If you do an Internet search for photographic cliches, you will find several sites that discuss photography cliches. These sites define cliches as techniques, or effects, that are overused and/or a gimmick. When I think of photographic cliches, I think of photos of locations, or landscape structures, frequently photographed and displayed on the internet. My favorite outdoor photographer/author Galen Rowell called them " mature scenes" These locational cliches are what I want to discuss. In pursuing their photographic career or hobby, every photographer will come across a photo that makes them ..read more

If you do an Internet search for photographic cliches, you will find several sites that discuss photography cliches. These sites define cliches as techniques, or effects, that are overused and/or a gimmick. When I think of photographic cliches, I think of photos of locations, or landscape structures, frequently photographed and displayed on the internet. These locational cliches are what I want to discuss. In pursuing their photographic career or hobby, every photographer will come across a photo that makes them want to go to that location and add a similar shot to their portfolio. It is a nat ..read more

Bishop CA is a small town located central to my trip plans. The main sites I wanted to see while here were the Bristlecone pines, the Buttermilk country, and the arches in the Alabama Hills at Lone Tree. Being further south now, snow was no longer a hindrance. My first photo excursion was to a canyon named Pine Creek Canyon. Getting there involved driving about 10 miles north on US 395 to the Rovana exit. Proceed on the Pine Creek road 8-9 miles to a locked gate. The gate blocks access to a defunct tungsten mine. This narrow end of the canyon is over-towered by high, rocky peaks. There were qu ..read more

I drove south 40 miles to June Lake and the Golden Pines RV park. This served well as base camp for the next week because it is central to the sites I wanted to photograph in this area. It had the added benefit of being just 2 blocks from another, smaller lake called Gull Lake. Both June Lake and Gull Lake are beautiful settings. Gull Lake early in the morning. This view was just 2 blocks from the RV park. The first day I drove north back up US 395 to Conway Summit, about halfway between Bridgeport and Lee Vining. Turning west, a very good paved road led me directly to Virginia Lake. I w ..read more

My month long photo road trip thru the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains started at Carson City NV.  Its proximity to Lake Tahoe makes it an ideal base camp for exploring the area. I lived in the Carson City area for 2 years right after my retirement and had a list of places I  wanted to re-visit and photograph.  The places on that list near or at the lake itself included the Bonsai Rock, Eagle Falls, Emerald Bay and Fallen Leaf Lake/ Mt. Tallac. I also wanted to revisit Carson Pass where I had once photographed fields of wildflowers on a sunny June day.   ..read more

During the month of June 2019, I set out on a month long road trip to  capture the essence of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. I spent 3-4 months that spring reading books and searching the web for information. Even with that effort, what I saw and photographed was just a fraction of the history and beauty of this area.   Mobius arch and Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous US  The Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain crest runs north and south down the center of the state of California, almost like the backbo ..read more

Several years ago I belonged to a photography club at Lake Tahoe. Among the members were 4 professionals, generous with their experience and advice. One man, I don’t remember his name, passed on the phrase “See the obvious, Seek the unique”. His explanation was that when out shooting photos, you will come across frequently photographed scenes, shot by many photographers. They take the photos from the same spot, from the same perspective, same time of day, etc. Photos of southern Utah are a good example. At some sites, you can just set up your tripod in the three “tripod holes “worn into the ro ..read more

I recently completed a one month road trip in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. While on this trip, I reviewed  Anne McKinnell’s series of ebooks, including one titled 8 Types Of Light. In that ebook, Anne suggested photographers should be students of light. “To continually improve your photography, become a student of light. even when you do not have your camera, be aware of the type of light in your surroundings and how the light changes.”  She ended the book with a quote  “My first thought is always of light” - Galen Rowell In a strange bit of irony, I remembered that a wo ..read more

Book 4 8 Ways To Accelerate Your Photography   How To Speed Up The Learning Curve Contents: Today’s Photographer           Exploring Subjects Composition                    Developing Your Portfolio Exposure                       Sharing On The Web Processing Your Images        Making Money Natural Light ..read more

In my mission statement on the Home page of this site, I promise to discuss problems and difficulties I have encountered in my photography hobby over the years, and to present the solutions I found. This blog is an effort to fulfill that promise. In 2016 I was living in my 5th wheel RV trailer 7 miles west of Whitefish, MT. I was keeping busy skiing and shoveling the snow off my roof. I was also trying to get used to a new camera I had purchased. The scenery where I was living was beautiful. But my photo results were abysmal. I had good cable internet, and I went searching for solutions. On on ..read more