Jun 2024 (One Month - One Picture)
Explore Landscapes #44: June was a great month for many reasons: family, friends, hiking, and dark sky photography. Five years ago was pretty good too - visited three continents in one month!
If you‘re new here, welcome. I’m a professional landscape photographer and hiking/backpacking guide specializing in Joshua Tree National Park. My weekly Monday newsletter is typically a long-form ‘teaching’ article for paid subscribers and workshop attendees. My free Thursday newsletter should interest a wider audience and is typically about my hiking, volunteering, or workshop adventures.
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June 2024 | Joshua Tree National Park (3 trips)
June was a great month for many reasons: family, friends, hiking, dark sky photography workshops, and no visit to the ER!
After nine months of empty-nesting, both daughters are home for a few months, which is wonderful. It’s so good to have them both at home again.
This month also marks 10 years since we left Hamburg and moved to Southern California. I posted a visual diary to mark that anniversary.
I spent a fun weekend in Joshua Tree with friends to celebrate a birthday on the summer solstice. Feels a bit early in the year to say that the days are starting to draw in again, but that’s a fact. I rounded that weekend out by hiking up Inspiration Peak. My fourth Mojave Desert Peak climbed in 2024, but two behind schedule, so I have a lot of catching up to do when the days start to cool down in September.
This past month, I conducted several dark sky photography workshops in Joshua Tree, a few private and one on behalf of the JTNPA Desert Institute.
This month’s image is a star trail timelapse captured near Cap Rock in Joshua Tree. While I do enjoy shooting the Milky Way, there’s something special (in my opinion) about creating a star trail image. This is a stack of 162 images taken over an hour, one image every 20 seconds.
Last month, I published two posts about editing Milky Way images: Milky Way Editing Workflow and Reducing Noise in Milky Way Images.
June 2019 | Big Bear, CA | Istanbul | Bangkok | Bhutan
I first traveled to Bhutan about 20 years ago on a work trip, and although I spent a few days in the country, I had no time to explore; I pretty much just saw the airport, hotel, and the aircraft I was inspecting. Ever since I’ve wanted to go back.
Last year I turned 50 and, as a present to myself, arranged to return to Bhutan, this time as part of a guided tour. I spent an amazing week exploring Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, and the Phobjikha Valley. The tour was organized by Bhutan Lilly Travels, whom I can’t recommend highly enough.
The trip's highlight was the last day’s hike up to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest Monastery. The hike takes about 5 hours (out and back) and climbs over 1,700 feet to reach the monastery at 10,232 feet. It’s a steep climb, but the views are worth every step.
What to expect next week:
On Monday, paid subscribers will receive a post on White Balance and Color Temperature from me.
Next Thursday, all subscribers will get a post on the Creative Banter Podcast.
Let me be your landscape photography guide to Joshua Tree National Park
My workshops cater to all levels of photographers and include classic viewpoints and hidden gems. I'll ensure you're in the best place to take advantage of the light and weather conditions.
You can choose a one-to-one workshop (and personalize it to what you'd like to photograph, specific techniques, or how far you want to hike) or join a small group workshop (limited to 3 photographers).
Stay for a weekend and immerse yourself in the majesty of the Mojave on a landscape photography retreat in Joshua Tree National Park.
Here are a few of my posts that you might be interested in reading:
Interesting musings, images, and art from others:
Travel Before Cellphones by Emese Fromm
Trend Mill 23 / The Slow Demise of Google Search by Stephen Moore
Out in Nature: Trees by Kewtiebird’s Photo Journey
Meditations on solar, Joshua trees, and the movement to kill clean energy by Jonathan P. Thompson
Montreal and Paris by Jim Roche
Tools for Creative Meditation by Ibarionex - The Candid Frame
Two new episodes of 90 Miles from Needles by Chris Clarke
Give Your Writing to the World in Equal Parts Playfulness and Wisdom by Amanda Bray Hinton and SmallStack
Rain: love/hate by Perfect Light
Peace, Equality and Prosperity by Poppy Thaxter and Richard Baird
My younger brother recently for into astrophotography and has been showing me his images of star trails. One of my favorites! The view with the cacti beat his of his backyard though…. We did, however, recently get to Big Bend National Park for some photos though!
What an amazing monastery!