Bailey Canyon

Bailey Canyon, which is in the San Gabriel Mountains and just above a pleasant neighborhood in Sierra Madre (near Pasadena), has a little bit of everything for a pleasant canyoneering trip. There are about 13 rappels, but none of them terribly difficult or long. It has an overhang or two to negotiate, and a few slippery down-climbs. Usually, there's a stream running through it with plenty of waterfalls, but right now it's almost bone dry with the current drought. So, the operating word here is pleasant. Unfortunately, it's not real photogenic, so taking pictures there is usually a little challenging. For this trip, I didn't go after the big, grand canyon landscapes, but stayed small, close-up. A lot of times that's more fun, anyway.

It was a dark, overcast day, so I shot almost exclusively at ISO 6400 just to get decent shutter times. Having done the canyon several times before, I knew all I needed was a 16-35mm lens and my favorite glass, the 24-70mm. I got lazy and didn't pull out a flash, but I probably should have. But that's just the tool side of things. It's really about showing my friends interacting with each other and the canyon. And they've gotten so accustomed to me pointing a camera at them, they barely pay attention. I become a fly on the rocks.

Poison Oak