This year we had an exceptionally beautiful ceanothus, or California Lilac, bloom in southern California. The hillsides and trails on the way to Double Peak in San Marcos shared in this bloom.

I usually to hike to the top of Double Peak once a week as a workout. The view is stunning, but finding photographic compositions can be difficult due to the urban setting and a nearby water tower. While hiking recently with friends, one of them found a composition that hid the water tower behind a blooming ceanothus. I got inspired! When hiking a week later, I captured a similar shot with my cell phone. Click here to see this full collection.

Ceanothus on Double Peak

Rocky Ridge
I was inspired to try to find other compositions. A week later, on my way back from Volcan Mountain, with storm clouds on the horizon I explored an area near the peak. Unfortunately, the ceanothus was past its peak and the wind was howling. I decided to focus on a rocky area as a foreground since rocks were stable in the wind.

I had to jam myself into a tight space with my tripod. These shots were all exposure bracketed, which means I took three shots (in this case) with different exposures to capture the dynamic range.

Clearing Storm
There is a lot going on here. Along with the sun casting beams through the clouds and the blue ceanothus, there is rain falling from one of the storm clouds.