Reflected Sky

We get so little rain here in S. CA, it feels like a treat to have these standing puddles after our recent storm! Not to mention we've been treated to some great skies! This is my granddaughter standing near a flooded baseball diamond at our local park.

According to the Orange County Register, we need 11 trillion gallons of water to get out of our current drought!!  I'm not holding my breath.

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Night and Day

A little music to enjoy as you check out my pics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn_cfbK9M14

Night...

and Day:

That's my granddaughter climbing up to the clouds!

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Unidentified Contrail

I took this photo two weeks ago in Twentynine Palms, CA (near Joshua Tree and also very close to the Twentynine Palms Marine Corp Air Ground Combat Center). It was just about sunrise and I was surprised to be greeted with this view!

What's making this contrail? I have no idea, but it was moving fast!

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Rain Is On The Way!

Finally... looks like Southern CA is going to get some rain! It's been over 9 months since we've had any significant rain. Not to mention we are in a severe, multi-year drought. The biggest part of the storm is supposed to hit tomorrow. I could see the storm clouds moving in late yesterday afternoon. The sky was putting on quite a show!

16mm wide angle shot

You could see the big, heavy clouds moving in quickly.

400mm telephoto lens

You can see some of the Knotts Berry Farm rides (center left) in the photo above. I think that big thing that looks like a tower is called "Supreme Scream".

This photo (above) is one of my favorites. You can clearly see heavy rain coming down on the left. Very dramatic! Fortunately, it stayed to the east of me.

I was even treated to a rainbow (or at least part of a rainbow), although it didn't last long.

Above is the view west... a nice sunset shot.

The view southwest (above). Like I said, the sky was putting on a show in all directions! I did my good deed and took a few photos of the family (walking back home on the trail) under some very dramatic skies. They said it was going to be their 2014 Christmas card.

My last shot of the night, and back to my 400mm telephoto lens.  If you look closely, you can see the big overhead cranes of the Long Beach Shipyard, and the Pacific Ocean beyond. I packed up my gear and hiked back to my car just in time to avoid a brief downpour!

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