Archives for White Sands National Monument category
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is one of the most beautiful locations in the southwestern United States. The lighting is like no where else that I’ve experienced. The iconic pastel hues that paint the landscape here have inspired artists for centuries. To say photographing this location was inspiring would be an understatement. The more I review photographs from this location the more I want to return.
Light & Shadow - White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
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Technorati Tags: landscape, photo, White Sands National Monument, National Monument, stock, photography, New Mexico, southwest
A couple things happened this past week that got me thinking it might be a good idea to talk about landscape photography and choice of focal length.
1. I read “What’s Your Favorite Focal Length?” by Brian Auer
I found the question that Brian posed to be a bid odd and never made a poll selection on his blog entry. The question of what your favorite focal length isn’t really relevant, just as asking what is your favorite color to photograph. If curious you can see my full comment in the link above. In short choice of focal length should be determined by your subject and the visual effects/qualities that you would like present in your image.
2. I received an email asking me, “What lens do you use for your landscape photographs?”
Seeing as how the question was quite straight forward, I thought my answer might be worth sharing albeit in a bit more verbose form.
The great thing about landscape photography is that you can creatively take photographs with a variety of lenses and focal lengths. For the sake of this discussion we’ll talk in terms of 35mm photography. Each lens, whether fish-eye, ultra-wide or telephoto, have different optical properties that will yield a unique look to your subject. Read more… »
While in White Sands New Mexico this was one of the tallest dunes I came across. The late morning lighting seemed to really give this dune a great shape and tonal range. One of these days I have to make my way back to White Sands National Monument. Of all the places I’ve visited it still remains one of my favorite places to photograph.
Technorati Tags: White Sands National Monument, White Sands, landscape, photograph, photo, photography, dune, New Mexico
An abstract view of the landscape at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. A late morning view before the storm clouds cleared. Various forms, some more recognizable than others, creep out of the landscape with shifting light. I’ve been told people see various things in this photo. What do you see?
See previous blog entries with other White Sands National Monument photos or access my gallery for more landscape photos.
Technorati Tags: landscape photo, photography, New Mexico, White Sands National Park, nature, abstract, dune, storm
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21 Favorite Photos And The Stories Behind Them
I thought it might be fun to share (5) five of my favorite photographs and accompanying stories. Stories that until now have been shared with only a few close friends. In the same vein as many reality shows depicting dangerous or unwise situations I’ll begin with a disclaimer:
“The following photographs were taken after careful planning enabling me to barely avoid inclusion in the Darwin Awards, completely losing my gear or putting important relationships in jeopardy. If interested in a long career of photography one should avoid repeating the following circumstances no matter how well the end result turned out… unless you’re like me and absolutely can’t resist getting that magical photo.”
#5: Full Moon Over San Francisco
Click here for a larger version of Full Moon Over San Francisco
What could be so risky about taking a photo of San Francisco? Looking past my rapid exit from the freeway, upon seeing the biggest moon I’ve yet to see rising over the city… I was returning home after picking up my girlfriend from her job. My girlfriend had made it known that she really had to go to the bathroom. An extremely good sport she put up with my “quick” detour, which wasn’t so quick. Pulling up to a lookout I unloaded my camera gear, set up my tripod, secured my camera, attached my cable release and fired away. What I only thought was a few minutes turned into 20 or 30. Fortunately no accidents happened, the girlfriend didn’t get too mad, and after another few years of torment my girlfriend became my wife. If I had been any slower finishing up my shoot… on the other hand I don’t want to think about it. 
Read more… »
Another favorite landscape photo of mine from White Sands National Monument. Taken in the afternoon while storms were forming over the Sacramento mountains.
Technorati Tags: White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, dune, gypsum, landscape, photo, photograph, thunderhead
This is one of my favorite landscape photos. While visiting White Sands National Monument in New Mexico an out of season monsoon rolled through. It transformed the landscape. Walking in the middle of no where with the randomly shifting light something new and amazing seemed to be revealed every few seconds. When I look at this photo I can’t help but be transported back to this moment and get lost in the scene even if for only a few seconds.
Technorati Tags: White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, dune, gypsum, landscape, photo, photograph, Passing Storm, storm, monsoon
