Blog entries

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:49:12 +0100

Eagle Falls, Lake Tahoe, California

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:39:54 +0100

Eagle Lake HDR Panorama, Desolation Wilderness, California

This one just squeaks in to my best images of 2011, mostly on account of doing an adequate job recording my first visit to the edge of a beautifully rugged wilderness. I was in a place I’d never been, its grandeur familiar yet wonderfully new to me; a feeling I never tire of. This image was created on my first foray into California’s Desola...

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:56:34 +0100

Zion Canyon Storm Panorama

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:44:03 +0100

Canyon Overlook Sunrise Panorama, Zion National Park, Utah

A favorite sunrise location in Zion National Park, the canyon overlook begs to be shot in panorama format. This panorama was created with eleven generously overlapped vertical frames. I also used a 3 stop soft step ND grad filter to help open the landscape and retain deep vivid color in the sky. Generously overlapping the frames ensures smoo...

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:15:51 +0100

Storm Light, Canyon Overlook, Zion National Park, Utah

Here’s another of my favorites from 2011. This image is all about timing and luck. I was lucky not to be struck by lightning; lucky to witness and record an amazing moment from an iconic Zion viewpoint. I was at the canyon overlook above Pine Creek with a handful of other park visitors and my wife, as a fast moving storm plowed through at sunse...

Best of 2011

Jeff Beck — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:11:45 +0100

Icicles, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

This image is among my best of the year 2011. Simplicity and color are two reasons this image is successful.
I was fortunate to eye this subject. As is often the case, investigating one subject leads to the discovery of another subject. In this instance a more vivid flash of color in some nearby ice drew my attention. After making several photographs of colorful reflectio...

2011 Holiday Open House at Red Butte Garden

Jeff Beck — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:52:46 +0100

November Spring Fed Pool, Salt Lake City Foothills, Utah

Come to the 10th annual Holiday Open House at Red Butte Garden, Saturday and Sunday, December 3rd and 4th from 10 am to 5 pm. Find unique, handmade gifts for everyone on your list while supporting local artists. Admission is free.

BWCA Photo Journal

Jeff Beck — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:07:55 +0100

Nature’s intimate details often make for the most personal photographic expressions. These are images that can be found almost anywhere. However, it takes a certain openness to see them; a willingness to let go of the wider landscape and focus attention on t...

Embracing Stormy Weather

Jeff Beck — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:56:37 +0100

Spring Squall, Salt Lake City Foothills

If there’s one rule of landscape photography you can count on to create unique and compelling imagery it’s that it pays to embrace stormy weather. As a basic rule, bad weather equals good photos. When I look at my most memorable landscape images, one of the strongest common threads I see is bad weather. Images created at the edges of storms, either befor...

Working with White Skies

Jeff Beck — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:48:44 +0100

Winter Aspen Panorama, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

One of the rules of color landscape photography that I’ve always lived by is: you cannot photograph a white sky. A dark grey, brooding sky, yes, always; but a white sky, never. Well almost never.

A solid white, featureless sky creates perfect light for photographing nature’s intimate details, compositions that take advantage of ...

Two Swans

Jeff Beck — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:24:23 +0100

Two Tundra Swans, Farmington Bay WMA, Utah

One of my earliest attempts at photography involved driving north from Salt Lake to Willard Bay in February. I’d heard you could see bald eagles there. Indeed, I did see two bald eagles, perched in the top of a large picturesque winter tree. Armed with an 80-200mm zoom lens and 35mm film, the eagles barely made a dent in the frame. I attempted to approach ...

impressionism in water

Jeff Beck — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:03:21 +0100

This impressionistic blur was created through the execution of one simple idea: isolate the reflection of sunlit cliffs in the creek; eliminate all extraneous elements from the frame. I can’t help but love the way this straight photograph shows a little piece of the world in a way that just cannot be seen by the eye-unless you squint really, really hard.

This frame shows big cottonwood creek pared down to th...

Waterfall in a Cave

Jeff Beck — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:09:48 +0100

Donut Falls, Wasatch National Forest, Utah

I was headed for big cottonwood canyon with less than two hours till sunset. My plan was to stop at the s-curve, get out of the car and walk along the creek in search of interesting combinations of rock, water, and reflection. I was hoping to see late sunlight break through the clouds, shine on cliffs and reflect in the creek. As I drove up canyon, this scenario seem...

Homage to Edward Weston

Jeff Beck — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:20:26 +0100

Weston Beach, Point Lobos, California

Edward Weston is a photographic hero of mine. His, Pepper #30 is a favorite example of a photograph that achieves the level of timeless art, which is rare in any medium. Pepper #30 is inspiring on many levels. What is it that makes this one, that much better than the others; did he finally find the right pepper? Was it the fact that he photographed peppers more than 30 times...

Red Butte Garden Holiday Open House

Jeff Beck — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:48:41 +0100

Limber Pine Skeletons, Mt. Olympus Wilderness, Utah

Swing by my booth this year at the annual Red Butte Garden Holiday Open House, Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and 5th from 10 am till 5 pm. Enjoy free admission to the gardens as well as fine arts and crafts from local artisans. Come support local artists and Red Butte Garden; 30% of the proceeds go directly to support their efforts. Hope t...

Photography After Hours

Jeff Beck — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:06:15 +0100

Milky Way Streaming above Kessler Peak in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

After being inspired by the astrophotography of Desert Skies Photography www.desertskiesphotography.com , a once a month vendor at the farmers market this past season, I decided to try my hand at capturing the Milky Way. Upon seeing the results of my first attempts in Big Cottonwood Canyon, I realize I have a ways to go. I a...

New Technique in a Familiar Place

Jeff Beck — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:31:04 +0100

Bells Canyon Waterfall

This HDR panorama was created with twelve images, four sets of three.

It had been four years since I’d been to this location, which is strange considering what a magical destination it is, and how close it is. The trailhead is a twenty minute drive, and the hike is about an hour up, if I don’t get too caught up in the scenery along the way. I think it’d ...