Eloquent Images by Gary Hart
Insight, information, and inspiration for the inquisitive nature photographer
The real California
California Sunset, Sierra Foothills
Sony a7R
Sony 70-200 f4 G
1/200 seconds
F/8
ISO 100
I love driving the Sierra foothills east of my home in Sacramento, one eye on the road, the other scanning for gnarled oaks I can photograph against the sky. To my very California eyes, these are the scenes of home—not the palm trees and surf boards most people picture when they think of my home state.
California’s oak trees’ inherent beauty stands out when they’re silhouetted against a sunset horizon. I’ve accumulated many go-to locations for just this kind of scene, but because much of the joy of photography is the seeking, one afternoon last week I left home with no agenda but to explore some of the many untried foothill roads south of Highway 50.
My first detour took me into one of many new subdivisions that threaten the very foothills I love so much. Soon these wide open spaces will be smothered by homes, but right now they’re simply etched with a varicose pattern of fresh pavement. As sad as this “progress” makes me, on this afternoon the new roads gave me access to some views I’ve never had.
I wound as far back into the hills as the asphalt allowed, eventually ending up at the end of a cul-de-sac with a straight-shot view of three hilltop oaks. Because the afternoon was still young, I continued exploring, but as sunset approached, I knew this view was the one that would give me what I wanted—not just a sunset, but a sunset with a two-percent crescent moon flanked by Venus.
I arrived about fifteen minutes before sunset, surveyed the scene to find the best place align the moon with the trees, then watched the sun drop to the horizon. My original thought was to simply wait for the moon to appear, but when a the sun dropped into a translucent film of thin clouds gave that gave it yellow-orange cast, it occurred to me this would be a good opportunity to further test the dynamic range of my new Sony a7R. So out came my 3-stop Singh-Ray reverse graduated neutral density filter and my Sony 70-200 lens (sadly, the Canon 100-400 and Metabones adapter were at home), and I went to work.
Not only was I able to get a usable silhouette that still retained the color in the sun, the 36 megapixel resolution of the a7R allowed me to crop my result to more closely match the 400mm focal length I wished I had. Life’s good.
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Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 
I completely agree with you about the Real symbols of California. The great Central Valley where I grew up, in Roseville, was and always will be “Home” for me. The beautiful Vally Oaks that shed their leaves in winter, were the inspiration, I believe, in my love even now fortrees in winter – when we can see their shapes and nuances. Your beautiful images so eloquently (there’s that word) characterize and exemplify the beauty of California. ] so deeply! Thank your the “Trip Home!” These are all favorites of mine..
Great shot and I couldn’t agree with you more about the beauty of the oaks of California. Thanks for sharing the view!!
Spectacular images!
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Beautiful images of the Sierra foothills. And sad truth about the building & development marching along, eating up all the natural beauty. (from a Rescue resident).
Thanks, Donna. Yeah, I’ve been watching development slowly encroach on my favorite foothills landscapes for years. So sad.