A Bear Inside a Tree

I took this shot in the Lower Dusy Basin in Kings Canyon National Park during a backpacking trip from July 28 to August 4, 2010. To me it looks like a bear emerging fully formed (although with an adult head and a cub's legs) from a tree.

I took a shot of another tree in Colorado a couple of years ago that resembled an old man's face, so I keep an eye out for these kinds of photos now.

Goalie Surrounded by Alien Spaceships

Isaac C. -- a good goalie, fun dude and great man -- playing at Panorama City's Valley Ice Center Ice Skating Rink... and apparently surrounded by small alien space ships.

Kayaker on Twin Lakes, Mammoth, California

Shot on August 30, 2009. Sometimes, all you need is to get away from the city. Or get away from other people. Or get away from yourself. The most difficult of all three.

A Hawk and a Post and California's Fault

This red-tailed hawk rests on a metal post in a vineyard near the Carrizo Plain National Monument, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Todd McCormick, a high school friend of mine, introduced me to a wide variety of predatory birds and a few pronghorn antelope in California's largest remaining single native grassland. The San Andreas Fault cuts through it -- on one one side of the road is something that looks like a miniature Grand Canyon -- and on the other side of the road, there's no evidence of it at all. That's because all of the land west of the fault on the Pacific Plate moved to the northwest as all the land east of the fault moved southwest, and the miniature Grand Canyon was cut off from its across-the-road twin. Bizarre, yet VERY cool. This is all explained by plate tectonics, something I casually studied in one of my favorite college classes -- the fascinating science of geology.

San Diego, Framed

I shot this portion of the San Diego skyline through an art exhibit near the Embarcadero. One of these days, I hope to return to live in the San Diego area. First, however, I need to get out of Los Angeles. I never wanted to live and die in L.A., and right now, that looks like the way things are going. Let's get past this *#!+#@ recession, America!

Not Pretty, But Real

This is one of those photographs that you only get when you are at the right place at the right time, have your camera equipment at hand, and are aware of your surroundings. I saw this hawk helicopter down with its talons extended to the concrete bed of the Los Angeles River (some river), but before I could take a shot, he was out of my line of site. I waited a while, and then I saw him fly to a nearby fence and sit for a moment. As he flew off, I took a series of photographs and caught this image.

Lake Hollywood

Who knew? Certainly not me. I live within a reasonable bike ride of this reservoir in the Hollywood Hills, but I'd never been there until I read an article in the Los Angeles Times that mentioned that the half of the perimiter road around the lake would soon be opened to pedestrians and cyclists. When I finally visited the reservoir, I was astounded by its beauty, as well as the wildlife in its vicinity. In two trips to the lake, I saw a four-point buck, a great-horned owl, and several turtles basking on tree stumps at the edge of the water.

Mouse. It's what's for dinner.

I shot this photograph in October 2009 when I was house-sitting for a friend. I kept my camera handy and attracted Piccolo, my friend's cat, to my computer's mouse by moving the mouse by its tail (cord) with my left hand and holding my camera in my right. I might have to send this shot to icanhascheezburger.com.