joSon (photographer)

11/22/2025

03/20/2025

😀Happy first day of Spring! 🌱Just as the earth awakens and flowers bloom, may your mind and heart bloom with peace, compassion, and new beginnings.

Photo 1. Snow plants (Sarcodes)
Photo 2. Glen Alpine Falls, Tahoe

Check out this beautiful description from John Muir about the Snow plants Sarcodes
“The snow plant is more admired by tourists than any other in California. It is red, fleshy and watery and looks like a gigantic asparagus shoot. Soon after the snow is off the ground it rises through the dead needles and humus in the pine and fir woods like a bright glowing pillar of fire. In a week or so it grows to a height of eight or twelve inches with a diameter of an inch and a half or two inches ,then its long fringed bracts curl aside, allowing the twenty or thirty five lobed, bell-shaped flowers to pen and look straight out from the axis. It is said to grow up through the snow on the contrary, it always waits until the ground is warm, though with other early flowers it is occasionally buried or half buried for a day or two by spring storms. The entire plant-flowers, bracts, stems, scales, and roots-is fiery red. Its color could appeal to one’s blood. Nevertheless, it is a singularly cold and unsympathetic plant. Everybody admires it as a wonderful curiosity, but nobody loves it as lilies, violets, roses, daisies are loved. Without fragrance it stands beneath the pines and firs lonely and silent, as if unacquainted with any other plant in the world; never moving the wildest storms; rigid as if lifeless, through covered with beautiful rosy flowers.” —

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09/26/2024

Happy Thursday😀

🌊✨ Exciting news! Lake Tahoe has officially been recognized as the oldest lake in North America and the third oldest in the world! 🏞️ According to groundbreaking research presented at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting, Tahoe is at least 2.3 million years old.

Dr. Winnie Kortemeier, a geosciences professor, conducted extensive studies on volcanic rock samples from the Tahoe area. Her findings indicate that the lake's unique geological history has positioned it among the world's ancient lakes. 🌋📊 This discovery places Tahoe alongside Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika, both of which were also formed by fault lines.

📷 Sunrises over Emerald Bay State Park, image & text © . Use with permission.

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09/26/2024

Happy Friday😀 & Enjoy your winter day!

As I left the house in the early morning darkness, with the wind moaning along , a road that separates the lush greenery, burned scars and towering pine forest from North America's largest alpine lake, Lake Tahoe. The constant sound of my windshield wiper was my companion. Reaching the viewing point at Emerald Bay, the rain began to fall heavily. Sitting in my car, I watched as the darkness gradually gave way to light, listening to the rain tapping on the roof. Breathing in the fresh winter air, I was captivated by the sun's efforts to break through the distant horizon. Dawn approached, and as the rain ceased, the cold winter air grew more intense. It was the morning after the season's first winter storm here on the lake. The storm lingered in the distance, leaving dark clouds in the sky and an invigorating freshness in the air. The early light revealed the aftermath of the storm—a dramatic interplay of light and shadow over the tranquil waters. Fannette Island stood resilient amidst the calm, a reflection of nature's resilience with the onset of winter. This moment was a poignant reminder of nature's cycles, with the pristine beauty of Emerald Bay unfolding before me as the last traces of rain vanished and winter whispered its arrival. Another beautiful day lay ahead. Moments like these are the reasons we need to protect places like .

Enjoy your winter day, wherever you are.😄

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📷 Sunrises over Emerald Bay State Park, image & text © . Use with permission.

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07/13/2024

Just got home from a photo assignment and a big surprise was waiting for me! I feel such an honor and want to share this wonderful news with you. My art project, "A Lake Reborn in Death Valley," is featured in the July/August 2024 issue of Communication Arts—The Photography Annual 65—showcasing “the most exclusive major photography competition in the world.” —C.A.

The project "A Lake Reborn in Death Valley" documents the remnants of an ancient lake that became visible in Death Valley National Park after extraordinary rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary in the fall of 2023. A significant accumulation of water led to the sudden appearance of a vast lake in the renowned Badwater Basin, one of the hottest and driest places in the world. The two-page spread in the magazine beautifully prints among the amazing works from some of the most talented photographers in the industry. Thank you, , and all the judges.

I will be sharing more images from the project in future posts. If you can't wait, you can view some of the images from the series by visiting the link in my bio. Large art prints will also be available at The Iris Gallery.

For those who are not familiar with CA’s magazine, the "Award of Excellence" is one of the most prestigious competitions for creativity in photography and one of the most coveted awards in professional photography. Being selected places you and your work among the highest ranks of editorial, commercial, and fine art photography worldwide.

I’m will be sharing more of the images from the project in the coming posts. Large art print will be available at The Iris Gallery.

   

07/13/2024

Just got home from a photo assignment and a big surprise was waiting for me! I feel such an honor and want to share this wonderful news with you. My art project, "A Lake Reborn in Death Valley," is featured in the July/August 2024 issue of Communication Arts—The Photography Annual 65—showcasing “the most exclusive major photography competition in the world.” —C.A.

The project "A Lake Reborn in Death Valley" documents the remnants of an ancient lake that became visible in Death Valley National Park after extraordinary rainfall from Tropical Storm Hilary in the fall of 2023. A significant accumulation of water led to the sudden appearance of a vast lake in the renowned Badwater Basin, one of the hottest and driest places in the world. The two-page spread in the magazine beautifully prints among the amazing works from some of the most talented photographers in the industry. Thank you, , and all the judges.

I will be sharing more images from the project in future posts. If you can't wait, you can view some of the images from the series by visiting the link in my bio. Large art prints will also be available at The Iris Gallery.

For those who are not familiar with CA’s magazine, the "Award of Excellence" is one of the most prestigious competitions for creativity in photography and one of the most coveted awards in professional photography. Being selected places you and your work among the highest ranks of editorial, commercial, and fine art photography worldwide.

I’m will be sharing more of the images from the project in the coming posts. Large art print will be available at The Iris Gallery.

   

07/05/2024

😃 4th of July 💥 🧨 🎇 & the stories

The story of American Independence Day:

The Fourth of July is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. (Photo of The Grand Canyon, art print available at
The Grand Canyon is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. While the park doesn’t include the entire canyon, it does measure in at a whopping 1,904 square miles in total. In comparison, Rhode Island is around 1,212 square miles..📷 © . Use with permission only.

07/05/2024

An American Icon is turning 100th. 🎉 Happy 100th Birthday Grand Canyon!! 🎂. Check out the full collection . . .
Things We Didn’t Know About Grand Canyon: The Grand Canyon is bigger than the state of Rhode Island. While the park doesn’t include the entire canyon, it does measure in at a whopping 1,904 square miles in total. In comparison, Rhode Island is around 1,212 square miles..