Nature Favorites

I took a 4 day workshop in Death Valley with Mark Citret and had a wonderful experience. I absolutely fell in love with the dunes. Late one afternoon, we were returning from another shoot and there was a strong wind blowing across the dunes. I used a 320mm lens to isolate this particular dune and magnify the mountains behind it. It is one of my best shots.

I have a passion for sand dunes and Stovepipe Wells dunes in Death Valley is my favorite place. There is something about the scale, both macro and micro about these dunes and the sunrise and sunset light that makes them so photogenic. In this shot, the shape of the dunes are very sensual, reminiscent of the shapes of a woman's body.

Lovely early morning shot of moon setting behind Snafflesjokul.

A favorite shot from my 2012 trip to Iceland. Taken at the black sand beach near the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

The black sand beach near the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon is one of my favorite shooting locations. The variety of the light, ice, and ocean are endless. I have spent a full 12 days over several trips at this beach and would go back in a minute. This ealy morning shot captures all the elements that make this location so wonderful: the sky, the ocean and waves, the ice and the black sand beach.

I spent much of my four days on the black sand beach at Jokalsarlon shooting the blocks of ice that had calved from the glacier, drifted out to sea and then washed back up on the beach. I did several studies, using a variable ND filter, of the waves washing in and out (and over) thes blocks. They were done at various times of day with various length of time, between 4 and 20 seconds.

I spent much of my four days on the black sand beach at Jokalsarlon shooting the blocks of ice that had calved from the glacier, drifted out to sea and then washed back up on the beach. I did several studies, using a variable ND filter, of the waves washing in and out (and over) thes blocks. They were done at various times of day with various length of time, between .8 and 20 seconds.

Part of my time and ice series on the ice beach near Jokalsarlon in Iceland.

I spent much of my four days on the black sand beach at Jokalsarlon shooting the blocks of ice that had calved from the glacier, drifted out to sea and then washed back up on the beach. I did several studies, using a variable ND filter, of the waves washing in and out (and over) thes blocks. They were done at various times of day with various length of time, between 4 and 20 seconds.

This is a shot of the end of the Skaftafell Glacier reflected in its pool. This shot won the Director's Prize at the Hidden Beauty Photography Exhibit at Filoli.

The ice caves under the glaciers, created by melt water, are completely alien environment.

The ice caves under the glaciers, created by melt water, are completely alien environment. This shot is looking up through a hole in the roof of the ice cave.

The locals claimed that the aurora that night was one of the four or five best they had ever seen. Far and away the best that I have seen.

I had been at this beach before, in overcast conditions with very uninspiring results. The light from the setting sun, the clouds in the background, the mist frim the waves, all contributed to a favorite shot.

The contrast between the man-made diagonal line of the pilings and the serene dawn light around the bay and Kirkjufell make this image.

After stumbling around in the dark for a few hours looking for this lake, I found it and the aurora cooperated appropriately. I like that the aurora's sublety doesn't distract from the rest of the image.

During my 2012 trip to Iceland, I had the opportunity to go up in a small plane for some aerial photography. Aside from frozen hands, I got some wonderful abstracts.

Driving around Iceland, came across this lovely, ethereal, almost black and white scene.

Interior Iceland Highlands Twighlight II

Near Lamayuru, our tour leader found a small goat herder village in a small valley with beautiful mountain scenery. We called this Martin's rock.

This shot is actually into Tibet. The sunlight coming through broken clouds gave me a perfect second spot of light on a diagonal line to the glacier in the upper right hand corner. I did a fair amount of toning and color tweaking in this one.

The variety of unusual birds in the Galapagos is amazing. This pelican was shot at about 300mm standing up in a small boat. Let's hear it for image stabilization.

Forest fire season in Yosemite made for a lot of haze, but sometimes it can add to the picture, as in this one.

In this shot, the rainbow effects are actually lens flare, but here it is a pleasant effect.

This was taken under the larger of the two arches at Spitzkoppe.

We got to spend an hour after sunset in Deadvlei with a half moon. This is my favorite shot of the trip. Taken later when the Milky Way was almost horizontal and clear of the tree. The moonlight illuminated the pan and the tree. In fact you can see the shadow of the tree behind it and to its left.

We were incredibly lucky in our visit to Deadvlei. There had been an incredibly rare rainfal two days before and there was mist in the pan at dawn which made for these beautiful and unusual images.

The dunes of Soussevlei are famous for their shape and color. In low afternoon light from a helicopter they offer infinite possibiilities. I added a background texture of flowing water (interesting choice for desert dunes) that complement the flow of the dunes.

The dunes of Soussevlei are famous for their shape and color. In low afternoon light from a helicopter they offer infinite possibiilities. I added a background texture of flowing water (interesting choice for desert dunes) that complement the flow of the dunes.

Late afternoon at Painted Hills with slight haze. Shot a series of abstracts of patterns in main hill.