I recently had a great time leading a client on a private wild flower photography workshop and was blown away by the beauty of the very green hills of the San Francisco bay area. If you’re unfamiliar with California Oak Trees you might think they’re always this green and beautiful, but in fact such vibrant color is fleeting as the vast majority of the year their leaves are yellow, orange and brown. Amidst

This Weeks Friday Freebie iPad Wallpaper: Anemones & Pebbles Friday Freebie features an image to liven up your iPad display with images from my travels… all for free. If you’re into macro photography there are few things that beat exploring a tide-pool. Some time ago I posted the original version of Anemone & Pebbles just after I picked up my Canon 1Ds Mark III. The detail in the photo blew me awa

There’s been a lot of discussion with in the California photography community this week in regard to the Wildflower Hotsheet run by Carol Leigh coming to an abrupt end. Opinions and questions abound, but I decided to hold off on sharing my take on the matter until I had a chance to hear back from Carol regarding an email I sent her. I feel for Carol. She is certainly in a tough spot and I sympathize with her. O

Scale and perspective are fascinating components of photography. They can be used to create optical illusions, disorient a photographer through abstraction and create visual impact.  Are the flowers in the following photo the size of a coffee cup or of a thimble? In this instance the clusters of flowers are smaller than a thimble.  These alpine flowers photographed high atop a mountain near Two Medicine, Glacier Nati

With an eye towards big landscapes its easy to become focused to the point of having tunnel vision when trekking around. These days with every step I take I’m often taking note of what’s beneath me as much as what is in front of me. In some instances this is to make sure I’m not at risk of being bit or stung by animals or insects, but its also to look for photo subjects that I might otherwise quickl

It’s interesting how different niches of photography require different levels of patience. I suppose all forms of photography require the same degree of patience… the perceived difference in patience is likely a result of photographers being in synch creatively with one subject versus another. Some subjects click with photographers while others do not. It’s a fascinating phenomenon if you stop to th

Macro photography is often associated with beautiful flower photos, but during a past trip to Yosemite National Park I decided to use my macro lens to document the impact of a controlled fire that was set on the valley floor. Rather than take a standard wide view of a fire scared landscape I decided to use a macro lens to capture a more intimate landscape of shape and texture. The jigsaw puzzle like bark of the Ponde

There was a lot of curiosity as to what my new camera would be and it kept a lot of folks guessing as seen in my Reader Contest post Guess My New Camera, Win A Print. No one guessed the exact model (Sony HXR-MC1), but a few did guess I had my eye on a video camera. The one subtle… well not so subtle hint was the domain of my store/gallery site http://www.jmg-stock-photo-video.com. So why the Sony HXR-MC1? The S