A JINDO WITH A VIEW

© Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed February 7, 2010 in Encino, CA at Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park

Photographed with a Nikon D40


Photographed with a Nikon 18-55mm

A CARPET OF WILDFLOWERS

Saturday I went on a free hike sponsored by the Tejon Ranch Conservancy. I viewed a carpet of wildflowers like I have never seen before. California poppies, Lupine, and Coreopsis blanketed the hillsides. It was an incredible amount of beauty to behold. Here are my favorite shots from the day.

Lupine, Poppies, Coreopsis


California Poppies and Lupine






Grazing Cows






Portraits of me by Laurie Thomson




© Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed April 10, 2010 at Tejon Ranch Conservancy

From tejonranchconservancy.org/about-us:
"The Tejon Ranch Conservancy was created to protect and implement science-based stewardship and provide public enjoyment of conserved areas of the historic Tejon Ranch and Tehachapi Range. Our vision is to protect, explore, understand, enhance and restore the incredible biodiversity found on the Ranch. At nearly 270,000 acres, Tejon Ranch is the largest continuous expanse of private land in California. Its 422 square miles make it almost almost as large as the City of Los Angeles and about 40% the size of Rhode Island. The Ranch is located along Interstate 5, approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield. Elevation ranges from 600 to 7000 feet above sea level."

Wildflower close ups shot with a Nikon 105mm f/2.8

SURFIN' WESTRIDGE-CANYONBACK

Photo credit © Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed February 7, 2010 in Encino, CA
at Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park

RETURN TO STONEY POINT

I returned yesterday to Stoney Point with the goal of making it to the top. I made it just short of the crest - it was a challenging climb both up and down! I hiked with my friend Jon and he found the stick I'm holding for my descent back to terra firma - it really helped me down some steep and slippery parts. But even with the stick, I STILL slipped on some loose dirt and fell into some plants and branches and cut up both my hands pretty royally. One spot on my right palm looks like somebody put a cigarette out on it! I also got some scrapes on my arms and legs. But it could have been worse and nothing really hurts. Luckily, the plants kind of broke my fall - if it wasn't for the scraggly branches - I would have been fine. And p.s., it shocks me how much I look like my Mom in this picture - it's like someone cut her 1970's and early 80's era head on my body.

This is Jon and Me - we've known each other since we were 14 - we're like brother and sister (and born only 5 days apart)!


Self-Portrait


I got these little aliens at Area 66 in Yucca, AZ on my recent Route 66 trip. They have parachutes attached so I thought it would be fun to fling them off the the rocks at Stoney Point. Jon's chute didn't open and his just dropped like a rock. Mine sailed a little before getting stuck on a branch. We were able to retrieve them both so the aliens can fly another day!


A panoramic stitch of the Valley view I saw from near the top of Stoney Point. The photo doesn't do the view justice - it was really amazing to see all the homes and streets below. Despite the hubbub of the city, it was extremely quite at the top of Stoney Point - the only thing we would hear was the sound of the cars whizzing by on the nearby 118 freeway. I could even see Universal City in the distance and make out the tall white bank building attached to the Sherman Oaks galleria. If it had been a clear day, I think we would have been able to even see the ocean!


A yellow lab named Lucy I saw checking out the view at the very top of Stoney Point.


Lucy coming down from her hike. I have to bring my Lucy with me next time.


Jon jumped back quite a bit when he saw this bug on the rocks. I didn't understand why he made such a fuss until I saw it close up on my way down - it was HUGE!


My goal was to climb to the top of the rock where the graffiti "Bob" was but I stopped just short of it when I couldn't figure out a way that I could climb higher. Will have to try another route next time.


Wildflowers (or just wild mustard plants) at Stoney Point.


I left the nice stick that had helped me down - hopefully someone else will get great use out of it too.

M*A*S*H 'N MALIBU

Me at the old M*A*S*H site at Malibu Creek State Park. This is an old, rusted out remnant of one of the military vehicles used on the show. It's approximately a 6.4 mile round trip hike from the trailhead to the M*A*S*H site and back.









Most of these people at the site were from the Flickrmeet from the Los Angeles group.


Group shots of the Flickr group on the dilapidated Jeep.

IMG_0734, originally uploaded by SB_Photography.

IMG_0737, originally uploaded by SB_Photography.

fotonomous, originally uploaded by brian blevins.

Photos by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed March 21, 2009 at Malibu Creek State Park in Malibu, CA

A VISITOR IN ONE'S OWN CITY

Sunday I went to Franklin Canyon Park for the first time. It's a huge wilderness spot in between the city (Beverly Hills) and the Valley located near where Coldwater Canyon meets Mulholland Drive (across the street from the Tree People). Had I not been there to partake in a Polaroid Nerd Out event, I never would have even known it was there. I was shocked by the sheer size of it -Franklin Canyon Park is really vast - 600 acres in all. Part of the parks history dates back to 1914 when William Mulholland constructed L.A.’s first reservoirs at the top of Franklin Canyon and one of these reservoirs is really the setting for the opening sequence of the "Andy Griffith Show" where Opie (Ron Howard) tosses a stone into the lake. I spent most of my time on Sunday at one area of the upper reservoir, but there's plenty left to explore when I return. A lot of the trails were pretty flat and not rocky so I may experiment with my mountain bike one day. And it was definitely a dog friendly park so I will have to bring Lucy The Boxador as well.

Polaroid photos (Polaroid 195 using expired Fuji FP-100C instant color film):

I think all these tall, feather like plants appearing in many of the shots are Common Reed (Phragmites). They were absolutely stunning up close.








With this shot, I wanted to see if the Fuji FP-100C could really capture all the different shades of green coming from so many different plants and trees. I think it did a very good job.



Sony T100 digital shots:
I think this may be a Redwood tree, it was really beautiful and kind of graceful. I enjoyed it's cool shade for quite some time.





Me (fairly thrashed after too many hours out in the 100 degree heat) holding my homemade sign.


All photos by Lydia Marcus
Photographed August 24, 2008 in Beverly Hills, CA

Franklin Canyon Park
2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA
(310) 858-7272

SUNDAY SUNSET

I drove up to Nike Missile Site at the top of Hayvenhurst and Mulholland on Sunday night so I could check out the sunset over the Valley and the city. It's been too hot to hike for over a week so I've really been missing the peacefulness of the views from there. Driving up there at 7:45pm on Sunday, it was STILL over 90 degrees!

The moon over the city. That's downtown in the distance.

The last rays of the sun over the Valley

Me and Lucy

The same shot of Me and Lucy just cropped.

The Encino Reservoir and the Valley lights just coming on.


All photos taken on May 18, 2008 with a Nikon D80 / Nikon 17-55 f2.8 lens.