We can see the Milky Way on some nights in Ashland, but camping at the Lake Siskiyou Camp Resort in Northern California provides a much better view of the Milky Way. The smoke you see in today’s photo (below the Milky Way and above my tent) was coming from the next campsite over. I slept with just tent netting on the other side of the tent so that I could gaze at the Milky Way through the night. Unfortunately, clouds gathered, thunder and lightning began, and soon thereafter I was getting wet and had to close things up.

Posted on August 22nd, 2012 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: lake siskiyou, night photography, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments: 1

We just returned from a few days in California. We camped near Lake Siskiyou which is near Mt. Shasta in Northern California, only a little over an hour south of Ashland. The lake was chaos on hot days in the afternoon on a weekend in August, but I took today’s photo in the morning with few people around.

Posted on August 20th, 2012 under nature, outside of ashland, places. Tags: california, lake siskiyou, mt. shasta, nikon d7000, photoshop photomerge, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Lake Siskiyou panorama

Today’s photo is from last week’s trip to the Howard Prairie Lake Resort Marina. Today we are heading down to California to do a weekend of camping at Lake Siskiyou.

Mount McLoughlin can be seen in the distance in the center. In real life the mountain stands out much more, but with a wide angle lens everything seems more distant than in reality.

Posted on August 17th, 2012 under nature, outside of ashland, places. Tags: clouds, howard prairie lake, mount mcloughlin, nikon d7000, photoshop photomerge, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon, water. Comments Off on Fishing anyone?

Last month we hiked up Upper Table Rock to watch the sun set. It’s not much of a hike really–more like a good walk. I’m not sure the exact distance we walked, but I doubt it was more than 5 miles including exploring the top. There is a bit of elevation gain on the way up, but it isn’t strenuous. In the summer you probably don’t want to do it in the afternoon or it will feel difficult from the heat. Go up in the morning or just before the sunset (with a flashlight for the way down) if you decide to visit on a hot day. Bring water.

Directions: To get to the Upper Table Rock trailhead from I-5 take the Central Point Exit 33 (just north of Medford and about 20 minutes north of Ashland), drive east on Biddle Road 1 mile, turn left on Table Rock Road for 5.2 miles to a curve, and then turn right on Modoc Road for 1.5 miles to the trailhead parking lot on the left. There is a sign as you approach Modoc Road so it is hard to miss.

Posted on August 13th, 2012 under nature, outside of ashland, places. Tags: hike, nikon d7000, sunset, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon, trails. Comments Off on Table Rock sunset hike

Twenty miles east of Ashland you will find Howard Prairie Lake. We headed up there yesterday to escape the heat and take a bike ride. At an elevation of over 4500 feet (Ashland is at 2000 feet), the temperature is usually about 10 degrees cooler.

Today’s photo is a three pic photomerge (with a wide angle lens to begin with) so it covers almost 180 degrees. If you look really closely you can see Mt. McLoughlin to the right of center.

Posted on August 10th, 2012 under nature, outside of ashland, places. Tags: clouds, howard prairie lake, mount mcloughlin, Mt. McLaughlin, nikon d7000, panorama, photoshop photomerge, signs, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon, water. Comments Off on Howard Prairie Lake

Today’s pic is another of one of the cars on display at the Southside Tattoo Customer Appreciation BBQ and car show a few weeks ago here in Ashland.

Posted on August 9th, 2012 under only in ashland, places. Tags: funky cars, nikon d7000, southside tattoo, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Nevada Brothel Inspector mobile

I just got back from a quick trip to my old stomping grounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. The main purpose was to see Iron Maiden play in front of about 20,000 fans at Shoreline in Mountain View. I worked right across the street from Shoreline in the 1990s. This was my sixth time seeing Iron Maiden live but only the second time in the past 25 years. I’ll post some more photos on my other blog over the coming days.

Posted on August 5th, 2012 under outside of ashland, people, places. Tags: california, concert photography, iron maiden, metal, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Iron Maiden @ Shoreline Amphitheatre

Allison and Victor played this past Sunday on the deck of Weisinger’s Winery.

Posted on July 31st, 2012 under only in ashland, people, places. Tags: concert photography, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Allison Scull and Victor Martin @ Weisinger’s Winery

What does one of Frida Kahlo’s self portraits have to do with Ashland you ask? Not a whole lot, but there is a distant connection. Frida was married (twice) to Diego Rivera who was from Guanajuato, Mexico. Guanajuato is Ashland’s sister city and the two share a very close relationship.

I took today’s photo at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York last month. The title of this painting is “Fulang-Chang and I,” and here is the blurb that went with it.

Posted on July 30th, 2012 under people. Tags: new york, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Frida Kahlo