I’ve just returned from a guiding a five day trip to the coast of Katmai National Park. While it is an amazing place (and I’ll be leading another trip there next year if anyone want to join me), where it…
On Storytelling Images
Crossing the Swamp
There is a trail near my home that I know intimately. During the long winter of Alaska’s interior, I ride my fat bike along the trail’s 7 mile length about three times a week. I know it by the low…
Shooting the Aurora and the Full Moon – A few tips
When the moon is bright, the aurora, almost always, isn’t. That can be a drag, and why many photographers will time their trips to the north around new moons. Yet, the combination of the two: bright moon, and the aurora…
Lighroom and the Landscape Available NOW!
My just released ebook is now available at the iBooks store and on my website. It’s 88 pages of awesome advice on post-processing landscape images using Adobe Lightroom, three tutorial videos and 7 example images. I talk about my process…
Don’t Move: A Photographic Exercise
On our final morning on the Jago, as we waited for the weather to clear off the mountains, I took the opportunity to spend a bit of time making photos. It was a nice morning for photography, cloud shadows rolled…
The Mystery of Photography
I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but I’m going to anyway (and I’m going to capitalize it for good measure) : Good Images are About Good Stories. But there is another ingredient that is often ignored and it’s this: ???…
From Literal to Abstract: The Evolution of an Image
Day before yesterday I spent an hour or so wandering around the Creamer’s Field Waterfowl Refuge not far from downtown Fairbanks. It is a place I know well. Most of the winter’s snow has now turned to water and the…
Striving for Balance
Balance is a vital, and under appreciated aspect of photographic composition. I was reminded of this fact just the other day when we were treated to a short, and lovely display of the aurora borealis. It wasn’t a particularly booming…
Avoiding Imitation
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about photography recently. Of course, that isn’t anything unusual, but I’m thinking of it now from a the perspective of a teacher. As I’ve mentioned a time or two before, I writing…
Photography and the Art of the Story
If you are at all involved in the the artistic world online or elsewhere, you’ve likely heard the refrain: “Tell stories, tell stories, tell stories.” And it’s good advice too. Successful images, successful writing, even successful marketing campaigns tell compelling…