What goes into making great landscape and nature photography?
Studying the masters is a great foundation, followed by practice and patience. Personal style is something that you develop after years of practice and applying your craft, which ultimately results in a unique creative vision…
The World Photography Organisation recently did a profile piece in which I discuss my creative origins and approach to landscape photography. Click the image below to link to the interview.
Please share and enjoy!
Winter sunset over Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, California
Sunset over the Channel Islands from Ventura State Beach, Ventura, California
As a landscape photographer I spend a fair amount of time on the road each year often traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to remote locations. So it struck a chord when it was recently suggested within the online community of photographers to showcase images of those special places that are close to home – essentially in our backyard.
I’m fortunate to have a national park adjacent to my community and, although it’s 11 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean and I don’t make it out there as often as I’d like, I do get to see it most every day. Channel Islands National Park is made up of five of the eight Channel Islands with Santa Cruz seen here being the largest. The islands are rich in Native American culture and wildlife, and are a diver’s paradise. But even from afar they make a wonderful setting for a classic Southern California sunset.
When planning your next photographic adventure don’t overlook the local gems that are within easy reach and may provide just as much visual opportunity as those popular locations miles from home.
Evening light on the Palisades in Dusy Basin, Kings Canyon National Park, California
Dusy Basin in Kings Canyon National Park includes the largest concentration of 14,000 foot peaks in the Sierra Nevada range, and one of the southernmost glaciers in North America. As a major entry point for the John Muir Trail along the Sierra high route, this popular spot also makes a relatively easy weekend trip from the town of Bishop, passing through the John Muir Wilderness and over Bishop Pass.
Here the warm alpenglow on the The Palisade Group is reflected in one of the many alpine tarns scattered among this beautiful hanging valley. These pristine lakes are fed only by surrounding snow melt, and their glassy waters are the perfect complement for photographing magic hour in what John Muir so eloquently called the Range of Light.
