STARRY NIGHT IN BORREGO

At the end of July I went to Borrego Springs to attend a Night Sky Photography Workshop conducted by Dennis Mamana, a professional photographer and astronomer who now lives in Borrego Springs.

It was a hot weekend in the desert. The temperature outside on Saturday reached 108˚F. We started with a day of lectures and seeing examples of work by Dennis indoors in an air conditioned room. We learned a bit of the cautions to take at night when out photographing - rocks to stumble over, snakes that may be out, cacti to walk into, etc. We also learned few tricks for composing such as pushing the ISO way up and then viewing the resulting picture on the LCD screen before actually taking the picture at the desired settings. The air conditioning went out around mid-day and it got up to the high 80's and maybe into the 90's  in our meeting room.  Thankfully I had been recently introduced to a cooling towel. (A cooling towel is a short towel made of a synthetic material which when wet or damp helps to keep you cool. You put it around your neck, and if there is any air movement, the evaporation from the towel helps to keep you cool.) I would occasionally wet it with the cool water from the water cooler, and it did a good job of keeping me very comfortable.

In the evening we met for dinner at Carlee's before heading off to explore the night sky with our cameras. we swapped photo trip tales and got to know each other a little more. We had one lady who had come from Phoenix, and a couple of gents from the L. A. area. My friend, Lin, had joined me and we enjoyed a very good dinner of bbq'd ribs, coleslaw, and sweet potato fries.

After dinner, Dennis led us off to some of the metal sculptures of Ricardo Breceda. There were several statues in an area of about a 200 yard radius for us to choose from. We were able to get the lay of the land before it got dark, thankfully. After dark we relied on red lens flashlights to get around.

We photographed the Milky Way in different configurations with the figures in the foreground. Sometimes the statues were lit by tail lights, and at other times people painted them with flashlights. This technique takes a bit of practice to get the intensity of the light right as well as the painting smooth.

Ocotillo and Monster

Sparing Dinosaurs

Spewing Stars

Dinosaurs Sparing

I also experimented with a star trail. I did this in the film days by just opening the shutter and leaving it there for an hour or two, or even 20 minutes. I actually have one that is several hours long. I went to bed for part of the time. Today with digital cameras one takes multiple exposures ever 20 seconds or more and then stack the images together and create the star trail. The reason for the multiple exposures is that the digital camera will create too much noise if the camera is left on for too long and the sensor heats up. My star trail was only about 7 minutes in length with each shot being about 15 seconds long.  it gave me practice and I learned how to use the software to create the trail effect.

7 Minute Star Trail

DEL MAR MESA HIKES IN SAN DIEGO

In July I hiked closer to the Coast, by going to Del Mar Mesa which is East of Del Mar and South of State Route 56. The Mesa has a number of expensive gated communities, all of which have some great views. The Mesa is just North of Penasquitos Canyon.

My friend, Linda, learned about the hike from a friend, and she had ridden horseback in the area a number of years ago. We met at her house and carpooled on a Friday morning with an early start of 0730. We found the trailhead, parked, and started out with brimmed hats, long sleeves, and plenty of cold water.

The hike was about 4.5 miles. At first you walk on a dirt path which could be a bridle path and then you drop down into a canyon. We found a duck pond with no ducks, but a female coot and her offspring were swimming about.  We ended up going South and our turning around point was the waterfall in Penasquitos Canyon. In this area I photographed a posing dragonfly. There were no other hikers on the trails, and only about 10 mountain bikers.  The temperatures reached into the high 90's.We definitely worked up a sweat especially as we hiked back up to the mesa. 

South toward the Waterfall

Penasquitos Water Fall in late July

North toward Del Mar Mesa (the power poles in the distance are on the Mesa)

We had heard about some tunnels formed by trees, but did not find them on the this hike. We did enjoy the different locale, and Linda convinced me to go in search of a "cooling towel". After the hike we decided to research the trail and go back the next week and experience the tree "tunnels" as the forecast was for some cooling. 

We also got a kick out of the name of one of the gated communities - Hooterville. The original rancher had named his ranch Hooterville because he liked the T. V. program. The entry to the this development was a small petting farm.

Last week, we returned. I had gone to "Modern Hiker.com" and got more specific directions of which trails to go on when we reached a junction. The research paid off and we again had a nice hike with about three quarter of a mile through the tree tunnels, in shade. 

Hanging Lichen

Tree Tunnel

Biker in the Tunnel

The tunnels are formed by scrub oak trees, with a few Del Mar Manzanita along the way. It was quite lovely, and there was also a lot of lichen on the trees, some hanging down off of limbs, others on the trunks and limbs of the trees. We had been cautioned about the need to being heard as mountain bikers move quickly through the tunnels and can not see around the various twists and turns. Our experience was that they were friendly and moving at a reasonable speed. (I do not think I would do this on a weekend though.) I also took the initiative and let out some "woops" now and then.

Summer Holly, Comarostaphylis diversifolia 

Lichen covering Tree

Fall in July?

Del Mar Manzanita Forest

Tunnel View

The investment in a "cooling towel" was well worth it. The "towel" is made of a light weight material, and the idea is that you wet it and put it around your neck. As it evaporates, it helps to cool you down. If there is any breeze, it really works nicely. If it starts to get too dry, just wet it some more with a little water from your water bottle. As I had ice water, it really felt good to pour a little on the towel on the back of my neck.


This time the highlight of our hike was the sighting of a baby horned lizard. We also saw some of the little manzanita apples, and actually tasted them as we knew that they were edible. They were O.K. :-) We will return probably in the winter or early Spring.

Horned Lizard - about two inches in length