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A great photographer once claimed that architectural photography and nature photography were identical except that the "architecture" in nature is living. Well, maybe, but this site displays my love of photography of architecture, nature, and pretty much anything else. Another smugmug site displays my photos of Portland, Oregon, residential architecture and architectural history photos -- all about my home town. This one wanders farther afield, starting with galleries from a February, 2013, trip to Palm Springs.

Galleries

El Rancho Vista Estates 2013 Palm Springs : During the 2013 Palm Springs Modernism Week festival, 9 homes were open for tour in the El Rancho Vista Estates area, a neighborhood of homes built by the Alexander Company to plans by Wexler and Harrison. The tour permitted photography, with the result shown in this gallery. File names indicate addresses in the neighborhood.

El Rancho Vista Estates 2013 Palm Springs

During the 2013 Palm Springs Modernism Week festival, 9 homes were ope ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 6:12pm PST

Palm Canyon 2013 BW : Relatively few tourists venture the 2 miles from downtown Palm Springs into the Indian Canyons, the largest and longest of which is Palm Canyon. In a park/preserve owned and managed by the Cahuilla Indian Tribe, Palm Canyon is a magical place -- a centuries old source of water and refuge from the desert heat. Despite its beauty, it presents a challenge to the photographer to find fresh perspectives on a place which is dominated by thousands of examples of one species of palm tree. This gallery has black and white images from my visit in February, 2013, geared to showing the dramatic shapes and textures of the Canyon.

Palm Canyon 2013 BW

Relatively few tourists venture the 2 miles from downtown Palm Springs ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 4:41pm PST

Palm Canyon 2013 : Relatively few tourists venture the 2 miles from downtown Palm Springs into the Indian Canyons, the largest and longest of which is Palm Canyon. In a park/preserve owned and managed by the Cahuilla Indian Tribe, Palm Canyon is a magical place -- a centuries old source of water and refuge from the desert heat. Despite its beauty, it presents a challenge to the photographer to find fresh perspectives on a place which is dominated by thousands of examples of one species of palm tree.

Palm Canyon 2013

Relatively few tourists venture the 2 miles from downtown Palm Springs ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 4:16pm PST

Palm Springs 2013 BW : The Palm Springs 2013 gallery has most of the images I shot during our visit to Palm Springs and attendance at the events of the Modernism Week Festival. However, there were a few that called for black and white conversion from digital color, and those are grouped here. The cactus and other desert plants were shot at the quirky Moorten's Botanical Garden. The others are identified in their captions.

Palm Springs 2013 BW

The Palm Springs 2013 gallery has most of the images I shot during our ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 3:24pm PST

Palm Springs Tours 2013 : The Palm Springs Modernism Week Festival was a great time to tour the city, either on foot or by one of the many double-decker bus tours. These photos are the result of that touring about from February 18 to 24, of 2013. The night shots in particular were hand-held while riding one of the double-decker buses highlighting the buildings specially illuminated for the Festival.

Palm Springs Tours 2013

The Palm Springs Modernism Week Festival was a great time to tour the ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 11:22pm PST

Salton Sea 2013 BW : The tragedy and lore of the Salton Sea, an accidental lake with a surface over 200 feet below sea level, has become fairly well known, and its stark visuals continue to fascinate photographers including my nephew Steve Heuer and me, during our trek along the east shore of the Sea in February, 2013. I've included both a gallery of color images, which seem to evoke the pathos of the place best, and this gallery of black and white versions of some of those that better capture the visual drama of the place. Many of these images were shot in Bombay Beach, the "lowest town in the United States".

Salton Sea 2013 BW

The tragedy and lore of the Salton Sea, an accidental lake with a surf ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 12:56pm PST

Salton Sea 2013 : The tragedy and lore of the Salton Sea, an accidental lake with a surface over 200 feet below sea level, has become fairly well known, and its stark visuals continue to fascinate photographers including my nephew Steve Heuer and me, during our trek along the east shore of the Sea in February, 2013. I've included both this gallery of color images, which seem to evoke the pathos of the place best, and an other gallery of black and white versions of some of these that better capture the visual drama of the place. Many of these images were shot in Bombay Beach, the "lowest town in the United States".

Salton Sea 2013

The tragedy and lore of the Salton Sea, an accidental lake with a surf ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 11:45pm PST

Steel Homes PS Modernism Week : "Steel Modern after All These Years" was a home tour of three all-steel homes organized for the 2013 Palm Springs Modernism Week festival. Four homes were featured: a 1937 design at 1320 E. Tamarisk, a 1962 Alexander-built design by Wexler and Harrison, and two contemporary (2005 and 2012) interpretations of the steel house.

Steel Homes PS Modernism Week

"Steel Modern after All These Years" was a home tour of three all-stee ...

Updated: Mar 02, 2013 10:54pm PST

Tahquitz Canyon 2013 B&W : Tahquitz Canyon, home to a god of thunder and rain storms, has been sacred to the Cahuilla Indians for millenia. Today, after many years of being closed, the tribe has once again opened the Canyon to hikers and nature lovers, with a visitors center at the trail head just a few blocks from downtown Palm Springs. The 1.8 mile hike into the Canyon is rewarded by views of the lovely falls tumbling down from the mountain into the crystal clear pool below. These photos date to February, 2013. Some of these appear in color versions in the other Tahquitz Canyon 2013 gallery, but all seemed to work as well or better as black and white images to accentuate the form and shapes found in the Canyon.

Tahquitz Canyon 2013 B&W

Tahquitz Canyon 2013 : Tahquitz Canyon, home to a god of thunder and rain storms, has been sacred to the Cahuilla Indians for millenia. Today, after many years of being closed, the tribe has once again opened the Canyon to hikers and nature lovers, with a visitors center at the trail head just a few blocks from downtown Palm Springs. The 1.8 mile hike into the Canyon is rewarded by views of the lovely falls tumbling down from the mountain into the crystal clear pool below. These photos date to February, 2013.

Tahquitz Canyon 2013

Tahquitz Canyon, home to a god of thunder and rain storms, has been sa ...

Updated: Mar 06, 2013 3:47pm PST

Thousand Palms 2013 BW : Thousand Palms Oasis lies in the Coachella Nature Preserve north and east of Palm Springs. Few tourists reach it due to its distance from the valley resorts. That's unfortunate, as it is a beautiful and evocative place -- it really has the feel of a life-giving oasis in the middle of a harsh, unforgiving desert. These photos were shot on March 3, 2013, when spectacular skies and dramatic evening light made for powerful images. They were shot either near the Visitors' Center or along Thousand Palms Canyon Road. They were all shot in color, but black and white better captures the dramatic desert contrasts of light and dark.

Thousand Palms 2013 BW

Thousand Palms Oasis lies in the Coachella Nature Preserve north and e ...

Updated: Mar 03, 2013 9:12pm PST