Twin Falls, Ribbon Fall and Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Sony α1 Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM ISO 50 f/16 2.5 seconds Virtually every scene I approach with a camera is beautiful, but a beautiful scene isn’t enough if all the parts don’t work together. Human experience of the world differs greatly from what the camera captures—the photographer’s job is to understand and use those differences. Ansel Adams and visualization Most photographers know that Ansel Adams visualized the final print, and the darkroom work necessary to create it, before clicking the shutter. This ability to look into the future of e ..read more

Dogwood Closeup, Yosemite Valley Sony a7RV Sony 200-600 G ISO 1600 f/10 1/125 second Two photographers approach a dense forest festooned with blooming dogwood: One is drawn to a lovely bloom and can clearly visualize a uniquely beautiful image, but he has no idea how to manage his exposure variables to achieve it; the other photographer is so intent on minimizing diffraction while identifying the shutter speed that will freeze the gently swaying bracts without compromising the ISO, that to her, the scene is nothing more than a disorganized assortment of white splashes. While most photographe ..read more

Valley Fog, Tunnel View, Yosemite Sony a7R V Sony 24-105 f/4 G ISO 100 f/10 1/6 second My commitment for this blog is one image/post per week. With a workshop that started Sunday and ended Wednesday, I’m a little behind this week, but I made it! Next week I have a workshop that goes from Monday through Thursday, and the following week I’ll be completely off the grid rafting the Grand Canyon. But one way or the other, I’ll continue with my once per week commitment, even if I’m a little late. And if I do have to skip a week, I’ll catch up eventually, I promise. I return  you now to your r ..read more

Dance of the Veils, Tunnel View, Yosemite Sony a7R V Sony 24-105 f/4 G ISO 100 f/10 1/10 second Let’s hear it for ACTUAL intelligence I love all the genuine eclipse photos popping up on social media—almost as much as I DESPISE all the fake eclipse photos. Though we’ve had to deal with a glut of fabricated photos since the introduction of computers and digital capture to photography (all the way back before the turn of the 21st Century), the advent of artificial intelligence, combined with insatiable social media consumption, has put the bogus image problem on steroids. Despite being downrigh ..read more

Icewater, Kvernufoss, Iceland Sony a7R V Sony 24-105 f/4 G ISO 50 f/18 1/4 second Do I need to tell you it was brutally cold this afternoon? Of course not, and I doubt anyone really wants to hear it anyway. I also probably don’t need to tell you that this scene was spectacularly beautiful. And unfortunately, these two facts are often inexorably intertwined. Because as nice as it is to stroll up to a scene in shorts and flip-flops and discover the image of my dreams just waiting for me, the majority of my most memorable images required some degree of suffering. That suffering can take many fo ..read more

Solar Return, Total Solar Eclipse, Central Idaho (August 21, 2017) Sony a7RII Sony 100-400 GM ISO 100 f/16 1/6 second Warning: What follows will not be a comprehensive eclipse how-to, but for eclipse viewers, it might be worth reading anyway I’m getting a lot of questions about next week’s (April 8, 2024) total solar eclipse. In addition the standard “how-to” questions, many have asked if I plan to write a blog about how to photograph it. My response has been that, having photographed exactly one total solar eclipse in my life, I’m far from qualified to portray myself as an eclipse expert. B ..read more

Frosted, Cathedral Rocks from El Capitan Bridge, Yosemite Sony a7R V Sony 24-105 f/4 G ISO 100 f/13 1/10 second We were in the midst of a beautiful Yosemite Tunnel View clearing storm when I told my group it was time to pull up stakes and move on. Some thought they’d misheard, others thought I was joking. Since we’d only started the previous afternoon, I hadn’t even really had a chance to gain the group’s trust. When one or two in the group hesitated, I assured everyone it’s like ripping off a Band-Aid, that it will only hurt for a minute and they’ll soon be glad they did it. Many factors go ..read more

Twilight on Ice, Glacier Lagoon, Iceland ony α1 Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM ISO 100 f/11 1 second True story: I once had a Yosemite workshop participant meter an El Capitan reflection scene, put her Nikon D4 in continuous-frame mode, then press the shutter and spray in a 180 degree (10 FPS) arc until the image buffer filled. Unable to contain my dismay, I asked her what she was doing and she just shrugged and said (with a smile), “It’s Yosemite—there’s sure to be something good in there.” While I couldn’t really argue, I’m guessing she wasn’t seeing a lot of growth as a landscape photographer. Thank ..read more

Northern Lights and Big Dipper, Vik, Iceland Sony a7R V Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM ISO 3200 f/2 8 seconds Even without the northern lights, there’s enough stuff to photograph in Iceland to more than fill a 10-day winter workshop. But I’d be lying if I said the prime goal of every person who signs up for an Iceland winter photo workshop isn’t the northern lights. And Don Smith and I do our best to fulfill these aurora dreams, but that of course isn’t completely under our control. (Full disclosure: our motives aren’t entirely unselfish because we get as thrilled about the aurora as anyone, and would g ..read more

Sunrise Gem, Diamond Beach, Iceland Sony a7R V Sony 12-24 GM 1/13 second F/22 ISO 50 A funny thing happened to me on the way to this image. And when I say “on the way,” I don’t mean taking the picture, I mean after it was safely loaded onto my computer and fully processed, it seems that someone (who wishes to remain anonymous), accidentally overwrote it with a completely different image. Oops. Establishing a backup mindset Overwriting an image is an easy thing to do; without a backup, it’s lost forever. In this case still had the raw file, but I’d have lost all the time and effort I’d put in ..read more