Author Archives

Martin Beebee

Video: Camping in the Sierra Nevada with Jasper

By Martin Beebee in Video on

My latest video project is a quick montage of video clips and photos I shot while on a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains with my good buddy Dakota and dog Jasper. As is often the case in the Sierra Nevada in late summer, we were hammered by a series of thunderstorms that kept us reading in our tents and playing chess in the truck. While I only had one clear sunset over the course of a few days, there was usually some time during the day we could get out and about, and we tried to make the most of it.

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New Video – Kauai: Embracing the Journey

By Martin Beebee in Video on

The greatest rewards in travel often come when expectations clash with reality. Such was the case when my wife and I travelled to Kauai, Hawaii this year. After spending hours online and buried in guide books researching all the things to do, places to see, and adventures to have, we arrived in the middle of a series of tremendous thunderstorms …

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Video Project Breakdown: Mokulumne Escape

By Martin Beebee in Video on

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably already seen the video project I posted on Vimeo: Mokelumne Escape. I wanted to post a little behind-the-scenes info about how and why I created the video. If you’ve seen the video, read on or re-watch it; if you haven’t, check it out! In reality, this project began as an …

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Kauai Adventure: Weathering the Storm

By Martin Beebee in Photo Locations on

A recent trip to Kauai helped challenge our notions of what constitutes a meaningful and relaxing vacation. It had been over six years since our last real vacation anywhere and we were really looking forward to taking some time off and exploring this beautiful island to the fullest. But just days before we arrived some of the worst storms in years rolled into in the islands, and suddenly our vision of sunny beaches, rainforest hiking, and snorkeling seemed a little less promising. Indeed, flash floods, closed roads, and dangerous surf — culminating in a declared disaster area — confirmed we were going to have to be a little flexible.

But just days before we arrived some of the worst storms in years rolled into in the islands, and suddenly our vision of sunny beaches, rainforest hiking, and snorkeling seemed a little less promising. Indeed, flash floods, closed roads, and dangerous surf — culminating in a declared disaster area — confirmed we were going to have to be a little flexible.

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New Photos: Favorites from 2011

By Martin Beebee in stock photos on

As 2011 wraps up, I wanted to share a few of my favorite nature and landscape photos of the year, all from California. Half Moon Bay During a trip to Half Moon Bay, the clouds defeated me for sunrise, so I walked out to Pillar Point to create a more moody image, taking advantage of the kelp that had washed …

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Featured Photo: Cape Hatteras Sunrise

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

Okay, it’s cliché — I know. But here’s a sunrise picture for the New Year, photographed at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina. For a little context: it was February, and it was bitter cold. But otherwise this picture was fairly straightforward to make. After shooting some pre-dawn images, I set up nice and low to the ground to highlight the …

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Ten Favorite Photos From 2010

By Martin Beebee in stock photos on

As a way to wrap up the year, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite photos from 2010. Some of these will seem familiar (yes, more pictures of golden retrievers), and some not so much (wedding photos? Huh?). This is Jasper, our golden retriever, running like a moron through a field of foxtails. Foxtails pose a real threat …

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Christmas, Half Moon Bay Style

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

During the holidays, people everywhere put up lights and decorations. Yet there are still regional differences that can make the displays unique. Take the habit of Arizonans dressing up their cacti. The folks in Half Moon Bay, California, don’t have any cacti, but they do having fishing boats. And down at Pillar Point Harbor, there’s a tradition of stringing lights …

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A New Perch: Now on Twitter

By Martin Beebee in News on

So I’m still wrestling through this social media thing (I’ve been on Facebook a little while), and my little sister finally convinced me to join the flock and sign up for Twitter. Hooray! I think. The goal, of course, is to tweet useful or interesting or at least somewhat informative bits of information — not the inane chirping of what …

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Featured Photo: Christmas Cactus

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

You have to understand that the holiday season in Tucson Arizona is not quite the traditional environment of snowy wreaths and hot chocolate. Daytime temps can be in the 80s, and nary a cloud is in the sky. So people get creative. Take the habit of dressing up cacti. Saguaros, those classic cacti with the arms, are easily anthropomorphized (especially …

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Featured Photo: Luminarias in Tubac Arizona

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

In the American Southwest, luminarias are a traditional form of Christmas lights, made by placing a candle in a paper bag weighted down with a little sand. (They now have electric versions, for those leery of putting a lit candle in a paper bag.) You can find luminaria displays throughout the Southwest, and we found these during an annual Luminaria …

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Featured Photo: Fall Leaf

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

October has arrived, and the fall leaves are starting to turn color here in California. (Yes, we have fall color in California.) I found the first sign of fall recently while walking through the redwoods in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, near Half Moon Bay, CA. It was just a single leaf of a bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) lying …

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Featured Photo: Dog Shaking Off

By Martin Beebee in Featured Photo on

We were at the South Fork American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and I wanted to create a fun image that conveyed the joy our dogs were having playing in the river, and the fun we were having watching them. If you’ve ever been with dogs at a river (or lake or creek or almost any body of water), …

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August Photo Gallery: Sierra Nevada

By Martin Beebee in stock photos on

This month’s photo gallery features pictures from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The Sierra Nevada stretches over 400 miles, and is covered by a continuous line of national forests and parks, making it an outdoor recreation paradise. Not too bad for photos, either. Can’t see the slideshow because Flash isn’t supported? View the original gallery here »

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Firefighters Attack a Brush Fire

By Martin Beebee in stock photos on

There’s a photographer’s adage that you should always have a camera with you, because you never know what unexpected excitement you might stumble into when you’re out and about. This is even easier to do if the unexpected excitement is next door. The brush fire in my neighbor’s yard, for example. It started when part of a power line shorted …

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July Photo Gallery: Tucson, Arizona

By Martin Beebee in stock photos on

As the temperatures climb here in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, my mind naturally starts to wander back to when we lived for a time in Tucson, Arizona. Ah, at least it’s not the desert, right? Surprisingly, there are summer days when it’s actually hotter here than in Tucson. I’m not sure we expected that. This gallery features photos mainly from …

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