Jeff Kohn's Photo Blog

Eastern Sierra Nevada, October 2011

Here are some landscape images from our recent trip to the Sierra Nevada. It wasn't a banner year for autumn color, but the weather was nice and the views were amazing. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

California Trip Snapshots

Heather and I went to Calfornia in October for some hiking and photography in the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the Hwy 395 corridor. There was still snow on the ground from the previous week's storm when we arrived, although much of it gradually melted as the week went on. We were hiking in 8-10" of snow on Monday and Tuesday, but by the end of the week most of the trails were clear. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Southwest Colorado

Heather and I decided to get away for a short trip in July, to the mountain town of Silverton in Southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains. It was just an extended weekend (leave Friday morning, come home Monday night); but it was nice to get away from the oppressive Texas heat to enjoy some fresh mountain air, along with some hiking and photography. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Cactus Country - Superstition Wilderness, Saguaro National Park

For vacation this spring, we spent a week in southern/central Arizona. We started with visits to Saguaro National Park (near Tucson), and the Superstition Wilderness (west of Phoenix). After that we moved on to Sedona (pictures to come). Our trip timing was a little off; we were a few weeks late for the wildflower blooms, and a few weeks early for the cactus blooms (except some of the ocotillos). To view the images, click here or on the image above.

White Sands National Monument

Ever since our very brief visit to White Sands back in 2007, I've been meaning to return for a more in-depth visit. Last month I had the chance to do so, spending an extended weekend in Alamogordo. Part of the Dunes Drive (the unpaved part) was closed the first two days due to flooding from rains the previous week; this meant a lot more walking to get to the more concentrated dunes, particularly problematic in the morning since the park doesn't open until 7am (sunrise was at about 7:15). Fortunately the road was opened up on Saturday and Sunday. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Organ Mountains, New Mexico

While visiting White Sands National Monument recently, I also made a half-day trip to the Aguirre Spring Rec Area in the Organ Mountains. Part of the same Chihuahuan desert as Big Bend National Park, in many ways the areas reminded me of the Chisos Basin. The Organ Mountains themselves are quite dramatic, rising as jagged peaks 5000 feet above the surrounding area. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Redwood State and National Parks, May 2010

Well, it's been a while since I posted any updates. I actually did quite a bit of shooting during the spring, I just got too busy to do anything with the images. I should have more updates in the near future, including some wildlower images from spring.

We spent some time on the northern coast of California for vacation in May, primarily visiting the redwood parks (of which there are several if you count state and national). Got to do some great hikes in-between rains (Bull Creek Flats and Miners Ridge/James Invine loop being the highlights). Walking among the coastal redwoods was definitely a life-list experience. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Zion National Park, Nov 2009

Back in November I got sent to Vegas for a work-related conference, and was able to add a few days in Zion National Park to the end of the trip. Our visit to Zion was short (too short!) but served as a nice introduction to the park. The weather didn't allow us to do much hiking (rain on Friday, sleet on Saturday), but we still had fun. I was amazed at just how much color there is in autumn at Zion; we missed peak foliage by a week or two, but there was still color everywhere you looked. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Central TX Daytrip: Brazos River, Eagle Lake, Egypt, Camp Zion

Decided to take advantage of time off this week and go out shooting on Monday. We started at a RR bridge over the Brazos River for sunrise, and then explored a few areas south of I-10 including Eagle Lake and Egypt. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

Central TX Daytrip: Chappell Hill & Round Top

One of my priorities this year has to been to get out shooting on a more regular basis, rather than just when we travel. Photography is like anything else, to get better at it requires practice. There may not be any dramatic mountain or desert vistas surrounding Houston, but there are places to explore and photograph if you're willing to look. So I've been exploring some of the surrounding countryside with a few fellow photographers, usually as a day trip to several areas along a general route. One recent trip was to Chappell Hill in Washington county and Round Top in Fayette County. To view the images, click here or on the image above.

There have been several other day trips that I never got around to updating the blog about, but the galleries can be found under the Central Texas Daytrips section on my PBase site.