Alpert Design

East of Los Angeles is a railroad hub in the town of Colton. This area is bustling with activity in the yards and shops. Much of America's imports from Asia travel by rail from the Port of Los Angeles by rail through this area.

I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Union Pacific shops and spend time photographing the area.

In the City of Los Angeles amongst the freeways and huge population is a small wildlife sanctuary. The lake here supports an incredible variety of birds. Here's a gallery from a single visit of a few hours.

I think that I'll return soon...

Greg, thanks for showing me a great location.

The DARPA Urban Challenge is an event that turns ordinary cars and trucks into autonomous robots. These vehicles can navigate city streets with traffic. Although slow and with the competition just begining, six of eleven vehicles that started were able to finish the course.

The event took place in Victorville, CA where George Air Force Base was located.

We were able to spend a few hours walking through the pits and watching the progress of the race.

October of 2007 brought more firestorms to Southern California. Many homes were lost and as I write this more are still threatened.

Fire crews are working overtime and we owe them are thanks and gratitude.

We went over to William J Fox airfield in Lancaster, CA to watch the fire bombers and say thanks to the crews.

Then we took a ride and found some other interesting sights.

Each September brings thousands of Hot Rods to San Bernardino, California for the Route 66 Rendezvous.

They close the entire downtown area to normal traffic, only cruisers allowed.

There are carnivals, bands, food, vendors and cars.

The Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has a marvelous collection of vehicles.

The collection changes seasonally and we were luck to visit while the Microcar exhibit was taking place.

It's a challenging place for photography, no tripods are allowed. We visited multiple times to try different techniques.

By using a beanbag attached to my camera and existing touchable locations I was able to get some interesting shots

September 3rd 2007 the sky turned dark with smoke. A wildfire was burning out of control near Acton California.

Named the "North" fire and caused by lightning, this blaze is burning in an area that hasn't seen flames in 40 or more years.

These images are but a glimpse of the activity currently happening and are typical of fires burning throughout the US.

Thanks to all the firefighters, air and ground, placing themselves in harms way to protect us.

Labor Day weekend 2007 brought thunderstorms to the Mojave Desert.

As the storm cleared near sunset we found this old church.

These are a few of the images Elizabeth took while exploring the ruins.

August 2007 we drove north to see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains.

The living history in this place dates back to 2,600 BC.

The fallen trees have recorded 10,000 years of history.

Here's a gallery by David, we'll add photos from Elizabeth soon, check back.

A new gallery of some older images. These images were captured by David in 2005 on Vancouver Island.

The other evening we went to Pasadena to enjoy the lights and capture some of the magic.

Here are some of the images Elizabeth captured.

Make sure to check out David's Blog for a few of his images.

May 2007, Elizabeth and David journeyed to the San Joaquin Valley. While exploring areas near the railroad we found some abandoned factories and grain elevators. These structures provide some eerie scenes of businesses once thriving and full of life and energy. If the walls could talk...

Enjoy Elizabeth's images of the area.

Elizabeth has put together a gallery of interesting flower shots. Take a look.

May of 2007 took us to the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. Located about two hours north of Los Angeles, this is a surprisingly quiet and peaceful location. Wildlife is abundant here as this wetlands lies on the Pacific flyway.

This gallery is made up of photos by David and Elizabeth Alpert. Enjoy...

February 2007 Elizabeth and David Alpert followed Narrow Gauge Road outside of Lone Pine, CA. We spotted this old railroad depot along a nearby dirt road. We also took pictures of the area along Highway 395. These shots, taken by Elizabeth, show part of the abandoned industries where the Carson & Colorado Railroad passed through this portion of the Owens Valley. The railroad was built on a three foot width, narrow gauge compared to standard railroads. It served the mines of the area and operated from 1883 until 1960.

A spectacular part of Southern California.

UPDATED JUNE 27, 2007 In October of 2006, Greg Cook, Truman Van Dyke and I (David Alpert) went to Yellowstone National Park. We were there as part of the Digital Landscape Workshop Series. It was a fascinating several days of taking pictures and editing at a rapid pace.

The week was full of adventure, camaraderie, dramatic weather and incredible scenes. We spent long hours driving, hiking and editing while bringing together a great set of imagery.

Click on the picture to see a gallery of my images from the trip. I hope you enjoy.