Eagle Falls, Lake Tahoe, California

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 smooth transitions from one frame to the next. Shooting verticals gives me a  little room to crop into the image top and bottom, this is a huge help if I didn't do the best job lining up the frames, and end up with a stair step shaped panorama.

I discovered this small ephemeral waterfall on a recent hike to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It took a return visit to refine my compositions and come home with some unique images. On my first visit, the siren song of the lake kept me from giving my full attention to this little falls. I did check it out though, and took a few photos. When I got a look at my images on the computer, I realized I had a great subject, and I had missed the shot, I had failed to execute the image in my mind.

Blue Boulder, Big Cottonwood Creek, Utah

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 the smallest of details. It’s always amazing to me, what I see once I start to look more closely.

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 before or after some nasty weather, are just naturally more dramatic than images created during idyllic, bluebird weather conditions. Breaking or approaching storms at sunset and sunrise can be especially soul stirring.

While making the image above I was beginning to question my sanity, as thunder rolled overhead and lightning flashed.  I had my tripod set-up just off a high bald ridge on the north side of Red Butte Canyon. Seconds later, hail started to pelt me, wind started to rage, and I packed up as quickly as possible and fled to lower ground. I was elated, I hadn’t been struck by lightning; I had just captured a powerful image.

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 seemed less and less likely. The sky now looked completely overcast, a white dome.

Trying to stay positive, I reminded myself that the creek shows different faces throughout the four seasons; there’s always something interesting to discover, it’s just a matter of physical and visual exploration. There’s always power in moving water. Always the potential to create an image that can transcend subject matter.

One of the things I love about photographing flowing water is that it’s always rendered in a way that cannot be seen. Faster shutter speeds show more detail than the eye can discern. Slow shutter speeds, a dreamy blur. I am convinced that interesting images can be created any time of year along any creek, river or stream, by focusing attention on intimate details.

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? Or, is there some other magical ingredient involved? Is it a combination of composition and exposure; inspiration and execution?

 I’ve also been inspired by several of Weston’s images showing the details of his Point Lobos backyard; the cypress and stonecrop, and of course those pebbly beaches. I’m quite certain repetition is one of the ingredients of his success. It also occurs to me, the images that are most memorable often show rather intimate details in near abstraction. The most successful of his images transcend design and subject matter, to connect with the viewer on a universal level.

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 been that long because the last time I was there, in June 2006, I made such a beautiful image (first image in my Wasatch Mountains Gallery, “Bells Waterfall”).

In 2006, I was there at exactly the right time, what I considered the peak seasonal climax for this location; shortly before the Summer Solstice, at sunset, on a night when the setting sun wasn’t obscured by clouds.  At this time of year the water is really flowing from spring snowmelt, and the sun, near its northern terminus, strikes the waterfall and granite towers at sunset, but leaves the canyon between in shade. This effect helps to simplify the image and really sets off that crimson sunlit water falling.

  Here's a side by side comparison between an HDR (high dynamic range) image and a single exposure.

The image on the left was created by combining three exposures using Photomatix Pro 3 software. Tone mapping was performed using the Photomatix tone compressor engine. I made adjustments for brightness, tonal range compression, and contrast adaptation. The image on the right is the best single exposure from the set. I've added a slight S-curve in Photoshop to help make it pop. I should note that I've still used my trusty graduated split neutral density filter for capturing this image. Without it, I would have needed to combine a wider range of exposures in Photomatix, and my single exposure would be completely unacceptable.

The HDR image looks much richer. Highlights are toned way down while shadow areas show much more color detail. I'm sure it would be possible to get similar results using Photoshop alone, but it would be much more tedious and time consuming. However, I do prefer the way Photoshop renders blue skies compared to Photomatix, not a big issue in this image, but as I've been working with Photomatix I've noticed some color shifts in areas of solid blue sky that I haven't particularly liked.