Photochrome Camera Club

“Bears of North America Black, Brown, Cinnamon and the Lords of the North.” Rebecca Jackrel

Welcome to my passion: Bears! From the deep Minnesota forest to the Alaskan coastline and beyond the frozen Canadian tundra, the Bear reigns as one of the top predators in North America. Photographing these giants can be rewarding and exhilarating. Join me for a night of black and white bears and the shades between to discover locations where you can safely observe and photograph these majestic creatures!

Get your tripods, macro lenses and reflectors together for this field trip, ‘cuz we’re going to photograph wildflowers. Directions: About three miles south of Linda Mar Avenue stoplight (last one in Pacifica) on Highway One. The Grey Whale Cove parking lot is on the inland side of the highway. For more info and a map, see the State Beach website.

Facilities: No water. Chemical toilets available above the beach. Hazard: Watch out for Poison Oak. Photography: The trail is one mile long. It begins at the south end of the parking lot. There’s a moderate incline that takes you up the side of the hill where it flattens out, becoming an easy walk as you photograph a variety of beautiful wildflowers. The trail ends down the hill at Martin Creek Gate. Identification of these plants can be found at Toni Corellis’ plant check list for Grey Whale Cove Trail. For thumbnail photos of these plants go to: plants.montara.com/about.html.

If you’re willing to confront the long staircase descending to Grey Whale Cove Beach, you might get some interesting beach shots.

This is the meeting where everyone gets a chance to show off their latest and greatest. Experiment or go classic. Either way, wait for the ooohs, the aaahs, and the questions from the audience. “How did you do that?” is a frequent one. No judges, no scores, just conversation and a great learning experience.

The Pic Six segment is when you show your offerings taken in March at that manic place called Musee Mecanique.

It’s time for some spring flowers. Check out these possible sites for a spring flower outing.

• San Bruno Mountain
• Henry Coe State Park 
• Mitchell, Back and Donner Canyons, Mt Diablo 
• Jasper Ridge 
• Annadell State Park (Santa Rosa)
• Hood Mountain County Park (Santa Rosa)
• The Mother Lode Country of Sierra Nevada foothills 
• Salt Point State Park (Sonoma County) 
• Ida Clayton Road (northwest of Mt. St. Helena) 
• Old Knoxville Road (north of Lake Berryessa)
• Robert L. Stevenson State Park (Napa County) 
• Table Mountain (East of Chico) 
• Bear Valley (Colusa County) 
• Mt. Burdell (Novato) 
• Pt Reyes Lighthouse area (Chimney Rock or Abbots Lagoon) 
• Mt. Tamalpais 
• Ring Mountain (Corte Madera)

In addition, Chronicle outdoor writer Tom Stienstra listed several sites for flowers recently in his column.