Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer

Recently I was presented the question, “How does one improve as a photographer? This question came from a well seasoned photographer and it got me thinking of the things I’ve done in the past. While the things listed below worked for me they may not work for everyone. Which leads me to wonder what do you do to improve as a photographer when you feel you’ve hit a wall?

Viewing "99 Cents" by Andreas Gursky

10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer

1. Cut off participation on photo critique forums. Over time many of the submitted photos start to emulate each other converging into a common style versus diverging to original work.
2. Begin viewing art web sites more frequently to get inspiration from contemporary artists
3. Begin going to more museums and traveling exhibits to see the work of other artists (not just photographers)
4. Begin looking at and reading classic and contemporary art books
5. Force yourself to use different lenses
6. Intentionally avoided taking the same types of shots by recognizing one’s habits in the field
7. Identify and start personal art projects that you’ll find fulfilling even if they’re unlikely to resonate with others
8. Monitor new technologies (hardware, software or even things out of left field that are unrelated) to see if they might be creatively applied to make something new and never before seen.
9. Take a lot of iPhone photos as a creative white board to see things you might pass over otherwise
10. Ask yourself “What if…?” a lot and try to formulate something new from your basic curiosity.

As I see it this desire to continually improve is healthy and a great sign. I see far too many photographers (well known big names) fall into the habit of trying to reproduce work they had success with many years earlier. Photography is moving at such a fast pace that these older styles and techniques are now easily reproduced by lesser experienced photographers. The result is people losing respect for them or just becoming jaded by them. I wrote about this a bit here in The Subtlety of Greatness and Today’s Loss of Appreciation.

Now more than ever it really takes a lot of skill, self-discipline and motivation to dig deeper and push farther. Great photographers are always pushing the limits and having seen this in my study of photography over the years it has served as a very strong source of motivation.

Personally I can’t help but think if you’re not looking back at your older work and being dissatisfied you’re not growing as a photographer. This is why I run the Best of Photos 20XX blog project. Every year I look back and think I should trash my old photos. It’s not where I want to be. The day I lose that feeling is the day I know I’m done. There should always be new creative horizons to aim for and explore.

Posted by Jim on 01.24.2012 at 2:12 am - 12 Comments »
Tagged: Philosophy, Photography

From the Archive:
Sea Otter and Pup

Click to Enlarge

View More Sea Otter photos…

This was taken just after an over amorous male was trying to force himself on the mother of this pup. The fray that ensued was quite dramatic. The aftermath was this brief moment of comfort between mother and pup. Can you see the sense of security in the eye of this sea otter pup?

We’re now with in 2 weeks of the September 7th Sea Otter Photo Tour and 3 weeks to the September 14th  tour. There’s no time like the present to register and hope to see some blog readers there.

Technorati Tags: sea otter, enhydra lutris, photography, stock photo, workshop, photo tour

Posted by Jim on 08.25.2008 at 12:56 am - 6 Comments »
Tagged: Photography

Break in the Storm, White Sands National Monument

Fitting quote for the week as we wrap up a week here in the United States commemorating the life of Martin Luther King Jr.:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Break in the Storm, White Sands National Monument - New Mexico

If you ever show up to a location you’ve had your heart set on to photograph only to find that the weather isn’t up to your expectation this photo is a reminder to clear your mind of preconceived ideas and start fresh. Mother Nature always has a way of revealing a facet of her beauty, you just have to be open minded enough to see it.

Technorati Tags: landscape, nature, photography, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument

Posted by Jim on 01.19.2012 at 1:13 am - 1 Comment »
Tagged: Daily Photo, Featured, Landscape, Locations, Nature, New Mexico, Photography, Stock Photo, Updates & Announcements, White Sands National Monument

The View That Could Be

The View That Could Be

Learn more about SOPA and its ugly twin PIPA in this short 4 minute video.

Write your US Congressperson and Senator to urge them to vote no on SOPA and PIPA. Do customize the title and at least the first line of the email that is generated so staffers know its not just a form letter with out thought.

Posted by Jim on 01.17.2012 at 11:44 pm - Have your say »
Tagged: Links, News & Current Events

Best Photos of 2011 by JMG-Galleries Blog Readers

This year we had an amazing turn out for the Best Photos of 2011 blog project with 289 entries, topping the results for best photos of 2010,  best photos of 2009, best photos of 2008 and best photos of 2007! Participants spanned a spectrum of skill levels from hobbyists to professionals and covered a wide variety of genres including landscape, macro, nature, photojournalism, portraiture, event, wildlife, fine art photography and more. There are likely many names you’ll recognize below and many others you won’t. I highly recommend visiting each entry as I have. Even after 5 years of running this blog project I’m blown away by the talent of those that take part. It is truly inspirational to see so much creativity and beauty. If your curious to see photos I personally enjoyed look out for the entries with *** next to them.

1. JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2011 – Jim M. Goldstein
2. Dalal al-Dhubaib’s flickr – Dalal al-dhobaib
3. www.mawpix.com – Matthias Wassermann
4. 2011 Retrospective – Alex Wise
5. Jon McCormack Photography – Jon McCormack ***
6. Top 10 of 2011 a Exploring Light Photography – Chris Moore
7. The year in review: My favorite 2011 Photos – Ed Rosack
8. Dave Wilson Photography – Dave Wilson
9. Top 10 from Behind The Clicks – Mohammad Noman
10. Art in Nature Photography: Best of 2011 – Floris van Breugel ***
11. Alaska Photography – Mike Criss
12. My best photos from 2011 – Lasse Sørnes
13. http://www.500px.com/photo/3230405 – Keivan Zavari
14. My Five Best Images of 2011 – Peter Cox ***
15. My Top 10 images of 2011 – Charlie Widdis Photography
16. MY TOP PHOTOS FROM 2011 – Chaz Curry ***
17. Best of 2011 – Juan Guevara
18. Stories From Home – David Patterson
19. My Best Of 2011 – The Photographs – Sven Seebeck
20. The Uprooted Photographer – Zach Frailey
21. Top ten wildlife photos of 2011 – Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography ***
22. Eleven From Twenty Eleven – Jacob F. Lucas ***
23. My ten favorite photos of 2011 – Stefan Bäurle
24. Changing Perspectives – Jenni Brehm
25. 2011 Top 10 Photos – Andrei Olariu
26. Best Photos of 2011 – Ahmed Almuhairi
27. Favorite Photos of 2011 – Pat Ulrich ***
28. Top 11 of 2011 – Younes Bounhar
29. Natural California – John Wall ***
30. 2011 – A Review – Jim Denham
31. yeeehah.com – William R. Bullock
32. 2011Top11 – Kate Church
33. Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Steve Cole
34. Top 10 of 2011 – Brian Rueb ***
35. http://www.davidjohnstonart.com/index.html – David Johnston
36. 7 Images of Denver in 2011 – Neil Corman
37. My Top 10 for 2011 – Lon Overacker
38. Craig Ferguson Images | The Year That Was – Craig Ferguson
39. My Best Images of 2011 – Clark Crenshaw
40. “Sort of the best of 2011: ants – Jeroen Mentens
41. Best Photos Of 2011 – Dawnstar Australis – Daniel McNamara
42. Skolai Images – Carl Donohue ***
43. Favorite 10 of 2011 – Alan Dahl ***
44. Tony’s Blog – Tony Unwin
45. Best of 2011_Laurie Rubin – Laurie Rubin ***
46. FlixelPix Best Photos of 2011 – David Cleland
47. Ilja Melnikov – Ilja Melnikov
48. Best of 2011 – Rob Tilley ***
49. Free Roaming Photography 12 Best Photos from 2011 – Mike Cavaroc ***
50. Adventures Through the Lens: 2011 in Review – Rebecca R Jackrel ***
51. Top Photos of 2011 by Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images – Gary Crabbe ***
52. My 10 Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Russell
53. Digitized Chaos’ 2011 faves – Rian Castillo
54. Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Mike Chowla
55. John Fujimagari’s Best of 2011 – John Fujimagari
56. 10 Best Landscape Photos of 2011 – Cody Duncan ***
57. Best photos from 2011 – Janis Janums
58. Best Photos Of 2011 – David Leland Hyde ***
59. PhotogAbby’s Photoviews – Abigail Gossage
60. Do Not Get On or Off While in Motion – G. Kaltenbrun
61. Tony Wu’s Underwater Photography Blog – Tony Wu ***
62. 12 Months – 12 Favourite Images – Petr Hlavacek | NZICESCAPES IMAGES ***
63. Alpenglow Images | Greg Russell Best of 2011 – Greg Russell ***
64. An End of Year Retrospective for 2011 – The Top 11 Images of ’11 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston
65. 11 from ‘11 – Dru Stefan Stone
66. William Neill’s Top Forty Images for 2011 – William Neill ***
67. Dave’s Best Of 2011 – Dave Reichert
68. 10 Best Photos of 2011 by Scott Thompson – Scott Thompson – Scott Shots Photography
69. My best 10 images of 2011? – Duffy Knox
70. My 5 Top Photos from 2011 and Photography Year in Review – Tommy Holt
71. Russ Bishop Photography – Russ Bishop ***
72. My Top 10 Favourite Images of 2011 – John Dunne Photography
73. Asif Patel Photography – TopPhotos2011 – Asif Patel
74. The Best of 2011 – Neil McShane (aka Mononeil) ***
75. Top Nature Photographs of 2011 by Mark Graf – Mark Graf ***
76. Year 2011 in 10 photos. – Filip Lucin
77. Views Infinitum: Best of 2011 – Scott Thomas
78. Dobson Central Photography – Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ken Dobson
79. “The Best of Myrmecos – Alex Wild ***
80. Your Favorite Shots from 2011 – Fred S. Brundick
81. Patrick Gensel – The Best Of 2011 – Patrick Gensel
82. 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres
83. My Ten Favorite Photos of 2011 – Randy Langstraat
84. KennethVerburg.nl – Kenneth Verburg ***
85. Naturography: My Top 5 for 2011 – Mike Spinak ***
86. Edith Levy Photography – 2011 A Year in Review – Edith Levy
87. G Dan Mitchell Photography – G Dan Mitchell ***
88. Jonesblog – Bryan William Jones
89. Timages’ 2011 Top Ten – Tim Mulcahy
90. naturalvision-photo.com – Derek Griggs
91. Favorites of the Year: 2011 – Ken Trout
92. Beetles in the Bush – Ted C. MacRae
93. Chuqui 3.0 – Chuq Von Rospach
94. Peter Carroll Photography – Peter Carroll
95. My photos of 2011 – Frederico Quintao
96. http://raptorgallery.wordpress.com – Glenn Nevill
97. Best of 2011 – Brad Barton Photography – Brad Barton Photography ***
98. Rocky Mountain National Park 2011 / Non-Rocky Best of 2011 – Erik Stensland
99. My Favorite/Best Photographs of 2011 – Inge Fernau
100. Best Photos of 2011 – Ryan Golias
101. Best of 2011 – Larry Rosenstein
102. Best of 2011 – Mellimage
103. The Quiet Picture – Year 2011 In Pictures – Minna Kinnunen
104. My personal Top 10 images from 2011 – Alexander S. Kunz / Daylight Colors
105. 11 Best of 2011 – Olivier Du Tré ***
106. Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Coda ***
107. Living Wilderness: Best Images of 2011 – Kevin Ebi ***
108. Oxherder Arts – Best of 2011 – Don Schulte
109. my best images of 2011 – Rhoda Maurer ***
110. http://www.stamates.com – Jim Stamates
111. Organic Light Pan – Youssef Ismail ***
112. Rick Diffley Photography – Rick Diffley Photography
113. Best Images of 2011 – Robin Black ***
114. PhotoWalkPro – Jeff Revell
115. Highlights from 2011 – Roman W. Schatz
116. Uncommon Depth – Roberta Murray ***
117. TKM Journal – Highlights of 2011 – Kent Mearig
118. Amanda Herbert’s best of 2011 – Amanda Herbert Photography
119. Google+ – Umes Shrestha
120. Anne McKinnell’s Top 10 Images of 2011 – Anne McKinnell
121. Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Maher
122. www.fredmertzphotography.com – Fred Mertz
123. Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ireena Worthy
124. 11 in 2011 – My Favorite Photos – Debra Feinman
125. 2011 Top Ten Plant Photos By John Manuwal Photography – John Manuwal
126. www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
127. David Sharp – The Best of 2012 – David Sharp ***
128. Looking back at 2011 – Ivan Makarov ***
129. Best Photos of 2011 – Pete Miller – USKestrel Adventography
130. My favorite 10 of 2011 – John Christopher
131. Neil Creek – Photographer – Neil Creek ***
132. JohnLPhoto Best of 2011 – John Lemen
133. Momentary Awe – Catalin ***
134. 2011 Top Ten – Andrew S Gibson
135. “Crest, Cliff and Canyon – A. Jackson Frishman
136. 2011 – A Good Year – Margaret Summers
137. Favorite Photos from 2011 – Richard Wong *** – Richard Wong
138. latoga photography – Favorite Photos of 2011 – Greg A. Lato
139. Looking Back – 2011 – Derek Fogg
140. My Photo Blog – Ron Niebrugge’s favorite photos from 2011 – Ron Niebrugge ***
141. My 10 Favorite Photos of 2011 – Dan Bailey ***
142. My 11 favorites from 2011 – Kurt M. Lawson Photography ***
143. Happy New Year – Lori Ann Cole
144. My Top 10 Mixture – Ashley Cottle
145. Google+ Beach Photography – Jennifer Brinkman
146. Top 10 images of 2011 – Denise Goldberg
147. www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
148. Erwin Kessing Photography – Erwin Kessing
149. The Closing of the Year – Eustace James
150. Mark Feenstra Photography: 10 Favourites from 2011 – Mark Feenstra
151. Best Photos of 2011 – Ingo Meckmann ***
152. Dynamics of Light and Shade – Richard Murphy
153. My 20 Best from 2011 – David Maurer
154. Top11 2011 – Patrick Ottoy
155. Best of 2011 – David Edenfield
156. Little Time Machine – This was 2011 – Pete Carr
157. The Owl and the Wildcat – Jen Joynt
158. Best of 2011 – Alison Wells
159. My 2011 Best Nature and Landscape Photographs – Steve Sieren ***
160. Best photos of 2011 on Flickr – Jono Hey
161. Best Photos of 2011 – Ken Snyder
162. Best Photos of 2011 by Ilya Genkin – Ilya Genkin ***
163. My best of 2011 – Terri Jacobson
164. Piya Trepetch Photography – Top Ten Images from 2011 – Piya Trepetch
165. My Best 10 Pictures for 2011 – Barbara Newson
166. Woo’s 2011 in Pictures – Gary Woo
167. My (Possibly) Ten Best Photos from 2011 – Jim McCoy
168. Favorites – 2011 – Daniel Leu ***
169. Closescapes Favourites From 2011. – Marshall Black
170. Nature and Landscape – Small Choice 2011 – Ben Schreck
171. http://wernerpriller.wordpress.com/ – Werner Priller ***
172. Peter de Rooij’s Top 10 for 2011 – Peter de Rooij
173. Best photos of 2011 by ISIK MATER – ISIK MATER
174. Best Photos of 2011 – ysvry
175. Focused Planet Photography – Justin Scicluna
176. Best of 2011 by Carl-Johan Rådström – Carl-Johan Rådström
177. Western Skies Top 11 From 2011 – Björn Göhringer
178. My Best People Shots – Matt Goode
179. Darin Rogers Photography: Best Of… – Darin Rogers
180. http://www.juzno.com/ – Rob Castro
181. Remembering 2011 in Photos – Aaron Hockley ***
182. Favorites From 2011 – Brad Mangas ***
183. Robb Hirsch Best of 2011 – Robb Hirsch ***
184. Best Photos of 2011 – Sathish Jothikumar ***
185. My best underwater photos 2011 – Suzy Walker ***
186. Year 2011 in review and favorite images – QT Luong ***
187. “10 From Michael Toye – Michael Toye
188. Photoimagery.net – Peter McCabe
189. 2011 – Our Favorite Images of the Year – Isabel & Steffen Synnatschke ***
190. ylitalot.net – Juha Ylitalo
191. Top Ten Photos of 2011 – by Brian Grzelewski – Brian Grzelewski
192. Jim Nickelson Favorites of 2011 – Jim Nickelson
193. 2011: My Top Ten Images – Michael Frye ***
194. My Top Images of 2011 – Andrew Kee
195. Favorites of 2011 – Simon Ponder
196. 2011’s Top 10 Picks – Vidya Narasimhan
197. My Top Ten Favourites from 2011 – Adriana Glackin
198. Top Ten of 2011 – Fedor G Pikus
199. Best Photos of 2011 – Hady Moslehi
200. Mara @ Fantasia – Photo Round up of 2011 – Mara Acoma
201. My Journey through 2011 – Kevin Thornhill
202. My 10 personal favorites of 2011 – Marleen Hallaert
203. Favorite Photographs From 2011 – Seung Kye Lee ***
204. Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Gerken
205. Simple Photography – Jay Shah
206. My Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Mike Isaak ***
207. http://lensmankc.com/?p=811 – Amit Jung K.C
208. baliultimatephoto.blogspot.com – Hendra Wiguna
209. My Favourite photos from 2011 – Alan Owens
210. John Dusseault’s top 10 of 2011 – John Dusseault
211. Favorites of 2011 – Plastic[Picture]
212. Farsighted – Ron Artigues
213. Google Plus – Darren Harmon
214. Bill Hornbostel Photography – Bill Hornbostel
215. Korwel Photograpy blog – Iza Korwel
216. Favorite Photos of 2011 – Elizabeth Brown Photography PhotoBlog – Elizabeth Brown
217. 2011 Highlights – Alan Grinberg
218. TJTPhotography.com – Ted Truex
219. Thamer Al-Hassan Photographer – Thamer Al-Hassan
220. Top 11 of ‘11 – Brian Arnold
221. Looking Back – 2011 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney
222. Light Coming Back – Favorite Images of 2011 – Jennifer Durham
223. My Favorite Landscape Photos of 2011 – Joshua Cripps
224. Favorites Photographs from 2011 – Sudheendra Kadri
225. João Almeida Photography – João Almeida
226. Le meilleur de 2011 – The Best of 2011 – Francis Gagnon
227. Five Pictures for 2011 – David Lloyd ***
228. Ian Ference – Google+ Top Photos 2011 – Ian Ference ***
229. Marcin P?kalski – Google+ – Marcin P?kalski
230. www.thephotographerblog.com – Mandy Jones
231. My Top 10 of 2011 – Clement Biger
232. russell.tomlin at Flickr – Russell S Tomlin
233. Yosemite – Sheldon Neill
234. My Top 10 shots for 2011 – Greg Berdan
235. Best of 2011 – Dan Baumbach ***
236. Top Photos 2011 by Mark Dodge Medlin – Mark Dodge Medlin
237. The Carey Adventures – Peter West Carey ***
238. http://www.wildernessadventureimages.com/ – Michael Burkhardt
239. “Looking at the West – Andrew McAllister ***
240. Photos and Ramblings by Steve Mattheis – Steve Mattheis
241. My Favorite Photos of 2011 – Brandon Doran ***
242. Shanti Gilbert – Best Of 2011 – Shanti Gilbert
243. “10 of 2011 – David S. Ottavio
244. Best photos from 2011 – Mark J P
245. Heather’s Flickr – 2011 Top 10 – Heather Wallace
246. Ben Chase Photography – Benjamin Chase
247. Hypo-theses – Ian Stimpson
248. “Best photos of 2011 – Robert Kusztos
249. “Best of 2011 – Anton Huo
250. Best of 2011: JMG Gallery – Stephen Zacharias
251. Flickr Best of 2011 – Esther Reyes
252. My Top 10 of 2011 – The Siggins Photography – Richard Siggins
253. Andrew Benson | Best of 2011 – Andrew Benson
254. http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/ – John Paul Caponigro ***
255. Google+ – Jim Davis
256. Beckmann Images – Best of 2011 Images – 500px – Matt Beckmann
257. Google + – Paul Conrad
258. Avelino’s Best of 2011 – Avelino Maestas
259. JMK Photography’s Best of 2011 – J. Krasner
260. Rob Dweck’s Top 10 From 2011 – Rob Dweck ***
261. www.myFedoraPhoto.com – Neal Fedora
262. Best of 2011 on Google+ – Robert Mann ***
263. My Top 10 Best Photos from 2011 by Matt Suess – Matt Suess ***
264. My Favorites from 2011 – Michele Wassell
265. My Top 10 Images of 2011 – Tom Bushey
266. A Selection of Favorites from 2011 by Christine Hauber – Christine Hauber ***
267. Favorite Images from 2011 – James B Martin
268. Kauai 2011 – Sharon Willson
269. “Best of 2011: Top 10 – Mark Hespenheide ***
270. shirley lo photos – shirley lo
271. Google+ – Christina Lawrie – Christina Lawrie ***
272. My Ten 2011 Faves – Rich Greene
273. Sunset at Vizhinjam – Agnisoonu K
274. Gary Randall Photography – 2011 – Year in Review – Gary Randall ***
275. 2011 faves – Anthony Chiong
276. NewmanImages: 2011 in Retrospect – Jay and Sue Newman
277. My 11 favorite pictures of 2011 – Marc Perkins
278. My Best Images of 2011 – Vaibhav Tripathi
279. My Best Shots 2011 – Annika Ruohonen
280. Top 11 Photos of 2011 – Shane Srogi ***
281. Wolfcats Top 10 images – Wolfcat
282. Alexander Filatov Photography – Alexander Filatov ***
283. Wendy Baker Photography Best of 2011 – Wendy Baker
284. My 6 best of 2011 – Patrick Smith
285. randomfire: The best of 2011 – Ramin Miraftabi
286. Closing California Parks – Eliya Selhub ***
287. MY BEST OF 2011 – Stan Rapada
288. 2011 Top 10 – Kyle Jones
289. 2011 Studies | Best of 2011 – Oskar Bruening ***
     Special Thanks To Oskar for his technical contribution to this list!

Technorati Tags: Best of, Photography, pictures, 2011

Posted by Jim on 01.10.2012 at 3:45 am - 44 Comments »
Tagged: Links, Photography

JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2011

2011 was a fun year to be behind the camera. I was very lucky to witness some breathtaking moments and round out some projects that made their way into my eBook. As was the case in 2010 it is impossible to rank my best photos like I had been in years past (best photos of 2010, best photos of 2009, best photos of 2008 and best photos of 2007).  So in no particular order here are my 10 favorite photos taken in 2011. Enjoy and feel free to let me know if you have a favorite!

Portrait of Blake
Technically this is my 11th selection, consider it an honorable mention. I had to include a picture of Blake with a big smile for reasons you’ll later understand as you scroll down.

Portrait of Blake

Ecliptic Star Trails – Nature and Landscape Photography by Jim M. Goldstein
I took several star trail photos in Death Valley National Park this year, but this is one that really stood out for me. Being able to photograph the curvature of the stars as they approach both poles was a real highlight of my October Death Valley Photo Tour. I’m looking forward to sharing the incredible night skies here with those in my February Death Valley Photo Tour. I still have room if you want to join me..

Ecliptic Star Trails

Road to the Sun View, Glacier National Park
Being atop the northern Rocky mountain range always yields dramatic views. Wafting clouds through a glacially carved valley made this view extra special from the Road to the Sun in Glacier National Park.

Road to the Sun View, Glacier National Park

Lunar Rainbow (Moonbow) at Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park
Water levels were at record levels during my visit to Yosemite in June. As a result the waterfalls were flowing at a greater capacity than I’ve ever seen before. This made photographing moonbows a lot easier. In this instance I was being drenched from the mist, but it was so worth it. In April and June I return to hunt for Yosemite moonbows during two phototours.

Lunar Rainbow (Moonbow) at Lower Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park

Racetrack Star Trails
The Racetrack in Death Valley is dramatic enough, but adding star trails takes it to a new level. This was a 4 hour exposure resulting in nearly 60 degrees of rotation in the sky.

Racetrack Star Trails

Trying Moments
Remember that smiling photo of Blake at the beginning of the post. I didn’t want you to think he’s unhappy all the time. He’s a super happy kid. That being said even happy kids have their unhappy moments. I thought this moment was very telling of how challenging it is to be a parent sometimes.

Trying Moments

Stormy Sunrise, Glacier National Park
This fiery sunrise developed as quickly as it vanished. This fleeting moment was magical, but fear not I also took a time-lapse of it (see below).

Stormy Sunrise, Glacier National Park

With a bonus time-lapse:

Sunrise at Wild Goose Island Lookout from Jim Goldstein on Vimeo.

Rendezvous – Racetrack, Death Valley National Park
The mystery of the moving rocks on the Racetrack always fascinate people. Seeing two rocks paths on the verge of intersecting was particularly cool as it left me wondering how long it would be before they meet.

Rendezvous - Racetrack, Death Valley National Park

360° View of Star Trails Above the Racetrack
Ever wonder what the entire visible night sky would look like as a star trail photo? So did I so I made this photo with a Canon 8-15m lens that Borrowlenses.com (the best online lens rental store) made available to me for my trip. At the top of the circle is the eastern mountains that skirt the Racetrack playa. At the bottom of the screen are the western mountains that skirt the Racetrack playa. The small version of this image doesn’t do it justice so be sure to click the image to see a slightly larger version.

360 Degree View of Star Trails Above the Racetrack, Death Valley National Park

Under the Rainbow, Maui
In mid-December we took a family vacation to Maui. This was one of the more magical moments. I couldn’t believe how gigantic this rainbow was.

Under the Rainbow, Maui

Milky Way Over Death Valley (180° Panoramic)
This is a 70 megapixel 180° panoramic photo of the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon above the Racetrack Playa. There is nothing more humbling than seeing an infinite number of stars in the sky. Again this has to be seen large so you may want to check in on my Google+ stream to see it.

Milky Way Over Death Valley (180° Panoramic)

Technorati Tags: best photos, best of 2011, photography, pictures, fine art, stock photo, White Sands National Monument, Glacier National Park, Death Valley, landscape, nature

Posted by Jim on 01.05.2012 at 7:56 pm - 22 Comments »
Tagged: California, Daily Photo, Death Valley, Featured, Featured, Fine Art, Glacier National Park, Landscape, Maui, Nature, Panoramic, Photography, Travel, Updates & Announcements, Yosemite

Top 10 JMG-Galleries Blog Posts of 2011

It’s always interesting to see which blog entries for the year caught the eye of my blog readers most. If you’re looking for some great reading and photography as you wait for New Years to approach then this is it. As always thanks for reading my blog and have a great New Years!

10. Half Dome Permit Related Death?

9. Adobe Lightroom Lesson to Learn – Backup Your Library

8. Privacy Watch: Cell Phones, Metadata and Geotagging

7. Everything You Need to Know About QR Codes

6. 5 Highly Recommended Google+ Chrome Extensions

5. Using GoDaddy Supports a CEO Who Kills Elephants on Vacation

4. Pro Tips: Photo Editing with Gary Crabbe

3. 9 Amazing Apps for Night Photography

2. Best Photos of 2010 by JMG-Galleries Blog Readers

1. How I Evaluate Terms of Service for Social Media Web Sites – Google+

Technorati Tags: photography, top 10 list, popular

Posted by Jim on 12.28.2011 at 1:05 am - 3 Comments »
Tagged: Links & Articles, Photography

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas

2011 has been an incredible year. It’s amazing to think that it has passed so quickly. Online this year my blog has seen some amazing growth in subscribers. If you’re one of the many new followers of my blog thank you for subscribing. I’m looking forward to sharing more great photography and articles with you. Offline I am incredibly excited to share the holidays with my son who is only 18 months old and just now appreciating all the gifts and celebrations. This Christmas should be a fun one.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Rockefeller Christmas Tree, New York City

Posted by Jim on 12.25.2011 at 4:34 am - 1 Comment »
Tagged: Photography