Above the Riverside Basin smog at Big Bear Lake

[Adsos Letter]

My wife and I were down in Riverside this past week for my youngest daughter's college graduation. The smog can be horrific down there (no joke) so I took an evening to drive up to Big Bear Lake.

It's a fairly rapid rise in elevation, from about 1,500 ft. at Highland to about 7,200 ft going over the summit, all in about 30 (road) miles:

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I left later than I wanted to, and neglected to take my tripod (of course) and ol' shaky-hands here has difficulty without a tripod when the light gets low. Pretty much limited my snap-shooting to the area around the dam and bridge:

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The Big Bear Bridge:

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Nice Dining Room:

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And that was the last of my kids-in-college days. A new phase begins.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Adsos Letter!

These are lovely!

But the last one literally took my breath away...I love the shimmering water, and the silhouetted bird...

Ya done good, shaky hands or otherwise!

[Adsos Letter]

2. Thanks, Peggy!

We've probably made 20 trips down there since my youngest started college four years ago, but this was the first time I took the time to drive up to Big Bear. We usually split the time between Youngest in Riverside and Eldest in La Jolla.

Now that Youngest is done I'll have to find another excuse to make the trip.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Hey, the only excuse you need is that you want to take pictures!

[handmade34]

4. the 3rd is a charm

I was there in another lifetime (well actually last job took me there) Great photos!

If your kids are like mine they provide opportunity to visit all over... got them in Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Michigan, Rhode Island, sometimes Utah and Vermont

[Adsos Letter]

5. Thanks, handmade34!

Between our two girls we've had reason to visit Romania, Peru, Switzerland, the Solomon Islands (twice!), Mexico, Costa Rica; as well as Philadelphia, much of the Southeastern US, some of the Northeast, and SoCal.

The eldest finally finished med school and settled down in La Jolla for her residency.

The youngest just finished her degree in Accounting and Business at Riverside, and will sit for the CPA exam in August. Then she starts a job in Silicon Valley, so she'll be settling in Santa Clara in September.

I think the peripatetic stage of our lives is entering a new phase.

[Locut0s]

6. Nice shots. Love the lighting (looks like Golden Hour)...

I need to get our and take some Golden Hour shots, I have too few of them. I like how you have captured the architecture of the dam, interesting shapes, my kind of photography. And as Peggy mentioned the lighting in the last one is fantastic!

[Adsos Letter]

8. Thanks, Locut0s!

It was the Golden Hour. Unfortunately, it took me too long getting up the hill to avail myself of much of it (the road up is essentially a 30-mile series of curves and turns with which I was unfamiliar, and which slowed me considerably).

[NV Whino]

7. Love 'em all

But the first dam and th e bridge are outstanding.

[Adsos Letter]

9. Thanks, NV Whino!

Every time I go down there I'm reminded of how clear our skies are up here (comparatively).

I wish I'd had a wide angle lens with me for the bridge shot. I'm thinking that's going to be my next purchase.

[BuddhaGirl]

10. Wonderful shots!

I especially love the last photo, the color is amazing

It's been years since I've been up to Big Bear so I really enjoyed your pics, thanks for sharing!