Located in Northern Arizona, Monument Valley’s collection of crimson mesas and towering sandstone buttes captures colors that appear only in nature. The astonishing scenic beauty of the pristine desert landscape also reflects the reverence Arizona’s tribal communities have for the land.

In this below-sea-level basin, steady drought and record summer heat make Death Valley a land of extremes. Photos from Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, Artists Palette and Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Majestic figures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, surrounded by the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, tell the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country.

Explore parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. Information and photos of Mammoth Lakes, Lone Pine, Keeler, Gold Country and the mountains.

PHOTO GALLERIES MENU
Click On Text Link Below or the photo on the right.

VIEW MAMMOTH LAKES
Nestled between Panorama Dome and the steep southern flank of Mammoth Mountain, Twin Lakes is a popular fishing destination and the source of Mammoth Creek.

VIEW SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAIN RANGE
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. Photos taken after a major forest fire. Photos in Black & White.

VIEW THE TOWN OF LONE PINE
Lone Pine, named for a towering pine that stood over the town in the 1800s, views of Mt. Whitney’s 14,496-foot summit steal the show. Photos of the town in black & White.

VIEW THE TOWN OF KEELER
The town of Keeler is practically a ghost town. Many of the buildings are falling apart, the lake it sits on is dry, the mines the town was built to support have been played out, there is about fifty people live in the town.

VIEW SIERRA GOLD COUNTRY
The Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country) is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.

Sutter Buttes: Maidu`s Spirit Mountain
Sutter Buttes are the remnants of volcanic activity. Before dams the Buttes was an island refuge for California Indians, settlers and wildlife. The Maidu Indians called them “Histum Yani”, “Middle Mountains of the Valley” or “Spirit Mountain. The Wintun tribe, who lived on the West side of the buttes, called the buttes “Onolai-Tol.” Both the Maidu and Wintun names translate roughly to “The Middle Mountains”.

Rising out of miles of farmland, these buttes are sometimes called the world's smallest mountain range.
As you drive across State Route 20 in California’s Central Valley, you’ll be able to spot an outcropping of domed peaks abruptly rising out of the plains. The Sutter Buttes lie 50 miles north of Sacramento.

Sunrise and Sunset photos from Sonoma Coast and Cosumnes River Preserve.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Giant sequoias (sequoiadendron giganteum) grow only in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains near the state's eastern border. Coastal redwoods (sequoia sempervirens) you can find them in redwood forests near the California coast from the northern border down to Big Sur.

PHOTO GALLERY MENU
Click On Text Link Below or Photo on right

REDWOODS NATIONAL & STATE PARKS
Redwood National and State Parks are a string of protected forests, beaches and grasslands along Northern California’s coast. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park has trails through dense old-growth woods. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is home to Fern Canyon, with its high, plant-covered walls.

HUMBOLDT REDWOODS STATE PARK
Humboldt Redwoods spans 53,000 acres, an area almost twice the size of San Francisco. About one third, or 17,000 acres, of the park is old-growth redwood forest—the largest expanse of ancient redwoods left on the planet. This park offers one of the best places to see redwoods by car in the entire North Coast region: the 32-mile-long Avenue of the Giants.

SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks create a recreational wonderland covered by ancient forests, soaring domes, stone canyons, and rivers that roar or ripple, depending on the season. And all of it, kissed by some of the Sierra Nevada’s most consistently sunny weather.

TRAIL OF 100 GIANTS TRAIL
Trail of 100 Giants offers an easy, accessible walk through the Long Meadow Grove, one of the premier groves of giant sequoias in our area. Along the trail, you'll see impressively large giant sequoia trees, estimated up to 1,500 years old.

ARMSTRONG WOODS STATE PARK
The serene, majestic beauty of this Grove is a living reminder of the magnificent primeval redwood forest that covered much of this area before logging operations began during the 19th century. Armstrong Redwoods preserves stately and magnificent Sequoia sempervirens, commonly known as the coast redwood.

The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically diverse member of the Carnivora. The red fox is a lean mean hunting machine that’s built for speed.

Photographic portraits of captive Marine Life from public aquariums to personal reef aquariums.

Click On Text Link Below or Photo on right

MONTEREY AQUARIUM OPEN SEA
Aquarium's largest exhibit, a place where tuna speed past, sardines swarm in huge, glittering schools and sea turtles swim lazily across the 90-foot window.

JELLYFISH / JELLIES
Jellyfish and comb jellies are gelatinous animals that drift through the ocean's water column around the world. They are both beautiful—the jellyfish with their pulsating bells and long, trailing tentacles, and the comb jellies with their paddling combs generating rainbow-like colors.

PORTRAITS OF MARINE AQUARIUM FISH
Photos of captive marine fish from puffers, angelfish and butterflyfish.

FAIRY WRASSES
The various species of Cirrhilabrus wrasses are found in the wild from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific to the Pitcairn Islands, as far north as Hawaii‘i and the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan.

TENTACLES
Octopuses, squid, cuttlefishes and nautiluses are cephalopods — related to snails and slugs. They're found in the world's ocean at all depths. They can be colorful or transparent and range in size from less than an inch to more than 50 feet.

Pelagic birds are seabirds that spend most of their time (except when they are nesting) on the ocean away from land.

The only dark albatross of the northern Pacific Ocean, the Black-footed Albatross nests primarily on the Hawaiian Islands. It wanders widely across the northern Pacific for most of the year, and is regularly seen off the west coast of North America.

Info and photos on American White Pelicans and Brown Pelicans.

CLICK ON PHOTO GALLERIES IN THE TEXT LIST BELOW

AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS
One of the largest North American birds, the American White Pelican is majestic in the air. The birds soar with incredible steadiness on broad, white-and-black wings. Their large heads and huge, heavy bills give them a prehistoric look. On the water they dip their pouched bills to scoop up fish, or tip-up like an oversized dabbling duck.

BROWN PELICAN
The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves. They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up.

Sandhill Crane - Antigone canadensis
ORDER: Gruiformes
FAMILY: Gruidae

These tall, gray-bodied, crimson-capped birds breed in open wetlands, fields, and prairies across North America. They group together in great numbers, filling the air with distinctive rolling cries. Mates display to each other with exuberant dances that retain a gangly grace.

On a cloudy cold day we headed out to locate the sandhill cranes on the Pacific Flyaway migration. We saw a group of four in one of the flooded rice field. They have a very complex social body language.

Staten Island road in the Delta south of Sacramento by Consumnes River Preserve

Caribbean Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber
Flamingos are highly gregarious and live in large, noisy flocks, making a wide variety of volcalizations that include honks and barks. Flamingo are strong flyers, reaching speeds of 35 miles per hour. They are an ancient group of birds. According to fossil evidence, they date back 10 million years.

EFBC's Feline Conservation Center, also known as The Cat House is located in Rosamond California. Home to over 70 of the worlds most endangered felines. EFBC's Feline Conservation Center is part of a worldwide network of zoos and facilities dedicated to the preservation of endangered cats. They are involved in cooperative breeding projects with other zoos and facilities throughout the world. Cats at the EFBC/FCC are registered within Species360 and the Species Survival Plan (SSP) or Population Management Plan (PMP), and contribute to species conservation. Cubs born here are often sent to other zoos for their conservation programs. They do NOT sell cats to the public.

Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)
Amur Leopard Panthera pardus orientalis. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In 2007, only 19–26 wild leopards were estimated to survive in southeastern Russia and northeastern China. Photo 1 & 2

Black Leopard (Panthera pardus)
The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in small parts of Western and Central Asia, on the Indian subcontinent to Southeast and East Asia. Photo 3

Caracals (Caracal caracal)
The caracal is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India. It is characterized by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth. Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are lighter with small reddish markings. Photo 3

Sand Cat (Felis margarita)
The sand cat, also known as the sand dune cat, is the only cat living chiefly in true deserts. This small cat is widely distributed in the deserts of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Photo 4

There is a nostalgia that you feel when you see an old barn, vintage car and farm truck. Seeing an old barn still in use at Bodega Pastures. Folk art on a historic farm in Petaluma. Here are some that I have come across in my photographic journeys.

Click On Text Link Below or the photo on the right

OLD BARNS IN AMERICAN
Barns hold a distinct place in the history of many farms, and they seem to transcend time. Other icons of farm life—tractors, trucks and other machinery—come and go, replaced and upgraded as the years pass, but barns remain.

SONOMA BARN
This old barn is used by the Bodega Pastures to store hay and wool.

VINTAGE CARS AND TRUCK
Abandon and repurposed vintage cars and trucks. In earlier times farm trucks had a small cab and a large rear platform or box that held cargo.

ADOBE ROAD FARM
I just loved this historic barn in Petaluma. Decorated with beautiful folk art of cows and the American flag.

A drive along Pacific Coast Highway to see over 350 miles of the world’s most beautiful coastline.

PHOTO GALLERIES MENU
Click on Text Link Below or the Photo on the Right

GUADALUPE-NIPOMO DUNES
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in the U.S. state of California.

CENTRAL PACIFIC COAST
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay.

Landscapes can take on another dimension in Black & White. A sculptural beauty in the natural world. My inspiration for photographing landscapes and rural life are Ansel Adams and Minor White.

PHOTO MENU
Click on Text Link Below or the Photo on the Right

TRINIDAD
Trinidad is a seaside city in Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean. Situated directly above its own natural harbor, Trinidad is one of California's smallest incorporated cities, and is noted for its spectacular coastline.

DEATH VALLEY
Death Valley NP is the Hottest, Driest, and Lowest National Park.

PACIFIC COAST IN BLACK & WHITE
Coastal trails, windswept cypress trees, rocky coastline, and hedge groves captured in black & white.

ABBOTTS LAGOON TRAIL POINT REYES
Abbotts Lagoon Trail is a 3.6 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Inverness, California that features beautiful wild flowers.

NATURE IN BLACK & WHITE
This series is about the form and surface of the natural world, as realized through light and shadow. It is through this exploration of abstraction that I find the sculptural beauty in the natural world.

GUADALUPE-NIPOMO DUNES
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes is the largest remaining dune system south of San Francisco and the second largest in the U.S. state of California.

CENTRAL PACIFIC COAST
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay.

SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAIN RANGE
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. Photos of Kern County and the mountains after a major forest fire.

LANDSCAPES
Places I have seen in my travels.

In her Silhouette series, Francesca Scalpi captures the time of day when nature creates the sharpest contrasts between dark and light.

Photography Copyright Francesca Scalpi

What attracted me to Stone Lagoon was the beautiful refections in the lagoon. I photographed it early in the day with fog still on the water and later in the day.

Stone Lagoon breaches its 1.5-mile ocean barrier much less frequently than Big Lagoon; years may elapse between breaks. Watch for river otters or Roosevelt elk that graze south of Stone Lagoon.

Humboldt Lagoons State Park lies on the sandy, windswept edge of ocean and forest. Formed by the clash of two tectonic plates, it’s part of the largest lagoon system in the United States. Forty miles north of Eureka, the park includes Big Lagoon, Stone Lagoon, and Freshwater Lagoon, as well as Dry Lagoon, which is now a marsh, bordered by dunes, forests, prairies, and coastal scrub. With such varied habitats, wildlife thrives. On a single visit, you can see whales and elk, trout and salmon, pelicans and woodpeckers.

Photos from Catalina Island, Cabo San Lucas in Baja Mexico, Hong Kong, Macao, Cook Islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki, Prague, Bone Church, and Karlstejn Castle.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

My goal was to find images that had a sculptural quality, represented a period in time and spoke of the culture of Bohemia. They were photographed in various places in Bohemia (Czech Republic).

The digital process included variety of custom digital filters, several programs and techniques to create the final artwork. The result is a detailed image that has a dimensional with a transparent tint of color. These are images that must be seen in person to see the full effect. 

They are professionally printed on Kodak metallic paper with high gloss spray. You can order them in the following print sizes 6x6, 8x8, 10x10, 12x12 or larger. A variety of frame or stand mounts are available.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Saint Barbara's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Kutná Hora (Bohemia) in the style of a cathedral, and is sometimes referred to as the Cathedral of St Barbara. It is one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners, which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines.

Construction began in 1388, but because work on the church was interrupted several times, it was not completed until 1905. Saint Barbara, the Gothic jewel whose interior is decorated with frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town of Kutná Hora. This piece of art had a major influence on the architecture of central Europe.

It was a cold winter day with a few snow flakes in the air.
Photographed on 3/19/2003, 5:13pm

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument is a rock panel carved with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs. The rock is a part of the vertical Wingate sandstone cliffs that enclose the upper end of Indian Creek Canyon, and is covered by hundreds of petroglyphs—one of the largest, best preserved and easily accessed groups in the Southwest. The petroglyphs feature a mixture of human, animal, material and abstract forms.

The first carvings at the Newspaper Rock site were made around 2,000 years ago, left by people from the Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, Anglo, and Pueblo cultures. The petroglyphs were carved by Native Americans during both the prehistoric and historic periods. There are over 650 rock art designs. The drawings on the rock are of different animals, human figures, and symbols. These carvings include pictures of deer, buffalo, and pronghorn antelope. Some glyphs depict riders on horses, while other images depict past events like in a newspaper. While precisely dating the rock carvings has been difficult, repatination of surface minerals reveals their relative ages.

Photos of the Cook Islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Beach Life: Life and death that is washed a shore.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Photographs Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Hitchcock picked the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay to serve as the setting for his thriller featuring TippiHedren, Jessica Tandy, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette and, of course, the birds. At the time, the special effects utilized were enough to thrill and frighten young and old, and the film continues to affect modern day viewers. Mechanical and live-trained birds were used in the film, along with optically altered film overlay of flying birds. The film took almost three years to complete before it was released in 1963.

Saint Teresa of Avila Church. Shipbuilders built this church in 1859 on land donated by a wealthy patron. St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, which is briefly visible in the film, was made famous when it was photographed by Ansel Adams.The church was built in 1862.

The 141-year-old schoolhouse was established in 1873 for grades 1 through 8. The schoolhouse features a pivotal scene in which Tippi Hedren's character runs to the local schoolhouse to warn the teacher and students.

The schoolhouse of Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), at 17110 Bodega Lane, which, in the film, appears to be just up the hill from the bay. The house was originally a schoolhouse, a local community centre and for a while a guest house. It’s now a private residence.

Links:
Visit Sonoma Coast https://www.visitsonomacoast.com/

Wikipedia The Birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)

IMDB The Birds https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/

Crows Attack the Students - The Birds (6/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD

Crows on the Playground - The Birds (5/11) Movie CLIP (1963) HD

Several of the diner scenes were filmed at a Bodega Bay eatery called the Tides Restaurant. Bodega Bay Inn at the Tides: The Birds article

Hitchcock Zone Wiki The Birds

Schoolhouse scenes

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm2248789249/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm1664273665/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm598400513/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm531226113/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm3339164161/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm3069672192/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056869/mediaviewer/rm3508745984/

Ducks, Geese, kingfisher and shore birds. Photos photographed in California and Oregon along the Pacific Flyaway.

CLICK ON PHOTO GALLERIES IN THE TEXT LIST BELOW

DUCKS
photos of Dabbling Ducks such as Cinnamon Teal, Mallard, Wood, Northern Shoveler, and Northern Pintail. Diving Ducks like the Redhead, Scoter, Lesser Scaup and Canvasback.

NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK
Slim and long-necked, the Northern Pintail has a distinctive silhouette. The male is easy to identify by his striking markings and long tail, but even the female can be recognized by her graceful, long-necked shape.

SNOW GEESE
The Snow Goose is a white-bodied goose with black wingtips that are barely visible on the ground but noticeable in flight. The pink bill has a dark line along it, often called a "grinning patch" or "black lips.

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE
Breeding across the tundra from Nunavut to Siberia, across Russia, and in Greenland, the Greater White-fronted Goose has one of the largest ranges of any species of goose in the world. In North America, however, it is common only west of the Mississippi River, where it is found in large flocks in wetlands and croplands.

TUNDRA SWAN
These elegant creatures—slightly smaller than our other native species, the Trumpeter Swan—nest on arctic tundra and visit the U.S. only on migration and in winter.Most have a smudge of yellow at the base of their black bill, but otherwise are pure white. Immature birds are gray-tinged on the wings, head, and neck.

BELTED-KINGFISHER
With its top-heavy physique, energetic flight, and piercing rattle, the Belted Kingfisher seems to have an air of self-importance as it patrols up and down rivers and shorelines. It nests in burrows along earthen banks and feeds almost entirely on aquatic prey, diving to catch fish and crayfish with its heavy, straight bill.

SHORE BIRDS
Along the shoreline there is an ab and flow of bird activity that is tied to the tide, seasons, food, and weather. In this gallery you will see a variety of birds such as Sandpipers, Curlew, Dowitchers, Godwits, Killdeer, Oystercatchers, Stilts and Willets.

The bobcat is a medium-sized North American cat that first appeared during the Irvingtonian stage around 1.8 million years ago. Containing two recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States.

Their fur is buff to brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge, marked with spots or stripes of brown or black, or both. Bobcats are more intensely colored above and lighter below. They have facial ruffs, ear tufts, white spots near the tips of their ears and a bobbed tail.

Amphibians are known to live dual lives, as they spend their half-life in water and remaining half on land, these also have porous skin which requires moisture.

CLICK ON PHOTO GALLERIES IN THE TEXT LIST BELOW

PACIFIC TREE FROG
Pacific Treefrogs, are small amphibians with a conspicuous dark "mask" or eyestripe extending from the nostrils through the eye as far as the shoulder. Another distinguishing feature is the rounded toepad at the end of each digit.

AMERICAN BULL FROG
The largest of all North American frogs, this giant can grow to a length of 8 inches or more and weigh up to 1.5 pounds. Bullfrogs are typically green or gray-brown with brown spots and have easily identifiable circular eardrums, or tympanum, on either side of their heads.

Reptiles are the group of animals that live on land, breathe through lungs and lay eggs, they have scales on their body and function to retain moisture.

TURTLES
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines characterized by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs and acting as a shield. "Turtle" may refer to the order as a whole or to fresh-water and sea-dwelling testudines.

This series entitled "Windows" are photographs that I selected that tell a visual story. The first in this series are three photos of The House of the Minute in Prage. The house “At the Minute” at the Prague Old Town Square is a typical Prague Renaissance house, adorned with numerous sgraffitoes. The famous writer Franz Kafka lived there with his parents at the end of the 19 th century.
All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Photographed during the winter migration on the Pacific Flyaway. There were thousands of snow geese at Tule Lake when we arrived.

In the natural world there are living things, filtered light, textures on objects that transcend the material world into abstract art. In this gallery I share with you some of those items I have photograph specifically for the purpose of creating abstract art.

All Photos Copyright Francesca Scalpi

Storm clouds provide the shadows and the golden hour of twilight the warm colors of gold. Both painting the rolling hills of Sonoma.

In a variety of photos you can see the shape and density of clouds in nature.