iPhone 180º Pano
Just a quick post from last weekend’s hike near Mt. Laguna, California. I did this iPhone panorama using seven images stitched together in Photoshop [click for large version]. It represents about a 180º view from Stephenson Peak (note the observatory on the far left). That’s Shelly narrating a 360º video to my far right.
This is a spur trail just off the Pacific Crest / Desert View Trail near Burnt Rancheria camp at Mount Laguna. I highly reccomend this area if you are near San Diego county. Amazing mix of desert views, alpine forest, meadows and everything in between.
Happy Friday! Get outside this weekend and make some memories.
Joshua Tree, May 2011
It’s no secret that I love to be outside. San Diego county is a playground for just about all manner of outdoor activity. And if I’m looking for a little bit of extreme landscape, fortunately it’s only a couple of hours away.
That was the case with last month’s quick (and spontaneous) trip to Joshua Tree’s Cottonwood Springs. The weather in the park can vary from snow flurries to scorching desert heat depending on the time of year. Shelly and I wanted a desert camp trip before the heat sets in for the summer so we packed up the car and hit it.
Camouflaged on the Mastodon Peak trail
Modern petroglyph, Cottonwood Springs.
Infrared Ocotillo
Happiness at campsite #17A, Cottonwood Springs.
The best part of waking up.
All photos © 2011 Gary Allard Photography, all rights reserved.
A Little R & R
Just a couple little snaps from the past few weeks. Put the lid on another summer last month with a great adventure out to Catalina. We kayaked from Two Harbors to Goat Harbor and camped on a little rocky beach only accessible by boat. Snorkeling was good but the water was cooler than normal. The whale-watching on the sail back to Long Beach was magnificent — gray whales everywhere and some dolphins on the bow, too. Man, I love the ocean.
Update: Got the tip from friend that maybe the whales were fin whales, not grays. Makes sense when I look at the photos. Little back fins which are absent on grays. Thanks, Bill!
The Darkroom 
