Landscape Photography | Russ Bishop Photography

November 10, 2025November 10, 2025

Canyon Light

For all the equipment I’ve purchased over the years, from camera bodies to lenses and filters, the most important tool of my craft is one I’ve never had to buy. The world of natural light provides landscape photographers with a constantly varied selection from soft light to lightning and everything in between. Here canyon light illuminates the subtle hues of Antelope Canyon, and best of all there’s never a cost.

Unlike a studio strobe, it’s sometimes a challenge to harness the light Mother Nature provides. But therein lies the art of outdoor photography – knowing how to work with what you’re given or having the patience to wait for something better.

In previous posts I’ve mentioned various ways to work with challenging conditions, but there is one place where the light is constant and never leaves you wishing for more – the indirect, reflected light found deep in the canyons of the Southwest.

Its consistent, ethereal glow could easily be mistaken for artificial light, and its true colors can hardly be discerned by the naked eye in the dark recesses of a slot canyon. In sharp contrast to magic hour, the best time to experience this light is when the sun is high overhead and able to penetrate these deep fissures in the earth’s crust. And only when the scene is revealed on the sensor or emulsion do you see the true beauty of the canyon light.

October 29, 2025October 29, 2025

The Art of Seeing

The Art of Seeing. The digital age has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities for the landscape photographer. From HDR (High Dynamic Range) and stitched panoramas to focus stacking and exposure blending a myriad of options exist. And filters have always been invaluable in controlling and shaping the light in camera just as much in the digital realm as in the days of film.

Yet with all of the tools available it’s easy to lose creative focus in an attempt to include a popular technique or push a filter to its limits. As with the constant temptation to buy the latest camera or software it’s important to remember that the gear or the technique isn’t what makes an image shine, but the vision. That’s the essence of creative photography and yet so often misplaced amid the vast array of today’s technical possibilities.

No matter what the future may bring our most important tool as outdoor photographers will always be our mind’s eye. The equipment in our bag or on our desktop is just a means of helping the viewer connect with what we felt emotionally when we preserved that moment in time.

October 8, 2025October 8, 2025

Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite High Country

Sunset over Tuolumne Meadows along Budd Creek, Yosemite National Park, California — Sunset over Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California

John Muir referred to the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the Range of Light, and it’s hard to imagine a more fitting moniker. The play of light amid the high peaks, the unique cloud formations along the eastern escarpment, and the painterly sunsets combine in a luminous landscape to stimulate the senses. And though I have many favorites in the range, one location seems to embody the spirit of these mountains like no other – Tuolumne Meadows.

Tuolumne Meadows, in the high country of Yosemite National Park, is a pristine alpine environment of glacial-polished domes, cascading streams and lush meadows under an indigo sky. At nearly 9,000 feet it also has a short summer season between snows with virtually no spring or fall, which makes an annual pilgrimage even more special.

Days here might be spent photographing the landscape, climbing the world-class granite, exploring miles of forest trail, or just lounging by a secluded spot along the river as Muir once did. However you experience Tuolumne, when the daylight fades it’s time to find a clearing in the meadow or scramble up a dome to reflect on the day and enjoy the show as the Sierra magic hour ushers in the night.