Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

Click to Enlarge

This past week the news has been full of stories about high gasoline prices, expanding domestic drilling and various politicians perspectives on the issue. Now that most every American is feeling the squeeze due to higher gasoline prices pro-oil politicians are trying their best to convince the average American that domestic drilling is the answer to their problem. Sadly nothing could be farther to the truth.

Jay McDonough of the San Francisco Examiner wrote a short but very effective article this week ANWR Bottom Line: Two Cents A Gallon. As the title would lead you to believe opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling would help lower the price per gallon of gas approximately 2 cents a gallon in 2025. The net benefit in the near future… ZERO as it would take years if not a decade to begin seeing an impact from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As this analysis makes abundantly clear the tactic to open up domestic oil drilling is nothing but an exploitive sham. What would make a huge immediate impact to the price of oil? The answer may surprise you.

Would you believe Enron is still impacting your energy bill? That is correct. We’re feeling the effects of the “Enron Loophole” as discussed on Marketplace with Michael Greenberger.  What would would make a significant and immediate impact would be putting back in place regulation of the oil futures market that had been functioning effectively for over 70 years. Enron in 2000 lobbied for the deregulation of the oil futures market enabling speculative investors to drive the price of oil to record prices. If after reading or listening to this interview with Michael Greenberger you’re outraged then make sure to contact your U.S. Congressperson or Senator and let them know how you feel about the “Enron Loophole” and rolling back domestic drilling bans.

Click to view more Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) photos

Technorati Tags: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, photography, photo, stock photo, oil, drilling

One of the most exciting developments to occur this weekend was the landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Landing on the northern pole region of Mars, amazing photos were sent back detailing unusual, yet familiar looking polygonal shapes in the polar landscape. Upon seeing these photos I didn’t need to read a word on the NASA Phoenix Lander web site about what I was seeing. From my trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge I knew exactly what these polygonal formations represented… permafrost or permafrost like conditions.

Below on the left is one of the first photos transmitted from the Phoenix Mars Lander and on the right is an aerial view of the Arctic Coastal Plain. The lifeless/waterless surface of the Mars polar region looks very similar in form to our very own northern polar region. This discovery once again showing another facet of how the mathematical and physical laws of nature repeat from micro to macro and from planet to planet.

Click to Enlarge	Click to Enlarge

The presence of permafrost formations on Mars and Earth is but one of many fascinating instances of forms repeating throughout nature from the microscopic to the interstellar. A commonly repeated forms observed is the logarithmic spiral as seen below in Hurricane Isabel and M51 (photo by Brian Lula). This particular form is far more common than the polygonal permafrost formations, but all part of the mathematical uniformity stemming from the molecular structure of all things that compose matter in our universe.

Logarithmic Spirals Isabel and M51 – APOD

Spiral by minipixel

The recent photos from Mars are not only a distant view to another planet, but a view to the common inner working of how our Universe is built. Nature truly is an amazing thing to study as well as take in visually.

Technorati Tags: Mars, NASA, Phoenix Mars Lander, permafrost, polygon, formation, landscape, photography, nature, shape

The land of the midnight sun (aka Alaska) produces some of the most beautiful light for photography. The trick is being able to see it through the quickly changing weather conditions. Not far from my camp when I took this photo the midnight sun kissed the mountainside as a storm front was moving in. With in minutes this beautiful light had vanished only to appear hours later as the storm cleared. To this day I’m in awe of how rugged yet beautiful this landscape is. Looking through Arctic photos these past couple of days I’m getting the itch to return as soon as I can.

Arctic Refuge: Hidden Beauty
View More Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Photos…

Technorati Tags: Arctic, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, photo, photography, landscape, scenic, Kongakut River, valley, Alaska

Still one of the most amazing locations I’ve traveled to, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is full of pristine beauty. This location, aptly named Caribou Pass, is where the Porcupine herd passes from Canada to the Alaskan Arctic Plain every year. To give you some orientation to this scene… this is the view looking south towards the Brooks Range of Alaska, to the left (east) is Canada, to the right (west) is the Arctic Plain where the Caribou give birth to their young and behind (north) is a mountain top view of the Arctic Plain and Arctic Ocean. It’s been a while since I’ve viewed this photo, but doing so reminds me of how beautiful and fragile this landscape is.

Arctic Refuge: Caribou Pass Valley View
View More Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Photos…

Technorati Tags: Arctic, Arctic Refuge, ANWR, photo, photography, landscape, scenic, Caribou Pass, Alaska, wildflower

Early morning light breaking through the trees revealed this beautiful sight while traveling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Arctic Lupine (Lupinus Arcticus) wasn’t the most common flower seen during my travels but there was a beautiful spread of these flowers in a small meadow shaded by a stand of Balsam Poplar trees.

Arctic Lupine (Lupinus Arcticus)

Technorati Tags: Arctic Refuge, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska, Arctic Lupine, Lupinus Arcticus, macro, photography, photo, stock

The 15th episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released.

In this episode “Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography” is discussed. Topics covered include an introduction to the technique, best practices, pitfalls, alternative methods, computer & software tips, and creative vision. This information packed episode will put you on track to master this challenging photographic technique in roughly (30) thirty minutes.

Referenced Articles and Resources:
Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography by Jim M. Goldstein via JMG-Galleries

Breaking the Gigapixel Barrier – Max Lyons

Recommended Panoramic Photography Resources

Download the latest episodes:
EXIF and Beyond: Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography

For the non-iTune listeners a streaming version of this podcast can be accessed here.

Featured Panoramic Photos in this Episode of EXIF and Beyond:

click to enlarge
“4 Corners – Welcome to Colorado”
made From (16) Sixteen Vertical Images (1×16)

click to enlarge
“Last Light On Delicate Arch, Arches National Park”
Made From (6) Six Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“The Beauty of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge”
Made From (10) Ten Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“Bryce Canyon Sunset, Bryce Canyon National Park”
Made from (5) Five Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“100 Caribou”
Made from (21) Twenty One Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“Caribou Pass View To The South Panoramic ” – Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Made From (35) Thirty Five Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“Caribou Pass and Kongakut River Panoramic” – Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Made From (50) Fifty Vertical Images

click to enlarge
“Cable View Panoramic, Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco”
Made From (3) Three Horizontal Images via Tilt Shift Lens
Between the cables is Alcatraz and in the distance is San Francisco more…

“Golden Gate Bridge Panoramic Sunset”
Made From (3) Three Vertical Images via Tilt Shift Lens more…

click to enlarge
“Yosemite Trees”
made From (11) Eleven Vertical Images (1×11)

Technorati Tags: EXIF and Beyond, podcast, digital, panoramic, photography, technique, tutorial, how to, dSLR, Four Corners, Golden Gate Bridge, Bryce Canyon, San Francisco, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Arctic Refuge, National Park, Caribou, Arches, Delicate Arch,