I don’t care if you lick windows, take the special bus or occasionally pee on yourself…
You hang in there sunshine, you’re special.
Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you’ll never get back.
Today’s Message of the Day is:
Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile…
Thanks Wife…and Art. I think?
I have had a really good week. Colleague John O’Conner inspired me with a few super simple image compositions that he posted to his facebook page. I drew more inspiration from a video of urban trials rider Danny MacAskill. And, was able to witness an amazing light display at my own private beach that allowed me to utilize everything I learned – hint go to my facebook page. I was going to post the beach image that I had on facebook earlier this week as the photo of the month, but I figured it was out in the world already, so why not something new. This month’s photo was taken from the same location. For what ever reason, the sun always seems to come out right around sunset, it doesn’t matter if it is howling, pouring, or foggy and overcast. This is really good for me because I love to take the kids and the dog down there to explore – with my camera of course. The evening pictured here was standard operating proceedure – it rained all day and then bam, magic. That is the beauty of nature, it is ever changing. This image was captured with a Canon 1D Mark III, 16-35mm lens, Gitzo tripod, Kirk BH-1 ballhead, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Singh-Ray 3-stop Daryl Benson reverse grad filter.
All of these positive events have generated a new idea – the experience. A new category on this blog beginning Tuesday. You will have to wait until then to find out more.
One more – I just realized that Singh-Ray has posted an article by me on their blog. Let me know what you think. They used this image as their lead-in.
This month’s image was taken in early September from the end of the Mount Baker Highway near Mount Baker Ski Area in Washington State. My wife Heather, daughter Jade, and son Micah and I were shooting some hiking images for an upcoming calendar along the trails above Artist Point, when we stumbled upon this tarn that was perfectly still at sunset. After I captured a couple of photos with the family in the reflection, I just couldn’t pass up shooting the image as a landscape as well. The more I explore in Washington, the more astonished I am at the unobstructed beauty here. It was one of those evenings where everything came together perfectly-the clouds, the stillness in the water, and the alpenglow on the peak. I couldn’t have created it better with a written request to mother nature. This image was shot with a Canon 1D Mark III, 16-35mm f2.8 II lens, Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, Kirk ballhead, and a three stop graduated neutral density filter.
Those who know me best know that I have been friends with Art Wolfe for some time now. He was a huge inspiration before I even had a career in photography and now our relationship has turned into a great friendship. I have spent the last 10 days with him traveling around Washington, sometimes photographing, sometimes driving (12+ hours straight one day), sometimes working and more often than not, laughing. I can count on him to make me laugh to the point that my stomach muscles are sore by time our trips are over. He invokes a drive in me to work harder and push my creativity farther than ever before. Sitting and watching the world pass you by is not an option for Art nor is it even in his vocabulary.
Here are two more photos from Mount Rainier National Park. The star trails image resulted in only 3 hours of sleep in order to be at Reflection Lake for sunrise. The high pressure that has been in place in the Pacific Northwest gave way briefly one evening to produce enough clouds for an unbelievable sunset. I now get to go home for a month, shoot a bunch of architecture projects, and catch up on running my business before it all starts again in Grand Teton National Park when Art, Gavriel Jecan, and I will be leading a workshop together. The whirlwind never stops…
Last week I was in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks working on an upcoming project. I shot this image at Mammoth Hot Springs. Faster than I knew, I arrived in Seattle, and began searching for images in Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks. Stay tuned, for more posts, I will be here until the 22nd.
I am currently in South Texas competing in the Coastal Bend Wildlife Photo Contest and last night I was rewarded with an image that I feel everyone should see, and consequently I have made it the photo of the month. Most of the images that I have seen of rattlesnakes have depicted them in ways that I do not necessarily agree with. Rattlesnakes are dangerous, but they are an amazing part of nature and I feel that they should be represented no different than that beautiful sunset over the beaches of Hawaii. This image is my first rattlesnake image and I definitely got lucky with the composition. As I saw it moving across the road, I discovered this pattern that was developing in its movement. As it traveled over a section of road that was dry and cracked from the drought that is going on here, I quickly composed and took the shot. I love the results. I took this image with a Canon 1D Mark III camera, Canon 100mm f 2.8 macro lens.
