San Diego County Miscellaneous

Escondido Creek in the Elfin Forest

One of San Diego County’s most precious natural resources, Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve offers approximately 11 miles of hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian trails, as well as picnic areas and scenic mountain viewing points. In addition, the natural beauty of the Reserve includes such native plant communities as oak riparian, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral. All wildlife and natural resources at the Reserve are fully protected so that future generations may also enjoy these wonders. The Escondido Creek watershed extends from above Lake Wohlford, through the City of Escondido, Harmony Grove, Elfin Forest and Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, and into the San Elijo lagoon in Solana Beach and Encinitas.

Ramona Sign Under a Periwinkle Sky at Sunset - different angle and closer crop

In 2008 Over 50 volunteers worked to create this sign to welcome people to Ramona. This sign is at the intersection of Highway 67 and Highland Valley Road / Dye Road and features an image of a flying hawk and a peaceful horse watching the sun set behind rolling hills. (Thanks to the San Diego Union-Tribune for the history behind this sign.) Ramona is in the mountains of San Diego County, California and is my current home. Tonight's sunset definitely did not disappoint. I started out shooting photos of the sunset near the Ramona Grasslands Preserve (will be posting those later tonight). Just when I thought the sunset was over with, I noticed the sky turning the nice purple - aka periwinkle - seen here. I then set out to shoot the Ramona sign.

Ramona Grasslands Preserve Sunset Panorama - 2

Tonight's sunset as seen in Ramona, California. The tallest peak in the background is Mount Woodson. I shot this along the side of Rangeland Road. Similar framing at my previous post, but the sky produced slightly different colors when this was shot about five minutes earlier.

Ramona Grasslands Preserve Sunset Panorama

Tonight's sunset as seen in Ramona, California. The tallest peak in the background is Mount Woodson. I shot this along the side of Rangeland Road.

Ramona Sign Under a Periwinkle Sky at Sunset

In 2008 Over 50 volunteers worked to create this sign to welcome people to Ramona. This sign is at the intersection of Highway 67 and Highland Valley Road / Dye Road and features an image of a flying hawk and a peaceful horse watching the sun set behind rolling hills. (Thanks to the San Diego Union-Tribune for the history behind this sign.) Ramona is in the mountains of San Diego County, California and is my current home. Tonight's sunset definitely did not disappoint. I started out shooting photos of the sunset near the Ramona Grasslands Preserve (will be posting those later tonight). Just when I thought the sunset was over with, I noticed the sky turning the nice purple - aka periwinkle - seen here. I then set out to shoot the Ramona sign.

Milky Way Above the Ruins of the Buckman Springs Lithia Water Bottling Plant

Along Old Highway 80 in San Diego County, California. Shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens at 20 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. Inside of the building illuminated with a Nichia 219BT LED. Amos Buckman staked a claim at Indian Spring and started bottling water in the 1880s. The springs provided naturally carbonated water tinted red from the high iron content and containing lithium; Buckman Springs Lithia Water sold well for over fifty years! Winifred Buckman took over operations after her father’s death in 1898 but the plant was closed when she passed in 1946. The construction of Interstate 8 nearby dried up the springs and bypassed the town. Bottles from the bottling plant are highly sought by collectors.

Smokes Like A Chimney

The Milky Way above the ruins of the Buckman Homestead Along Old Highway 80 in San Diego County, California. Shot with a Canon 6D and Mitakon 35mm f/2 lens at 15 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. Foreground illuminated with a Nichia 219BT LED. Amos Buckman staked a claim at Indian Spring and started bottling water in the 1880s. The springs provided naturally carbonated water tinted red from the high iron content and containing lithium; Buckman Springs Lithia Water sold well for over fifty years! Winifred Buckman took over operations after her father’s death in 1898 but the plant was closed when she passed in 1946. The construction of Interstate 8 nearby dried up the springs and bypassed the town. Bottles from the bottling plant are highly sought by collectors.

Ruins of the Buckman homestead along Old Highway 80 During Blue Hour

Nice colorful sky a bit after sunset but before dusk. Shot with a Canon 6D and Tokina 17-35mm lens at 1/80 sec f/4.0 ISO 1250 29mm. Amos Buckman staked a claim at Indian Spring and started bottling water in the 1880s. The springs provided naturally carbonated water tinted red from the high iron content and containing lithium; Buckman Springs Lithia Water sold well for over fifty years! Winifred Buckman took over operations after her father’s death in 1898 but the plant was closed when she passed in 1946. The construction of Interstate 8 nearby dried up the springs and bypassed the town. Bottles from the bottling plant are highly sought by collectors.

Ruins of the Buckman Springs Lithia Water bottling plant along Old Highway 80 illuminated by a full moon

Shot with a Canon 6D and Tokina 17-35mm lens at 10 sec f/5.0 ISO 1000. Amos Buckman staked a claim at Indian Spring and started bottling water in the 1880s. The springs provided naturally carbonated water tinted red from the high iron content and containing lithium; Buckman Springs Lithia Water sold well for over fifty years! Winifred Buckman took over operations after her father’s death in 1898 but the plant was closed when she passed in 1946. The construction of Interstate 8 nearby dried up the springs and bypassed the town. Bottles from the bottling plant are highly sought by collectors.

Ruins of the Buckman homestead along Old Highway 80 under a full moon

Despite living in San Diego County since the late 1980's, this was my first time vesting these ruins. Shot with a Canon 6D and Tokina 17-35mm lens at 1.5 sec f/4.0 ISO 1250 29mm. Amos Buckman staked a claim at Indian Spring and started bottling water in the 1880s. The springs provided naturally carbonated water tinted red from the high iron content and containing lithium; Buckman Springs Lithia Water sold well for over fifty years! Winifred Buckman took over operations after her father’s death in 1898 but the plant was closed when she passed in 1946. The construction of Interstate 8 nearby dried up the springs and bypassed the town. Bottles from the bottling plant are highly sought by collectors.

Milky Way, Meteor, and Abandoned Home

The meteor capture here was mostly pure luck. I was still in the process of figuring out the best angle and framing for this house and the Milky Way, when suddenly this moderately-bright meteor streaked down the sky. Shot in the early morning hours of April 15, 2018 at an undisclosed location in the desert in San Diego County, California. Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens. 8 sec f/2.8 ISO 5000. I'm thinking this meteor is either a Virginid or (more likely) April Piscid meteor, but I'm not 100% sure.

Milky Way Over Alien Rocky Desert Landscape

Shot at an undisclosed location in the desert in southern California, the rocks and mountains seen here were formed by seismic activity where the Pacific and North American plates collided. Canon 6D and Canon 50mm lens. 6 sec f/2.5 ISO 6400.

Milky Way Arch Panorama Over Alien Desert Landscape

This is among my first Milky Way panoramas of the 2018 season. A small meteor can be seen to the left of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy (M31) to the right. Shot at an undisclosed location in the desert in southern California, the rocks and mountains seen here were formed by seismic activity where the Pacific and North American plates collided. To create this image, I shot 14 vertical frames with my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens and then combined them in Lightroom.

Lake Lenticulars: Lenticular Wave Cloud Sunset at Lake Henshaw

Some nice lenticular wave clouds seen above Lake Henshaw on April 7, 2018. As wind forces air over the top of mountains, it can force the formation of standing waves in the midst of that wind. As moist air rides up to the peak of the wave, it can condense in the cooler, higher atmosphere. These condensed peaks can stack on top of each other, and form lenticular clouds as seen here. This is a single frame from the timelapse video I posted the other day. Lake Henshaw is a Reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of San Diego, California and 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The lake covers approximately 1,140 acres (460 ha) and holds 55,000 acre feet (68,000,000 m3) of water when full (lowered in 1978 from its original capacity of 203,581 acre feet (251,113,000 m3) out of earthquake concerns), in addition to groundwater stored in its local basin. It drains an area of 207 square miles (540 km2) square miles at the source of the San Luis Rey River. The lake was constructed in 1923 with the building of Henshaw Dam, an earth dam 123 feet (37 m) tall and 650 feet (200 m) long. It is owned by the Vista Irrigation District and used primarily for agricultural irrigation.

More Star Trails at San Diego's Valley of the Moon

To produce this image, I shot 512 frames with my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at 10 sec f/5.6 ISO 3200. The images were stacked using StarStaX and then further processing was done in Photoshop. San Diego County's version of Valley of the Moon is located in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Driving around this park requires slow and very careful driving of a vehicle with 4WD and high clearance. The roads are extremely bumpy patches of deeply rutted solid rock and portions are steep. Don't even think of taking a small 2WD truck or SUV here.

San Diego's Valley of the Moon Star Trails

To produces this image, I shot 106 frames with my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at 30 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. The images were stacked using StarStaX and then further processing was done in Photoshop. San Diego County's version of Valley of the Moon is located in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Driving around this park requires slow and very careful driving of a vehicle with 4WD and high clearance. The roads are extremely bumpy patches of deeply rutted solid rock and portions are steep. Don't even think of taking a small 2WD truck or SUV here.

Jacumba, California Valley of the Moon Star Trails

To produces this image, I shot 142 frames with my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at 30 sec f/2.8 ISO 4000. The images were stacked using StarStaX and then further processing was done in Photoshop. San Diego County's version of Valley of the Moon is located in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Driving around this park requires slow and very careful driving of a vehicle with 4WD and high clearance. The roads are extremely bumpy patches of deeply rutted solid rock and portions are steep. Don't even think of taking a small 2WD truck or SUV here - let alone a Prius. :D

Jacumba, California Valley of the Moon Star Trails

To produces this image, I shot 142 frames with my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG at 30 sec f/2.8 ISO 4000. The images were stacked using StarStaX and then further processing was done in Photoshop. San Diego County's version of Valley of the Moon is located in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Driving around this park requires slow and very careful driving of a vehicle with 4WD and high clearance. The roads are extremely bumpy patches of deeply rutted solid rock and portions are steep. Don't even think of taking a small 2WD truck or SUV here - let alone a Prius. :D

Star Trails in Valley of the Moon in Jacumba, California

The moon was pretty full this night and did a nice job illuminating the landscape here. To produce this image I shot 411 frames each at 5 sec f/4.0 ISO 3200 with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens. I then stacked the frames in StarStaX. I then spent about 90 minutes removing airplane trails. I recently ventured out to Valley of the Moon for the first time. Getting here requires a vehicle with 4WD and high clearance. It also requires slow and careful driving. One must park and hike down a slightly overgrown wash for the last quarter mile. There's lots of interesting things to see here. I still want to go back and explore the mine and Smuggler's Cave. From what I've read, this cabin was still standing until about 20 years ago when some local tweakers burned it down. Now all that's left is the tin roof (rusted), kitchen sink, metal cabinetry, and some stone and cement water storage structures. While it was overall VERY windy in much of San Diego County, the wind at this location wasn't too bad, fortunately.

January 2018 Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse over the Ocean Beach Pier

I shot this at 6:12 AM on January 31, 2018 at the Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego County, California. While the skies were a bit cloudy several hours earlier in the night, mother nature decided to change for the better long before the eclipse. The weather conditions were perfect for observing and shooting the eclipse. No clouds and no wind. My only disappointment was that I was really expecting the moon to be much closer to the horizon (and pier seen here). Still, it was an awesome event. This is a single exposure shot with a Canon 6D at 0.3 sec f/4.5 ISO 200 and 110mm. In post production, I made the moon into a separate layer in Photoshop in order to reduce the brightness a bit so that it isn't so washed out. The size and position of the moon are unchanged, however.

Vandenberg AFB SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Over San Diego

Shot from atop Mount Helix in La Mesa, California. This launch vehicle contained Iridium Next commercial communications satellites 31-40 and was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on December 22, 2017 at 5:27 PM. Shot with a Canon 6D and Tokina 17-35mm at 4 sec f/4.0 ISO 250. Timelapse video coming soon.

Horizontal Lightning Over Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea

I'm not sure whether this was actually over Bombay Beach or way far east of it. I do know that the orange glow near the bottom is light pollution from Bombay Beach. Shot via telephoto lens from atop Mount Laguna, California on August 3, 2017. As with the other lightning shots I've recently posted, this is not Photoshopped - the moon was setting to my back and it did an awesome job of lighting up the layers of clouds here. Shot with my Canon 6D and Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens at 10 sec f/5.0 ISO 1600 150mm. I spent two nights shooting epic lightning, sunrises, and sunsets with another photographer Jeff Morris.

Artistry By Mother Nature.

Lightning strikes above Palm Springs as seen via telephoto lens from atop Mount Laguna, California at around 12:40 A.M. on August 3, 2017. This is not Photoshopped - the moon was setting to my back and it did an awesome job of lighting up the layers of clouds here. Shot with my Canon 6D and Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens at 10 sec f/5.0 ISO 1600 150mm. I spent two nights shooting epic lightning, sunrises, and sunsets with another photographer Jeff Morris.

Lightning bolt and rain over Brawley and/or El Centro, California.

Jeff Morris joined me for a night of shooting a rare lightning storm from atop Mount Laguna. Salton Sea to the left. This was taken around 11:36 PM. The moon setting to our back illuminated the clouds and the landscape. Shot with a Canon 6D and Canon EF 75-300mm at 80mm 15 sec f/4 ISO 800.

Another Panorama of the Milky Way Arch Over Lake Henshaw

After many years of drought, California got record rains earlier this year and the Lake Henshaw actually looks like a lake now. To produce this image, I shot 16 vertical frames at 30 sec f/2.8 and ISO 5000 using my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG. An observation deck is to the right - along with some major light pollution. Lake Henshaw is a Reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of San Diego, California and 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The lake covers approximately 1,140 acres (460 ha) and holds 55,000 acre feet (68,000,000 m3) of water when full (lowered in 1978 from its original capacity of 203,581 acre feet (251,113,000 m3) out of earthquake concerns), in addition to groundwater stored in its local basin. It drains an area of 207 square miles (540 km2) square miles at the source of the San Luis Rey River. The lake was constructed in 1923 with the building of Henshaw Dam, an earth dam 123 feet (37 m) tall and 650 feet (200 m) long. It is owned by the Vista Irrigation District and used primarily for agricultural irrigation.

The Milky Way Arch Over Lake Henshaw

After many years of drought, California got record rains earlier this year and the Lake Henshaw actually looks like a lake now. To produce this image, I shot 14 vertical frames at 30 sec f/2.8 and ISO 5000 using my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG. Lake Henshaw is a Reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of San Diego, California and 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The lake covers approximately 1,140 acres (460 ha) and holds 55,000 acre feet (68,000,000 m3) of water when full (lowered in 1978 from its original capacity of 203,581 acre feet (251,113,000 m3) out of earthquake concerns), in addition to groundwater stored in its local basin. It drains an area of 207 square miles (540 km2) square miles at the source of the San Luis Rey River. The lake was constructed in 1923 with the building of Henshaw Dam, an earth dam 123 feet (37 m) tall and 650 feet (200 m) long. It is owned by the Vista Irrigation District and used primarily for agricultural irrigation.

Pine Valley Creek Bridge and the Milky Way arch.

To produce this panoramic image, I combined 15 vertical frames each shot at 25 sec f/2.8 and ISO 3200 using my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG. Traffic on the bridge provided the streaks of light. The bridge is, of course, straight and not curved, but I like the artistic effect of both a Milky Way arch and bridge arch here. I very subtly illuminated the foreground by reflecting the light of my LED headlamp off of my hand and in the direction of the brush. I hiked about five miles round trip to take this shot - hiking back to my truck in the dark (using a headlamp to see). The Pine Valley Creek Bridge, officially named the Nello Irwin Greer Memorial Bridge, is a reinforced concrete box girder bridge in San Diego County, California near the town of Pine Valley. The bridge was built in 1974 as part of the Interstate 8 (I-8) freeway system. At the time of its construction, it was the first bridge constructed in the United States using the segmental balanced cantilever method. The northern span is 1,691 ft (515.4 m) long while the southern span is 1,741 ft (530.7 m) long.[1] The two spans rise 450 ft (137.2 m) above the valley floor, placing Pine Valley Creek Bridge among the highest bridges in the United States. Originally known unofficially as the Pine Valley Creek Bridge, a California State Senate concurrent resolution (SCR-33) officially named the bridge in honor of the project engineer, Nello Irwin Greer, responsible for designing the section of I-8 known as the "Pine Valley Project". In the original design, the freeway's routing followed the old U.S. Route 80 (US 80) path through the center of the town of Pine Valley. This would have destroyed much of the town and many of the native pines found there. Greer's design re-routed the freeway to the south, bypassing and preserving the quaint beauty of this eastern San Diego County mountain community. This new design also saved 2 miles (3.2 km) of freeway construction, saving millions of dollars in costs. However this re-routing of the freeway mandated the crossing of the Pine Valley Creek Canyon. The bridge that now bears Greer's name was the design answer to that engineering hurdle.

Pine Valley Creek Bridge and the Milky Way

I hiked about five miles round trip to take this shot - hiking back to my truck in the dark (using a headlamp to see). This is a single frame from about 90 minutes of shooting that I'll later be using in a time lapse video. This was shot at 30 sec f/2.8 and ISO 3200 using my Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG. I did a moderate amount of profile correction in Lightroom to minimize the fisheye effect a bit. A semi with a tall trailer with orange and red lights drove by to produce the colorful streaks seen here. The Pine Valley Creek Bridge, officially named the Nello Irwin Greer Memorial Bridge, is a reinforced concrete box girder bridge in San Diego County, California near the town of Pine Valley. The bridge was built in 1974 as part of the Interstate 8 (I-8) freeway system. At the time of its construction, it was the first bridge constructed in the United States using the segmental balanced cantilever method. The northern span is 1,691 ft (515.4 m) long while the southern span is 1,741 ft (530.7 m) long.[1] The two spans rise 450 ft (137.2 m) above the valley floor, placing Pine Valley Creek Bridge among the highest bridges in the United States. Originally known unofficially as the Pine Valley Creek Bridge, a California State Senate concurrent resolution (SCR-33) officially named the bridge in honor of the project engineer, Nello Irwin Greer, responsible for designing the section of I-8 known as the "Pine Valley Project". In the original design, the freeway's routing followed the old U.S. Route 80 (US 80) path through the center of the town of Pine Valley. This would have destroyed much of the town and many of the native pines found there. Greer's design re-routed the freeway to the south, bypassing and preserving the quaint beauty of this eastern San Diego County mountain community. This new design also saved 2 miles (3.2 km) of freeway construction, saving millions of dollars in costs. However this re-routing of the freeway mandated the crossing of the Pine Valley Creek Canyon. The bridge that now bears Greer's name was the design answer to that engineering hurdle.

Vía Láctea in Cuyamaca.

The Milky Way among a few clouds above Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Stonewall Peak to the left. Shot this from the Paso Picacho campground. Shot at 30 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200 using a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in California, USA, located 40 miles (64 km) east of San Diego in the Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. The park's 26,000 acres (11,000 ha) feature pine, fir, and oak forests, with meadows and streams that exist due to the relatively high elevation of the area compared to its surroundings. The park includes 6,512-foot (1,985 m) Cuyamaca Peak, the second-highest point in San Diego County. The name "Cuyamaca" is a Spanish version of the name the native Kumeyaay peoples used for this place. In water-short Southern California, the Indians called the area Ah-Ha Kwe-Ah Mac, meaning "the place where it rains."

Aerials, so up high. When you free your eyes eternal prize.

Aerials aka antennae atop Monument Peak in Mount Laguna, California. I met up with a couple of other photographers from Instagram. The lighting of the foreground was done via a white LED reflection off of the hand (this produced a softer and warmer light). This panorama was made from 14 vertical frames - each shot at 30 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200 using a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG.