Picture: Young boy looking up at all the names on the wall at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

A few days ago I heard something about the experience of having your life flash before your eyes just before you die. I thought to myself, “Gee, I wonder what I’ll remember at that moment?” Ask yourself that question. What answers immediately come to mind.?

It’s easy to toss around the phrase “I remember that.”

I’m not talking about recall of facts or figures, or the passive and reactive “Oh yeah…” when someone else prompts you with the oft-heard “Do you remember…?”

Remembrance is active.

One of the moments I remember most from this summer’s trip to Hawaii is visiting the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor with my son. Pearl Harbor is a place that forces you to remember or reflect upon what happened there. This image of my son could be stamped upon my mind as a moment where I can see him growing up, thinking of bigger things. Empathy, perhaps?

I wonder if this will be one of the images in that flash-before-my-eyes movie? Franlky, I’m perfectly happy if I have to wait a very long time to find out. But taking the moment to think about it now, to actively remember the memory is like giving an affirmative recognition as to what is important during our brief temporal visit.

Take a moment to reflect on what’s important to you.

Please, please, please… don’t let the first thing you think of be Paris Hilton or Lady Gaga.

Picture: Panorama overlooking the Emigrant Wilderness at sunset near Sonora Pass, Tuolumne County, California

Click here or on the image to see the photo larger @ 1024 pixels.

This is another of the images taken from my recent trip to the Sonora Pass region of the Sierra Nevada. My buddy who was with me is a big panoramic shooter, and at his urging, I’ve started messing around creating a few pano images using the PhotoMerge feature in Photoshop. Unfortunately I’m still quite new at this, and at the angst of my friend who is quite versed in this format, I still haven’t yet invested in a dedicated pano head for my tripod. If I feel I’m being more successful at capturing good panos, that piece of equipment will soon appear near the top of my shopping list.

Picture: Overlooking the Sierra Nevada near Sonora Pass, Tuolumne County, California

This last weekend, my friend Michael Routh, a.k.a. the SmokeChaser and I made a trip up to the Sonora Pass region of the Sierra. This was the first of several trips to the region for my new book project. In scouting the area, not only did I come away with several nice images, but now I also have an idea of what to get next.

It’s such a lovely area, and relatively uncrowded compared to other parts of the Sierra. Sure, there were people around, but only the memory of one real idiot stands out. That would be the semi-tractor trailer truck driver standing outside his rig. Apparently he got it stuck in the middle of a hairpin curve as he was winding his way up the 25% grade toward Sonora Pass. I suppose he just missed all the warning signs and map indicators saying the road was not advised for vehicles over 24′ from kingpin to axle. The highway patrol officer that was guiding traffic around the stuck rig chuckled when I passed him, quipping, “This is wrong on so many levels.”

I really wanted to stop and take some photos, but there were no nearby pullouts, and the poor driver must already have been feeling lower than dirt. Even when they did get the truck pulled out with the semi-tow truck, I was still trying to imagine where on the road between there and the summit they would be able to get that thing turned around. I’m sure it’ll be a story shared around western truck-stops; “Hey, did you hear about that one idiot driver that tried to get his rig up and over Sonora Pass?”

Here’s another shot from our trip: Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Picture: Panorama overlooking the Emigrant Wilderness at sunset near Sonora Pass, Tuolumne County, California

Picture: Photographer at work in the High Sierra, near Yosemite, California

Today I turned in the edited manuscript and new chapter introductions for my current… no, wait… make that previous book project.

I’m both proud and honored to announce that I have a brand new book project I’m now working on. This will be my seventh book. And yes, not surprisingly, it too will be about California.

Fellow photographer and publisher, Laurent Martres, is founder and author for the PhotoTrips USA book series on Photographing the Southwest. He recently expanded his series with Photographing Oregon written by Oregon-based photographer Greg Vaughn. Laurent contacted me, and asked if I would produce another title for his series.

I’ll be doing Photographing Northern California, a Guide to the Natural Landmarks of Northern California. Photography will come from a mix of my existing collection, and brand new shoots. I’m excited to explore or re-visit many locations for this book.

I’m delighted to be partnered with Laurent on this project. It should be lots of fun… in addition to being lots of work.

Stay Tuned…..

Picture: Person reading on the coast on a cool evening, Montana del Oro State Park, San Luis Obispo County, California

Recently I mentioned some news about my latest book project, where I’d gotten an email from my publisher explaining they were re-packaging the book I’d spent the last year working on. I also mentioned the title has been changed from California; Yesterday and Today to being re-titled as Greetings from California: Legends, Landmarks & Lore of the Golden State.

One of the goals that was expressed was that they wanted to book to be “less academic” and “more fun.” My internal response was, “Yeah, good luck with that.”

So began the waiting game to see what the publisher had in mind. I didn’t have to wait too long.

Late last week I received two sample page mock-ups for the internal design of the book. My first thought was, “Wow!” I was thrilled. I think the publisher has hit it out of the proverbial park. In my (unbiased) opinion, they achieved their goal. They maintained the heart and spirit of the book, and most importantly, it looks “fun.”

This week I am working through the edited manuscript. I can’t wait to see how the full book turns out. I’m really excited.

Now if they can just do something about the cover mock-up….