Hot Summer Nights

Hot weather has finally hit the west coast.   Normally, our high desert home in Apple Valley often sees temperatures in excess of 100 degrees for much of July and August.  The roses lose their bloom and my golden retriever seems to move only from the shade into the swimming pool.  Our attempt to escape the 108 degree heat was to drive up to Bishop in the Eastern Sierras where the clean mountain air and crisp nights would bring relief.  Unfortunately, the day we made the 250 mile trip, a summer thunderstorm caused 24 lighting strikes resulting in a 2100 acre forest fire in Buttermilk Country a few miles from our house leaving the skies filled with smoke and the lawns covered with ash.  There was little relief from the temperature with the thermometer registering 102.

With a heavy travel schedule coming up in the next week, we cut our time short and headed home.   I spent a week in this photographers paradise and didn’t even take off the lens cap.

After another week of taking 213 evidence photographs on a half a dozen cases, I was ready to get out on the trail again.  The only problem was that it was still over a hundred degrees.  Packing a lot of camera gear in the summer sun is not my idea of fun!  My daughter suggested we take a break and just drive around  the near by mountains just to look for something to shoot. ????? ???? ??????

No, I didn’t shoot this owl, but I did manage to take a dozen photographs.  After spending the morning shooting various building, ponds and meadows, we found ourselves at the Devil’s Punch Bowl on the northern face of the San Gabriel mountains.  The owl was captive, so I had plenty of time to try to get the best shot.  The photo on the left is the best of the bunch.  This shot was made with a 100mm F2.8 lens set at 5.4 for 1/80 sec, ISO 100.
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