Perspective is key to the interpretation of this scene.  I’ve taken other photographers to this spot, but they didn’t see the wedgie until I positioned them at just the right vantage point to have all the elements line up. 

Once spotted, they said they’d now be forever warped — fearing on each subsequent drive through this region they’d be pointing out nature’s wedgie to whomever may accompany them.

I feel content, knowing my contribution in life is now so fully realized.

)

Shot from the Ablion Basin at the top of the Wasatch Front’s Little Cottonwood Canyon, above the Alta ski resort.

Of all the images I captured in this set, I like this one the best. I like how the shawdow from the clouds behind me were playing accross the middle ground of this scene.

This lake is popular with families and fishermen, alike. The surrounding area is laced with trails of varying difficulty that wander the mountainside to other lakes. There’s a family of moose living in the area who frequently visit this lake.

I arrived early that morning, intent on photographing the surrounding mountains reflected from this lake’s water. I had several specific locations in mind, but found my first choice was already occupied by another photographer and a fisherman. I opted for my second site and managed to capture the attached picture.

Of the several images I captured from this vantage, I especially like this one. I made this image just before leaving for another spot, further around the lake. Fortunately, I stayed at this site long enough – watching the light play across the scene in front of me – that the sun surprised me. It broke through the trees behind me and fell across the rock beneath my camera at the base of this scene.

I had to step aside from my camera to keep my shadow from falling on the rock, too. But that little, unexpected splash of light on the foreground rock made all the difference. This scene rocks! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun).

Enjoy!
-Mike.

Many of us enjoy working the outdoor world as our subject. So, given we don’t have God’s influence on the natural elements, we have difficulty controlling the light. So we learn to compensate for our lack of God-like abilities by learning our subject and its setting as best we can. When we learn to know the environment we’re shooting, we improve the odds of being on sight when great light happens. This often requires great planning, sacrifice, and patience.

Such is the case with this image.

I’ve photographed this general location dozens of times over the years; however, I’ve never been truly satisfied with my results. I always felt there was something more, something magical about this location than what I was pulling out of it.

I determined to promote the making of this image to prime-time. I studied out the visual elements and decided which items to capture in my image and which to exclude. Next, I played with perspective. I moved around the area, framing various compositions — capturing each framing for later review and critique. I determined which time of year would be best to get the maximum benefit of late evening sunlight sloping through the scene. I marked my calendar.

Upon my return to this location, I already knew what hour I wanted to arrive on scene, approximately where to set up my tripod, and how I wanted to frame the visual elements. I arrived early and confirmed my preconceptions. As the golden rays of late-evening light begin to reach through the scene, I altered my vision only slightly to better accommodate the long reach of shadows across the foreground.

That was it. I had my image!

Since introducing this image, it has quickly become popular. To my mind, this is testament to the study and care put into its making. I had become involved enough with my subject to best portray its magical qualities. I knew: 1) what visual elements I wanted to use, 2) the mood I wanted to portray, and 3) when the environment could best be leveraged to accommodate that mood. There was one final step: once on scene, study it one final time with all the elements in place and manage an artful composition to best complement the elements.

Although, arguably, the truck still remains the subject, I decided to move slightly to the right and lower my framing to include more foreground. I found the truck’s angle closely matched the angle of light and shadow. By moving my tripod somewhat right of where I had envisioned, I effectively set up the truck, light, and shadow at forty-five degree angles to lead the viewer’s eyes deeper into the image, creating a greater sense of depth. In lowering my framing, I placed the truck in the upper left third and leveraged the golden light, shadows, and sparse grass of this rural setting as valuable context to really punch-up this image’s sense of place.

Although some people contend the long shadows and golden light are the real subject of this photograph, I maintain it’s the truck. They counter by saying, with so much space given to light and shadow, they dominate, thus becoming more visually important than the truck. As I composed this image, I felt to give any less space to light and shadow would short-change the entire scene and rob it of emotional impact.

The really cool thing is that these people are even having this discussion with me! I will not argue to change their minds. I respect their interpretation. Art is defined in the eye of the beholder. I simply push them a little bit to facilitate crystallization of their reasoning.

Funny thing about such exchange of ideas, I find in doing so I often crystallize my own reasoning. What a nice gift!

So, thank you!
-Mike.

I often wonder what other passers-by may think as they watch me sizing up shots like this: I wonder how long that guy is going to stand out there in the cold photographing that pond?  It’s a pond, dude!  Walk away . . .

To me, much of the appeal of nature photography is to craft a visually appealing image from what others may quickly pass by without a second thought.  I imagine the thrill I find in successfully aligning all the compositional elements to create a pleasing image that someone may linger over is akin to the thrill a trophy hunter may feel when that prize animal first steps into view.

What do you think?

I’m looking to artfully stylize several of my pieces for a new line of wall decor products.  The panoramic image is set atop a opaqued cropping of itself, which can then be matted and cotained inside a large, 16×24 frame.

Specific to this image, it was the motion that first intrigued me. The longer I studied this scene, the more intent I became on making an image to reflect the motion flowing through it. I wanted to capture its raw power and form altering force.

Given that vision, I knew I had to keep my shutter speed fast enough to preserve the power in those thunderous crashes, yet allow for some gentle blur of breakwater over the boulders.

It became an exercise in patience and timing as, again and again, the waves crashed over the landscape. This image became one of more than one hundred images shot from this location.

Although I’ve kept several dozen of those images, this is only one of two that so closely meets my stated objective. Not only does this one capture the power inherent within this moving landscape, it also offers a complementary contrast in texture from foreground to middle ground. And that bit of magic is what earned this image a seat in my portfolio.

Cheers,
-Mike.

We so liked it, we spent a couple of days there, hiking, playing in the ocean, reading, and building sandcastles. Great memories!

I was fascinated by the rock monoliths spread liberally along the coastline. While photographing them against the morning mist, this gentleman inadvertently strolled into my frame. At first, I was anxious for him to move along; however, he seemed in a contemplative mood.

Just as it became apparent he had come to stay, the concept of this image struck me. Now I was anxious for him to stay!

As quickly as I could, I readjusted my camera atop my tripod to place the lone man in the lower left third of the frame. I felt this best suggested his contemplation of the awesome scene before him.

I was able to capture a handful of images before the man was joined by several gulls and other foot traffic. Of the handful, this image best tells the story I saw unfold in my mind’s eye that morning.

Cheers,
-Mike.

This quiet land is full to the brim with deep canyons, staggering rock formations, and miles of pristine landscape — red-hued landscapes that contrast nicely against billowing clouds and blue skies. It’s a photographer’s nirvana.

I speak of southern Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. Over the years, I’ve mined many visual nuggets from this rugged landscape and acquired many wonderful memories. The accompanying image represents one such nugget and valued memory.

During a mid-March visit, I set out to hike through the park’s Grand Wash. I stopped for lunch at a bend where the somewhat narrow canyon narrowed a little more. As I turned to tuck my sandwich bag into my pack I found myself face-to-face with this scene. I’d been sitting with my back to it.

I took my time in studying the optimal composition and waited out the light. Although this scene was shaded by sheer cliffs on either side, I felt certain that the crisp light radiating into the canyon from a clear blue sky would best suit this shot. There were clouds passing overhead, so I waited them out.

With this image captured, I moved on. When I finally reached my intended shooting destination, the conditions were less than ideal. Undaunted, I shot anyway but wasn’t pleased with any of those images. As it turned out, this image was my best capture that day for my time spent in Capitol Reef’s Grand Wash. Time well invested!

In addition to the image, I have the memory: a day spent in quiet solitude and contemplation — just me, my camera, my thoughts, and my maker. My movement in the canyon echoed between the quiet walls. It pierced the stillness ahead with a measured staccato report of my progress just as my progress as a living being echoes before me off the subtle walls of eternity.

The discovery and making of this image is a fond memory. For me, it’s become a story of hope. In this image I see hope of warmer days beyond the cold of winter’s hardship. I see Spring emerging triumphant with promise of much beauty. To me, I see Life’s eternal round fulfilled on a macro scale. It’s a picture story of how hope springs eternal.

-Mike.

Found this pristine scene in a dense New Hampshire forest while enjoying an early morning jaunt.  The sun had not yet risen to burn off the fog, so everything more than several dozen yards in all directions was visually muted. 

I shot from a tripod using Singh-Ray’s color-enhancing filter to insure the leaves’ color really popped against the ghostly white skin of those birches. 

The thing that drew my eye to this scene was the tight stand of three birches on the right, counterbalanced by the single birch on the left.  However, to my eye, it was the intensity of colored leaves hugging the left-most birch in the stand-of-three that chinched the deal.  I pulled out my gear and made this image.