Death Valley is full of contradictions. It’s inhospitable, yet welcoming… drab, yet colorful… barren, yet full of life… and I could go on. It’s these contradictions that keeps me coming back to discover new things. Often what beauty Death Valley shares is elusive, but when you witness these transient moments of beauty you truly appreciate how special a place it is. Such a moment was this

Paul Rand was an incredible American graphic designer and in this video he shares some of his wisdom that is easily applicable to other art forms including photography. I highly recommend watching this video multiple times as he talks about the confusion created by some teaching efforts versus just creating (10 min), solving complex problems with simplicity, and his view on the merits of interactivity in design . My

California is home to some incredible trees including those thought to be the oldest (Bristlecone pines),  tallest (California Redwoods) and massive by volume (Giant Sequoias). Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) can grow to be well over 200 feet tall and have trunks large enough to create a tunnel for a car to drive through. Some of the most impressive specimens in Northern California can be found in Yosemite

Today Adobe has opened a pop-up store called “Photoshop & You” here in San Francisco near Union Square. The store is open from Saturday, July 23 through Saturday, August 6 and is going to be a hub of some amazing events: Photoshop & You Schedule of Activities I was able to check out the “Photoshop & You” store at the VIP opening last night and it’s really cool. See photos bel

Nothing says White Sands National Monument in New Mexico like the iconic Soaptree Yucca plants that litter the dunescape.  The photo below was taken just after sunset in the blue hour under a rising full moon. Surprisingly it is quite a challenge to find a nicely isolated Soaptree Yucca plant in the dunes. While searching for the right yucca, in the right orientation and at the right time I discovered many cool featu

I had the good fortune of working with nature photography icon William Neill to develop an iPad version of his book William Neill’s Yosemite Volume One. I can tell you it was a real treat being able to work with William as I’ve long been a fan of his photography and writing in Outdoor Photography. Even better was being able to review his work in close detail as I worked on his app and now you can too. Unl

Flooding was so extensive this past June in Yosemite that tons of unique photo opportunities presented themselves. One of my favorites was this view of a flooded meadow near Cathedral Rock. The railing is about 3-4 feet tall to guide visitors to walk around the meadow along Yosemite valley loop road. I can’t say I’ve ever seen the valley so flooded to the point water was coming up the shoulder of the road

There was so much interest in my previous article How I Evaluate Terms of Service for Social Media Web Sites – Google+ I thought the following helpful sites would address lingering questions I’ve heard and point you to incredible resources to help you make the best decisions possible when signing on to new social media sites or even decisions to stay with existing social media sites TOSback – the Terms of