For my birthday I went with some friends up to Sequoia National Park for camping and full moon photography. I also brought along my new Canon 5DSR (50 megapixel and new low pass filter for sharper images). I'll let the images tell most of the story and write a little note under each image. Enjoy Steem photography fans...
Seth and I drove from LA and picked up Eddie 2.5 hours north in Bakersfield. Then we blazed up to the Sequoia National Park for a two days of camping, hiking and photography. Along the way we passed through some orange groves. Above you see some baby orange trees along the road.
On the opposite side of the road old orange trees were piled up and ready to be burned. Strange.
Even weirder was this net over the highway. Any ideas why?
Somewhere on Hwy 198 near Three Rivers we stopped and grabbed some avocados and strawberries from a local farmer. Just when I thought we could completely escape Justin Bieber, he appears on a fucking beach towel.
Farm country in California is just as weird as any farm community. I like the weirdness of it all. A cow with a door in it. WTF.
On the opposite side of the road is Atlas Tires that looks like it's been closed for decades. Relics of the past and decay is a beautiful thing.
Closed.
It's $30 for a day pass into the park; we opted for the $80 annual pass for all National Parks in the US. We got in too late to drive up to the back country for camping so we grabbed a spot at two of the camp sites which were open. Buckeye isn't bad if you're into basic camp sites with a bathroom. We set up camp knowing we would probably find a different spot nearby, but we needed a decoy camp setup so the park rangers wouldn't get suspicious. Eddie and Seth crack some jokes and sip on some Makers.
Behind the designated camp site is a river and waterfall about 100 ft below. I set up my nest for the night on the ledge for a fantastic view and sound of the roaring river below.
At about 1am some of my camping gear rolled off into the river below. Apparently I slid down to the edge, luckily my gear that fell below made a huge crash sound and woke me up. I scooted off slowly and moved into the decoy tent above. Eddie gave me holly hell the next morning for using the tent
Seth makes stuffed Jalapeño Spam Poppers wrapped in tinfoil to be put on the fire.
Long exposure of Eddie and Seth
The full moon peeks it's glowing face over the mountain ridge and we go for a walk in the moonlight.
Armed with a small tripod and my new Canon 5DSR, I shot everything in JPG mode just as a test.
We also brought Indica, a German Sheppard mix who loves to camp.
A car drives by on the main road and grab a few shots with 15 or 20 second long exposures.
A shot without cars in the same location. See the stars and clouds?
Eddie sits on the side of the road for a series of portraits. I used the full moon to light up the background and a cell phone light to light up his face. This was a 20 second exposure and I had Eddie move his head slowly from one side to the other while I painted his face with light.
In the morning we went for a hike and discovered a few swimming holes up river. After the hike we decided to head into Three Rivers (town) for supplies and beer.
On the way to the car Seth exercises his inner sensitivity and rolls around in some flowers.
Beer Run.
For lunch we had beers and burgers at River View Restaurant
Seth dives into some meaningful conversation with the locals; it helps to have Indica with us.
Eddie approval
Seth Breakheart
We return to the park feeling refreshed from several beers and set up camp along the river. No tent necessary.
We had some dinner by a fire and then did some night shots along the river using just the full moon light.
Thanks for tuning into Part 1. Part 2 (day 2) we drive up to 7,000 ft to see one of the oldest trees in the world, Sherman Tree, a 3,200 year old sequoia tree.