San Diego Sierra Club Photo Section Calendar

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Questions or additions? Just call or email Ken Rockwell at (858) 453-2099. For questions about any particular trip contact the trip organizer.

Everyone is welcome, member or not, to our meetings. Trips are open only to members, which is no big deal since the trips are free and membership is only $25 a year. See our home page to join.

Photos from previous outings here. Old calendar archive here.

Monthly Meeting Time and Location: We meet at 7PM on the 3rd Thursday of the month at Wesley Palms, 2404 Loring Street, Pacific Beach 92109, (858) 581-8423. Directions. All meetings are free. (We met at the zoo back in 2006.)

OUTINGS: Photo section outings suggested below merely suggested activities at fixed public locations and are NOT formal Sierra Club Outings. Anyone may come and go as they please. We just get together for fun, even if we meet out of state or out of the country. Smoking is absolutely forbidden. You ought to make advance contact with the organizer, otherwise the leader may not bother to show up if they feel too few people are going to be there. Of course as suggestions you may do as you please regardless of what we do, by all means show up on your own and go Italian, even if no one else is. You are responsible for making your own travel and lodging arrangements for everything.

Live satellite images of cloud conditions over San Diego here. The entire Western USA is here, then just click any area for a close up. Be sure to wave to the satellite! Here's the index page to more images from the same source.

Generalizations about wildflowers: Flowers start in the lower Southwestern deserts and move north and to higher elevations. They can start as early as January in the lower deserts and will have peaked and gone away by April or May. In April or May try the Owens Valley or the Great Smoky Mountains. By early August the flowers in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada should be peaking. Try Anza Borrego, Death Valley, Carson pass in the Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley, Joshua Tree and Lake Elsinore. Try Organ Pipe in Arizona. Try the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, Yankee Boy Basin in Colorado and Glacier National Park in Montana. (adapted from Christopher Talbot Frank in Outdoor Photographer, August 2005, p. 48.)

Sun and moon data here.

No outing today? Help out by watching some frogs at Frogwatch USA!

Contests

Mission Trails Regional Park Photo Contest. Deadline: 18 April 2008. Cost: $5/entry.

Categories:
1.Color--Scenic View
2.Color--People, Flora & Fauna
3.Black and While--Scenic View or People, Flora & Fauna
4.Youth Division--(chilren 17 & under) B&W or Color

National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest This is a great contest, with loads of prizes, and more importantly, some of the most extraordinary winning photos each year. Deadline: 01 July, 2008.

Milk-Bone's 100th Anniversary Photo Contest, deadline 18 September 2008.

Ongoing

Borrego Wildflowers are predicted to be at their best during the first two weeks of March. It should be a
good year for blooms due to the generous and regular rainfall we've had this winter. Check the internet
for info before heading down and if you need some additional advice, stop by the ranger station.

http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_abdsp.html

July 2008

July 23rd Outing, Wednesday:

Location:
La Jolla
The location is right across from 333 Coast Blvd S, La Jolla, CA. map

There is a large sidewalk across from the address above, overlooking the beach/ocean right by the green seating gazebo type structure. There is plenty of parking on the street around that area. It's just south of the grassy wedding spot in La Jolla overlooking the ocean.

When:
Wednesday July 23.
Meet at 7pm.
Plan on shooting till after the sun goes down to get the optimal long exposure images.
Don't forget to bring your TRIPOD!!!!!!
I konw some people aren't keen on using a tripod but it's difficult to do 15-30 second exposures no matter how steady of a hand you have.

Hope to see some of you there.

Thanks
Jonathan Fennell
JFennell@JFennellPhoto.com
Cell: 619-861-7873

August 2008

Starting August 18: Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week (Utah).

MEETING: Thursday, August 21st, 2008, 7PM: Jim Cline

Journeys in Latin America

Join award winning travel photographer Jim Cline on his recent journeys through the fascinating and beautiful countries of Mexico, Guatemala and Peru. Jim’s presentation features the very best from his recent travels on many trips to these countries, both traveling solo and while leading groups on photo tours:

We’ll begin the journey by land, diving south across the border at Tecate. We’ll then head south down the Baja Peninsula, photographing the colorful desert blooms, giant Cardon cacti and the incredible gray whales getting up close and friendly to our small boat. After cruising the islands in the turquoise Sea of Cortez where we’ll encounter dolphins, whales, sea lion colonies and numerous seabirds, we’ll explore desert oasis towns, historic missions, seascapes and desert scenes, and everywhere the friendly inhabitants.

We’ll continue the journey on the mainland of Mexico where we’ll visit colonial cities and Aztec ruins. We’ll experience the mystical Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca, and visit Chiapas, the most beautiful and less-traveled state in Mexico. There we’ll take river excursions where we’ll photograph crocodiles at close range, and visit ancient Mayan ruins and indigenous people still clinging to centuries-old traditions.

Continuing south we’ll explore Guatemala, visiting both well-known tourist sites and off-the-beaten-path locations as well. We’ll visit traditional families and photograph them in exquisite light. We’ll meet a local saint who drinks rum non-stop. Then we’ll explore magical Tikal, home to ancient Mayan temples amid a jungle teaming with monkeys, toucans, and other wildlife. We’ll experience sunrise and sunset from atop the pyramids which rise out of the jungle canopy.

Finally we’ll head to South America and venture high in the Andes in Peru where we’ll visit world-famous Machu Picchu and lesser known Inca sites such as Sachsaywaman and Ollantaytambo – locations that are difficult to pronounce, but breathtaking to see. We’ll go to villages situated high in the Andes and photograph the colorful inhabitants who still carry on many of the traditions of their Inca ancestors. We’ll finish our journey at the spectacular Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Jim’s wanderlust and search for compelling images has brought him to 30 countries around the globe, but his area of special interest is in the countries of Latin America. He especially enjoys exploring less-traveled areas, photographing the indigenous peoples and traditional cultures found in the developing world. He always strives to transcend ordinary travel pictures, and to convey a strong sense of place, and the spirit of the people in his photographs. His work has been displayed in galleries and the San Diego History Museum, and published in numerous books, magazines, websites, brochures & CD covers. Jim leads photographic tours to various locations in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru. For information on the tours and to see some of Jim’s images go to www.JimCline.com.

OUTING: Saturday, August 23rd, 2008, 5PM: Scavenger Hunt!

Scavenger Hunt 2008

Hooray ! One of our club’s most popular, educational and challenging events is soon approaching. It’s also a great time out with fellow SCPS members. Scavenger Hunt participants will meet at a coffee shop in Ocean Beach called Jungle Java (5047 Newport Avenue) on Saturday, August 23 at 5pm. There will be a list of 12 categories given out. Scav Hunt photogs will spend the next three hours exploring the streets and beaches of OB “finding” photos to fill each category. At 8:15pm, we will meet again to turn in images (digital only) and grab a bite to eat. September’s SCPS meeting will include a Scav Hunt slideshow and awards.

Directions:

Take 8 East towards the beach
Turn Slight Left onto Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Turn Right on Newport
End at 5047 Newport Avenue

Parking may be limited but usually available within a
couple blocks of the meeting point. If necessary,
there are pay parking lots close by.

Questions? Contact Theresa Vernetti
tvernett@yahoo.com

Aug 25-Sept. 1: Burning Man Festival. Black Rock City, CA (clothing prohibited.)