The Last Remnants of Nature
Published on 31 August 2008

I've often heard the argument that the United States is still a vastly unsettled country. A satellite image taken at night over the US will attest to this, as a sprawling network of highways and populated areas can be seen. Yet some of the most beautiful moments one can have with nature come from the remoteness of an area. And in this country, truly being alone with nature can be a daunting task.

I've blogged about my experiences in Colorado before, and about how business owners these days only want to make a quick buck on weary tourists. The city of Manitou Springs, Colorado is a prime example of this. Here, man even tries to simulate nature in order to draw in the crowds, even though nature is ever-present in the area. The truth of the matter is that most ordinary people just aren't happy with what nature has to offer. Seven Falls, a popular tourist attraction near Manitou Springs, would be dry most of the year due to natural conditions were it not for a series of pumps that recycle the water to keep tourists happy. The average tourist expects immediate results, and is not willing to go searching for true beauty. But unfortunately, true beauty is fading at an alarming rate.

The United States has a wonderful system of National Parks that preserve the natural world. But finding yourself truly alone in one of these parks is near impossible. Manmade distractions are everywhere, and many times, scenic vistas are crosscut with roads. The August 2008 issue of National Geographic Adventure features an article entitled The Park at the Top of the World, by Kevin Fedarko, which documents a trip down Canada's Firth River through the Ivvavik National Park. The park, a 2.4-million-acre preserve, is virtually unknown and often goes unnoticed. In Fedarko's words, "Ivvavik is where we'll have to go to witness the soft of wilderness that America threw away." If Fedarko's description and Peter McBride's photography in the article are any indication, Ivvavik National Park is one of the last truly remote places on the planet. And it is a place I someday hope to visit and document, before it's too late.

Pacific Beach, San Diego, California
Published on 29 August 2008

Continuing with my night photography theme, the above image was taken in Pacific Beach, San Diego, this last April. It was fairly dark that night, and I was photographing the moonlit ocean from the beach. When I turned around and looked up, I found this photograph. I quickly threw my camera on my tripod, focused the best I could with the old lens that just happened to be on my camera at the time, and shot this photograph. The scene itself is lit from a streetlight right about the couple.

Anza Borrego State Park, California
Published on 19 August 2008

Earlier this month, I mentioned my love of long exposure night photography and my desire to shoot the sky from the isolation of Anza Borrego State Park. The region, covering 2,400 km² and one-fifth of San Diego County, is the largest state park in California. It also happens to be one of the last places left in the state where one can legally camp without a permit, permission or fee, as long as one is within the park's borders and within either a primitive camp (of which there are many), or a car's length from a washout or road. It gives a sense of freedom and isolation seldom found in the face of dwindling wilderness. And in addition, Anza Borrego is geographically located in such a manner that most, if not all, of the light pollution from San Diego and El Centro is essentially nonexistent. On a moonless and cloudless night, the Milky Way can easily be seen, even without the aid of long exposures. And in the summer months, the temperature at night stays warm enough to easily permit sleeping under the stars. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to cut themselves off from the beauty of the night sky by sleeping in a tent.

I visited Anza Borrego on the night of August 11th, just in time to catch the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Not long after midnight, the moon dipped below the horizon, allowing the full beauty of the starry night sky to reveal itself. As the meteor shower peaked, shooting stars could be seen at least once a minute, if not more frequent. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to miss all of these shooting stars in my photographs. Staying up (almost) all night does have its perks though, as I was still able to capture some fairly decent photographs of the night sky.

One of the great things about Anza Borrego is the park's wildlife. For being such a dry desert, the park hosts a variety of plant life. In the spring, the park comes alive with countless wildflowers. The rest of the year still hosts plenty of cacti, bushes and other things to photograph. One note of warning, however: If you visit in the summer, be sure to stay cool during the day. Once the sun rises, the temperature can easily rise to well over 100 degrees fahrenheit. Still, Anza Borrego is a great place to visit, and is one of the best places to get away from civilization in Southern California.

You can view all of my photographs from Anza Borrego on Flickr.

Review of the Solio Classic
Published on 9 August 2008

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to win a Solio Classic solar-powered gadget charger through the Viropop Community in partnership with Buygreen.com for a blog post I wrote on being green. The Solio is a device roughly the same size as a standard computer mouse that unfurls into an array of three miniature solar panels. When in full sunlight, these three panels charge the device's internal battery, which is a Rechargeable Lithium Ion 3.7V 1.65A cell according to the company's website. This internal battery can also be charged via USB, if one wishes to use the device as a backup battery.

In reference to Buygreen.com, the company behind the contest, I was extremely impressed with what I saw. The first thing that caught my eye was the packaging. The DHL box in which my Solio was shipped (via UPS) had a sticker on it, seen in the photo to the right, which reads "Shamelessly shipped in reused packaging." As an eBay seller, I always try to ship my sales in reused packaging (as the large family of empty boxes in my closet can attest). Though reused packaging might not look as pretty as entirely new packaging, reusing materials is much more environmentally friendly than recycling perfectly good packaging. In addition, rather than using paper or plastic air pouches to cushion the Solio's box inside, Buygreen threw in an organic cotton shopping tote by Ecolution, which is a brand I've purchased and enjoyed in the past!

Back to the Solio, the device is capable of outputting roughly the same voltage commonly used with USB devices. In addition to providing a female USB tip for charge-over-usb devices, the Solio also comes with additional tips for major cell phone brands. The Solio's packaging is almost entirely recyclable, with a few small plastic bags and twist-ties as the only exception. The device also comes with a quick start guide, which guides the user through a series of fairly easily understandable illustrated steps to set up the device. It's also worth mentioning that the Solio comes in white (seen here), black and silver. To top things off, the company has also released a magnesium edition that, although pricier, promises to be more adventure-friendly. The standard Solio, however, feels fairly sturdy. Though it might not hold up well in an Arctic blizzard, it is more than sturdy enough for the typical backpacker/hiker.

In order to get the best charge possible, the company recommends pointing the device directly at the sun. To achieve this, one can slide a pencil into the hole in the center of the Solio, allowing the unit to be propped up to varying degrees. A suction cup has also been provided for mounting the device onto windows, though unfortunately, none of my windows receive any direct sunlight at this time of the year. Once aimed at the sun, the single button on the unit glows red, indicating a charge in progress. Pressing this button, when no devices are connected to the device, initiates a series of flashes that indicate the battery's charge level. One "blink" means a low battery, while five indicate a full battery. In addition, this button is also pressed to start a charge cycle when a gadget is plugged in. Though I've yet to do any extensive testing of the device, it seems that the unit can be fully charged in two days when in full sunlight for most of the day. I'm sure it is possible to charge the Solio in a single day, though most of my property receives shade from trees at different parts of the day, so shadows often interrupt the process. When fully charged, the Solio is capable of charging my N95 cell phone roughly two times.

I'm extremely happy with the Solio, and consider it worth the ~$99 price tag. Though it might not be logical to use the device on a day-to-day basis for charging your gadgets (unless you live in an extremely sunny location), the Solio presents itself as a fantastic travel tool. It would also come in handy as an emergency device, as the company states that the Solio is capable of holding its charge for up to a year. With all things said and done, I'm extremely excited to see what the future holds in terms of Solar-powered portable gadget chargers.

Alone In The Dark
Published on 8 August 2008

Well, not alone entirely. I've got my laptop with me, and the crickets chirping around me. In fact, I'm only in my backyard (though I live in a relatively rural part of suburbia with a large backyard unaffected by modern cookie-cutter landscaping). Earlier today, a post came up in my newsreader about the total solar eclipse on August 1st, and the images sparked that tingle that ultimately leads to low-light photography. Low-light and night photography is an acquired art, one that requires a certain degree of planning and skill. (Photograph above via The Big Picture)

Fast forward about a day now- After I came inside last night, I managed to get a couple of good images from the shots I took. I chose to process my images in black and white, mainly so I could experiment more with the style in digital. One commonly faced problem with shooting long exposure images in digital is sensor noise and overheating. The shots that came out well for me were around six minutes long each, coupled with a second exposure the camera takes with the mirror down in order to find noise and eliminate it. As you can guess, this is an extremely long process. With film, however, exposures can be measured in hours with absolutely no noise (as long as a low-iso film is used, of course). With these long shots, photographers often capture long star trails, as the stars move across the night sky. Even with relatively short exposures, however, star trails are still entirely possible.

Yes, it's true that I love night photography. Unfortunately, my subject matter has been fairly limited. For nearly two years now, I've been trying to plan an overnight trip out to the Anza Borrego desert, about an hour and a half east of where I live in San Diego County. Anza Borrego is a popular location for photographers due to the unique desert landscape it provides. And though it still suffers from light pollution, it is relatively harmless compared to the rest of the county. In addition, I've seen many photographers who have used a full moon to their advantage, photographing the landscape in an eerie light. I'll add it to my list of places I need to desperately photograph.

The Threat of Desertification
Published on 2 August 2008

Wikipedia describes Desertification as the "the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations." This effect, occurring at an increasing rate worldwide, stems from the direct impact of the overuse of land by rising populations. As Wikipedia goes on to describe, one of the first side-effects of desertification is a loss of biodiversity in the region. One example it sites is the sage and chaparral ecosystems of Southern California, which have been replaced by non-native and invasive grasses. It just so happens that I live right in the middle of this ecosystem.

Every few years, a widespread fire devastates the landscape of Southern California. The hillsides, charred black, have the appearance of a lunar landscape. In order to return the hills to their former green and living selves, and to prevent possible erosion, crews spray acres upon acres of land with a green-on-color cocktail of grass seeds. Sure, the hills once again look well and living. But this practice directly interferes with nature's wishes. The region is burned so often for a reason, and human interference is only going to make matters worse.

I was reminded of Desertification, a topic I heard about sometime in the past, when I went on a recent day trip to Julian, California. This quaint small town is located close to forty minutes from where I live, and the drive there takes you through the dry and arid landscape of east San Diego county. The area around Santa Ysabel, on the way to Julian, is currently experiencing a drought. That combined with the abundance of fires in the region nearly a year ago equate to a desert-like landscape. In fact, the only difference between this area and a desert is the abundance of wild grasses, dry from the lack of precipitation. Only minutes away from Santa Ysabel is the Anza Borrego desert, which is located down the mountain from Julian. Though the dryness of the region is probably only temporary, it certainly seems as if the Anza Borrego desert is slowly creeping westward.

Photograph by Flickr user bachmont.

From Colorado: Helen Hunt Falls
Published on 2 August 2008

As I've mentioned before, Colorado Springs is saturated with tourist traps. Though it's located next door to plenty of wonderful natural elements, most tourists merely follow the giant freeway billboards. One tourist trap you should avoid is Seven Falls. Due to a natural drought in the region, this seven-stepped waterfall is actually fueled by pump-driven recirculated water for the dryer months of the year. In addition, some reviewers online state that the attraction operators place fake wildlife in the immediate surroundings to entertain tourists. Right away, this didn't sound like fun to me.

Instead, I chose to spend my time at Helen Hunt Falls. This waterfall, named after famed author Helen Hunt Jackson, is accessible via a right turn just prior to the road that leads to Seven Falls. The road to Helen Hunt Falls leads you through a series of switchbacks up the mountain, upon which you stumble across the quaint visitors center for the falls. From here, you can take a hike that leads to the top of the falls, and then above the falls to a ridge overlooking a tall rock face. This overlook offers a beautiful view of the region, from the pine-saturated foothills to the plains off in the distance.

I was lucky enough to have done my research ahead of time, and managed to avoid yet another tourist trap. But most people only go by what's shown in advertisements, and because of this, don't even know that Helen Hunt Falls exists. Though this is a shame, it also means that you probably wont find a crowd at the falls, which results in a much less stressful experience. And if you're a photographer, it'll be much easier to take tourist-free shots as well. If you're in the region, and you're looking for a good way to connect to nature and go on a few hikes, I highly recommend checking out Helen Hunt Falls and its surrounding region.

View more photos of Helen Hunt Falls on my Colorado Flickr set.