Blog

Planning a Drive to… Chicago?

This started as a trip to Jackson Hole - the Tetons, the National Elk Refuge, great food in Jackson. Then my mom fell. She was in a nursing home recovering for a month, then agreed to full-time live-in care, and went home again. She’s 97. Skokie Lagoons, Northfield,...

It’s More Than Petroglyphs

Want to find out where the petroglyphs are? Use this easy form to contact me for a workshop or full-blown photo tour. Bring the Big One On my last photo workshop to Petroglyph National Monument in March, we'd seen rock squirrels, jack rabbits and canyon wrens. But the...

Confusing the Trail at Ojito

Some places just can't be hiked easily. You can see it from Mesa Verde, and it dominates the New Mexico side of the Four Corners skyline. Looks like it should be simple, yet when you try to approach Shiprock, none of the maze of dirt roads seems to get you there....

Shoot Those Warbirds!

They made 18,000 of them, give or take. They flew in every theater of WW II. But only one B-24J Liberator is still flyable today. B-24J "Witchcraft" over the San Francisco Bay Area Engines or no engines, I like photographing things that fly. So when I saw a newspaper...

Early Morning Birds

Advantages to Early Mornings My wife's early airport departure got me up and gave me an opportunity for some morning wildlife photography. In California that would have meant a trip to Palo Alto Baylands or Shoreline at Mountain View for waterbirds. Here in...

Raincoat, Windbreaker or Sunshades?

Like it or not, you depend on the weather. All of us are pre-shrunk, and with the proper clothing, weather isn't a problem. But you'd like to know what to expect before you go, especially any interesting light or sky conditions for photography. Fortunately, answers...

Catch Blossoms – Before They’re Gone

Late Winter Tree Show Right when winter shuffles off the stage, the floral display begins. It won't be on the ground, but on the trees. Pink and white start popping out everywhere, insisting you pay attention. Then the petals slowly transform to the season's first...

Sculpting with Light

You've seen those house-for-sale pictures the broker shot with his cell phone - you know, darkly-shadowed house that looks haunted, empty flat interiors, giant rooms that turn out to be phone booth-sized? But add some small flash lighting, and those awful houses...

Shoot the Flavor

Usually you have an 'oh wow' destination in mind on your travels - a big mountain, amazing cavern, desert ruins, sculpted landscape. But a key part of the story is the incidental stuff along the way - the food, people, and storefronts - all the flavorful details....

Hiking the Sandias

They Got Here First He threw seeds into the shallow pits he had dug. Chanting a prayer for abundant growth and good harvest, he carefully covered them and sprinkled precious water over the top. Then he turned towards the Turtle Mountain and thanked the gods for his...