Afternoon sun backlights bright orange California poppies set against the deep blue of the sky. For me this was an uncanny experience. The San Jose Mercury News had decided to run a feature story on my Bay Peaks Project so assigned photographer Ray Chavez to get some shots of me hiking and shooting on location. We’d driven up Welch Creek Road, through a winding and narrow forested canyon, to gain access to the northern section of Sunol Regional Wilderness. The hike led us up a fire road onto the green hills, and to the summit of Sam’s Peak, a 1423′ domed hill with rocky outcrops, colorfully scattered with May wildflowers. I set about photographing, lying on my belly, framing the shot I wanted. And Ray did his work photographing me shooting.I was odd to be on the other end of a camera.

Here’s the full story with images: “Bagging Peaks a Step at a Time”

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Agency: East Bay Regional Park District
Location: Sunol Regional Wilderness

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