Waiter. From "Eyes on the 99" by Thomas Bachand.

New to my editorial portfolio is “Eyes on the 99“.  This photography, shot in San Francisco and Oakland, examines the Occupy movement primarily through the faces of those watching the protests.  Also related to this work is this set-up photography.

Toujours Magazine: Interiors. Lifestyle. Attainable Beauty.

Kudos to Toujours Magazine on their Color Issue – just in time to lift our winter greys.  This one is a bit closer to my heart as it features Tahoe Blues, an 11-page spread of my Tahoe writing and photography (pages 84 – 95).  Check it out.  Insightful.  Interesting.  Inspiring.

A Vagabond World: Essays From A Solo Journey Around The Globe

I am pleased to announce that my travel book, A Vagabond World, is now available as an e-book on both iTunes and Amazon (the book is also available in paperback).

Many years ago, I spent two years circumnavigating the globe primarily by sea, bus, and train. This around-the-world travel odyssey indelibly shaped the years to follow. As our world has become increasingly interdependent and Americans more aware of our connections to peoples the world over, the journey has taken on a greater significance.

A Vagabond World speaks to the universal themes surrounding travel and the personal transformations that greet one on the road each day. As an exploration of the poignance, import, and changing dynamic of the long-term travel experience, this solo journey around the globe is a rite of passage that turns the outward experience inward so as to examine ourselves and our place in the world. The journey becomes a guidepost to a greater world. Once we buy the ticket, all of our life is transformed.

The e-book contains 110 photographs. A web gallery is provided for the print edition.

For more information, visit:  http://www.thomasbachand.com/travel/ .

Three Seconds on the Fourth of July, Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California

Inhabiting the center of my book Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty, both literally and figuratively, is a series of images on Emerald Bay.  As Tahoe’s most recognizable landmark, this is only fitting.  The first half of the book deals with open landscapes and the details within.  The second half features, what I term, intersecting landscapes, those views that give us insight into our own experience vis-a-vie the land.

Emerald Bay has always been central to the Tahoe experience.  For newcomers, the striking relief of Emerald Bay, overshadowed by glacier-carved granite peaks, is a mandatory stop.  Many hike to the Vikingsholm at the base of the bay, and imagine a  romantic past.  The avalanche scar reminds of us of the unintended consequences of our own actions.  To me, Emerald seemed the perfect location to illustrate our transient relationship with the landscape.

The idea of a  series came to me at the local market while I was observing another photographer, one I’d never met, discussing his own book of photography on Lake Tahoe.  “Another picture of Emerald Bay,” the shopkeeper said with a hint of dismay as she flipped through his book.  “Ouch,” I said to myself.  It was a familiar photographer’s trap: shoot first ask questions later.  What did I want to say about Emerald?  What does Emerald have to say about Tahoe?  I knew if I could capture the power of Emerald Bay, it would translate to the whole of Tahoe.  In the series, the frame stays the same while it is the lake that changes, transformed by weather, light, and time.

Truckee Meadow. South Lake Tahoe, California

More than that of leaves changing colors, Fall in the Sierra is a time of golden grasses.  Above, the Upper Truckee River meanders toward the shore of Lake Tahoe.

This meadow is part of the largest wetland in the Tahoe basin, stretching back several miles along Highway 50 towards Echo Summit.  In the last half century this area has seen dramatic changes.  Christopher Soulard and Christian Raumann of the United States Geological Survey have compiled historic orthoimagery data on South Lake Tahoe, of which this meadow, being adjacent to Tahoe Keys, is of particular note.  In fact, Google Earth used the USGS Tahoe data for its first historical imagery sample (read about it in the New York Times).  The dredging of Tahoe Keys has created some of the most dramatic environmental damage to the Tahoe ecosystem.

Riverbank. Upper Truckee Meadow. South Lake Tahoe, California.

Today, the Upper Truckee is the focus of major environmental restoration.  Of primary concern is a golf course that restricts and narrows the river’s flow and is a significant source of sedimentation into the lake.  Over the last twenty years the realignment of the river through the golf course has, in some parts, eroded 50 feet of the embankment.  The current plan calls for moving the golf course into undisturbed neighboring lands in Washoe Meadows State Park so as to restore the river’s natural flow and its adjoining riparian habitat.  This plan has upset both golfers, who are concerned about increased course fees, and environmentalists, who wish to protect surrounding forest lands.  The park enjoys the golf revenue and says that the forest land to be offset by the golf course is not endangered habitat and is scarcely used (by humans).  Now that I know the park is there, I’ll go visit it.  Just sayin’.

Read about the Upper Truckee restoration in the Sacramento Bee here. The Upper Truckee Restoration EIR and other project information can be found here.

Rebirth. Mountain Blvd. Aftermath Oakland Firestorm 1991.

On this twentieth anniversary of the Oakland Firestorm I am revisiting my photography and writing created around the time of the catastrophe.

I have put together a web page that contains 36 images shot during and after the fire, an essay on the events of that day, and the introduction to Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty, where I discuss our relationship with fire.

http://www.thomasbachand.com/oakland_firestorm/

Feel free to pass it along.

Dusk upon pier, Sugar Pine Point State Park, Lake Tahoe, California

With Fall comes shifting weather patterns and, for the high Sierra, high altitude winds, thunderstorms, and spectacular cloud shows.  The cover photo for my book “Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty” was an afternoon in the making, as large lenticular cloud formations took shape over the lake.  I kept an eye on this one throughout the afternoon and, was surprised that it was still holding shape as the afternoon waned.  Along the west shore I found a good vantage for the southern end of the cloud, the remainder of which stretched nearly to North Shore (below).

Lenticular Clouds Over Lake Tahoe

These exposures came well after sunset as the last of sun’s glow was reaching the clouds and skylight was bathing all in blue.  The exposures are approximately one minute at f64 on a 4″x5″ large-format view camera.

I wanted to add my voice to those offering condolences to the Jobs’ family and the Apple community.

There is much being said about how Jobs developed many great products and improved the consumer experience.  Of more importance to me and many other creatives, though, has been the tools unleashed by Apple products and how they have allowed us to do what we do.  The Macintosh and OS X, along with software by such companies as Adobe, has completely transformed what I do and how I do it.  Every step of my workflow, from creating a photograph, to correcting, printing and distributing it, whether by print or web, has Steve Jobs’ fingerprints on it.

Multiply this by a couple billion and you begin to see the impact of Steve Jobs.

God’s speed, Steve.

Median Tree. Seaside, California.

Just a reminder that photo submissions for Managed Landscapes at the Vermont Photo Space Gallery are closing soon.

The touch of man on the natural landscape is all around us. From shimmering cityscapes and rural farms to strip mines and garbage dumps. Let’s see images that show the touch of man, light or heavy, on the earth around us.

I’m the sole juror for this show and look forward to seeing interesting work.

Cut Across Trail at Fault Wash. Anza Borrego State Park. Calif

This summer I have been asked to juror Managed Landscapes at the Vermont Photo Space Gallery:

The touch of man on the natural landscape is all around us. From shimmering cityscapes and rural farms to strip mines and garbage dumps. Let’s see images that show the touch of man, light or heavy, on the earth around us.

I look forward to seeing interesting work.

Visit Vermont Photo Space Gallery for more information on this photo competition.