“Lenticular Sunset & Inversion, Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe” Rarely can one say that they have composed an image, at Emerald Bay, as never seen before. Well, I believe this is it! When I noticed there was an inversion occurring (warm air rises and cool air sinks, dropping the cloud layer into the Lake Tahoe Basin with clear skies above) I planned to head out to a high vantage point on the east shore of Lake Tahoe and capture the sun setting over a giant bowl of whipped cream. However, as I approached the lake I saw this enormous lenticular cloud formation hovering over the east shore of Lake ..read more

“Eternal Light”, Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona As times have changed, memories of an early trip I took to Page Arizona flow into my mind. This year, due to overcrowding and degradation of visitor experiences, photographic tours of Antelope Canyon have been eliminated. You can still visit, but the tours are now a moving guided walk without the ability to bring tripods or clear the crowds for a photo. When in Antelope Canyon many years ago, my Native American guide showed a few of us through the canyon and then let us go. I had the canyon (almost) to myself for several hours. It was one of my ..read more

I thought I’d mix things up a bit this week and share a classic style large format image of spring Corn Lily leaves. While many of you are already easing into Spring, Winter here in the mountains of Lake Tahoe can last, well, quite a while. When the snow does melt and Spring actually arrives at altitude, the soothing green tones of the Corn lily leaves is a welcome sight. This image, “Corn Lily One”, was captured in one of my favorite meadows here in South lake Tahoe using my Canham 4x5 metal field camera and 4x5 inch Fuji Provia 100F transparency film. These large plants have beautiful lines ..read more

“Fallen Leaves, Liquid Light” is an image I composed in Zion National Park, Utah. Zion is a very interesting place to photograph, as it has a combination of iconic grand vistas and intimate canyon areas. It is also unique in that it has many deciduous trees that turn color and lose their leaves in the Fall. This is quite a spectacle when combined with the grand sandstone cliffs and rushing waters of the Virgin River. Given the grandeur of the place, it is quite easy to overlook the intimate details that fill this natural wonder after viewing a brilliant sunrise or sunset from a scenic overlook ..read more

“Beaver Pond, Snowfall” is an image that exemplifies both the beauty that pulls me to mountain adventures, as well as the dramatic natural experience that I remember so vividly and moves me to carry big cameras and expose big sheets of film in insane conditions. On this particular day the snow was falling heavily. In the time it took me to set up my camera and expose my sheet of film (20-30 minutes), at least 4 inches of snow came down. As I looked out of my window just a couple of hours before, I had to laugh. It was a ridiculous idea to venture out, but I had “the mood” of an image in mind ..read more

Sand Harbor is a world class photo destination. Crystal clear water, granite boulders, pine trees and mountains looming above. This is a location I’ve visited and photographed many times. It is also one of the locations that my photography workshop / tour clients enjoy the most. So, approaching this location can be interesting. In general, as I did here, I had to let Mother Nature take the lead in choosing a specific location and composition. From there, the artistic approach was all up to me. Traditionally, I would have been facing the opposite direction, toward the sun, during sunset, standi ..read more

Fall, On the Rocks, Carson River December 10, 2019 Fall is an amazing time of year in the mountains. Temperatures cool, weather becomes a bit more dramatic, the fly fishing improves and, of course, the colors begin to change. This brings me back to where my photography career began 20 years ago. I began this photo excursion by scouting…fly rod in hand. I worked my way along a little more difficult section of canyon, rock hopping and fishing small pools amongst the boulders. I relaxed, let the business world behind, landed a couple trout and settled in to that feeling that originally brought ..read more

Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overlook, Lake Tahoe December 2, 2019 Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place to live, visit, experience and, occasionally, photograph. You see, after being in Lake Tahoe for so many years, I don’t feel the artistic desire to go out and capture “just another pretty shot”. I want to compose images that move me and make me feel the beauty of this place. Those are the images I find worthy of a big sheet of film. Those are the images worthy of space on a gallery wall. Those are images worthy of sharing with my collectors. I believe this new image, Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overloo ..read more

Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River November 15, 2019 Being a large format film photographer is an interesting avocation today. I came to shooting big film with the desire to produce large, beautiful, clear prints of the natural world. The outdoors provides me with more than subject matter. When I go “out” I am provided an energetic escape. As I like to say, I go to a beautiful place and, if all the conditions come together, I am moved to compose an image of one small, spectacular piece of that place. This has always been my source of creativity, escape, energy, rejuvenation, and ultimately, my art ..read more

Jon Paul with a huge panorama framed and ready to ship to a new collector! Bringing his emotional experiences in nature to life with big film, and sharing them with the world, is what Jon Paul does. I thought it might be insightful to share the pinball like direction I've been bouncing around in lately. In an effort to share myself and my art with the world, I have been producing Youtube videos. This medium is a great way for me to communicate and share ..read more