Joshua Tree

Carlsbad Desert Joshua Tree San Diego The American Southwest Wildflowers

Photographs of Southern California’s Spring Wildflowers — the 2017 Super Bloom

During March and early April of this year I was chasing the wildflower bloom around the southernmost parts of California. The wildflower bloom was indeed spectacular and went on for weeks with vast displays of color. Was it a "super bloom"? I'm not sure. Somewhere during March the interwebs began…

Phil CollaJuly 16, 2017

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses

Lunar eclipse sequence, showing total eclipse (left) through full moon (right). While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving…

Phil CollaDecember 23, 2015

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Desert Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015

Each August the Perseid meteor shower takes place. This year it peaked during a new moon, which offered prime conditions for seeing many meteors. I photographed the Perseid meteor shower in Joshua Tree National Park using two compositions/locations: with Arch Rock as one feature and with a single joshua tree…

Phil CollaAugust 16, 2015

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Desert Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015

The Perseid meteor shower occurs each August, peaking on the evenings of August 12 and 13. It happens because the Earth is plowing through the trail of dust left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseid meteors are named for the constellation Perseus in the northern sky, from which the meteors…

Phil CollaAugust 14, 2015

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Desert Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse April 4 2015 from Joshua Tree National Park

I went up to Joshua Tree National Park to watch the lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015. Photographically, I was not sure what I was going to do. I've made a series of lunar eclipse sequence images (lunar eclipse October 8, 2014 and April 14, 2014 version 2 version 3).…

Phil CollaApril 5, 2015

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Desert Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014

For the eclipse of April 14/15, 2014, I wanted to depict the course of the eclipse across the sky with some recognizable landscape features in the foreground to anchor the composition. As the day of the eclipse went by, I watched the weather reports and decided Joshua Tree National Park…

Phil CollaJune 9, 2014

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Desert Joshua Tree Panoramas The American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014

The lunar eclipse of April 14 and 15, 2014 was a wonderful event to see. I went up to Joshua Tree National Park to photograph it for two reasons. First, the weather forecast in the high desert was for clear skies and, for the most part, the skies were indeed…

Phil CollaApril 29, 2014

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Desert Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park

This is the first of my photographic efforts shooting the lunar eclipse the evening of April 14/15 2014. I spent the entire night out under the stars in Joshua Tree National Park, where I often shoot when looking for clear skies and stars at night. I photographed several compositions and…

Phil CollaApril 17, 2014

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park

Things are always better at astronomical twilight. Venus was often referred to as the “Morning Star” by ancient civilizations (and as the “Evening Star” as well). On this day, it was indeed the morning star, rising just moments before astronomical twilight began. This allowed for a very brief window of…

Phil CollaApril 11, 2014

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Live Oak and Rocks, Milky Way Galaxy, Joshua Tree National Park

Milky Way Galaxy, Live Oak and Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park at Night I have spent many evenings photographing the landscape and night sky at Joshua Tree National Park. The terrain is harsh and there are few trees other than Yucca and Joshua Tree. I did find one attractive live…

Phil CollaMay 9, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Joshua Tree Panoramas The American Southwest

Milky Way and Moon at Night, Shooting Star, Comet Panstarrs, Panorama, Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park, Milky Way and Moon, Shooting Star, Comet Panstarrs, Impending Dawn. This panorama of Joshua Tree National Park was made at astronomical twilight during International Dark Sky Week recently (last week). Some slight blue color from the impending dawn appears behind and to the left of the…

Phil CollaApril 18, 2013

Astrophotography and Night Scapes California Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Milky Way Rising Over Joshua Trees

Joshua Tree National Park is the closest National Park to my home, so I visit it several times each year. It is a desert park, arid and sometimes quite hot, and given its proximity to Los Angeles it can be crowded on weekends which makes exploring Joshua Tree National Park…

Phil CollaSeptember 29, 2012

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Juniper, Rock and Star Trails, Joshua Tree National Park

I made a brief trip up to Joshua Tree National Park recently with Garry McCarthy to do some night photography. In Southern California it is difficult to find night skies that are clear enough for productive night photography and heading east to the desert with its dry air and relative…

Phil CollaMay 30, 2012

Joshua Tree The American Southwest

Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice: Giants Marbles at Dusk, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Giant's Marbles, Joshua Tree National Park, California. This is the second of three images I had that were Highly Commended in this year's Windland Smith Rice photography competition.* I made this photograph in Joshua Tree National Park just as the sun was setting, at a series of granite boulders that…

Phil CollaDecember 5, 2011

Astrophotography and Night Scapes Icons Joshua Tree

Heavenly Arch on EarthShots

I made a spur-of-the-moment trip with Garry McCarthy to do some night-time photography. We were pretty sleep-deprived by the time we were done, jacked up on coffee and then having to drive several hours home as the sun was just rising, but I managed to make four or five images…

Phil CollaJune 4, 2011

California Infrared Joshua Tree Sierra Nevada

Natural History Photography with Infrared Light

I have recently taken to shooting infrared photos while I am out on photo excursions. The motivation for me is that, if I can easily and inexpensively produce a different type of photo from what I normally shoot, all the while not affecting my ability to shoot traditional color photos,…

Phil CollaOctober 2, 2009

Infrared Joshua Tree National Parks Photography The American Southwest

Infrared Joshua Tree National Park

I shot these this morning during a quick trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I was totally uninspired for "regular" photography this morning, and the light was not that great anyway due to high winds and dust from the night before. But the little pocket infrared camera made some interesting…

Phil CollaApril 26, 2009

California Joshua Tree National Parks The American Southwest

Joshua Tree National Park Sunrise

On Thanksgiving morning I made a quick sunrise run into Joshua Tree National Park. Fortunately the Starbucks near my mom's in La Quinta opens at 5am so I was fully caffeinated for the drive. I got into my favorite part of the park about 45 minutes before sunrise, parked and…

Phil CollaDecember 17, 2008

California Joshua Tree National Parks Photo of the Day The American Southwest

Photo of Joshua Trees at Sunrise

We went out to La Quinta last weekend to visit our new baby niece. A big storm system was passing over California but the Coachella Valley got very little rain from it. I made a sunrise run out to Joshua Tree National Park and did a little exploring as the…

Phil CollaJanuary 8, 2008

Photographs of Southern California’s Spring Wildflowers — the 2017 Super Bloom

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015

Lunar Eclipse April 4 2015 from Joshua Tree National Park

Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014

Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014

Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park

Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park

Live Oak and Rocks, Milky Way Galaxy, Joshua Tree National Park

Milky Way and Moon at Night, Shooting Star, Comet Panstarrs, Panorama, Joshua Tree National Park

Milky Way Rising Over Joshua Trees

Juniper, Rock and Star Trails, Joshua Tree National Park

Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice: Giants Marbles at Dusk, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Heavenly Arch on EarthShots

Natural History Photography with Infrared Light

Infrared Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park Sunrise

Photo of Joshua Trees at Sunrise

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