Grand Canal Shoppes @ The Venetian

Shooting film in Las Vegas (at night, no less) was no doubt a tall order, but it was a fun experience.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River during the Great Depression, sits on the border between the states of Arizona and Nevada. Its generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California, but it is also a major tourist attraction (approximately 30 minutes from Las Vegas).

Cima

A 19-mile drive on Kelso Cima Road took me from Kelso to Cima, alongside the Union Pacific Railroad on the right and fields of joshua trees on the left. Cima is now a ghost town with few habitats and sports a convenient store for its travelers (which seems have closed permanently now).

Kelso Dunes

When I first planned to visit the Mojave National Preserve (in route to Las Vegas), I didn't know what to expect. After all, it was just part of the route which I'd spend no more than 5 hours. Looking at the park map didn't help much neither, as there are only 1-2 must-see spots.

Yucca Brevifolia

Yucca brevifolia, more commonly known as Joshua tree, is native to southwestern North America in the states of California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. They are confined mostly in the Mojave Desert as I have personal seen a forest of them in both Joshua Tree National Park and Cima Dome of Mojave National Preserve.

Point Reyes

My collection of the cancellation stamps continues as I toured San Francisco. After stopping at the visitor center at Muir Woods (been here before but did not get the stamp), I cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway northbound for Point Reyes National Seashore, about an hour from Muir Woods.

Work in Progress

I knew right away that visiting the Grand Central Market and The Grove would present many opportunities for candid photography as well as practising zone focusing. Although acquiring this new skill is a work in progress, it was still fun to be shooting candid photography which I don't actively shoot.

Balboa Park

After some midnight Black Friday shopping in the outlet by the Mexican border, my friend and I had a well-deserved lengthy rest only to wake up to a misty morning. The sun was nowhere to be seen but we must deal with this unpleasant weather.

慰靈塔 (Soul Consoling Tower)

100,000 people, 100,000 stories. Here in Manzanar, those stories were truly some unfortunate ones. When World War II broke out, tens of thousands of Japanese, mostly Japanese-American, were forced to leave their homes and live in Manzanar (in the middle of nowhere).

Sunrise @ Mono Lake

Because I spent the sunrise shooting at the Convict Lake, the same light passed when I arrived at Mono Lake 25 miles later.

Devil's Elbow

After enjoying a well deserved stayover in the Curry Village, I looked around for some morning shots in the Yosemite Valley. Then I discovered the Devil's Elbow. When I got there, a professional photographer (I assume) was conducting a workshop. Although the workshop was fairly fundamental, I saw some very fancy equipment (full frame digital, red/gold ring) were used by the participants. I also joined them along the shoot and got some amazing photos. Here's another shot with a perfect reflection on still water.

Valley View

After spending a night at the Curry Village in almost freezing temperature, I drove around the Yosemite Valley the next morning for different scenes. Because the valley is surrounded by tall mountains, lighting was a really challenging issue.

Devils Postpile

When I found out that Devils Postpile would close starting in November, I knew right away the Eastern Sierra trip must realise. Located beyond the skiing area of the Mammoth Lakes, the ride to the Devils Postpile was a pleasant one in a comfortably warm afternoon. The end of autumn also meant uncrowded traveling in the Mammoth Lakes, a popular skiing area in the winter.

Bristlecone Pine Tree

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine trees, grown between 9800 to 11000 feet above sea level, can be found in the Ancient Pine Forest in the White Mountains in eastern California. Most significantly, the Methuselah, a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine that is more than 4750 years old, is located in the Methuselah Grove trail.

Convict Lake

After visiting Devils Postpile, I backtracked my way to the 395 Highway, going south to observe the afternoon light in Convict Lake. In fact, it was the one iconic image that I was going after -- the reflect of the mountains in the water.

To the Road Less Traveled

This is a year of much traveling for me. Earlier this year I visited Alaska interior, New York, Joshua Tree National Park, and multiple trips to Bay Area, but just now I've come back from another major road trip (1000 miles!) along the Eastern Sierra.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Before leaving New York, we had time to walk around the St. Patrick's Cathedral. Because it was going through a 5-year major renovation, much of its outside was covered up by construction material. The inside of the 135 years old church was brilliantly built and it felt like one of those old-time European cathedrals (though I've only seen photos of them), but only everything was sparkling. Amazing as it is, I didn't get much photographs. Here is a photo of the altar.

Grand Central Terminal (Main Concourse)

With so much left to see in New York City, I opted to to visit the Grand Central Terminal on my last day. It is the world's largest, if not the busiest, rail terminal station, but definitely one of the most visited places.

Brooklyn ridge

As its name suggests, the Brooklyn Bridge is the famous landmark that connects Brooklyn and New York City. Although my time in New York was brief, I managed to pay a visit to this NYC icon. I am by no means an expert in architecture, so I probably under-appreciate the structural/engineering/architectural greatness of this particular monument. Due to time constraint, I turned around at the Manhattan-side tower but not without a few photographs.

Top of the Rock

Rushing through two museums and Central Park, we made our way to the Rockefeller Center and the GE Building. After enjoying a refreshing iced coffee on a hot summer day, we rode the elevator to the Top of the Rock (GE Building), a competing tourist spot against the Empire State Building Observatory Deck.

Times Square

After visiting the over-crowded Empire State Building at sunset, we walked our way to Broadway and Times Square. Having lived in L.A. for the longest time, New York requires so much walking! Even though our legs were tired, we managed to go on and arrived at the fabulous place at last. The ultra large LCD, the crowd, the billboards, and the advertisement are just like what you see in a film. Truly, there is no place like New York!

The Metropolis

We made our way to the Empire State Building after the Circle Line cruise. Our original goal was to observe sunset from the observatory deck, but we encountered a long waiting line as everyone else had the same wish as we did.

Statue of Liberty

My first trip to New York began with the Circle Line full island tour. Arriving minutes prior to departure, we barely got our tickets and got on board just in time. The tour started off along the coast, giving us great views of the Manhattan skyline from the water, and soon we approached the Liberty Island, where the colossal sculpture Statue of Liberty stands.

Skull Rock

The Skull Rock obviously resembles a skull.

Star Trails @ Arch Rock

Having located the Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park in the daytime, I returned here at night for some star trails photography. My original intent was to keep the shutter open for a minimum of 3 hours, but I was forced to cut it short when too many people showed up and tried to light-painted the Arch Rock.

Milky Way

Besides the unfair competition between the E100VS vs Fujifilm X-Trans sensor, I also tested the Fujifilm's claim on their superb high ISO capability. Originally I only wanted to shoot star trails with the film, but another photographer pointed out the milky way was quite visible and showed me its whereabouts.

Desert or Paradise?

Even though Joshua Tree is a "desert" National Park, it is so beautiful inside that I thought I have come to a paradise instead. Situated are the desert plants sustaining the high temperature and they show strong will to survive in such harsh environment. It's so deserted yet so full of life at the same time. Judging by this photo, what is it gonna be -- desert or paradise?