Feb 27
Winter skies… gotta love them. This is another shot from my backyard in suburbia. Nothing profound; however, it’s just nice to be able to step outside my back door and know that nature’s wonders are bountiful and ever-present, if you just stop, look, and shoot. Hope you enjoy…
Tourists may come and go here at San Francisco’s Pier 39, but to the area’s indigenous residents, it’s just another day on the Bay. I caught this guy eyeing the nearby minnows during a mid-day visit to the popular pier last summer. I particularly liked capturing the geometric patterns of the boardwalks, as they jutted in and out of the frame. More images from this fabulously rich area to come, as I am months behind on working on my San Francisco portfolio! So many photos, so little time! Hope you enjoy…
Jan 24
I admit it. I am a sucker for gorgeous skies. Sunrises and sunsets are kind of like the golden retriever puppy of photographic images–things just look more beautiful, more poignant, when they are framed by a deeply striking sky. But while they are alluring, that is not to say the sky should do all the compositional heavy lifting. The sky may be the star of the show, but its supporting cast–that is the rest of the composition–must be strong as well, in order for the image to really work. This photo, for example, was the result of an early morning trek outside my hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona a couple of winters ago. I knew I wanted to capture the deep orange glow of the morning( and Mother Nature did not disappoint) but it took a while to settle on the balance between earthly and ethereal delights. This rock was actually a small, faraway hill, the palm branches on the resort property where I stayed deceivingly make it look as if everything in silhouette are relatively close. I loved the jagged edges and curves of the rock, as they carved a sharp line against the crayola morning sky. In the end, this is the frame that spoke to me. Hope you enjoy…
f/5.0, 1/60th sec, ISO 100, 85 mm
Dec 7
There is something almost electric about the first frost of the season… you look out and all you can say is… wow… I had forgotten about this magic! Overnight, it was as if fairies from childhood tapped their wands on everything living and gave the world a spectacular lustre… a glow that beckoned me to bundle up and venture out with camera in hand. And, truly, I was rewarded. This was one of my favorite shots, where it appears as though these scarlet leaves have been dipped and sugar-coated, in preparation for the day. This is one of those times when you realize there is a wonderful world waiting to be photographed, all just a few yards from the back door. Welcome Winter! Hope you enjoy…
Nov 14
Under the Double Arch
A few weeks ago I posted a few images shot while in St. Louis in and around its famous Arch. I guess I must be drawn to arches, because a week ago my family and I took off for a Sunday drive to visit another famous arch structure–this one only about 30 minutes from my home here in Williamson County, TN. I have driven under this particular arched bridge many times, but I was always on my way somewhere, and never took the extra time to circle around and really “look.” Last Sunday was that day, and boy was I treated to a view. This is the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge, known locally as the Double Arch Bridge, a supremely beautiful structure that spans 582 feet and stands 145 tall. It won the Presidential Award for Design Excellence in 1995, and in one sweeping glance, it is easy to see why. This first image doesn’t do it justice but is a rather unique view from the bridge’s north underside. Interesting how the compression belies the true size of this structure.
From this view, the shape of the structure begins to appear, taken from just to the side and on the bridge’s north end.
Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
Then I moved far right, to try to capture as much of the bridge as possible. The two gleaming, otherworldly arches, which look as if they have almost risen out of the earth below, are finally visible.
Finally, I mustered the courage to venture out onto the bridge, and was rewarded with this fantastic view of rural beauty. (The center speck in the sky is the hawk featured a couple of posts ago.) All in all, the afternoon was photographically, all I could have hoped for, and all just a few moments from home. Hope you enjoy…
Nov 9
Do you ever feel like autumn just sets the natural world aglow? Walk through the woods on a sunny autumn day, especially as the shadows begin to grow longer, and it feels like nature has simply pushed the white balance of the entire world toward “warm.” It envelopes you… and makes you feel as though every leaf, every twig, every weedy stem is an ethereal thing of beauty. Of course, it’s also quite a transient state, as well. As soon as the light changes, the same scene ceases to hold the magic it did just moments earlier. The trick is to be there the moment the magic happens, and focus. Hope you enjoy…
f/3.2, 1/250th sec, ISO 800, 50 mm
Nov 4
There is a photographer whose blog I follow who is a great source of inspiration for me. While his work is phenomenal and beautiful to view–gorgeous sunrises, clouds, and fog-wrapped Canadian landscapes, it’s his personal perspective and integrity that always grabs my attention–his words are always bare-boned honest…no fluff, no bull, no commercials. He photographs local landscapes to create an artistic moment in time, nothing more, nothing less. Sounds simple, and in many respects it is. But between the setting up of equipment, snapping the shutter, and posting the final image, there is obvious poetry that occurs. Reading his blog always stirs something inside…I am almost tingly with wanting to head out on a new shoot myself and find a way to express my own internal poetry.
This farm scene is one of several images I created when I assigned myself the challenge of “thinking globally, shooting locally” — a theme that resonated recently after reading the aforementioned blog. Taking inspiration from those larger-than-life landscapes featured in coffee table books from locations such as Yosimite, Banff, Antarctica, etc., my aim was to look outside my own door, and neighborhood, and capture a sense of unique local beauty. And while it sounds almost ridiculously simple, in my view, this assignment represents far more challenges than shooting that perfect image of Half Dome, Hoover Dam, or Niagara. It takes looking beyond the obvious to find the poetry. So here is a start on that journey, hope you enjoy.
f/22, 1/30th, ISO 200, 13 mm
Note: the inspirational blog mentioned above is penned by the talented photographer Dan Jurak, whose gorgeous images of his local corner of the world near Alberta keep me coming back for more.
The events of the past week with Hurricane Irene remind us all once again of the mighty power of water. Irene’s surge and the torrential rains that are plaguing the northeastern region of the country harken back to images of the destruction of Katrina, the broken levees along the Mississippi, and the ocean of water that descended on my hometown of Nashville, just a little over a year ago. Combine enough of those tiny molecules of H2O and you’ve got a force to be reckoned with.
Which brings me to this image, taken from the banks of Niagara Falls in 2009. There are few places I can imagine that demonstrate the mighty power of water like Niagara. To compose this image, I leaned about as far as one can (safely) over the rail to entirely frame the rushing water and white foam–6 million cubic feet a minute barreling over the precipice to a 170 foot drop. The icing for me that day was being there at the moment the sun’s lowering rays turned to golden, which reflected in the white water and transformed the Niagara to a beautiful emerald green. Hope you enjoy…
f/10, 1/800th, ISO 400, 250 mm
Water is quite an amazing substance. Two little atoms, hydrogen and oxygen, bonded together, form a unique substance that sustains the planet. Truly remarkable, when you think about it. And while a mere droplet of dew clinging to a blade of grass seems so delicate, so innocent; put enough of those droplets together and you have one of the most powerful forces on earth, capable of producing enough power to operate a city or create devastation on a massive basis. This photograph of the underside of Niagara Falls offers just a hint of that sweeping power. In addition to the view of the falls this image offers, my hope is that it evokes the deafening roar of the water as it pours over the precipice and pounds the dark rocks below. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean. If not, it’s really something to see. Hope you enjoy…
f 7.1, 1/200th sec., ISO 400, 28 mm
OK. I will admit, at first glance, this shot looked almost too cliche. But of course, when you are holding a camera, and it’s there before you… well, to paraphrase Sir Edmund Hillary: you shoot it. I remember thinking: Will these beautiful dusktime rays actually record the way I am experiencing them? (Which was, mind you, with a complementary heavenly chorus somewhere in the background, haha.) But cliche be damned–I clicked off several shots before it disappeared and hoped for the best.
A couple of months later, and now revisiting this image with fresh eyes, I actually think it held up well. I massaged it a tiny bit to add a certain je ne sais quoi to the beachfront reality around those ethereal beams, and here you have it. Hope you enjoy…
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