Month: February 2023
Free or Cheap State Park Passes
Getting into state park is getting more expensive but if you plan ahead, you can get in for free.
- California State Parks Library Pass Free – A new pilot collaboration between State Parks and California State Libraries will provide free passes to every public library throughout the state. Library patrons can check these out and use them for free vehicle day-use access to parks across the state.
If you don’t have a library card, visit your local library to get one. The library card and park pass are free! In partnership with the First Partner’s Office and the California State Library, State Parks is providing free vehicle day-use entry to over 200 participating state park units operated by State Parks for check out to library-card holders. The California State Library Parks Pass is valid for entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one highway licensed motorcycle. - California State Parks Adventure Pass Free – This new pass provides free entry for fourth graders and their families at 19 select state parks throughout the state.
- California State Parks Limited Use Golden Bear Pass $20 – not quite free but cheap & valid for one year, this pass is for individuals 62 years or older and provides the pass holder and their spouse/domestic partner with free entry to many state parks during non-peak season (excludes Memorial Day till Labor Day – so get a library pass).
2023 Superbloom?
This winter has been particularly rainy in California and Western USA. But did it happen too early in the season to create conditions necessary for a ‘superbloom’ event. The are websites watching and logging visits to Anza-Borrego and Death Valley, monitoring bloom events. Here are some of their links:
Anza-Borrego Wild Flowers Status Weblinks:
- Borrego Blooms dot org: https://www.abdnha.org/pages/03flora/reports/current.htm
- DesertUSA – https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_abdsp.html
Death Valley
- Nation Parks Service – https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/wildflower-seasons.htm
- DesertUSA – https://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca_dv.html
- Roveme – https://rove.me/to/death-valley/super-bloom
Masking in Lightroom & Adobe Camera Raw
Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw have features that allow masking of photographic images. Masking is essentially ‘dodging’ and ‘burning’ your digital image, only supercharged. In addition to lightening or darkening areas of your photo, masking allows you to change much more, like saturation and contrast.
One of the best recent features is ‘intersecting masks‘ – the combining of more than one mask to resolve specific elements in a photo, like petals, leaves, or particular color.
Applying A Mask
By applying a mask, the photographer can manipulate specific areas or objects in an image to emphasize and eliminate elements. Both Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw have masking AI (artificial intelligence) that can automatically select specific areas of the photo, like a person, sky, or background. Additionally, you can add or subtract to the mask by selecting specific mask criteria like color or luminescence, or by using a brush or eyedropper to select a detail.
- Adobe Bridge – free photo organizer that integrates well with Adobe Camera Raw and other Adobe products. It works well stand-alone as well.
- Adobe Camera Raw – free plugin with Photoshop, ACR is a raw photo tool with many of the same capabilities as Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Lightroom – my go-to photo organizer and editor.