"Save the Gilroy Hills"

A woman I recently met (Janet) is heading an effort to STOP development of a section of land in the foothills of Gilroy. She and her committee of neighbors have been distributing flyers, intercepting & informing citizens, and collecting signatures in hopes of convincing Gilroy City Council members to first postpone approval of the project, and eventually disallow it. I don't live in Gilroy, so even though I was sympathetic to her cause, I didn't intend to get involved. Click on a photo to view a larger image.

Then I read an article about a photographer who took pictures for a conservancy in the Sierras that was trying to protect a tract of land from development, and I thought that's what this committee needs: photographs that will show exactly what will be destroyed if the development is approved. The next day I received an email from Janet asking if I would be willing to take photographs that the committee could use in their campaign to save the land. (Don't you just love how the forces of the Universe work?) Even though the hills are very dry with little green left in the grasses, the combination of rolling hills with oak trees is very compelling, especially when the morning light accents the amber grass. I even spied one last remnant of wildflowers.

I did not have access to the land which is cordoned off with a chain link fence. By climbing on a step ladder I was able to shoot over the fence...and when that was not possible, I included it as artistically as I could.

I don't normally get involved in causes or issues, but this turned out to be an interesting project. I sent over 30 photographs to the committee.