Del Norte Redwoods with Alexis (Patreon)

This set of 24 hi-res images is now in the "Archive" folder - subscribe at the $25 Archive Tier for access to this and more than 150 other sets!!!

There isn't any place on earth like the tiny sliver of land that encompasses the entire range of the Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on Earth.  They only exist in a narrow range from the coast to about 30 miles inland from Central California at the southern end to about 15 miles into Southern oregon to the north. The groves of redwoods that remain, often nestled in steep wet gulches cut by the many creeks that wind their way to the ocean, are unlike most forests. I don't want to sound too hippy-dippy (I am far from it), but those big, old, massive, trees really have a presence, like they are trying to tell you all the secrets of the Earth.  Each seems to be a character - they all look so different from one another and thus take on unique personalities.  i always feel like there is one tree in a grove that will speak to each person.  If you go to the redwoods, you have to find that tree and spend some time with it, listen to it.

On another note - Del Norte Redwoods is a narrow strip of a park just along highway 101, Pacific Coast Highway.  To the west of the highway the land drops off over a thousand feet to the desolate coast.  The hikes are hard if you want to get down to the water, but worth the effort. plus they begin and end in some marvelous old growth redwood forest with massive trees surrounded by sword ferns and a dense understory. As Alexis and I began our journey home, we pulled off the highway and walked off the road into the forest about 50 feet to do this last quick shoot (in one of the photos included in the $20 BTS Patron set you can see a big rig going by in the background and have a sense of close we were to all the passing cars).

I didn't do a good job shooting (the camera I used back then couldn't really handle the contrast and overall lack of light in the redwood forest) and we didn't luck out with weather (it was, sadly, a fog/mist free day). Its still really nice to see my friend smiling naked in a redwood forest, but I really want to get back there more and more to try and make the images that I really see in my mind.  I haven't nailed them yet...