Surfer at Dusk

Common Dolphin Plan View

Without whitewater to give away their speed you can't really tell how
fast they are going.

Mount San Jacinto

Petja and me on the Tour of Palm Springs. Mount San Jacinto rises
from the desert floor at 100 ft above sea level to the peak at 10,834
ft above sea level. If you are feeling energetic you can hike the
entire distance in one day on the Cactus to the Clouds trail.

Tower 1 Huntington Beach

This is more heavily modified than most of the pictures I post but I
liked it anyway. It combines the postcard version of HB with the
reality of the power plant. I ride my bike by the power plant a lot
and see the steam and always thought it would make a good picture. I
hope you like it.

Photo Finish

Just fractions of a second from victory and always in the running.

HB Pier Sunset

Another beautiful sunset in Huntington Beach.  Contrast the stark concrete pier to the wooden one in Balboa.

Jacob in Lane Four

He fared well, always finishing close to the winner and even winning one heat.

Balboa Pier Sunset

Painting the Car

Balboa Pier Substructure

This is how all the piers around here used to be made. Huntington
Beach is now concrete because it occupies a special place where winter
storms out of Alaska can wrap around the Palos Verdes peninsula, focus
their energy and destroy wooden structures like these.

Shaping the Car

Jacob cutting his pinewood car to prepare for the derby.  Watch your fingers boy!

The Egret and the Seagull

Usually this is the domain of seagulls and egrets maintain a haughty
superiority by sticking to the marshy grasslands. This fine specimen
decided it wanted to fight with the seagulls over scraps of bait on
the pier.

Tour of Palm Springs

Petja, Heather and I rode the 55 mile version of the Tour of Palm Springs this year. Compared to the 100 mile version we did last year this was almost relaxing.

Pinewood Derby

The Cub Scouts hold a pinewood derby each year in which each boy makes
a car from a kit and races it on race day.

Here we are marking our block of wood for the cuts to shape the body.

Endeavour to be You

One of the things I admire about my daughter is her lack of concern about what other people think is cool.  Here she is just being her silly self.  

Sunset Over Catalina

Backbay Reflections

Backbay Wildlife

Turkey Vulture

In California, if it looks like a hawk with no head it is probably a turkey vulture.  Unlike it's cousin the California condor, it is not endangered and does not have a 10 ft wingspan.  This one is probably a mere 5 ft tip to tip.

Here I Come!!!

Charge!!!

Young master Wallihan, like many boys his age, has an uncanny sense of balance.  It can be seen here as he ascends the loose dirt on this slope.  Roboticists, with modern computers and software, only dream of this kind of control.  We humans may struggle to do simple math at times but our CPUs are marvels at other tasks.

Backbay Grassland

Before the sun sets it casts a golden light on everything.  Atmospheric diffusion and long shadows cut the harsh shadows you see at mid-day.  Landscape photographers refer to this as the golden hour for obvious reasons.

Mount Baldy

Usually all you see looking this direction is a thick haze (not necessarily smog as many people think).  On this day the Santa Ana winds were blowing so I knew I had a chance at clear mountains.  I drove for a while before I found a spot with a view that didn't have a mansion on it.  If you are looking for Mount Baldy on a map you should try Mount San Antonio.  Baldy is just a nickname.

Dog in a Kayak

Self Portrait

Now that guy has issues!

Upper Newport Bay Sunset

Many years ago most of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach was part of the Santa Ana River delta.  As the area grew the river delta was filled and developed.  Now there are just a few reminders of what used to be here.  The two best examples are the Bolsa Chica wetlands and the Newport Back Bay (also know as Back Bay or Upper Newport Harbor).  From this vantage the sun sets directly over a church.  The sunlight through the trees almost made them look on fire.

Whale Tail and Dolphin

Apparently the dolphins like to hang around with the whales but the
whales are just annoyed by the dolphins. Who knew dolphins could be
annoying?

Sunset in Orange

I was outside of work when I looked up and saw this.  Once again the best camera is the one you have with you.  This picture brought to you by iPhone.