Dusting off some old stuff that never really got much attention back in the day. Tim invited me along to backpack the Lost Coast in October of 2013 with him and group of his friends. I shot all these pics then and never really did much with them. Tim's pictures from that trip are posted here. - George
Made a trip to Eel River with the homie Emilio and friends. I had never been swimming this far north in California before. The campsite was right on the river and made for some great day hikes to different swimming holes. Awesome trip, highly recommend. – Tim
photos by Tim Gatto
Early this summer, I trekked out to North Yosemite with friends and backpacked the many small lakes of Tuolumne meadows. It was my first time back to Yosemite in a decade, and it was just as amazing as I remember it. A flash thunderstorm had us rushing to the destination on the first day, but the next day the weather cleared and we had a lake to swim and fish all weekend. Another set of photos soon. – Tim Gatto
photos by Tim Gatto
The middle of August 2014, some friends and I took a few days off of work and took the bikes out to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range. We met up on Friday morning the 15th in Dublin, being that all of us were from all over the Bay area. We crossed the Sierras that afternoon via hwy 88 and Carson pass. Descending the east side we set our sights on making it to the ghost town of Bodie by mid afternoon, then a supply run in Mammoth Lakes and settle that evening at the campground on Convict Lake. After a fairly cold night sleeping on the black top next to my bike (I almost always refuse to bring any kind of shelter to save weight, hassle of repacking and for a little shit talking rights) we crossed hwy 395 and headed a bit east to one of the regions hot spring fed tubs. Locals have built make shift hot tubs around the valley and rigged piping and mixing valves to regulate temperature and levels. Pretty amazing experience, I can't wait to get back out there in the winter with clear crisp air and some snow on the ground. After the bath, we pulled the triggers and shot south to the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, CA. We toured the hills on foot with a clear view of Mt. Whitney looming above us, and the heat of 100 degrees in direct sunlight searing our skin. As we left the hills we headed back north with a destination of the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Forest and camping in the White Mountains that night. Problems arose for me and my rear tire on the ascent of hwy 168 when had a tire puncture and became stranded with no cell service and tourists un willing to stop or even offer help. The other 4 in the group continued on to the camp as I dealt with the tire. A nice local man with a rock crawler jeep stopped and had air onboard which I used to inflate my tire with a half ass repair I had performed with tire plugs. I returned to Big Pine below and performed a more permanent 3/4 ass repair then with much consideration and hesitation, I decided to head back up the mountains and attempt to join the group. I made it and after well earned beers, and a nice fire we packed it in for the night. The next morning scoped out the oldest trees in the world for a few minutes and then started the trek down the mountain and back north to the 395 / 89 junction. A quick ride by view of Mono Lake and we were at the junction by 2pm. Scaling the Sierra with Silver Lake as the next stop on our journey, we made excellent time while I finally regained some confidence in the ability of my rear tire to retain air pressure. A 2 hour stop over at one of the guys' bosses USFS cabin and he gave a speedy boat ride. After saying good bye we then quickly found ourselves on the mormon emigrant trail descending upon Placerville and the final night's place of reprieve from the road. Monday morning was bitter sweet, after spending a month of my life on a motorcycle in 2011, these "smaller" trips never seem near long enough. We had a final breakfast meal together and split, 3 of us down 5o to the east bay and the other two toward the south bay. - George
395 south.
Bodie, CA.
Convict Lake, CA.
Pukley's Pool, near Convict Lake, CA.
Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA.
The original way to navigate.
Camping in the White Mountains.
Sunrise on the White Mountains.
395 and 89 junction. Topaz, CA.
100 degrees in the Alabama Hills.
Tire repair, Mammoth Lakes, CA.
Looking east to the Sierras from the White Mountains.
"Got that Bodie lean" Bodie, CA.
Bodie, CA.
Boardwalk to Pukley's pool.
Group photo via timer and a well placed fence post. Diamond Springs, CA.
Photos by George Baker
Tomorrow morning at 500 I'm headed out to Yosemite for the first time in 10 years. The last time I was there was right when I started college and it was such an incredible trip. Really felt like yesterday. On that note, it's time for a brief, but long overdue update about BIT BY ZEUS.This past year had some major life changes (for the good) and as a result, I was not able to post as much as I'd want, which doesn't mean I'm not shooting a ton. I've been shooting a ton. Basically, long story short. BIT BY ZEUS is not dead. I plan to keep featuring and collaborating with the photographers that I keep meeting, and am working on a couple of "zines". But, one thing I am planning on changing is my approach to photo. The photos on this site, that Brian Z and I created, have basically been about 1/ Life in the city 2/ Escaping the city 3/ The strange balance between the two. I want to dial in these themes and really want to start challenging myself to make more interesting photography. Anyways, here's some photos that I made on my last trip to Yosemite in 2004. Here's to coming back from this trip with way, way better photos. Thanks to all the of the talented people that I've met since creating this site. Meeting and working with so many great photographers is the reason I want to keep sharing and collaborating on BBZ. –Tim
This past October, a group of us headed up to the Lost Coast, Northern California. We arrived late at night and took a shuttle two hours north to the trailhead. We didn't get there until 1am, but decided to hike the first few miles at night.
hiking at night ended up being one of the coolest parts of the trip.
Crashed the first night at this light house
Then headed down the coast. The terrain changed here and there, but it's all coast for 26 miles.
Any trip to the Lost Coast has to be planned around the tides to avoid being trapped in, "impassable at high tide" sections. Here's what it looks like trying to get around the tide.
Sat here after the long first day and watched whales breaching. No hip outdoorsy wear here, just wore my old shit, sorry.
George over-did-it on the hike and spent some time throwing up on this scenic bluff.
The last time we came to the Lost Coast, the weather was much different. Battling storms, waves and allowing for some more interesting photography. This trip felt like a vacation at the beach by comparison.
Light fog on the last morning out. Really happy all I had left was Black and white. Great Trip.
Photos by Tim Gatto
After about 5 years of never fixing my mostly not-working polaroid camera, I decided to pick up a Fujifilm instax instant camera. I like the wide format, and that the film is somewhat affordable and readily available. Right away, it's been really nice having the instant feedback again and I think it will help me decide what to shoot. Here are some photos that I took at the coast this weekend with my first pack of film.
photos by Tim Gatto
Some photos from last weekends trip to Shasta Co. Calif. Exploring and good times with friends. Waiting on a few more rolls.
photos by Tim Gatto
a medium format roll from this summers trip up the coast.
photos by Tim Gatto
Every year, a group of us go Abalone diving up the Northern California Coast. Really glad that Eric decided to hit Best Buy on the way out of town to grab any underwater camera they had. I shot a few rolls, but these underwater camera photos definitely fill in what it's actually like in the water. Thanks again Eric for the great photos and awesome adventure times had. —Tim
We went with friends that actually knew what they were doing.
kelp everywhere. Stuff is very sketchy.
Johns first time diving off of the California Coast. Success.
tasty times.
photos by Eric Eisher
First batch of film from last weekends trip up the Sonoma Coast for tasty abalone.
photos by Tim Gatto
Still can't get enough of these Glory Hole photos, by Full frame collective. Always wanted to go there.
Christ by Dylan Bigby
