Photographing in the Diablo Range of Northern California

[tgtaylor]

Untitled - Diable Range, California.



Pentax K1000.

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks for posting that rangeland shot. I never tire of those kinds of scenes; I'm "California gold" the whole way. I think it's right around there somewhere I was approached by a resident ranger out checking fences, who approached me asking if film was still available for his Fuji 6X6 RF. But as you no doubt already know, things aren't golden there right now, but green, green, green. The kind of rich emerald green I'm accustomed to see only in Jan and Feb extenuates itself later into the season ironically on these drier years, because the taller grasses and weeds like wild oats don't come up to cover that. But then it goes two-toned or tri-toned for awhile as patches dry up - my favorite time color-wise, with wonderful multi-hued patterns instead of monolithic greens. Not time for that here yet; but I did encounter it in the southern Coast Range approaching the lower elevations of the Central Valley a week ago. Got a few color shots at least, when the wind temporarily settled down.

[nbagno]

The green is fading fast. Here is that same location from a little over a week ago.

Fuji GX617 Kodak Ektar

[Drew Wiley]

A lot of the "red" still around is actually low ground cover. But it is quite interesting how east facing and west facing slopes are now starting to differ, at the tipping point a month prematurely. And then there's always been a significant difference in timing between the ocean-facing and inland-facing side of Mt Diablo. Morgan Territory is always rewarding, at least until it gets too hot for me!

[tgtaylor]

Ran across this view in the archives and uploaded it to my website this morning and decided to post it here also. I've been photographing in the range on and off for 25 years or more now. I don't remember this particular exposure but exposed 5 frames from the same spot as the sun was setting over the ridge-line to the west. This is the best one. The shaft of setting sunlight entering from the left foreground seemingly traces a path through the scene, adds a touch of red to the oaks and enhances the color in the clouds which is conveniently broken at the top revealing a powder blue backdrop and, together with the coastal fog, added an overall pastel effect to the image.

[nbagno]

Ran across this view in the archives and uploaded it to my website this morning and decided to post it here also. I've been photographing in the range on and off for 25 years or more now. I don't remember this particular exposure but exposed 5 frames from the same spot as the sun was setting over the ridge-line to the west. This is the best one. The shaft of setting sunlight entering from the left foreground seemingly traces a path through the scene, adds a touch of red to the oaks and enhances the color in the clouds which is conveniently broken at the top revealing a powder blue backdrop and, together with the coastal fog, added an overall pastel effect to the image.

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[Robert Opheim]

I have been on and around Mount Diablo as well. A beautiful area. I have visited the area over the years - as two of my uncles and aunts lived nearby in: Alamo, and Walnut Creek. My wife's uncle and his family also lived in Walnut Creek. I have photographs I took back in the 1970's of the area.

[tgtaylor]

The Diablo range extends for about 200 miles north to south with Mt. Diablo being at the northern end and the third highest peak in the range. Here's a short description that I wrote for my website a couple of years back: https://www.spiritsofsilver.com/blog...o_range_172019

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

The custom is somewhat ambiguous, with Mt Diablo itself mainly being implied, since it is visible from such a great distance, and only secondarily, the portions south of Altamont Pass. It would be interesting to look into the earlier Spanish history behind the naming. My own personal impression was from the hills of the Sierra, often walking up a nearby knoll and overlooking the vast sea of winter tule fog in the San Joaquin as if a vast shimmering ocean, and the Diablo ranges on the opposite side like a chain of islands in the far distance. I deliberated mention Diablo ranges plural, because that was my personal impression. It wasn't contiguously evident between the twin peaks of Mt Diablo itself and the Patterson hills and further south. Fascinating complicated geology everywhere along that chain, however.

I passed through Cholame a couple weeks ago via backroads. ... thinking about checking out the San Antonio burn area behind Mt Hamilton in a few days maybe. The interior of the Coast Range is always rewarding this time of year. But I don't have to drive more than fifteen minutes to get to some impressive wildflower shows right around here, especially on the drier slopes.

I'd have to look up some old notes to remember his name; but there was a fellow, perhaps still alive, who spent decades strictly photographing Mt Diablo per se with a 12X20 camera and making contact prints. No, not of course an artistic genius like Watkins, and rarely shown (he sometimes did give lectures), but certainly dedicated fellow - one would have to be to lug that thing around. He did it mainly as a member of the Save Mt Diablo property acquisition club. Thanks for your own continuing interest in the area.

[drew.saunders]

Yesterday I rode a small part of the Windy Hill preserve in Woodside on my road bike with 28mm slicks (because any bike is a mountain bike if you lack sufficient common sense...) and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District prohibits electric bikes on all trails. https://www.openspace.org/where-to-go/what-to-do/biking and scroll to the bottom.

It might be worth the bother to look at the fine print for your local trails.