A Day in a Snowstorm

These two pine tress stood out from the very snowy background.

Last Thursday was the first of a series of storms running through the local mountains here in Southern California. I headed out with a photographer friend to explore the highest ridge line across the range. By the time we got to the turnoff for the high road, the gate was being closed by the Highway Patrol. So we took the road just below that and had a nice snowy drive through the forest.

As it turns out, it didn't matter that we couldn't get onto the higher road. We were in a storm cloud for the entire drive along that ridge, even on the lower road. We did stop at several places to photograph the snowstorm. The photo opportunities were limited, with the wind blowing and snow falling heavily.

East of the mountain range is the desert. So, with a drive east and a serious loss in elevation, we were in cactus country. I like it out there in the desert. I know my way around, and it presented a better opportunity for photographs that day. We watched the storm push over the ridge and threaten us with a downpour. Fortunately, we were heading home and on higher ground before hailstones started thumping the truck's roof.

The four photos here are all of everything worth sharing from that trip. I'm happy with the results. It was great practice both in the field and back home processing the images.

At the top is the one photo from the snow that I feel is worth sharing. This is the type of scene I was thinking about when we headed out to the mountains.
Below is a panorama of the desert and the distant mountains with the storm pushing over the ridge. This panorama was created with five separate images stitched together. The result is a photo three times as wide as it is high. I really enjoy these expansive landscapes.
It has been raining in the desert for the past month, which means wildflowers. I'll go back out and search for more flowers soon. For now, here are some pretty purple flowers we ran across while driving in a wash.
Finally, The empty road you see in many of my photos is here again. It's a fun photo for me, and I like the results once all the distractions have been removed. In this case, there were some tire tracks in the sand, a single road sign, and the usual road stripes. It cleaned up nicely, don't you think?

Those mountains in the background are high enough to stop most storms coming in from the pacific ocean.

These purple flowers are so pretty, and such a challenge to photograph. The natural pedestal they are on helps the image work