The Bird

Let me get this out of the way first; the seagull image is real.  Its almost too good to be true, I know, that the bird is centered in the window in the rock, especially when you consider that I was shooting with the 2-second timer on my camera.  Don't get me wrong; this is exactly what I was visualizing.  It just happened before I had a chance to really work on it.

My long weekend on the Sonoma County coast was full of magical moments.  The terrain is particularly varied, with rugged coastal scenes, sweeping ridge views, vineyards, and dark green forests. 

I have to give some of the credit, too, to the guys who put this trip together.  Jerry Dodrill lives locally, is a tremendously talented photographer, and is the kind of guy who is followed around by a cloud of serendipity.  Justin Black, also an accomplished photographer and teacher, organizes these trips (he put together the Grand Canyon Raft trip, too) so well that he makes it look easy.  We know better, though.

Of course the adventure included sleep deprivation, cold feet from standing in the ocean (Bowling Ball Beach, above), attack of the killer blackberry bushes, and dodging poison oak (wait, maybe its NOT poison oak...)

This is my idea of a fabulous trip; Even if you don't count the seagull.

More images are in the trip gallery.