Yosemite National Park’s Firefall at Horsetail Fall is a natural phenomenon visible in winter. This viewing guide offers info & tips from my experiences, best dates & locations, reservation requirements, parking restrictions, California snowfall & more. (Updated January 14, 2026.) First, you can read about my last photography attempt in Firefall Snowy Weekend Photo Report from […]
The Voigtländer 10mm f/5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E is a revolutionary lens, and as a member of the ultra wide angle “cult,” it was one of my motivations for jumping back into mirrorless photography with the Sony a7 III. This photography review weighs the strengths and weaknesses of the lens, with sample photos I’ve shot while […]
I’ve been using my Sony a7R II for nearly 2 months now, and while I’ve listed it as the camera used in a few blog posts on TravelCaffeine, I haven’t mentioned why it’s the camera I’m using instead of my Nikons. I did that in my Why I’m Going Mirrorless: Volume I post over on […]
Due to an abnormally rainy fall, Death Valley National Park is in the midst of a rare Super Bloom with millions of wildflowers coloring miles of the park that are otherwise barren. This is due to a confluence of events: an El Niño-fueled October brought more rain to the park than it sees in an […]
One of the many reasons why the California Republic is the greatest nation in the free world is its wonderfully diverse geography. I witnessed this firsthand a couple of weeks ago, shooting dawn and sunrise in the freezing temperatures of Yosemite National Park before finishing the day shooting sunset in 90-degree weather at El Matador State Beach in […]
Hearst Castle in San Simeon is a popular and easy stop on a California road trip up Pacific Coast Highway. Is it worth the time and money, though? In this post, we will consider those things, and I’ll offer some tips for visiting, along with some photos I took on our recent tour Grand Rooms Tour […]