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One Hour in the Alabama Hills

It seems we can't drive along U.S. 395 through Lone Pine without stopping in the Alabama Hills. Something about this landscape just draws us in every time. We spent the Christmas holiday weekend playing cameras in the Eastern Sierras, which meant we went past the Alabama Hills twice...once on the way to Bishop, and once on the way home. 

On the way to Bishop we were trying to beat a storm, so we just stopped in the Alabama Hills for about an hour. But an hour was enough to set the tone for a great weekend of hikes and early morning shoots and snowball fights. 

I wish we could spend more time on the far side of the Sierra Crest, but I imagine that the rarity of our visits over there make each trip that much sweeter.  

Massey Monday: She's been hanging out on a beach somewhere...

Perhaps it's time to bring Massey back...Massey Monday that is. She's been modeling all along, just we haven't been sharing. You can still catch glimpses of her in the distance every now and then (on her favorite beaches)...

See this image in our Portfolio along with the rest of them!

Thirsty Thursday: Rain Day!

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Irony 2011 Small Lot Reserve Merlot

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Exciting times around here, as it might actually rain this weekend! The rain dancing has paid off! After suffering through the driest January ever in the Monterey and SF Bay areas, and that after posting driest year ever for most of California in 2014, we are definitely excited to have an entire weekend washed out by a big ol' Pineapple Express.  

We actually had an atmospheric river set up nicely in December to provide us with some much needed rain. The rain felt like such a novelty that I captured these photos from the back step during the first few hours of the event. A little sun and some raindrops make for some fun play time with the camera. 

I look forward to enjoying more raindrops this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Soberanes Cove

Rambler: BethDrink at Hand: Ancient Peaks Cabernet Sauvignon...pretty good for a cab

Another Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I was actually all set to write about my love of October and fall colors and whine about how I never make time in October to go photography aspens and other trees. Instead, I found ocean photos, so that's what you get tonight!

Soberanes Cove is one of our favorite places to go shoot along the Big Sur coast. Maybe because its not too far south, or maybe its because we always forget exactly where it is and which turnout off of Highway 1 to use, or maybe its because of the little rock scramble involved to get down to the Bowling Balls...its always an adventure. These images are from a few years back. Yet, my eyes never tire of looking at such beautiful scenery.

Soberanes Cove is located in Garrapata State Beach a few miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. Even if you don't find the cove, the scenery around there is spectacular. Get out there and find your own little ocean cove this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: George Lake Trip

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Jekel Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. We headed up to the mountains a few weekends ago for a backpacking trip to George Lake in the Kaiser Wilderness. You may remember this as the intended destination of our snowed-out Memorial Day weekend trip.

The weather was gorgeous, bordering on hot for 8500' elevation. We didn't realize that all of the mosquitos in Sierra were also holding a reunion at George Lake the same weekend. Obscene! But we haven't contracted West Nile or malaria just yet, so I guess we survived. All in all, a fun weekend.

On the trail... Exploring around the lake. Sometimes its tiring. We did a little off-trail cross-country exploring and found a couple more lakes up higher. I think this was College Lake. Back at George Lake it was time to cool off, if only we'd had swimwear. Time for dinner. Then some waiting for the evening light to get nice. Then it was time for bed and a hike out in the morning. Terry loaned me these two images for tonight's post. Pretty nice!

We've got another backpack trip planned in a few weeks, so more mountain fun ahead for us! Yay! Love summer weekends spent in the high country. Get out there and discover a little high country yourself in the coming weeks!

Thirsty Thursday: Tahoe Exploring

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Water...boring, I know. Tough run tonight.

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pouring something yummy (or rehydrating in my case!) and make those weekend plans. A few weeks back I was looking at a weekend home alone while Terry was out of town, so I decided to go somewhere. My original plan was Mt. Shasta, but after a long day of work on Friday, I decided to go somewhere closer. I'd never been to Tahoe, so the dog and I jumped in the car Saturday morning and off we went.

I didn't really have a game plan. I literally woke up Saturday morning and decided that Tahoe was the destination. I usually do a little research to figure out good photo spots (and good places for grub), but this time I was flying blind. Ended up at Zephyr Cove for sunset, above Emerald Bay for sunrise, and took a little snowy stroll in Desolation Wilderness with Massey before heading back home Sunday. Tahoe was beautiful and I can't wait to get up there for a couple of backpacking routes I've picked out for the summer.

Get out there and explore a new place this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: New Roads, New Views

Rambler: Beth (but some of the photos are from Terry, too!)
Drink at Hand: Fog Head Pinot Noir...going nicely with my grilled tri-tip (thanks Grilla T!)

Hey there Welliver Photography fans...Thirsty Thursday here once again, so pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Last weekend was a pretty good here at WP. In true "get out there and do something" fashion, we explored a trail I didn't even know existed until last Friday. It was one heck of a beautiful Sunday morning. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

The trail is the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, which we picked up at the very end of Old Stage Road northeast of Salinas. This chunk of road is the actual stagecoach road that connected the Salinas Valley to San Juan Bautista, or for those familiar with local landmarks, the route that connected the Soledad Mission to the mission in San Juan Bautista...but I'll save the full history lesson for another day, or go here to read more. The trail itself is 4 miles one way with a decent elevation gain, but the views are worth it!

As Lt Col Juan Bautista de Anza would say: ¨¡Vayan subiendo!¨ Roughly translated, "Mount up everybody!" Or, as we say around here, get out there and do something this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Road Less Traveled...

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2007 Crianza Old Vine Tempranillo

Not going to lie, this Thirsty Thursday snuck up on us here at Welliver Photography. So while I did pour something yummy (that tempranillo is good!), I haven't had much of a chance to put together this week's entry. We are working on something good for next week, but this week I only have one photo to share.

While this week's post is just a single photo, it pretty much hit the spirit of what we want Thirsty Thursday to be. These posts are supposed to be about getting out there and seeing or doing something different, interesting, exciting, etc. I doubt any reader will know where to find this road. We truly were in the middle of nowhere on a road that doesn't really go anywhere. We didn't see another car for hours (if I don't count the guy and his dog on the 4-wheeler with the shotgun tied to the back). But, oh what an adventure we had this day, and that's what its all about!

Go find a new place to explore this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Sneaking Shots

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: North Coast Brewing Company PranQster Belgian Ale (Belgian because its cyclocross season!)

Welcome to the first Thirsty Thursday of 2012! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. This past weekend was a busy one for Welliver Photography, shooting a beautiful New Year's Eve wedding in Big Sur on Saturday, dinner with friends on Sunday, and the most ridiculously absurd photo-exploration adventure on Monday...one that is sure to be a Thirsty Thursday in the coming weeks.

With 1800+ images to go through from the wedding between the two of us, today's post is a quickie break from editing before I get back to my levels and curves. I snuck in a few of "non-wedding" photos during the day on Saturday. Did I mention that the sunset was unbelievable?!

No matter what you're up to this weekend, hopefully you can sneak in a capture or two of some beautiful scenery as well!

Thirsty Thursday: Color-Free Joshua Tree

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Fog Head Chardonnay...Monterey County makes some yummy chards!

Welcome back for another Thirsty Thursday! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I found out today that I might head to the desert for work in a few weeks (who knew you could grow lettuce in the desert?!), which made me think back to my trip to Joshua Tree National Park last year. I had the privilege of having the park shown to me by a couple of incredible local photographers who just wanted shoot with some friends for a few days. It was a fun week.

I revisited the photos from that trip in the archives this week (mainly because the "archives" are getting much too large for our storage space) and found a few I didn't share yet. In that group were 3 images that I processed in Nik's Silver Efex. I'm in love with Silver Efex (now Silver Efex 2) for black and white processing. So enjoy a few rockscapes from Joshua Tree. Visiting there in winter is really nice. Just make sure to bring some pilars to get the cactus spins out of your shoes.

Get out there and do something fun this weekend!