Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

The dunes of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico are an endless fascination of mine. The landscape here is full of paradoxes. The regularity of irregular patterns formed by the wind create incredibly photogenic sand patterns. The rolling dunes provide an infinite fabric to catch contrasty shadows in the sand patterns throughout the day making optimal lighting virtually an all day affair. Yet what I love most about this terrain is the ability to find simplicity amid the complexity.

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White Sands Textures I - White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Photo Details:
(3) Three photo panoramic, Canon 1Ds Mark III, TS-E 90mm f/2.8

Technorati Tags: photography, fine art, nature, landscape, panoramic, New Mexico, white sands, national monument, stock photo

Some landscapes are so sweeping its an incredible challenge to portray them properly in a tightly constrained photo, no matter what the format or lens used. The South Dakota Badlands fall into that category. Standing at any one of numerous scenic lookouts one’s field of view is completely filled with this amazingly surreal landscape.

South Dakota Badlands Spring Panoramic – Badland National Park, South Dakota
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On this particular day the weather was turning for the worst, but the cloud cover provided nice even lighting to bring out the color in the eroded hillsides. Sporadic rain rejuvenated grass and flowers sprinkled through out the scene giving this otherwise desolate landscape vibrancy of color and life. Impossible to capture in entirety I opted to capture this scene in a panoramic format with a hint of  life revealing itself amidst an endless maze of canyons.

Photo Details:
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 90mm tilt-shift, 3-image horizontal panoramic

Technorati Tags: photography, South Dakota, badlands, landscape, panoramic, stock photo, fine art

This past weekend I was able to share an amazing sunrise with a client at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. The scene as it unfolded was amazing to witness. Clouds formed unexpectedly in the extremely dry air and were illuminated with an unreal pink color. I couldn’t imagine a better morning to photograph this iconic location.  Mother Nature never fails to impress!

Zabriskie Point Sunrise - Death Valley National Park, California

Photo Info: Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24mm Tilt-Shift, (3) photo panoramic

Technorati Tags: Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California, Landscape, Photography, Stock Photo, Fine Art

Point Lobos State Reserve is truly one of the gems of the California State Park system.  I credit Art Wolfe with piquing my interest in this particular reserve. The rugged beauty of this area is a feast for the eyes and one of the premiere locations for nature photographers to visit. The trails are well kept, easy to hike and is one of the few areas where coastal wildlife is abundant. Before and/or shortly after my Sea Otter Photo Tours I often make time to visit this area as it’s too beautiful to resist

Cypress Cove, Point Lobos State Reserve

About This Photo:
This is a (3) image digital panoramic taken with a Canon 1Ds Mark III and 24mm tilt-shift lens. The resolution is equivalent to 33 megapixels.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Landscape, Point Lobos State Reserve, Panoramic, Nature, Stock Photo, Fine Art

While in Switzerland on my last trip there I found a quiet brook running through the alpine countryside and was in awe of the fall color. The brook itself was a beautiful turquoise (I’ll post a photo of that in the near future) and the ceiling of color provided above it by the trees was a real visual treat. The gray rock cliff behind seemed only to enhance the color to my eye. When the rain began to fall that is when the trees seemed to glow. Moments like this where you’re not rushing around and can witness a picturesque scene unfold before you is one of the magical moments of being a landscape and nature photographer.  

This photo was taken at the time I posted Finding My Happy Place some time ago.

Technorati Tags: Switzerland, fall color, autumn, fall, fine art, stock, panoramic, photography, photos

A bad day at Glacier National Park is better than my best day in so many other locations. The landscape of Glacier is beyond description and even a panoramic photo such as this, of sunrise at Two Medicine Lake, can’t truly do it justice.

I woke up an hour too early to watch and photograph sunrise on this particular morning in Two Medicine. While clear to the west, the direction at which this photo was taken, clouds were forming behind me in the east creating patchy spotlights of light on the mountains. At one point the light was completely flat and I thought Mother Nature’s lightshow was over, but I was fortunate enough to catch her encore.

Sinopah Mountain Reflected in Two Medicine Lake at Sunrise

Technorati Tags: Photography, Landscape, Nature, Glacier National Park, Panoramic, Photo, Fine Art, Stock Photo

Glacier National Park never ceases to amaze even the most seasoned landscape photographers. The light show put on my Mother Nature on this particular morning was nothing short of breathtaking. The beauty of the rugged landscape here is so immense I felt compelled to take a series of panoramic photos. This particular panoramic was made from (3) three Canon 1Ds Mark III photos using a 24mm TS lens. While taking this photo I thought for sure that the fog was burning off, but it was actually reforming. This scene eventually was obscured by fog with in minutes.

Swiftcurrent Lake Panoramic, Glacier National Park

Technorati Tags: Glacier National Park, Landscape, Stock Photo, Fine Art, Photography, Mount Grinnell,   Swiftcurrent Lake,   Nature,   Montana,   Many Glaciers

There are so many wonderful things to say about Glacier National Park it’s hard to know where to start. One of my favorite locations to explore is the Many Glaciers area. Swiftcurrent Lake provides an incredibly majestic view of Mount Grinnell at sunrise and will hold you in awe all day long. On this particular morning Mother Nature put on an amazing show. A nearly full moon was setting at sunrise and as the mountains warmed from the early mornings sun a purple fog began to creep across the landscape. Just before the fog swept across the lake concealing this amazing view deer could be seen foraging on the far bank of the river.

Mount Grinnell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise

Mount Grinell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise, Glacier National Park

How this photo was taken:

This is a 32 megapixel digital panoramic taken with a Canon TS-24mm f/3.5 L  lens. Three vertical photos were taken by shifting the lens and later merged in Photoshop. I’ll end up sharing more about this technique in the future.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Landscape, Glacier National Park, Mount Grinnell, Swiftcurrent Lake, Nature, Montana, Many Glaciers