Christmas break in the Redwoods

tilman

All-Pro
Location
Portland, OR
Went down to northern California again this year (well, "last year" - 2014 :)) for the holiday break.
Our vacation there the year before was amazing, so we thought why not go there again...

This winter was much wetter than 2013, with a few big storms just before we went. As a result we had to climb over & around quite a few fallen redwoods and got our feet wet more than once. A bit more adventurous this time around but still a wonderful time.
And I took way too many photos yet again :)

A bigger selection is in this flickr set, but a "few" highlights here :)
Redwoods Christmas 2014


16118098287_f5832f5415_b.jpg
Day 7 - Simpson-Reed Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


15646611854_34c92047fd_b.jpg
Day 5 - Ten Taypo Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16172733926_21c5bc8908_c.jpg
Day 2 - Foothill Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16068903140_47a459040c_b.jpg
Day 4 - last light by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16275691202_747d5680ce_b.jpg
Day 5 - Trillium Falls Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


15577724094_cc468734a9_c.jpg
Day 2 - Redwood Sorrel by tilman paulin, on Flickr


View attachment 105824Day 2 - Prairie Creek Redwood State Park - Foothill Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


15654115374_b87bc306ec_c.jpg
Day 5 - Trillium Falls Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16104926157_afcea1bf30_b.jpg
Day 6 - Humboldt State Park by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16255852055_72f5b3ed31_c.jpg
Day 4 - Rhododenron Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16011229730_a6c3548d22_b.jpg
Day 2 - Prairie Creek Redwood State Park - Foothill Trail by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16303936855_f6864c676e_c.jpg
Day 7 - Crescent City sunset by tilman paulin, on Flickr


16302186951_b06f7768aa_b.jpg
yes, we did :) by tilman paulin, on Flickr
 
Walking amongst the redwoods is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. For those of you who haven't......take a look at the scale of those trees. They are well and truly humbling. I need to get back there. Your photos are great (as always), but nothing beats being there. I need to breathe in that air!
 
Hey All,

Nice set! I went to college at Humboldt a bit further south in Arcata. Spent 6 and a half years there getting 3 degrees - one was in forestry and so spent lots of time measuring redwoods. Also spent lots of time where you were especially at Prairie Creek where those elk were. Have you gone to fern canyon yet? Lots of great places to go both north and south (and east actually of Mckinleyville) of Arcata.

-Ed-
 
Walking amongst the redwoods is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. For those of you who haven't......take a look at the scale of those trees. They are well and truly humbling. I need to get back there. Your photos are great (as always), but nothing beats being there. I need to breathe in that air!

Thanks Luke! Yes, it's definitely a place that draws one back like nowhere else. It's about an 8 hours drive for us, but this was the third time we went there. And I'd always go back.

Hey All,

Nice set! I went to college at Humboldt a bit further south in Arcata. Spent 6 and a half years there getting 3 degrees - one was in forestry and so spent lots of time measuring redwoods. Also spent lots of time where you were especially at Prairie Creek where those elk were. Have you gone to fern canyon yet? Lots of great places to go both north and south (and east actually of Mckinleyville) of Arcata.

-Ed-

Thanks Ed! A degree in forestry in the Redwoods sounds like an amazing experience! Would love to spend this much time there.
Prairie Creek State Park is our favourite so far, with Jedediah Smith being a close second. We drove to Fern Canyon this winter (had to ford three streams and Davison Road is certainly the potholiest road we've been on - a challenge in our passenger car). Unfortunately they remove the seasonal footbridges for winter and we didn't have rubber boots. So we couldn't get far into the canyon...
Still lots to explore if we manage to go back another time, so always happy for recommendations :)

cheers,
Tilman
 
Nice job. It looks like a fun trip. I like the way you have demonstrated the scale of the trees.

Thanks Don! The little 7.5mm fisheye I got just before Christmas came in handy several times...

Wow, you really caught the majesty of those trees and the light/shade of the forest :)

Thanks christilou! The light& shade of the forest were pretty challenging. I forgot just how dark it can be, even mid-day, let alone in the morning or evening... And whenever you have sky in frame the contrasts are huge... Definitely pushed my m43 gear to the limits... On the plus side, having lenses like the 7.5mm fisheye all the way up to the 75-300mm made up for that. :)
 
Oooof... these are humblingly good. I've been to a similar forest in California, and I got nothing like this. I'm going to console myself by saying it was over 3 years ago / I barely knew what I was doing / I only had a tiny compact... and a lot of other things that aren't the point.

Humbled.
 
Haha, don't feel bad, Kyle :) there was a lot of work that went into those. I'm glad people like them.

I learned a lot while trying to get the most out of these raw files... For example it's the first time I've been using Olympus Viewer 3 for some shots. Capture One is my normal raw developer, but for some shots the in-camera jpgs (and hence the results from OV3) just looked better, especially when it came to roll-off into clipped highlights...
Also the first time I've done de-fishing (with Hugin). Interesting to learn about the different "projection" options you can use, and the different results they yield.
Quite the exercise all in all, but I'm mostly happy with the results :)
 
Back
Top