Category: Landscape

Tunnels Beach Rainbow

Tunnels Beach Rainbow

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I photographed this dramatic rainbow over Tunnels Beach during my family vacation to Kauai in July. This amazing light only lasted for a minute, during which it was pouring rain. Of course, I forgot to bring an umbrella, but was fortunate that a nice local that I had befriended the previous day just happened to be out for her morning beach walk and had an one with her. I asked her if she would assist me in keeping my camera dry and she happily obliged. While she held her umbrella over me, I quickly set up my tripod, pulled my camera out of my Fstop backpack, and carefully placed my filter on the lens. I only managed a few images before this ephemeral rainbow disappeared. Also, it’s worth noting the overall amount of time required to create this image. I was staying with my family in Poipu which is located on the south shore of Kauai, but Tunnels is located on the north shore. So, in order to be at the beach at sunrise, I had to wake up at 4 am and drive 1.5 hours in the dark. I did this 5 mornings in a row before finally being rewarded with this image. By the time I returned to my family, it was late morning and they were just rolling out of bed. I invested over 30 hours of my time to create this image, but only experienced this magical light for less than 60 seconds. I hope that you will agree with me that it was worth my effort.

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Kushiro River Winter Sunrise 1

Kushiro River Winter Sunrise 1

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Does this image look cold? Well, that is because it was -20°C when I photographed this tranquil scene during my Japan Wildlife Photography Tour. As recently as a few years ago, I probably would not have taken this image. I was either too focused on dramatic light or incapable of visualizing something like this. Either way, I am pleased that I am able to push myself in new creative directions. What I like most about this image is the delicate frost patterns along the riverbank. I took care not to disturb them, since while approaching these trees I had already brushed past several branches whose chilly feathers immediately fell into the fresh snow at my feet.

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Poolenalena Beach Sunset 4

Poolenalena Beach Sunset 4

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Since I am flying back to the Big Island of Hawaii tomorrow morning, I decided to share one of my new Maui images from my last visit to the islands in December. Most of my recent trips have been dedicated to wildlife, but that does not mean that I have forsaken landscapes. I photographed this dramatic sunset from a quiet beach just south of Wailea. I wasn’t confident that the sun would shine through this hole in the clouds on the horizon until the last possible second, but fortunately it did. I also timed my exposures to record the gentle wash of the waves over the lava rocks in the foreground. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkIII, Carl Zeiss 28mm f2 ZE lens, and Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer with a 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density filter. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3, Photoshop CS6, and applied Nik’s Dfine 2.0 filter to eliminate noise in the sky.

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Kaktovik Sunrise Abstract 1

Kaktovik Sunrise Abstract 1

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I got to travel with my client-friend Bryn Forbes in Alaska and Tonga this summer. Though the purpose of the trips were to photograph humpback whales, Bryn spent a lot of time shooting motion blur abstracts. We all gave him a hard time about it, but he motivated me to try shooting some myself during my later adventures.

I created this image while co-leading my Polar Bear Photography Tour with Steve Kazlowski in October. We drove our clients out to the bone-bile to photograph the polar bears at sunrise, but there was only one and it was not doing much, so we took advantage of this amazing light to shoot landscape images instead. I forgot to bring my tripod, so I decided to experiment and shoot a bunch of motion blur abstracts over the Arctic Ocean. I think everyone thought that I was just as crazy (as we all thought Bryn was on my earlier trips) until they saw my results. I created this images with my Canon 5DmkIII and 300mm f2.8 IS II lens and processed the RAW file using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6.

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Denali Sunset Virga Reflection

Denali Sunset Virga Reflection

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I’m kind of looking forward to heading back to Alaska next week. I say kind of because of the terrible June weather we have had here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m sure that it will be quite similar during most of July in Alaska which is kind of depressing. Oh, well. That is the price to pay for beautiful images in the 49th state. As I have recently finished editing my backlog of photos, I rediscovered this spectacular sunset image from my visit to Denali National Park last July. I had a professional photographer’s permit which allowed me to drive the Wonder Lake Road in my own vehicle for 9 days. It was an amazing experience that allowed me to create some fantastic wildlife and landscape images. The beautiful sunset light illuminating the virga in the distance caught me by surprise. I quickly jumped out of the van and ran down to this tundra pond next to the side of the road. It’s moments like this that I need to be confident in my abilities to set up my camera very quickly and efficiently.

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Ofu Wave Washed Ledge Sunrise

Ofu Wave Washed Ledge Sunrise

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I do not want people to forget that I am a landscape photographer. Sure, my work is increasingly focused on wildlife and underwater images, but that does not mean that I have stopped trying to photograph spectacular landscape scenes. As an example, consider this beautiful sunrise that I photographed while visiting the US National Park of American Samoa on remote Ofu Island last December. This ledge was not too far from the Vaoto Lodge where I stayed for one very memorable week. I like how the small waves occasionally washed over the ledge during the brief golden light of the tropical sunrise. Man, what’s not to love about secluded tropical beaches? Though I am headed back to Alaska for most of July, I have to admit that I am really looking forward to being back in the South Pacific when I visit Tonga as part of my humpback whale tour in August. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkII, 17-40mm f4 lens, Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer, and 2-stop Hard Graduated Neutral Density filter. This image is a single-exposure which required minimal processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6. I also recently picked up Nik Software as my newest sponsor. I applied my new Nik filters including Dfine 2.0 to remove noise and the White Neutralizer in Color Efex 4. What do you think of my results?

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Mauna Kea Snow Sunset 4

Mauna Kea Snow Sunset 4

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I finally had the opportunity to photograph snow on the summit of Mauna Kea during my February visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. After over a decade of trying, it was nice to finally be able to experience being at the beach in the morning and then driving up to the snowy summit in the afternoon. I’ve visited the summit during previous trips. It is a straightforward drive, but getting out of the car and walking around at 13,796′ above sea level is the real challenge. From the highest drivable point, it is only a few hundred yards and slightly up hill to the true summit. I put on every piece of clothing that I brought to Hawaii, including, thankfully, my winter hat and set out from the parking lot about an hour before sunset. Each step in the snow was a challenge, but after a short time I was on the summit. I was immediately drawn to this wind sculpted ridge slightly south along the summit ridge, especially since it did not appear to have any footprints. Once I settled into place with my tripod, I waited for the golden light less than an hour later. I got cold, especially my hands. I noticed the sunlight was causing some glare spots on my image, so I held my hand on the side of the lens to block the direct light. It’s amazing how quickly the sun sets at the equator. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkII, Carl Zeiss 28mm f2 ZE lens, and 3-stop Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter. This image is a single-exposure which required a minimal amount of processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5.

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Honokohau Sea Turtle Sunset 1

Honokohau Sea Turtle Sunset 1

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My favorite location to photograph sea turtles is at the Kaloko Honokohau National Historic Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. After a long day boating with my friends, I photographed this small sea turtle resting on the lava shoreline north of the small boat harbor at sunset. I was lucky that the sky lit up like this, because the vog and clouds often block the magic light at the end of the day in Kona. My friend and fellow photographer Stuart Westmorland was using a flash next to me, which fortunately added a bit of fill light to the otherwise backlit turtle. I normally dislike flash, but in this case the fill-light is perfectly balanced with the ambient light. I might have to buy myself a flash. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkII, Carl Zeiss 35mm f2 ZE lens, and 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density filter. This image is a single-exposure which required a minimal amount of processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5.

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Outdoor Photographer April 2012 Discover Digital Quick Tips Article

Outdoor Photographer April 2012 Discover Digital Quick Tips Article

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I am excited to share that my “Discover Digital Quick Tips” article is published in the April 2012 issue of Outdoor Photographer! OP’s Editor gave me this opportunity after telling me that he always considers my images to be among the most authentic and beautiful that he regularly sees. In my article, I offer my advice on what my top processing techniques are and how photographers can use them to make their own images look spectacular. Please let me know if you enjoyed reading it and feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments below.

In other news, my regular readers, friends, fans, etc will probably have noted that I have not been online much in the last 2 months. I spent a wonderful, though, not super productive 3 weeks in Hawaii in February. I was barely home for a week before I flew down to Arizona to give 3 presentations about my Alaska photography at the Tucson, Paradise Valley, and Tempe REIs. (I will be at the San Diego, Portland, and Anchorage REIs in the coming month.) Last week, I moved my family into our gorgeous new house just south of Leschi. It is breathtaking to look out my windows anytime and see Lake Washington, the Cascades, and Mount Rainier. This week, I am finally settling into my new office which has its own separate entrance, new cork floors, furniture, and gallery track lighting. I have some large acrylic face-mounts being made by West Coast Imagining that will adorn my walls for when clients visit. Summer is also coming just around the corner. I have multiple trips planned to Alaska, plus my first trip to Tonga. This fall, I will also be joining a small sailboat expedition to South Georgia Island for 4 weeks. As you can see, I have a lot of exciting things going on and many new images to be created.

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Hana Sunrise 1

Hana Sunrise 1

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Since I am flying back to Hawaii next week, I thought that I would share this image. I created it while visiting Hana with my family last month. This rugged lava coastline could be anywhere in Hawaii, but this location is near Kaihalulu (Red Sand) Beach. I was captivated by this small waterfall cascading off of the lava ledge, so I returned a few mornings in a row searching for dramatic light. After several failed attempts, I was finally able to photograph the dynamic scene that I had envisioned. I had to be set up early and confident in my skills, because this light only lasted for a fleeting moment before vanishing. I don’t normally like to shoot into the sun due to lens flare, but the sun was so low on the horizon that the wave actually blocked part of it. I also had to be willing to get my camera wet, which my recent $900 repair bill from Canon will attest to. I also like how the wave is rearing up and about to crash against the shore. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkII, Carl Zeiss 28mm f2 ZE lens, and 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density filter. This image is a single-exposure which required a minimal amount of processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5.

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