Palm Canyon Misadventure

My wife and I drove over to Balboa Park, today, to explore Palm Canyon Trail, only to find much of the path blocked by chain-link and sign. We covered greater distance walking from the parking lot to the path’s entrance. Well, welcome to the wiles of San Diego’s hidden natural wonders.

Still, I relished having dirt, rather than cement, beneath my shoes—and the outside-the-city feeling of being inside the canyon, beneath the cover of various tree species, with bird call above and the only other sound being the intrusive roar of jets flying overhead to land at the airport (yeah, flightpath).

Because of a wedding shoot underway that I didn’t want to interrupt or have photo bomb my captures, the short bit of open trail isn’t documented. That said, I made a few moments—all from Leica Q2 and composed as shot. (Warning: Large file sizes.)

The Featured Image is an alternative way in (and out) to where we walked down to the trail. Vitals, aperture set for this one and the others: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec, 28mm; 1:39 p.m. PDT.

After capturing the second photo, as Annie and I returned to the entrance, we smelled someone smoking pot. Those trees in the center are charred from fire—and people light up stink weed here? Can I say ambiance killer? Somebody lacks common sense. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, 28mm; 1:41 p.m.

For the final two, I fancied a fallen tree trunk. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 1:45 p.m. The other is the same, but 1/200 sec and half-minute later (hey, getting down lower took a bit of time).