标签加利福尼亚下的文章

暴风雪散去，加利福尼亚优胜美地国家公园 Clearing snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California (© Jeff Lewis/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Ansel Adams' enduring vision

Of all the camera-wielding luminaries who've snapped this eastward view of Yosemite Valley, few can hold a 'candela' to Ansel Adams, born this day in 1902. The legendary photographer of Western landscapes was given his first camera here in Yosemite as a boy. The national park was his favorite place in the world, and he returned every year for the rest of his life.

Adams' style is one of the most recognizable in photography: Bright whites against deep blacks, with high horizon lines that leave most of the frame filled with landscape, a narrow lens aperture placing every tiny detail in biting focus. Unlike many photographers of the day who considered themselves more journalist than artist, Adams was a visionary: Instead of plainly documenting what he saw, Adams aimed to convey the enchantment, awe, and terror his beloved landscapes made him feel, spending hours in the darkroom fine-tuning exposures to match what he visualized. 'Clearing Winter Storm'—the photo that today's image pays tribute to—was taken around 1937, depicting ominous clouds gathering around El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall, whiting out the distant peak of Half Dome.

While Adams had to lug bulky box cameras and light meters into the wilderness to capture his vision, chances are you've got the whole setup in your pocket. Why not grab that phone of yours, venture outside, and celebrate this legendary shutterbug's birthday with some masterful nature snaps of your own?

安塞尔·亚当斯的不朽愿景

在所有手持相机拍摄到约塞米蒂山谷东面景色的名人中，很少有人能为1902年出生的安塞尔·亚当斯（Ansel Adams）奉上“烛台”。这位西方风景的传奇摄影师小时候在约塞米蒂得到了他的第一台相机。国家公园是他在世界上最喜欢的地方，他余生每年都会回来。

亚当斯的风格是摄影界公认的最具代表性的风格之一：明亮的白色与深黑的对比，高水平的线条让大部分画面充满了风景，狭窄的镜头光圈将每一个微小的细节都置于扣人心弦的焦点。与当时许多认为自己更像记者而不是艺术家的摄影师不同，亚当斯是一个有远见的人：他没有简单地记录他所看到的一切，而是致力于传达他所钟爱的风景带给他的魅力、敬畏和恐惧，他花了数小时在暗室微调曝光，以符合他所想象的《清冬风暴》（Clearing Winter Storm）——这张今天的照片是在1937年左右拍摄的，描绘了不祥的云层聚集在埃尔卡皮坦（El Capitan）和布里达尔维尔瀑布（Bridalveil Fall）周围，使远处的半圆顶峰黯然失色。

虽然亚当斯不得不拖着笨重的盒式摄像机和测光表到荒野中捕捉他的视野，但你很可能已经把整个设置都放在口袋里了。为什么不拿起你的手机，到外面去冒险，用你自己掌握的自然快照来庆祝这个传奇的shutterbug的生日呢？

巨浪冲击着阿斯洛玛尔州立海滩的岩石，加利福尼亚州帕西菲克格罗夫 Huge waves crashing on rocks along Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, California (© Sheila Haddad/Danita Delimont)

Feel the spray in Monterey

Fantasizing about warm, sandy beaches with gently lapping waves? Well, we decided you could use a shake-up—so here we are in Monterey County, California, for a glimpse at the ocean's raw, unadulterated power. Asilomar State Beach's mile-long coastline trail offers views like this one of seas crashing on jagged shores. Below the frothy surface swim innumerable ocean organisms protected by the massive Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest marine preserve in the contiguous United States. Behind us, a rich dune habitat supporting its own delicate flora and fauna can be explored via a boardwalk trail.

Andy Goldsworthy's 'Wood Line' installation along Lovers' Lane in the Presidio of San Francisco, California (© Chris LaBasco/Alamy)

Take a hike near Lovers' Lane

For those of you who love getting outside, you're in luck! Today is Take a Hike Day, an activity the American Hiking Society says will make you happier as you enjoy the great outdoors. And what better way to take a hike than a walk down Lovers' Lane in San Francisco's Presidio? The sinewy trail we see in today's photo is called 'Wood Line' and was designed by the environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy. By using felled eucalyptus trees, Goldsworthy intended this land art to eventually biodegrade and fade back into the forest floor. It's one of four of his works within this national park that once served as a US military outpost.

No matter where you are, we hope you'll find the closest trail to explore. The US National Trail System maintains more than 55,000 miles of National Scenic, Historic, or Recreational trails through some of the most beautiful, interesting parts of the country, so you have plenty of hikes to choose from.

死亡谷国家公园跑道湖的迷踪石，加利福尼亚 Sailing stone at Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park, California (© Patrick Walsh/Getty Images)

Rocks on the move

No, that stone in today's homepage image didn't get there by itself. Or, did it? Not only is Death Valley one of the hottest places on Earth, it also boasts a mysterious geologic phenomenon—rocks that drift across the exceptionally flat desert floor, seemingly under their own power. The rocks here at Death Valley's Racetrack Playa are known as 'sailing stones' and they can vary in size from a few ounces to hundreds of pounds. As seen in our image, the stones leave long trails behind them as they move across the scenic dry lakebed.

Since the stone trails were first observed in the early 1900s, no one knew just how the stones managed to have apparently 'sailed' across Racetrack Playa without someone to push them along. Because they'd never been seen moving, the sailing stones gave rise to many wild theories to explain their mobility. Then, in 2014, scientists captured the movement of the stones for the first time using time-lapse photography, and the mystery was finally solved: The stones move only with the perfect balance of melting ice, water, and wind. One day that winter of 2014, rain had formed a shallow pond that froze overnight. When it thawed in the next day's sun, the very thin ice sheet melted and cracked into floating panels. Driven by a light wind, these sheets accumulated behind the stones, and very slowly pushed them forward.

森火山国家公园中的拉森峰，加利福尼亚 Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (© Engel Ching/Shutterstock)

A peek at an explosive peak

We're looking at Lassen Peak, a volcano also known as Mount Lassen, and its reflection in Manzanita Lake. This stunning scene can be found in northern California's Lassen Volcanic National Park, which was established on this day in 1916. The volcano erupted between 1914 and 1917 (with some activity as late as 1921), but these days the surrounding area is a calm destination of trails, lakes, and stark lava beds. One of the least visited parks, Lassen was the first national park in California to fully reopen after being closed for COVID-19, although it implemented some restrictions to park services and facilities. The park also includes acres of mud pots, hot springs, steam vents, and fumaroles to remind you of the heat that's below you, including Boiling Springs Lake—one of the largest boiling lakes in the world at over 500 feet wide.

优胜美地国家公园中的春季瀑布 Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park, California (© elvistudio/Shutterstock)

National Parks Week begins

To kick off National Park Week, which starts today, we're turning our lens on Vernal Fall in California's Yosemite National Park. This time of year, the waterfall flows in a torrent, but by late summer it can be reduced to a trickle of small streams slipping over the edge. Most years, Vernal Fall is at full power by May, as the spring thaw in the mountains melts the snowpack, turning the falls into a raging tumble of water spilling to the valley floor where the Merced River flows.

鸟瞰蒙特雷附近的大苏尔海岸线，加利福尼亚州 Aerial view of the Big Sur coastline near Monterey, California (© Blue Planet Archive/Alamy)

Gray days ahead in Monterey

Grey whale migration is a rare scenery, thousands of gray whales, many with calves in tow, swim by this part of the Pacific coast as they migrate from the warm waters of Baja California to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Come winter, they pass by again on the swim south. The entire roundtrip route clocks in at about 12,000 miles, making gray whales among the longest migrators of animal kingdom. Because they travel close to the coastline, it's also one of the few whale migrations you can see from shore.

Heron lies the Salton Sea

Migratory bird species are predictable frequent fliers, taking to the sky to travel along roughly the same route, at the same time, every year. Following sources of food and water along the way, the birds often fly great distances to reach breeding grounds or places to spend the winter. Today, we're looking at an important stopover for migratory birds—California's largest lake, the Salton Sea.

This shallow saline lake was formed when a dam broke in 1905, causing the Colorado River to flow into a 35-mile-long basin with extensive salt deposits. Now it attracts hundreds of species of birds in what is considered one of the most significant concentrations of bird life in the continental United States. Most of these birds are just passing through, migrating along the north-south route called the Pacific Flyway. They gather here, sometimes in the millions, to feed and regain strength before moving on. Some birds, like the heron pictured in today's photo, may stay here for the season, but most of those who visit in the spring will stay for just a few days before continuing their journey to a summer spot farther north.

Hollywood's big night

It's Oscars night in Tinseltown, and we're offering you a moment's escape from the paparazzi to gaze over the glittering megalopolis of Los Angeles—and to get an unfamiliar view of a familiar landmark. The Hollywood Sign originally read 'Hollywoodland' when it was erected in 1923 and festooned with light bulbs to advertise a real estate development. But within a few years, as the silent-film era gave way to 'talkies,' the sign evolved into a popular tourist attraction. Falling into disrepair in ensuing decades—at the peak of its decay, the sign was missing its third 'O' altogether—the original was demolished and a sturdier version built in 1978.

Though it's inspired similar designs advertising locales from Ireland to Taiwan to the fictional Simpsons' hometown of Springfield, the now-permanent Hollywood Sign is cherished by residents as uniquely LA. Today, a dedicated nonprofit maintains and promotes the sign as both a source of Angeleno pride and an emblem of romanticized Hollywood.

一只勃兰特鸬鹚在洛杉矶海岸石油钻塔下的一群太平洋鲭鱼中觅食，加利福尼亚 A Brandt's cormorant hunts for a meal in a school of Pacific mackerel beneath an oil rig off the coast of Los Angeles, California (© Alex Mustard/Minden Pictures)

A seabird gets 'schooled'

This deep-diving Brandt's cormorant appears to be on the hunt for a meal, and there's plenty of Pacific mackerel to choose from here off the coast of Los Angeles, California. While seabirds like the cormorant are a threat to these fish, the mackerel aren't exactly defenseless. Fish have many unique means of defense, such as traveling in dense schools like this one. It's a technique that not only allows for speedy travel (because it reduces friction on most of the fish in the school)—schooling also makes it more difficult for predators to pick out an individual victim. For these fish, there's safety in numbers. But when all else fails, they can take some advice from Dory in 'Finding Nemo'—'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.'

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