2009 New England Fall Tour

more about "2009 New England Fall Tour Take 2", posted with vodpod

Photo Slideshow

The link above called photo slideshow is a combination of the highlights of my trip this past fall to Vermont, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. You can also click here to see new images on website

I just wanted to check in with everyone and let everyone know what is going on in my life. I have some great news that I just found out from someone who emailed me today. I made the front cover of the November Outdoor Photographer with an image I took from Shi Shi beach in Olympic National Park awhile back. I also made the front cover of a great UK photography magazine called Photo Plus for their fall issue with a cover of Mount Moran from the infamous Oxbow Bend. So if you are near a bookstore check it out. It is always nice to see your work published as sometimes in this business it feels like it takes forever for that to happen.

I picked up a camera for the first time in my life at the end of 2005 while working as a DJ on a cruise ship that went around the world. At that time I was full of so many dreams and possibilities of what I was going to accomplish in this business. Well I was to find out quick that in this business especially landscape photography, that I could not have been further from the truth. I was going to really have to dig deep and find patience within if I was going to survive.

I tell you their are times I got so frustrated and thought this was never going to happen but I kept plugging away and made sure that the primary reason I did photography was for the fun and to see the world; getting my work out there was not going to be my goal. Eventually I got some breaks and things finally are looking up for me. Anyways, I just wanted to thank everyone for the constant feedback I get from photo forums like Flickr which never ceases to amaze me with the way people are so generous with their time.I have learned so much from other photographers and friends so thank you for that.

Anyways, on to the exciting part of this blog. I just got back from a extended photo trip to New England which was full of color no matter where I went. I visited five different states in all and drove around five thousand miles and took thirty thousand images. It was exhausting but a lot of fun at the same time. I started my journey in Albany New York so I could make my way up to the Adironacks, specifically hike Mount Joe. As expected, things did not go very well for me as I have the worst luck in the world when it comes to photography trips and equipment. I got off the plane at 4 in the morning instead of 9 at night due to another mechanical failure on the plane. A seven hour delay and no sleep for 36 hours I was pretty tired so I took a taxi to a hotel and slept for the night instead of trying to drive straight to the Adironacks.

The next morning I got an early start as I picked up my rental car and made my way up North only stopping for gas. As I got nearer to my destination I got very excited to see the colors get better and better as I continued to drive. Once I reached the Mount Joe parking lot I got my rain gear out due to the fact it was raining and snowing at the same time. As I used caution to hike up the sketchy trail I started to slip more as the elevation increased. Near the top I ended up slipping on a rock, tumbling down the rocks, landed on my tripod which I snapped in half on the leg.

So here I was at the top bleeding from my forehead with a need for immediate stitches and no tripod. You have to understand that this place has been a dream of mine to visit since I began photography. So I haven’t even taken the first image of my trip and on top of the hike with no tripod with snow falling everywhere. So I got bag and stripped some clothes to makeshift a temporary place to keep the camera still. This did not work to well and I paid for it later. As I half heartedly made my way back down to the car, I ended up lost and off the trail only to fall again and cut myself in several more places. This was not going well and I was panicking. After a few curse words and screams I made it back to the car only to find out I had been broken into with the car doors wide open. Cursing again I checked my personal belongings to find only clothes were stolen – I know I don’t get that ! (I hid the laptop really well).

Almost in tears I pulled out my itinerary to find out where I would be staying for the night – Rutland, Vermont was the destination and the GPS would tell me how long I had to drive – OMG six hours to Rutland ; I thought it was only going to be an hour as I thought you could cross over right into Vermont without driving almost all the way back to Albany before heading North again – wow am I ever stupid ! Anyways I made it to the hotel around 2 in the morning having to fix only one flat tire . So I pull up to the motel and right away it looks like a scene from the Psycho movie and I am staying at the Bates motel. The motel is a steep hill up to nowhere and there is no cars in the parking lot and the lights are off. So I knock on the door and wake the front door guy up and he was nice enough not to scream at me. He explains to me that because of the rain there would be no one here this week and that normally it is full ; sure it is buddy !!!

So I grab my keys and make my way to the room as I nervously check for someone in the bushes to come out at me. I open the door slowly and pow the smell hits me like a freight truck ! The room had this unusual strong odor and mildew was the overwhelming first thing I smelled.This room probably hasn’t been used in years and the decor is from the 1950’s. You are probably wondering why I just didn’t find another place well the answer to that is that I pre-booked it for the 13 days through Expedia and no chance to get my money back. As a photographer I do not have the luxury of spending more money that so I suck it up and decide I will take a nice hot warm shower.

Beat and exhausted I hit the shower turn on the water and realize there is no hot water and the only water coming out was brown because I guess the showers had not been used in so long that dirt filled the drain pipes. So in disbelief and thinking there is no way this can get worse I dry off and check the internet for places to go; as no surprise to me the advertised free Wi-Fi apparently only works for Window computers. According to the front doormen I should be able to figure how to make it work since kids can do it all the time when they are there.

Now it is five in the morning and I am not going to figure out this internet thing so I decide to check out what is on TV as all motels have TV at least – right ? Well now this was getting ridiculous – three channels – are you serious?

So I decide I need to end this awful day and go to bed. That was the end of my first day of this epic journey I was about to take part in. Check back for further stories from the trip in a later blog.

Best Places This Year To Photograph Wildlflowers On Mount Rainier

Welcome to another blog story and this time I wanted to catch everyone up to date on the wildflower situation on Mount Rainier National Park. I want to apologize for the amount of images but I am trying to show as many places to go as possible. I have to say I do not think I have seen so many in my life. Everywhere I look there are sorts of arrangements including Indian paintbrush, lupine, asters, and lilies just to mention a few. I have now made several journeys up to Mt. Rainier in the last few weeks and enjoyed it each time. Trying to recommend one place to go would be impossible but I am going to try to highlight at least a few places I think should not be missed.

I began my travels on Rainier on the Sunrise side and most of the time on Mt.Rainier the flowers are always peak first so this is always the best place to start. In terms of where to go on the Sunrise side I always start on the Sourdough Trail and work my way to Berkley Park. To get here park at the Sunrise Visitor center and make your way up a short path to the Sourdough Trail. Look for flowers on the slopes with Rainier in the background; just be careful not to fall on the rocks. While hiking this gorgeous trail take in the view cause it one of the best on the mountain. As you continue you make your way by Frozen Lake and take note of the color of the water – unbelievable!

To make it to Berkeley Park keep going roughly 2-3 miles to witness without a doubt the most wildflowers in the park. This year I have never see so many in Berkeley Park. Even though you do not get a view of the mountain from this park it is worth the hike. As you hike here you will pass a creek that follows you throughout the park. This is a great opportunity to shoot Lewis Monkey flowers (the pink ones that grow next to streams).

Do not be afraid to get your feet wet to get the best compositions here, as there is opportunity everywhere. To get more views of the mountain keep going on the trail to Grand Park as you are met with an open meadow that goes on forever. On the return to the visitor center makes sure to head down the trail when you hit Frozen Lake to go by Shadow Lake, which is a great place to relax and have a picnic. This is the lake you can see from the Sourdough Trail when you look down into the valley. Now keep along this trail and you will get back to the Sunrise visitor center but keep going on the Silver Forest Trail with views of the Emmons Vista.

This is where you want to be for sunset if you want an amazing image. Get there early so you can find a good composition with the valley and the river going up to the mountain. Remember while on the trail to keep going even when it looks like it ends to get to an open meadow with plenty of opportunities. This is where you will find the Holy Grail in terms of wildflowers – just amazing !!!

If time allows make sure to head up the hill when you have a chance to get the most close up views of the mountain. I will warn you the climb is a little steep but well worth it. Make sure to get shots of the mountain with the lodge in it. Continue on this trail to Sunrise Point and take in the vistas, as they are a plenty.

Now if you are heading to the Paradise side, which is always a fan favorite for wildflowers offers great views as well. I always begin my journey on Paradise side with a sunrise shot from the Dead Horse Creek Trail. You cannot go wrong from here as long as get high enough to unobstructed views of the mountain. There are plenty of wildflowers along this trail and a great place to get sidelight on Rainier. Follow this trail all the way up to High Skyline Trail to get closer then you could ever imagine to the mountain.

The treat this year is the wildflowers are higher then they have ever been and you can get some very close up views of the mountain with great foregrounds of wildflowers. To get there make sure to keep going all the way to the top so you are heading in the direction of  Camp Muir. Once up top you will have a completely unobstructed view of the mountain and wildflowers. After this continue along the High Skyline trail until he heads back down to Paradise area. Make sure to turn around when you can to get some great shots of Mount Adams and Mount Saint Helens in the background  behind the Tatoosh Range.

You will make your way for about two miles before you get to the meadows worth shooting again. Warning: this place is filled with people and hard to get pictures without people in them. If you are lucky enough to get the place to yourself make sure to stop at the bridge and get a few shots of Edith Creek and the surrounding wildflowers with Rainier as your backdrop. Make sure though to include the S-Curve that leads up and around to the mountain for a great shot. Make sure to take a look at this winning shot by Daniel Ewert from Nature’s Best Landscape winner of this year. While there get a shot of Myrtle Falls with Rainier in the distance. You can never go wrong with this image for stock purposes. If time allows I always like to make my way over to Mazama Ridge as this place rarely fails for good compositions of the mountain and wildflowers. In terms of a sunset there is no better opportunity then shooting Tatoosh Range as they seem to come alive when the sun goes down.

In my next blog I will be discussing Comet Falls and Van Trump Park plus some hidden secrets when shooting around Reflection Lakes.

Oregon Coast Workshop Photo Tour

Hello to all of you photographers. I just got back from teaching a photo workshop on the Oregon Coast workshop this last weekend with Adrian Klein.  I just I got to tell you we had a blast and even though we did not have the best weather I have not laughed as hard as I did in years. You know sometimes weather does not shine down on you as would like but you make the best of it ; well we had a share of storms and fog but we made the best of the situation. I was surprised at how big the waves were and when mixed with the fog we got some unexpected surprises.

For this workshop we decided to rent a house in Lincoln City that would hold a good number of us so that we could get to know each other better. We all met on the Friday at the house and went over some details before heading to Cape Kiwanda. I promised I wanted to show the class some of the lesser known places on the Oregon coast but still would be stunning to see. So for sunset on Friday we decided to hit the back of Cape Kiwanda by accessing it about a mile north of Pacific City. To get there you make a left at unmarked dirt road which makes its way down to the beach. From there a 4x 4 vehicle can drive along to the beach to the backside of the cliffs of Cape Kiwanda. Once there half of us had cars that could make and the others well we were making the long hike in. Once we all gathered together we made our way first to the arch and practiced shooting the waves at different shutter speeds.

Some of us got a little crazier then others – I speaking about you Tiju who decided to make his way out onto the rocks out in the middle of everything as the waves crashed all around. I know have done some crazy things but it seemed like he might be taking the cake on this one. After shooting the arch some of us made our way up the sand dunes to the top of Cape Kiwanda; unfortunately things were a lot tougher then we thought and about half ways we realized were not getting to make it top of the cliffs for sunset. Note to self always take the easier route when trying to get somewhere for sunset. Anyways, we decided at least were going to have some fun going down and as we decided to return to our youths as we raced down the dunes. After making it down we realized we had a rogue among one of us – I am talking about you MILES ! Miles decided to try to make it to the top for sunset and found himself with one of the toughest tasks trying to make it back. Anyways, Miles finally back to the rest of the group and we all headed for a feast to the infamous Pelican Brewery were we were glad to still be alive. Once we all realized we had stuffed ourselves with too much food we sluggishly made our way back to the house. By the time we made it back it was almost one in the morning and sunrise was going to be impossible.

So instead we decided to sleep in and go to breakfast at the Pig n Pancake. On a full stomach again we made our way for a morning hike to the Cascade Head Preserve Area. Once at the trailhead we saw the sun trying to make its way through the fog and we all got some great sun ray shots.

So I guess it worked out not making the sunrise and going later. Later in the day, we made our way down the coast watching the waves grow out of control and made a few stops along the way to stop and shoot the waves at Boiler Bay State Park.

So even though we did not get sun we were getting some great atmosphere to shoot the coast. Anyways we travelled up north to Oceanside for sunset and as we got closer the weather we noticed it was going to be raining and everyone decided to make the best of the situation. I have to admit what a great group to still want to go out in the rain and shoot – man you guys are an inspiration for sure….

Next time I will be talking about the new updates to Photomatix Pro specifically Exposure Fusion

So after some getting completely soaked and spending almost half an hour to get a group photo together because it was so wet we decided to go back and talk all night about Photoshop; funny thing when you get photographers together as it seems to always lead back to something about photography where no one wants to go to bed.

Well sunrise came upon us and another wet morning but spirits were high as we laughed about everything imaginable and as the workshop concluded I have to say I was really sad to see it come to an end. Everyone was so passionate and enthusiastic from the very start and was a really inspiration to me. So thank you everyone for the good times and I can not wait to see the rest of everyone’s images. I also want to give a special thank you to my partner Adrian Klein for putting all of this together in such a organized fashion. He was able to make things run smooth, got us places on time, and was there to support me in every way. Thanks Adrian !

Columbia Gorge Workshop

Welcome back to the blog. So much is happening of later I do not know where to start. So I finished a workshop this last weekend with my partner Adrian Klien. We explored the area of the Columbia Gorge and all its wonders. We visited everything from waterfalls, wildflowers, cherry orchards, and even some storms. The Columbia Gorge is known primarily for its amazing waterfalls, flora, and endless hiking trails. The weather did not let us down either as we got everything from amazing sunsets to thundershowers; all of it making it an exciting week.

I got to say we had a great group of photographers each with their own vision that they brought to their images. Although we all shot in the same area it was amazing to everyone to see how different everyone saw things. Even within feet of each other we had totally different images each stunning in its own respect.

The “gorge” was bursting with color when we got there and it is really like you have entered a different world when you visit this place. Spring time is the time to go to capture all the lush greens, wildflowers, and powerful waterfalls. Our first stop was PonyTail falls and was an interesting stop as we all made our way into the creek to get better vantage points.

It is always an adventure when you make your way out into water and this was no exception. The difference was we had the whole group at one time or another trying to traverse across. After shooting a number of waterfalls we headed to Rowena Crest to visit the Tom McCall Preserve Area.

This area sits atop the Columbia river and is a great place to see sunrises. When we arrived we were amazed at the amount of wildflowers such as arrowroot balsam and lupine. The challenge here is to visit this place when the winds are not blowing a hundred miles an hour. So keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best I cranked my ISO to 1600 on my Canon 5D MK2 which is a great improvement on the old Canon 5D for noise levels and hoped for the best.

I was amazed that even at ISO 1600 I was getting almost complete noise free images, and I was able to freeze the movement of the wildflowers from the wind. Another trick that is more difficult when dealing with movement in the foreground is to shoot the foreground at a f-stop around f/8 for a quicker shutter speed and merging that with another image right after at f/16 to get the background all in focus. Theoritically this increases the chances of freezing the movement of the foreground flowers. Anyways we had a such a great time we came back for sunrise and tried it again.

This time a little less wind but still very active. After that we spend some time shooting the cherry orchards in Hood River Valley which if you catch at the right time is absolutely amazing with clear views on sunny days of Mount Adams and Mount Hood. We decided after that as it was not the far away to head to the Dalles mountains which is on the other side of the Columbia river and is in the state of Washington. Once here we visted an abandoned classic car left out in a field of wildflowers that can be difficult to find. I have to say that I have never seen so many wildflowers in one area; it was covered from end to end and on top of that we were getting some amazing cloud formations with the sun setting.

For the next couple of days we visited wildflower areas and some more waterfalls that seemed to get better as the workshop progressed. We spent the final day going over the workflow from taking the picture all the way to producing the print. This was informative just to see what others do and to see things that can always be improved. By the end I think we all a great time and got some good images; but all we wanted to do was catch up on our sleep.

I want to thank the workshop participants as the were amazing and their work inspiring.

Return To Death Valley

Lend Me A Hand - Mesquite Dunes Death Valley National Park

Sorry for the long absence but I have been so on the road for the last six weeks. I just got back recently from another trip to the Eastern Sierras. You know the first time I went I had such a good time and saw so many stunning scenes, I knew had to return as soon as possible. I returned to some familiar spots and visited some new ones.
I began the trip in Death Valley to see some more of the familiar places again that I missed out the first time. I made all night drive to meet another fellow photographer, Lisa Dearing, somewhere in the RV park. Lisa is fantastic photographer who I met up in Denali National Park while camping at Wonder Lake. Next morning, running late, I made to make the hundred yard dash to get somewhere that accentuated the flowing curves of such an awe inspiring place. The best way to demonstrate this was to find the nicest flowing curves. The problem was that they were all on the highest dunes. So I had made the trek up the dunes but found out real quick that I was in terrible shape and for every step I took I fell back two making the  journey a real eye opener. Once making it up I got some great light which made getting some decent images easier. After finishing up at the dunes we moved on to “The Racetrack”. I know other photographers have shot this place to death but I have never got the chance to see this place.

View From The Top - Mesquite Dunes Death Valley National Park

I always visit a place because it moves me in some way and the reason I got into photography almost four years ago was to see the world and bring back home just a taste of what I had experienced. So I do not necessarily go to a place from a photographer’s angle  but sometimes as a tourist. I also find this helps me bring perspective to my own life and a great way never to lose sight of why I got into this business in the first place.

So after finally making it out to “The Racetrack” I stood in awe for several minutes without moving. Just witnessing in person the phenemeon of “moving rocks” just really makes you realize how powerful nature is in the scope of everything. I began the scouting for the best composition of moving rocks I could find. It turns out the first one was the best as the rocks were almost non-exisent questioning whether people were actually taking the rocks with them. I am not sure the reason for the disappearance I would love to know. So I spend the day and night getting to know as much as I could about the place. I can not say I got the best sunrise or sunset but it was great just to be there. After a couple of days we packed up everything and headed to the Alabama Hills. Stay tuned for further adventures from the town of Lone Pine.

Fields Of Gold - Mesquite Dunes - Death Valley National Park

In the mean time I thought I would share some thinking on
“ Layered HDR”. This refers to combining a HDR layer with a Raw image to get the best of both styles.

What is HDR?

HDR is a set of techniques that allows the opportunity for a greater dynamic range of exposures through digital imaging techniques. It captures the full range of luminosity between light and dark in a single scene. What this means in terms of photography is that the processing of HDR captures everything from dark shadows to bright highlights and combines it into a single image.

Why use HDR?

They are many benefits to processing a HDR over a single image. Digital cameras today are becoming more advanced everyday but the present day digital camera can only capture latitude of four to six stops. Therefore in a scene with strong contrast the  in-camera meter will only be able to expose for either the highlights or the shadows and not both. Processing through HDR allows you capture the full magnitude of the scene without sacrificing either of the extreme tonalities.

When should you use HDR?

HDR is a real advantage when it comes to scenes that are hard for the camera to photograph in terms of contrast. Images that benefit the most from HDR has very dark tonalities and bright highlights in the same scene. Some examples of this might be found when shooting indoors with minimal lighting. In terms of shooting outdoors, the early or late hours when the sun reflects its light onto a scene causes harsh contrast. Extreme variances between the unlit areas in deep shadows and the areas illuminated by the sun provide opportunity to shoot in HDR. Shooting this type of scene in a single exposure would be impossible without the aid of filters. But by shooting in HDR you can capture the full spectrum of luminance and provide detail throughout the image.

Do I need to do anything differently when shooting for HDR ?

When shooting in HDR, you do need to do things different then if you were going to shoot for a single exposure. Begin by changing the shooting mode to continuous, as multiple exposures at one time are essential to HDR. Depending on the brand of digital camera you have, you can set auto bracketing to shoot from three to nine exposures ranging from the darkest regions of an image to the lightest. If you have an advanced Nikon DSLR you can set this auto bracketing so that it will fire off nine exposures in a row from darkest to lightest. If you own a Canon, then things are a little different, as most Canons only auto bracket three exposures in a row. To get the most of your bracketing it is important to make sure that you capture detail in the brightest parts of the image and detail in the shadows. Review your histogram and make sure if you have the option to turn on a highlight warning in your camera you have this turned on. Your exposures should range mostly in the three to five exposures. But in situations where the range of contrast is significant it is important to capture at least nine exposures to provide enough information for processing in HDR. When it comes to different ranges of exposures it never hurts to have more then you need. Determine if the scene you are looking at displays high or low contrast in a scene by reviewing your histogram. Each scene is different and exposure needs to be considered for each scene independently.
Noise needs to be minimized in the HDR image, so it is imperative to keep the ISO below 200. The cumulative effect of high ISO images will destroy an image with excessive noise. When shooting in priority mode on the camera make sure to keep it on Aperture priority, as you do not want to change the aperture mid way through. Only vary the shutter speed to change the exposure. Lastly, it is near impossible to do this without the aid of a tripod as the different exposures need to line up exactly to work and my experience hand holding and trying to do HDR have always failed. If you have a cable or remote release for the camera this really helps to ensure the camera does not move.

What do I need to start HDR ?

To get started in HDR you will need to look at a third party plug in for Photoshop called Photomatix Pro. You might be tempted to use the Merge to HDR in the actual Photoshop but I encourage you not to use this, as the results are often very poor. When it comes to third party plug-ins for HDR there are a few others but in my experience Photomatix Pro has continually provided the best results. To find out more information about Photomatix Pro click here.

How Does Photomatix Pro work ?

Using Photomatix Pro is very simple and user friendly. You begin by selecting the several exposures you took for the image. Then drag those images to Photomatix Pro icon or right click on your mouse and choose open Photomatix Pro. Once you have brought the images into Photomatix Pro you click on Generate HDR and your images will combine into one 32-bit image. This process takes some time but at the end of it you are left with a single processed image. Once this single image is processed you will need to Tone Map the image, which renders the image into a workable 16-bit image, which then can be altered in terms of color, contrast, and luminosity. For more information on Tone Mapping you can click here.
In terms of tone mapping I encourage you to leave it on its defaults and make the rest of your changes in Photoshop. The reason I say this is that Photoshop is where you want to make all your big edits to the image, as it is less destructive. In Photoshop you can make changes on a separate layer and still make changes at a later time to the image. Overall. Photoshop’s ability to handle editing is far superior then Photomatix Pro.

Is there advanced HDR methods?

Like all new advances in digital photography, people can get carried away with HDR and its abilities. Options are available in HDR that can change the image into a highly unnatural look by over processing. For those who like the benefits of HDR but want to avoid the look of surreal imagery, HDR can be applied in a modest amount. Under the Details Enhancer tab, apply a low strength amount in combination with high smoothing to achieve a very natural look to the image.

Lastly, for those looking to achieve the most natural look in HDR, save the final image of HDR as a separate layer in Photoshop. Later in processing, blend that layer in with a single processed layer done in Photoshop. More specifically, I will save the HDR layer above a layer processed normally in Photoshop and blend in the HDR layer where I have lost detail or blown highlights. This advanced technique in Photoshop requires you know how to blend layers in Photoshop. Once the saved HDR layer is on top of the single processed image, you can also change the layer’s opacity to fifty percent to blend the two layers equally avoiding the look of over processed HDR.

How to get more information on HDR ?

A search on the Internet on HDR will provide lots of information on everything you need to know about it. As well, there are many tutorials on the subject as well as videos. Start by looking at example of others and the process they have gone to achieve their look. Try to recognize the type of scene where HDR really works for you and the degree of exposures needed for each scene.  Like anything HDR takes time to get better at it but I promise you the results in the end are worth it.
Practice! Practice! Practice!

Last Adventure On Our Eastern Sierra Trip

Along The Owens River Before Sunrise With Mount Tom In Background

Welcome back for the last adventure of the trip. This will be a short blog as I apologize for previous lengthy stories. Anyways,  we left Death Valley to return one more time to the Owens Valley. From our research we had seen some great images from the valley with Mount Tom in the background.The scene that we were visualizing was a sunrise shot with Mount Tom to the east. We had scoped out some possible foregrounds earlier and now we had to commit to something before the sun came up.

Leaving Death Valley along the Joshua Flats

We made our destination along the Owens River which has a lot of complementary features that makes for a strong foreground. In particular we were looking for a S-Curve that would lead the viewer’s eye through the image. We got there with plenty of time and we made a decision to break up and find our own foregrounds so that we would avoid all having the same images. I decided I really needed some strong impact if I was going to create a lasting effect with this image. I set up my tripod in the actual river to get the perspective that the viewer was right there with me. I decided to focus on the minutes before sunrise as I liked the cool colors from the mountain peaks and the moon that balanced the rest of the image. After working several different compositions we retired back to the hotel to pack our gear and head back to the airport.

Early morning light on the fooliage along Owens River

In retrospect I had a great time on this adventure and I learned a lot of things from my past mistakes. I can not say enough great things about the Eastern Sierras in winter. If you ever want to see some winter magic that is easily accessible this is one place not to miss. Looking back and some of the places we visited we were all fairly pleased at how lucky the weather had cooperated for us. The only place that we did not get a chance to visit was Lake Tahoe and Mono Lake. For me these are two places I am dying to see in winter conditions. Well I guess I have something to look forward to. Anyways, thank you for allowing me to share my adventures with you and I will be back soon with more tips and stories.

First light of the morning hits the peaks with Mount Tom in the background

Death Valley – Eastern Sierra Photo Tour Part 4

more about "Death Valley – Eastern Sierra Photo T…", posted with vodpod

Death Valley – Eastern Sierra Photo Tour Part 4

To see the complete Eastern Sierra slideshow watch the video above or click here. Video has music so make sure to have the volume on.

After finishing up at Yosemite National Park we made our all night journey to Death Valley National Park. Driving on two hours of sleep we made it all the way to Lone Pine and could not drive on. So we headed up to Alabama Hills and slept until sunrise. We got some good light and even got some keeper images. After finishing we all packed up in the cars and headed to Death Valley. I personally have never been there so this was very exciting for me. Later that afternoon we arrived in Death Valley and tried to map out where we wanted to be for sunset. A group majority decision to shoot in Mesquite dunes was the next calling. After seeing so many stunning images from this area, I wondered how was I ever going to be able to compete with that. We made the hike into the dunes and as the sun began to set I still had not found anything I liked.

With a few more minutes to sunset I saw a nicely shaped dune on the horizon but it was going to be a big risk if I did not make it there in time. The thing with the dunes is you want to maximize contrast and that means getting one side lit by the sun and the other in shadow to get the most dramatic images out of the scene. Again I found myself running like a mad man trying to make it there on time. I was able to get a few shots off before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. As the rest of the gang headed back to the car I stayed awhile to shoot some twilight images – BIG MISTAKE! I waited a little to long and now I had no idea of the direction of where the car was and it was dark. Scared and confused I prepared for the worst. I tried to remain calm and backtrack to where I could footsteps. I eventually found some and followed them out of the dunes. I have no sense of direction and this proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I finally made it back to the car and frustrated and hungry we headed for the nearest restaurant.

Next morning we decided to make the journey out to Badwater, which is the area where salt flats create unique octagons. To get there in time we had to be there super early as the hike onto the flats takes about half an hour. Leaving at four in the morning and making the long drive we made it to Badwater and we were behind as light was already beginning and we had not even started the hike. Again I found myself running to get there in time. As I dropped my bag and threw everything onto the ground I reached to shoot a few shots off before the light disappeared. The problem was nothing was happening and I realized I had forgotten my camera battery on the charger. I looked over to my friend who also had a Canon 5D Mk 2 and begged him for his back up battery. He looked at me and said you are one lucky guy that I have the same camera and backup battery. I was able to get the last of sunrise light and found some unique foreground patterns that complemented the light on the mountain peaks. We made the hike back to the car and all I could think was boy do I have to get my act together! From here we headed back to the motel situated right in the heart of Death Valley.

Upon returning to the room I noticed my sleeping blankets and pillow that I carry with me all the time were gone. I carry these items always when I travel because I am paranoid of what is on the sheets. This might be because of a recent trip to Arizona where my wife pulled back the bed sheets to uncover a bed full of dead rats and some under the pillows. Since then I will not sleep in a hotel without bringing my own stuff. Needless to say I returned to find my stuff missing. Why in the heck would anyone want my pillow – I mean seriously – drool and what else was on it. This had to be the strangest thing. After talking to a manager he told me to return another day and he would try to track it down. With that in mind we headed to Bishop to shoot sunrise and Mount Tom. I will continue the last of the adventure in the next few days. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed it.

Winter Wonderland In Yosemite – Part 3 Eastern Sierras Photo Trip

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Winter Wonderland In Yosemite – Part 3 Eastern Sierras Photo Trip

Valley View Winterland - Yosemite National Park

Welcome back to for another crazy week of photography stories. So to catch up everybody we have just got back from shooting under a full moon in Yosemite National Park.. It is late and almost 3AM; we only have two hours to sleep. So we set the alarm and of course I rush to the door to see how the sky looks. NOT A SINGLE CLOUD! Now I am glad that the sun is going to be out but it would have been ever better if there were some clouds to add depth to the image. So we rush out the door and one of the members who has joined us can not ever get out of bed in time. So every time we rush to get out early in the morning it ends up being a no go as we ending up having to wait. Note to self – MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IN YOUR GROUP IS AS EAGER AS YOU! This is no one’s fault just some serious miscommunication among is. Now I love going with a group but you got to have everyone on the same page or things turn messy real quick.

Tunnel View In The Late Afternoon - Yosemite National Park

Anyways,we are thirty minutes behind and we all go out to this scene where it is suppose to real be stunning for its reflection called Cathedral Beach – well this ended up not being as great as we would have liked. We ended up finally meeting up with Ryan Dyar and Jesse Estes down for sunrise. I do not think anyone even took out there camera for more then a few minutes. After sunrise we headed back to the lodge as the sun was too strong and the contrast was too much. After much debate we decided to stay and hope for some clouds for sunset.

A View From The Bridge Of El Captain - Yosemite National Park

This meant hanging out all day waiting; so we did what most people do during their visits here and that was to visit the Ansel Adams Gallery to get some potential ideas for later. Hours later we exited the gallery and headed for lunch. So we went to the local cafeteria and had some pizza and coke. Big mistake for me as I am lactose intolerant and should not being having any kind of cheese; but I was desperate for food.

Soft Light Glowing Along Roadside - Yosemite National Park

Well as you can guess everything went downhill from here, as I could not get out of the bathroom as it was only getting worse as time progressed. A few hours later and it is time to go and get ready for sunset – the problem I cannot get out of the bathroom and I have three other guys waiting. So I call my wife and tell her I am stuck in this bathroom and every time I get a foot out the door I have to run back – WHAT THE HECK CAN I DO!   So I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and hoped things would not get worse. As we made our way back to the car we noticed a change in weather.

Late Afternoon Light From Bridge - Yosemite National Park

The most amazing clouds were moving in and we had to hurry if we were going to get some late afternoon light and clouds. I knew if this was going to happen I needed to talk to the guys. I expressed that if we were going to get anything in the next hour we needed to “Stick and Move”. This is my term for fast paced landscape photography. This involves setting a limit of five minutes at each place and syncing the alarms on our watch to alert us when to move on to the next stop.  Now I know most of you reading this are shaking our head but it works as long as everybody is on board. An hour later and we had hit up at least six good spots such as Valley View, Tunnel View, El Captain From The Bridge, Cook’s Meadow just to name a few.

Long Exposure As This Stump Stands Alone - Yosemite National Park

The only thing left was a sunset at Valley View; the clouds were moving in fast and we wondered if there might not even be a sunset. So I get in line with the crowd of other photographers gathered around waiting for sunset. So we waited and waited and nothing was happening yet.

Valley View Sunset In Winter - Yosemite National Park

In the process of trying to get a better composition I slipped on the ice and nearly knocked over the photographer’s camera next to me which was a 40,000 dollar Hasselblad H3D. Lucky for me it managed to say up and I was counting my blessings – can you imagine breaking a 40,000 camera? I mean what do you do after it happens – say your sorry and give him your business card and hope to see you again one day; Not likely to happen.  So after begging for forgiveness from the photographer I come across the fact he is the one and only Peter Lik. Now if you do not know who he is, he is unquestionably one of the most successful landscape photographers in the world with galleries all over. He is an Australian photographer who now resides in Las Vegas and now travels in a custom designed F550 made to live in and at the same time get around absolutely anywhere. THIS IS MY IDOL!!! I am not sure how many landscape photographers actually make money but here is one that is great at it and he loves what he does. After speaking with him in great length I came to realize this man has some great wisdom about him. Not only was he the funniest guy around but also most important thing was he did not take himself too seriously.

Looking Up From The Floor - Yosemite National Park

So if I am being honest I was too enthralled to even be cognizant of the sunset and I was just pressing the shutter without g. So I walked away from this sunset not really knowing if I had got anything great but I did come away with a whole new approach to photography thanks to Peter Lik. We headed back to the car and decided to make an all night journey straight to Death Valley for sunrise without sleeping. Stay tuned for more adventures in the next blog. Thanks again for dropping by and please if you have any suggestions you would like to see let me know. Thanks.

Looking Straight Down Tunnel View - Yosemite National Park