail (Eschscholtzia californica), Antelope Valley, California

Ever feel like you’re in a photographic rut? Like the images just aren’t flowing through the lens and onto the sensor as easily as they should? New and stunning scenery will always help inspire the creative juices, but what if travel isn’t in the cards right now? Sounds like the perfect time to try out a new perspective and a great tool for this is the Lensbaby.

There’s no question that this is the oddest thing you’ll ever attach to the front of your camera, and using it is definitely a throw-back to the dark ages of photography with its completely manual focus and exposure. What started out as a toy-like novelty with a plastic lens and bellows has evolved into a series of high-quality tools each with a slightly different slant (pun intended). Basically its a limited use selective focus lens that mimics the look of a Holga camera with the added ability to move the sweet spot of focus to any desired part of the frame and vary the depth of the out of focus areas. Mounts are available for all major DSLR models and a macro kit is also available.

This is a fun lens to use and creatively its application is unlimited. So the next time you find yourself in creative funk, give this little gem a try and see the world in a whole new light.

January 14, 2011March 30, 2018

Horsetail Fall

Every February something special happens in Yosemite Valley if the conditions are right. At some point during the month the setting sun aligns perfectly with the canyon walls to the west for several evenings creating a longer than usual glow on the granite walls. And if the winter snowpack is substantial and the temperature warms enough to start the spring runoff, a wonderful cascade forms on the southeast side of El Capitan aptly named Horsetail Fall.

Of course all of this along with the rest of Yosemite’s splendor would be enough to satisfy anyone visiting the valley this time of year. But in addition (as if mother nature is trying to outdo herself) for only a few minutes each evening the alignment of the sun also illuminates the falls from behind creating a brief firefall that is truly amazing. When I made this image, the sky had been rather drab all day and as the magic time approached it looked as if nothing would happen. Then suddenly the clouds parted to the west, the falls began to glow and I had only moments to make a couple of exposures before the light was gone.

October 8, 2010June 10, 2015

The Wild Wild West

The ghost town of Bodie in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bridgeport, California is perhaps the best preserved icon of the gold rush days of the American West. Kept in a state of arrested decay by the California State Parks, this national historic landmark is a rich source of photographic inspiration and a colorful step back in time.

In its heyday of the 1880s Bodie’s population grew to nearly 10,000 and an estimated 100,000 million dollars of gold was culled from the surrounding hills. Gunfights occurred regularly in the streets after long days working the mines, the gambling halls and brothels thrived, and the bad men from Bodie quickly became legend across the country.

Today Bodie is quiet except for the occasional tumble weed blowing down Main Street and the creaking buildings that look as if they may collapse at any moment. But as you look through a window at the stocked shelves of the Boone Store or the open books in the school-house it’s not hard to imagine the challenging life of the pioneers who flocked to this remote valley in pursuit of that precious metal.