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Photography by David Wilson

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Ramparts on the Coast

December 5, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Nighttime vista over the Pacific from atop a high rock.

Patrick's Point State Park, Humboldt County, California. ...With the Stars in Motion and Thoughts on Geotagging A photograph can be worth many more than a thousand words. It’s an old expression, though, and maybe the number “one thousand” ...

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Lost in Space (Big Dipper over Trinidad)

November 6, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX 4 Comments

Trinidad, Humboldt County, California in the moonlight.

Humboldt County, California The planet hung silently in space. A tiny jewel in the blackness, it was a half-lit marble of greens and browns and blues and whites. But it was more than a planet, it was a life-bearing droplet, a little oasis of life ...

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Musings at the Moonstone Cave

April 23, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Looking out through the mouth of the Moonstone Beach cave into the night.

Humboldt County, California We stood in the mouth of the cavern, looking out through a great broken crack in the blackness into the night as if through a window into another world. It fired our imaginations, conjuring mysteries in the night. ...

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Beneath the Vortex

February 3, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX 3 Comments

Humboldt County, California It was a clear, still night at Moonstone Beach. The tide was out, and my brother and I could hear the surf roaring in the distance. An occasional rogue wave would send a low sheet of water sliding across the sands to ...

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Reflections from Trinidad

February 3, 2019 by DavidWilsonMFX 2 Comments

Humboldt County, California David Wilson I opened the camera’s shutter and waited. It was already high tide, and I didn’t expect any waves to reach me. When I had arrived half an hour earlier I’d set up where the small waves coming in across ...

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David’s Favorite Stories

Visualize the Night

May 24, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need — roads.” - Doc, Back to the Future II. One of the more challenging visualizations for me is to imagine looking at the Solar System from a point above it in outer space, far ...

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Close Encounters on the Avenue

May 9, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California The Avenue of the Giants is as beautiful a drive as you will find. The groves along its 36-mile course line the Avenue with some of the grandest examples of the tallest trees on Earth, the California coast ...

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Trinidad, Humboldt County, California in the moonlight.

Lost in Space (Big Dipper over Trinidad)

November 6, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX 4 Comments

Humboldt County, California The planet hung silently in space. A tiny jewel in the blackness, it was a half-lit marble of greens and browns and blues and whites. But it was more than a planet, it was a life-bearing droplet, a little oasis of life ...

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Dancer on the bridge beneath the Milky Way

Late one Night at Cooks Valley Bridge

November 26, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County Line, California I had never met Lula when she approached me about making some photos of her in my nighttime style of photography. But I was game; placing a figure in an image inspires stories in the mind’s eye of the viewer, and ...

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Milky Way over South Fork Eel River

January 31, 2019 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California The word “photography” literally means “light painting,” and there is something about taking that idea and actually adding my own strokes of light that appeals to me. Nighttime gives me the opportunity to make images ...

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Perseid Meteors 2020: A Comet’s Tale

August 22, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Humboldt County, California Currently speeding out from the sun after its last visit to the Solar System’s inner reaches in 1992, Comet Swift-Tuttle leaves a trail of debris in its path. Comets are made of frozen gasses, dust, and rock; as sun’s ...

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The Milky Way rises like mist behind growing cannabis buds in Humboldt County, California

’Tis the Cannabis Harvest Season

November 15, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX Leave a Comment

Cannabis of Humboldt County The girls are all grown up, beautiful young blossoms in their prime. They’ve overcome tremendous obstacles in their young lives, and now they are ready to spread their wings and change the world. Where did the time ...

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Fog filled expanse with Comet NEOWISE in the sky above

Comet NEOWISE Over California’s North Coast

July 20, 2020 By DavidWilsonMFX 2 Comments

Humboldt County, California If you have not seen Comet NEOWISE in the northwest skies after dark, then you really must treat yourself. It has rounded the sun in its orbit now, and the farther from the sun it travels the dimmer it will be. Though ...

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More of David's Favorite Photo Stories

  • Eel River Overlook
  • The Survivor
  • Avenue of the Giants Guardians
  • Close Encounters on the Avenue
  • Musings at the Moonstone Cave
  • A Bit of Whimsy
  • Milky Way over South Fork Eel River

More of David's Favorite Stories

Instagram: @David_Wilson_MFX

david_wilson_mfx

Happy New Year, 2021. Taken the night after the gr Happy New Year, 2021. Taken the night after the great conjunction (for which it rained), Jupiter and Saturn show as the small, bright “star” on the horizon in front of  @morriganlynn , too small here to see that they barely touch. I could see that Saturn had finally overtaken and passed Jupiter and was now to Jupiter’s right. December 22, 2020. Humboldt County, California. 

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#Jupiter#MilkyWay#2021#HappyNewYear#happynewyear2021#Goodbye2020#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#goddess#beauty#beautiful#sexy#model#babe#nightphotography#california#california#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#countrygirl#countryroad#dirtroad#pasture#moonlight
The Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn… was the d The Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn… was the day before this, and obscured by clouds. But the next evening was beautiful, and @morriganlynn and I celebrated in the moonlight with this image up on Bear River Ridge Road. Jupiter and Saturn show as the small, bright “star” on the horizon in front of Morrigan, too small here to see that they barely touch. I could see that Saturn had finally overtaken and passed Jupiter and was now to Jupiter’s right. December 22, 2020. Humboldt County, California. 
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#conjunction#Jupiter#Saturn#planetaryconjunction#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#goddess #nightphotography#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#beauty#beautiful#sexy#model#babe#countrygirl#countryroad#dirtroad#pasture#ranchlife#riodell#moonlight @humboldtcountyofficial @humboldtshooters @humboldtmade
W I N T E R S O L S T I C E 2 0 2 0: Always foll W I N T E R  S O L S T I C E  2 0 2 0: Always follow the light.
“She’s Free,” with @morriganlynn somewhere up Monument Road/Bear River Ridge Road, Humboldt County, California. May 14, 2018, about 11:30 PM. 
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#milkyway#nightphotography#astrophotography#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#Crab#giantcrab#kineticsculpture#sculpture#humboldtcountyofficial#beauty#beautiful#sexy#model#countryroad#dirtroad#riodell#bearrivercasinoresort#bearriverridgeroad#solstice#wintersolstice
Humboldt County, California. I hooked up with Dani Humboldt County, California.
I hooked up with Daniel McCauley ( @danscustommetals ) and his amazing kinetic crab monster of metal madness at the Eureka Waterfront... That's him in the cockpit wearing a mask of metal things welded together into a face. The crab’s legs move, the pinchers pinch (and snap together with a frightfully loud bang), the eyes glow, and I think that light colored tubing that outlines it also glows neon, but it wasn’t hooked up. It still makes a neat outline for the photo, though. He says it has looked awesome at Burning Man. Wouldn’t it?
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#Eurekaca#eurekawaterfront#eurekacalifornia #eurekaoldtown #humboldtbay#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#californialove#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#Crab#giantcrab#kineticsculpture#sculpture#humboldtcountyofficial#metal#weld#welding#heavymetal#burningman
Once upon a time while tripping around Humboldt Co Once upon a time while tripping around Humboldt County (except the Needle Rock Tree, which is just south of Humboldt). 

Really I just had to play around this morning, and made some changes and additions to a collage of Humboldt scenes I had made a couple years ago.

For a Detail, check the second pane for a closer look at a very Humboldty skyline around the moon… it’s one of the changes I made (spoiler alert: there is a reason that cannabis is one of the hashtags.) 

This is a composite image from several scenes around Humboldt County, with the tree from Needle Rock rock in northern Mendocino, not far south of Shelter Cove. That tree fell down decades or so ago; I took the photo of the tree before that... on film.
Lots more photo goodnesses at my web site, mindscapefx.com

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#composite#photoshop#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#cannabis#river#eelriver#solitude#nature#tree#marijuana#lonetree#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#californialove#MilkyWay#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#humboldtcountyofficial#eelriver#needlerock#sinkyonewilderness #fullmoon #moon
Humboldt or Bust Now Entering Humboldt County (Sor Humboldt or Bust
Now Entering Humboldt County
(Sort of two titles I was thinking of…)
The Cooks Valley Bridge over the South Fork Eel River marks Humboldt County’s primary southern border, sharing it with Mendocino County to the south. Humboldt County, California. 
Model: @lula_may_no_lula_will 
@humboldtcountyofficial
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#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#cannabis#farm#harvest#farmlife#marijuana#pot#forest#trimmigrant#trimscene#travel#outdoors#nightlife#solitude#norcal##norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia#californialove#MilkyWay#universetoday #Humboldtshooters
Harvest season comes as the Milky Way season fades Harvest season comes as the Milky Way season fades over @schackowfarms in Humboldt County, California. Out of focus in the background, the Milky Way rises like vapors from the blessed herb. Note on the far left Jupiter and Saturn. Among the greenery on the far left, the brighter lower spot of light is the planet Jupiter, while above to the left the slightly less bright white dot is the planet Saturn. Humboldt County, California. Sometime in October, 2020.
@schackowsolventless
@humboldtcountyofficial 
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#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#Humboldt#humboldtcounty#cannabis#farm#harvest#farmlife#marijuana#pot#forest#camping#travel#glamping#glamp#travel#outdoors#nightlife#norcal##norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#visitcalifornia#californialove#MilkyWay#universetoday#Humboldtshooters#jupiter#saturn
The Milky Way extends into the sky from behind a D The Milky Way extends into the sky from behind a Douglas-fir skyline, with Jupiter and Saturn pursuing from the left, and a meteor on the right. I had a great time glamping at Sol Spririt Farm ( @solspiritretreats @solspiritfarm ) outside of WIllow Creek, Trinity County, California. July 24, 2020.
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#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#trinity#trinitycounty#cannabis#marijuana#pot#forest#camping#travel#glamping#glamp#travel#outdoors#nightlife#solitude#norcal#tent#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia#californialove#MilkyWay#universetoday
’Tis the Season. A cannabis bud beneath the Milk ’Tis the Season. A cannabis bud beneath the Milky Way at @solspiritretreats outside of Willow Creek in Trinity County, California. I had a great time glamping at Sol Spirit Retreats. They also offer cannabis tours. The food is amazing, and the people are awesome.
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#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#modoc#trinity#trinitycounty#cannabis#marijuana#pot#forest#camping#travel#glamping#glamp#norcal#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia#californialove#MilkyWay#universetoday
Back in the Day… @nazphvra2, aka MANIFEST, and I Back in the Day… @nazphvra2, aka MANIFEST, and I teamed up quite a bit to make photo art to accompany his music. 💿 album: NORTHYRN LYTES. This was from 2002.
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The photo of the landscape and stars was from the early 1990’s, shot on film. It’s looking up through the collapsed ceiling of a lava tube in Modoc County, far northeastern California. The sky is magenta because the aurora borealis was particularly active that evening  and could be seen as far south as northern California. I didn’t realize the aurora was active when I began the photo. The stars are revolving around the north star, and the brightest stars are the big dipper. It was about a half an hour exposure.
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#norcal#californiasky#activenorcal#modoc#modoccounty#norcal#norcalpulse#BigDipper#startrails#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia#californialove#paintingwithlight#universetoday#lavatube#lavabed#lavabeds#cave#northernlights#aurora#auroraborealis#lavabedsnationalmonument#hiphop#humboldtcounty
Pacific coast, northern Humboldt County, Californi Pacific coast, northern Humboldt County, California. My brother @kaptainz2002 and I were out scoping things out. It was the night we found the dead "Ray of Beauty" lying on the beach (see a couple posts previous).That's a meteor just above Jupiter and Saturn, the two brightest and second brightest "stars," respectively..
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#norcal#Pacificocean#pacificcoast#beach#beachcave#cave#moonstonebeach#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#activenorcal#Eurekaca#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#milkyway#Jupitaer#mars#meteor#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia#californialove#visithumboldt#universetoday#shootingstar
Smoke from wildfires across northern California fi Smoke from wildfires across northern California fills the skies behind Fisherman’s Memorial in Eureka, California. September 28, 2020.
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#norcal#Wildfire#smoke#smokyskies #HumbldtBay#Fishermansmemorial#woodleyisland#Pacific#pacificocean#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#activenorcal#Eurekaca#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#landscape#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia #californialove#visithumboldt#
Humboldt County, California. The lifeless ray lay Humboldt County, California. The lifeless ray lay on the  shore with lay its tail still in the water. Above, the Milky Way, with Jupiter and Saturn, marked its passage in their night-long vigil. It was the day we’d lost a Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and here was this lifeless form washed up on the beach. I felt I should stop; perhaps there was a way to find the beauty in the end of its life, and pay the old critter its due respects. Out photographing with my brother @kaptainz2002 . September 18, 2020.
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#norcal#darksky#Pacific#pacificocean#ray#shore#beached#beach#nightsky#travel#californiasky#death#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#astrophotography#nightphotography#nightscape#landscape#Universetoday#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia #californialove#visithumboldt#moonstonebeach#rbg
The International Space Station flies by Comet C/2 The International Space Station flies by Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) above far Northern California’s Eel River and Redwood forests. Both tails are visible, especially in the second image. The ISS was a surprise. Swipe to see the scene without the Space Station. 
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We can see both tails of this comet once it is dark enough, check the second image for a better view of it (it was a little later, a little darker). The bluer tail is made up of those sublimated gas particles, and is pushed out into space by the pressure of the sun’s energy. This tail will always point away from the sun, as it is carried away in the solar wind. The brighter, whiter or yellower tail is made up of the more solid debris, the dust and particle that slough off as the comet disintegrates in the sun’s energy.

July 18, 2020 in Humboldt County, California.
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#darksky##redwoods#redwoodforest#forest#nightsky#travel#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#astrophotography#nightphotography#nightscape#landscape#Universetoday#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia #californialove#visithumboldt#comet#neowise#ISS#internationalspacestation #river#eelriver#
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) lies brilliantly lit in Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) lies brilliantly lit in the sky over the Pacific coast. Beyond the ridge lies Ferndale and the Pacific Ocean, Humboldt County, California.
(Interesting note: this was photographed on a modern 2020 Nikon camera body with an old manual Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens from the 1960's. Amazing bridge through time. I bought the lens used as a starving Photography student at Humboldt State University in the early ’90’s from another starving student.  Still tack sharp!) July 15, 2020.
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#darksky##forest#nightsky#travel#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#astrophotography#nightphotography#MilkyWay#Jupiter#Saturn#Antares#Altair#nightscape#landscape#Universetoday#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia #californialove#visithumboldt#comet#neowise#pacific
Humboldt County, California. On a hillside beneath Humboldt County, California. On a hillside beneath the beautiful night sky. Driving to this spot, I passed three separate cars parked along the road with people enjoying the night stargazing or photographing. Blessed we are here on California’s North Coast to have such beautiful dark skies. 
Don’t tell anyone. Humboldt County, California. July, 2020.
Swipe for 8 x 10 glossy with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back explaining what each one is.
—>For prints and more photos and photo stories, visit my website https://mindscapefx.com 
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#darksky#PrairieCreekRedwoodsstatepark#castateparks#redwoods#forest#meadow#nightsky#countryroads#countrylife#travel#touring#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#astrophotography#nightphotography#MilkyWay#Jupiter#Saturn#Antares#Altair#nightscape#Universetoday#californiadreaming#visitcalifornia #californialove
Panorama at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Hum Panorama at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Humboldt County, California. 
So beautiful.

The Milky Way soars over Giant redwood trees across the meadow at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

If your mind bends thinking you recalled the road as straight passing this area, you are correct. Lines are warped due to the extremely wide field of view, which covers fully 180º from left to right. Standing at the edge of the straight road, the left end of the image shows the road leading straight toward the bright light at my left, while the right end shows the road leading directly away from the lights to my right (note the shadows of my tripod and myself on the road to the right, cast by the lights on the left). The Milky Way rose from the southeastern horizon, and stretched across the sky to the northern horizon. Optically, capturing all of this and displaying it in a rectangle necessarily warps straight lines. Photographed on June 10, 2020, at about 12:30 in Humboldt County, California.
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Prints at my web site https://mindscapefx.com .
This image can be printed up to 30“ x 80“ comfortably. It’s really too bad how Instagram, a photo sharing site, jams every photo into such a tiny little box.
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#countryroad#PrairieCreekRedwoodsstatepark#castateparks#redwoods#redwoodforest#prairie#meadow#nightsky#countryroads#road#roadtrip#travel#touring#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#astrophotography#nightphotography#MilkyWay#panorama#nightscape#landscape
Cock Robin Island Bridge, Humboldt County, Califor Cock Robin Island Bridge, Humboldt County, California.
Illuminated by a waxing crescent moon, Cock Robin Island Bridge crosses the Eel River beneath the glorious night sky. The lights of Ferndale glow as a pot of gold at the end of the Milky Way’s arch, where the core of our galaxy rises above the horizon. The planet Jupiter is the brightest point in the sky, while its sister planet Saturn is the lesser point to Jupiter’s lower left. Out of view to the right is the mouth of the Eel River at the Pacific Ocean. Cock Robin Island Road, Ferndale, Humboldt County, California. June 26, 2020 at 11:30 p.m. .
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#countryroad#cockrobin#cockrobinisland#countryroads#road#roadtrip#bridge#tourism#travel#touring#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt# #astrophotography#nightphotography#MilkyWay#galacticcore#Vega#jupiter#saturn#panorama#Eelriver#river#nightscape#landscapephotography
Sleeping Giants - The Milky Way rises behind Tower Sleeping Giants - The Milky Way rises behind Towering Redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, southern Humboldt County, California. The bright star at top is Vega. Humboldt County, July 2017.
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This is a “Re-mastered” edition for color and tonal balance. Altering it means that owners of prints of the previous version now have prints of a limited “Edition I” (1). This is “Edition II” (2), in which I mostly adjusted the sky color and tonal balance, with minor adjustments to color or tone elsewhere.
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Want a postcard of this image? I donated this and several other images to the Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association, and you can find postcards of them at the Visitors Centers along the Avenue of the Giants south of Weott and at Richardson Grove south of Garberville. They’re incredibly cheap! I’ve forgotten the price, but I was amazed at the deal (under $2.00…maybe even less than $1.00. I forgot. But that’s a great deal either way!). The HRIA set the price and they get all the profits from the postcards.
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I sell enlargements separately; message me about that, or email me through my website: https://mindscapefx.com .
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This image is two photogrpaphs put together: the foreground redwood trees and Avenue of the Giants were photographed in the afternoon on about July 7-ish, 2017; the sky was photographed on July 27, 2017 from my family’s property in southern Humboldt.
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#activenorcal#humboldtcounty#norcalpulse#norcal#countryroad##avenueofthegiants#countryroads#road#roadtrip#bikeride#tourism#travel#HarleyDavidson#touring#californiasky#theradwoodcoast#truehumboldt#hellohumboldt#astrophotography#nightphotography#MilkyWay#galacticcore#Core#Vega#composite
Do it for change. #vote #vote2020 #change #respec Do it for change.

#vote #vote2020 #change #respect #equality #humanrights#firstamendment #1stamendment #constitutionalrights #constitution #peace#peacefulprotest
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