Category: Landscape

Ashford Mill Sunflower Sunrise 1

Ashford Mill Sunflower Sunrise 1

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This is my favorite wildflower image that I have created so far during my visit to Death Valley National Park. I photographed this enormous field of desert sunflowers near Ashford Mill at sunrise on Friday April 9. The interminable wind all weekend has made it impossible for me to shoot this type of big depth-of-field scene since. However, the weather forecast optimistically predicts calm winds after today, so I will here with my fingers crossed for a few more days. The display is especially brilliant between Mormon Point & Ashford Mill. If you still have time to visit this week, you will not be disappointed.

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Joshua Tree Sunrise 1

Joshua Tree Sunrise 1

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This is my favorite image from my recent shoot in Joshua Tree National Park. I sat through 4 days of bad weather, including snow, before I finally experienced these dramatic clouds at sunrise. During that non-shooting time, I scouted the park looking for interesting compositions and found this Joshua Tree lying on its side. I always look for odd numbered patterns in my images, so I especially liked the way that the 3 blooms framed the funny looking tree in the background. The low-angle light at sunrise and the yellow-gray clouds sweeping across the sky completed the scene.

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Anza Borrego Barrel Cactus Sunrise 1

Anza Borrego Barrel Cactus Sunrise 1

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This is my favorite image from my recent 10 day trip to California. I spent the first half of my trip in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The wildflowers were not blooming as I had hoped, but I still put in a few days effort scouting, hiking, & patiently waiting for something interesting to happen at sunrise. On my third day, I awoke to my ideal lighting conditions. In the pre-dawn light I could see stars over the desert to the east and the faint glow of the approaching sunrise. To the west, clouds hovered patiently over the mountains eagerly anticipating the first golden rays of sunlight. I drove up to the park visitor center, grabbed my gear, and headed straight towards the base of the hills. I spent about 20 minutes searching for the perfect foreground for the wide-angle shot that I envisioned that included the mountain & cloud background. Once I found this group of 4 barrel cactus, I had my total composition. All I had to do was wait a few more minutes for the clouds to light up, which gave me enough time to refine my tripod placement, test my depth of field, and perfectly place my Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer & 2-stop Hard Graduated Neutral Density Filter.

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Pumpkin Patch 2

Pumpkin Patch 2

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I visited the Pumpkin Patch during my recent visit to Anza Borrego Desert State Park in California. I was unsuccessful finding it during my first attempt last year, but this time I got directions from Ron Niebrugge. I was underwhelmed to say the least. These crazy boulders are surrounded by a fence to keep the off-road drivers out. There is only one angle that eliminates all of the motor vehicle tracks & most of the fence. (In the interest of full-disclosure, I took the small liberty of cloning the last bit of fence out of the horizon.) As the sunset turned into purple twilight, the boulders began to glow orange like pumpkins.

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Outdoor Photographer April 2010 Cover

Outdoor Photographer April 2010 Cover

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My image “Racetrack Sunset” will be the April cover photo of Outdoor Photographer! The Racetrack is a seasonally dry lake located in the northern part of Death Valley National Park and is famous for its moving rocks. With the right combination of rain and wind, the rocks move slowly across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go. I photographed this amazing rock at sunset during my first visit to the Racetrack in January 2006. I was enthralled with the unusual arc that it had created as it was moving. This rock was still in the same location during my recent Death Valley National Park Tour.

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Mobius Arch Incredible Sunrise 5

Mobius Arch Incredible Sunrise 5

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Here is another unusually dramatic image of Mobius Arch that I photographed last month. The clouds went from pink to orange, yellow, and then white by the time the early light began to illuminate the arch. I was very happy to finally shoot the arch with a more interesting sky after several typical blue sky attempts over the years.

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Piedras Blancas Coastline 1

Piedras Blancas Coastline 1

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Here’s an image that I took from the Piedras Blancas elephant seal colony near San Simeon, CA last month. The day I got this shot I was not having any luck shooting critters, so when the sun started to set I turned my attention to the landscape. The scene before me was the epitome of Big Sur: waves were crashing against the rugged coastline and heavy clouds were billowing down from the mountains towards the ocean. This spongy mat of icicle plants covering the cliffs served as the anchor point for this image of unspoiled California. (Correction-Icicle plants are an invasive species from South Africa. My bad.)

I just spent a nice week with my family camping near San Diego. We flew home yesterday, and Monday I fly back down for 10 days with some client-friends. All this while trying to balance my family responsibilities. Wish me luck!

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San Elijo New Years Sunset 7

San Elijo New Years Sunset 7

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This is another dramatic image that I took on New Year’s Day at San Elijo State Beach in California. I can’t believe that I have been home for over 4 weeks and it is now time for me to start traveling again! I could stay home for the next 6 months just working on my website & new images, but how fun would that be? Tomorrow morning, my family and I are flying back down to San Diego for my daughters’ mid-winter break to use our truck & camping trailer that I stored there last month. Not too much planned, other than enjoying the nice weather with my girls.

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Backpacker March 2010 Cover

Backpacker Magazine March 2010 Cover

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For the third time this year, one of my images graces the cover of Backpacker magazine. The March 2010 issue’s cover shot is my image “Lago Pehoe Fiery Sunrise”. I also give tips on photographing wide-angle landscape scenes in the article “Shoot Like a Pro” on pages 36-42, and my image “Spray Park Wildflowers 1” is featured on page 37.

In other news, I am currently updating my website to make it is easier to sign up for my photography tours, purchase my fine art prints, and license my images. The overall design is going to stay the same, I just need to simplify access for my customers. I also need to add several new galleries and update my older ones with the new images that I have created during the past 16 months.

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Badwater Sunrise 2

Badwater Sunrise 2

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This is another image that I created during my recent Death Valley National Park Photo Tour. My 3 LA based clients unfortunately missed this photo opportunity because they drove home the day before. My remaining client & I left the Badwater parking lot in the dark an hour before sunrise. We wore our headlamps and hiked towards the center of the salt flats. After 40 minutes, we stumbled upon these salt patterns and set up our cameras to capture the magnificent scene. I like the textures on the salt flats, but I love the puffy sunrise clouds over the mountains.

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