California

The Painted Ladies of Alamo Square

The famous “Painted Ladies of San Francisco." In American architecture, painted ladies are Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings repainted, starting in the 1960s, in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Text retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_ladies.

Alcatraz

Alcatraz located on an island in San Francisco Bay was a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963 and housed famous convicts such as Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Now it's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

North Algodones Dunes

The North Algodones Dunes Wilderness is part of the Imperial Sand Dunes and is the largest sand dunes in California. This portion of the dunes is closed to motorized vehicles.

Supreme Curves

Hairpin turns along Route 74 as it makes its way out of Palm Desert, CA. The road is called “Palms to Pines Scenic Highway.” This scenic drive climbs from Palm Desert, through the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, before descending again to the desert near Hemet, CA.

The Raven Tree

Ravens circle and roost in a tree at the base of Palm View Peak near Lake Hemet, California. Photo © copyright by Tom Dorsz.

Zabriskie Point

The point of Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California

Zabriskie Point

One of the most famous Death Valley viewpoints of yellow, brown and black badlands. I took this photo on a late afternoon in January.

Telescope Peak

Looking across the colorful badlands from Zabriskie Point to snow-capped Telescope Peak, which is the highest point within Death Valley National Park, California. It is also the highest point of the Panamint Range.

Badwater Basin

Looking across Badwater Basin to the Panamint Range from Dante's View just before sunrise in Death Valley National Park, California in January.

Telescope Peak

Looking towards Telescope Peak from Dante's View in Death Valley, California. I took this shot at dawn which provided excellent coloring of the Panamint Range. What looks like pools of water and streams below are actually salt flats.

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes

Death Valley National Park, California. Photo © copyright by Tom Dorsz.

Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes

Death Valley National Park. Wave-like patterns in the sand and the layered colors between the dunes, black hill, and blue mountains highlight the rugged beauty of Death Valley National Park.

The Old 20 Mule Team Borax Wagon

Death Valley, California

Coyote

Death Valley National Park, California

Devil's Golf Course

The Devil's Golf Course is a huge area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into good size chunks that seems to stretch forever. The salt chunks are so incredibly serrated that "only the devil could play golf on such rough links." I was here in January and nowhere near the 110+ that it gets to in the middle of summer. Then if you listen carefully, you'll hear sounds like tiny pops and pings -- the sound is literally billions of tiny salt crystals bursting apart as they expand and contract in the heat.

Artists Drive

An SUV drives along Artists Drive Scenic Loop to the marvelous Artists Pallete with its stunning array of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and green), splashed across the hills. These colors are from volcanic deposits rich in compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite, which creates a rainbow effect. Death Valley National Park, California.

Artists Pallette

Tucked in Death Valley National Park's badlands is the stunning Artists Pallette. Absolutely stunning array of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and green), splashed across the hills. These colors are from volcanic deposits rich in compounds such as iron oxides and chlorite, which creates the colorful rainbow effect.

Cliffside

The surf pounds along the rocky seacliffs that ring La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California.

Seacliffs

The cliffs run with bird guana from the large gathering of seabirds on the La Jolla Cove seacliffs.

Pacific Sunset

The beautiful orange sky after sunset along Ocean Beach, San Diego, California.

San Gorgonio

11,503 ft San Gorgonio Mountain is Southern California's highest peak. The photo as viewed from Joshua Tree National Park. Photo © copyright by Tom Dorsz.

Golden Gate Bridge

Looking at it from the Presidio.

Big Sur Coastline

The beautiful and rocky Big Sur coast is seen just north of Bixby Creek Bridge early in the morning.

Big Sur Coastline

Looking north along the rugged Pacific Coast Highway near the Bixby Bridge in the early morning light.