Vestrahorn Beauty - Hofn, Iceland

It has been awhile since I have posted a photo on social media. After ten years plus of posting images and write-ups, I decided to take a long rest. Truth be told, I missed being out with nature and experiencing the tranquility and beauty of what Mother Nature had to offer. I missed my photography friends and the constant banter and laughs that we shared. In essence, I felt uninspired. That ended a few weeks ago when I took my first trip since COVID began to Iceland.

Our small group traveled the southern part of the Ring Road and saw some amazing scenes. This is the first photo that I have posted from the trip. The location is near Hofn and it spoke to me. This unique shaped mountain has earned the nickname “Batman Mountain”. It stands at 1,500 feet above a flat lagoon, a black sand beach and small black dunes. A great scene to rejuvenate my soul.

Teton Sunrise - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

One of the best things about Grand Teton National Park are the many turnouts and overlooks that have been built along the park's two main roads, US Route 89 and Teton Park Road. These stops on the road provide many beautiful views of the massive Teton Range, which are part of the larger Rocky Mountain Range. I have a particular affinity for the Blacktail Ponds Overlook. 

Best shot at sunrise, you really need to get there early enough to get the morning light as it begins to light up the peaks and work its way down the mountains. One of the challenges when shooting here at this time of day is the high dynamic range of the scene that is often difficult for cameras to capture. Trying to blend the very bright mountains and the very dark foreground takes a bit of thought and practice. There is a fine line in balancing the image, by bringing out details in the shadows while reducing the highlights to bring out the mountains. 

Frozen Swim - Lake Misurina, Misurina, Italy

Before visiting the Dolomites in May a couple of years ago, I checked the average temperatures for the region, and it seemed to be quite reasonable with an average low of 48° F and an average high of 73° F. As the trip progressed, we started hearing that the Dolomites were experiencing the coldest and snowiest May in seventy years. When we reached the town of Misurina, it was clear that winter was in full force. After checking into our hotel, we walked to the lake, which had frozen over except for a small area. There I found a small group of mallards taking a frozen swim.

Sandstone Fins - Colorado Springs, Colorado

There is something about the rock formations in the American Southwest that always makes me wonder how they were created. Of course, the answer is usually erosion, but it is hard to put my head around it. Whenever I see the many different and unusual ones, usually in close proximity to one another, I think of what combination of wind, water and ice made each the way they are, especially since they were exposed to very similar conditions over time. On the opposite hand, there are rock formations like these sandstone fins that have a very similar shape as far as the eye can see. 

I decided to find out how these fins were created and here is what I found out. Fins are actually an intermediate stage in the erosion of sandstone. The fins may have started out as part of a plateau. Through the uplift of the underlying rock, deep vertical, parallel fractures to begin to be formed. Weathering and erosion enlarge the fractures and the sandstone falls away until they form the shape that you see in this photo.

What's next for these fins? The next stage is the erosion of sandstone below forming either windows or arches. Over time, even these erode causing the arches to collapse, resulting in hoodoos. This helps me understand how the rock formations in the Southwest were formed.  

Sentinel Mesa - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

A few years ago, before a Moab photo tour, we spent a few days in Monument Valley, one of my favorite places in the US. The first morning was magical, with the clouds and sunrise light bathing all of the sandstone formations. After shooting the Mittens and Merrick Butte from the balcony of the View Hotel, we rushed out to the front of the hotel, hopped in our car, and went a very short distance to this dirt road. This image shows the light gradually lighting up both Sentinel Mesa (on the left) and the rock formation known as the King on His Throne on the right. One of the more interesting things about Monument Valley are the cool names that the rock formations have. Many of the names originate from the Navajo or the settlers to the region. When you start out with magical light like this, everything else is just icing on the cake.

Double Arch Evening - Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

One of my favorite rock formations that I have shot is located in Arches National Park. I have shot there quite a few times and have determined it is best shot early in the mornings. The few times I have shot it in evening light have not come out very well, so I had given up on shooting there at that time. On my last visit, I had just arrived in Moab in the late afternoon and decided to take a quick spin into Arches National Park. As I headed toward the Windows and Turret Arch area, I thought about my reluctance on shooting Double Arch at this time of day. Despite this, I made a stop and this was the scene that I saw. I quickly realized that whatever I had experienced before had led me to false conclusions. Maybe the time of the early evening was different in the past, but the glow through the arches was wonderful. While I still think that Double Arch is better in morning light, suffice to say I will visit it in early evening light more in the future.

Striped Kingfisher - Welgevonden Reserve, South Africa

On my trip to South Africa a little over a year ago, I found myself taking photos of birds more that I ever have. There are so many birds that it is hard to identify a bird’s name whenever you find them. Fortunately, I was with some excellent bird photographers who would identify them. This bird is a Striped Kingfishers.

Striped Kingfisher can be found throughout Africa, except deserts. These birds love woodlands, open savannas, and dry bushes. Their diet consists primarily of grasshoppers and other large insects. These birds typically hunt by perching on a branch and then dive to their prey once they spot any. These birds bring their victims back to their perch first before swallowing them whole.

Siena Glow - Siena, Italy

Before my last trip to Italy, almost all of my friends who have visited Italy told me that I must visit the Tuscan city of Siena. I was a little concerned before I got there that I would be disappointed because they hyped it up so much. When I checked into our hotel and looked at the cityscape, I realized that they hadn’t hyped it enough. Located in the center of Tuscany, Siena is famous for its medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year. Settled sometime between 900 - 400 BC, its architecture screams history. Built on a Tuscan hill, the streets and alleyways seem to go in just about any direction. Walking around the city, you feel like you entered a time machine and were transported to a medieval time. While there are some cars present that tell you that you are still in the present, there is no doubt that Siena was built for its people and that, even today, that fact is still true.

From a photography standpoint, Siena really shines during the golden hours when the setting sun adds a glow to an already perfect scene to something even more amazing. The buildings just pop when the evening sun hits them and I sometimes just stood there and took it all in instead of shooting photos of the scene. On my previous visits to Italy, Venice has always been my favorite one. After visiting Siena, Venice has a new rival.

Tuscan Window - Province of Siena, Italy

Not quite two years ago, I spent three weeks exploring Italy on a photography trip. One of my stops was several days in Tuscany, which I had only briefly explored in the past. As I visited many of the small towns in the area, I became mesmerized by the architecture of the small homes that could have been built as long as a thousand years ago. I can only wonder about the history that has occurred outside these homes. I found myself taking a lot of photos of doors and windows as I walked around. Even though some of them looked like they would soon crumble, I felt that their appearance showed strength and resilience with tons of character. I liked this particular window as it showed all of these characteristic and also had a freshness there with the colorful flowers in the window box.

Two Jack Serenity - Banff National Park, Alberta

I was blessed with some amazing light during a trip to Banff National Park a few years ago. This was especially true of Two Jack Lake. Being only about ten minutes from our hotel, I visited there twice and was treated to beautiful light each time. This contrasts with one of my earlier trips when I visited the lake four times before getting decent light. As you can see, the light was amazing, even though Mount Rundle was only partially lit (it never did get fully lit on this morning). Regardless, the clouds and the reflection more than made up for it. This is the reason you wake up at 3:30am for a June sunrise shoot.

Twin Falls - Washburn Point, Yosemite National Park, California

One of the great places to get an expansive view of the Yosemite Valley is to head up to Glacier Point. Although it is only 1 mile away from the valley as the crow flies (looking up), it is a 30 mile drive to get there. It can get quite crowded there, as it gives a great angled view of Half Dome. For a more secluded view of the valley (and much less crowded), take a hike to Washburn Point (the trailhead is quite near Glacier Point). From there you get a 360-degree view that includes Half Dome and two of Yosemite's waterfalls, Vernal and Nevada Falls. Half Dome dominates most photo compositions so, to focus more on the waterfalls, I zoomed in on them.

Lurking in the Shadows - Welgevonden Reserve, South Africa

If you want to come home from Africa with excellent photographs, one of the most important things you will need is access to top notch Rangers. A good Ranger will be able to track and find wildlife and get you in position to get the shot. I have only been on two safaris but there can’t be many better than the Rangers at Nedile Lodge. They constantly were the first Rangers (of many) to find wildlife. That is important as they get into position themselves first to get you the right angle for the shot. Our Rangers not only found them but also knew how to anticipate where to go when the wildlife went on the move. This cheetah was lurking in that shadows and they guessed correctly where it would end up giving us a straight on shot of it.

Fenceline - Red Hills, Kelly Wyoming

The Red Hills are a great side trip when you are visiting Grand Teton National Park. Located east of the Tetons, it is a beautiful drive where you pass lakes and ranches. When I visited a few years ago, the weather was very spotty and the color of the hills was muted. There is a large ranch to the right of the hills with this split rail fence that seemed to go one forever. I decided to use this fence as a leading line to the red hills.

The hills on my visits here have never looked that red to me, but rather more of an orange color. I was a bit puzzled by this, so I did a little research. Turns out that the hills were not named for their color. In the early 1900's, there was a bitter feud between two Jackson Hole ranching families. The feud resulted into a bloody showdown between the families, and shortly thereafter they were called the Red Hills.

Headed South - Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware

Back in October, I was looking to scout some of the wildlife refuges in the area and had heard about Bombay Hook. It is a little over a hour from our new house and I decided to head out there one afternoon. The refuge is a breeding ground for migratory and wintering waterfowl along the Atlantic Flyway. The roads are well maintained and it was easy to drive and walk around. While there were many birds in the distance, I wasn’t able to get close enough with my 600mm lens. This was one that I captured of geese flying south for the winter.

Maligne Lake Ride - Jasper National Park, Alberta

One of the most scenic spots in Jasper National Park is a visit to Spirit Island on Maligne Lake. The easiest way to get to the island is by a 90-minute round-trip boat ride that allows for about a 20-minute stay near the island. Unfortunately, these boat tours don't run during the best time of day--to get the golden hour light, you must rent a boat. They do have photographer tours that unfortunately weren't running when I visited the lake. Regardless of the time of day you go, the surrounding scenery is amazing. This is one of the many shots I took on the way to the island.

Yukon Bound Redux - White Pass Summit, Skagway, Alaska

I have been looking through some of my older photos (10 years and older) and have come across some wonderful memories. The only thing that I did not enjoy is how they were processed. I decided to give them some new life this week by re-editing them. The following is the write-up that I posted when the original photos was posted to my photo blog.

The port of Skagway, Alaska is a popular stop for cruise ships and one of its star attractions is the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. Given my love of both trains and mountains, I was really excited to travel over the mountains to the Yukon. The train climbs almost 3,000 feet in just a short 20 miles and, as a result, has severe grades. The train travels along many winding turns that run along the edge of the cliffs. Before reaching the Yukon, it will negotiate numerous tunnels, bridges and trestles. This image, taken from the back of the rail car, is indicative of the terrain that the train travels through. The waters surrounding Skagway can be seen in the distance as the train approaches the Canadian border.

Hilltop Nirvana Redux - Oia, Santorini, Greece

I have been looking through some of my older photos (10 years and older) and have come across some wonderful memories. The only thing that I did not enjoy is how they were processed. I decided to give them some new life this week by re-editing them. The following is the write-up that I posted when the original photos was posted to my photo blog.

In the fall of 2010, we were lucky enough to embark on a Mediterranean cruise. When we were planning for the cruise, the only destination that was a requirement was Santorini, Greece. Being a photographer, I have seen hundreds of photographs of the blue-domed churches built into the side of the cliffs and I really wanted to visit and photograph them. Photographs of these churches can usually be found on the covers of most Greek Island travel guides. When the cruise ship approached Santorini, I was a bit discouraged as it was raining and windy. We had to anchor on the other side of the island because of the rough seas and take very unsteady tenders to the dock. We were met there by buses, which drove us to the town of Oia at the northern end of the island.

The streets of this hilltop town are extremely narrow and, although it was October, it was quite crowded (probably all cruise ship passengers). The rain had stopped and I snuck off of the main thoroughfare to walk along the houses. As you can see, there was no one in sight except one woman coming out of her house (see if you can find her). I was mesmerized by the cliff "dwellings" and wished that I was able to stay for a couple of days to catch sunrise and sunset. I guess I'll have to go back someday to experience that thrill.

After the Fog Redux - Bay of Kotor, Kotor, Montenegro

I have been looking through some of my older photos (10 years and older) and have come across some wonderful memories. The only thing that I did not enjoy is how they were processed. I decided to give them some new life this week by re-editing them. The following is the write-up that I posted when the original photos was posted to my photo blog.

The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro is a 15-mile winding bay leading from the Adriatic Sea. The bay is composed of four smaller gulfs and, due to its many twists and turns, is often called Europe's southernmost fjord. The bay is actually a submerged river canyon of the Bokelj River, which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen. Numerous cities and towns are located on the bay, such as Kotor (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Perast (a UNESCO World Natural and Historical Heritage Site) and Prčanj. When we entered the bay, the fog was so thick that we could hardly see anything as we traversed the length of the bay. After we docked in Kotor (at the far end of the bay), the weather took a turn for the better and began to clear. By the time we started our tour of the bay, the fog had dissipated and we discovered one of the most beautiful places that we have ever visited. As we passed along the shore, we were able to observe these wonderful towns and the surrounding mountains.

Chessboard Redux - Achilleion Palace, Corfu, Greece

I have been looking through some of my older photos (10 years and older) and have come across some wonderful memories. The only thing that I did not enjoy is how they were processed. I decided to give them some new life this week by re-editing them. The following is the write-up that I posted when the original photos was posted to my photo blog.

The Achilleion Palace on the island of Corfu, Greece, is our destination for today. The palace was built in 1890 and was named after the Greek mythical hero, Achilles. This image is of the patio in the rear of the palace. The patio's black and white marble squares reminded me of a life-sized chess board. The numerous large marble statues were lined up in similar manner as the start of a game. The early morning light and shadows enhanced the scene.

Bow Lake Morning Redux - Banff National Park, Alberta

I have been looking through some of my older photos (10 years and older) and have come across some wonderful memories. The only thing that I did not enjoy is how they were processed. I decided to give them some new life this week by re-editing them. The following is the write-up that I posted when the original photos was posted to my photo blog.

Today we head back to the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park, Alberta. There are so many lakes that can be explored along the road that, if you stopped and explored each one, it would take days to drive the 140 miles. One lake that must be explored is Bow Lake. It is a relatively small lake at about 1.25 square miles, so it can be explored in a short time. It is home of the Crowfoot Glacier and the old quaint lodge, the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge. As can be seen in this image, there is a decent gravel path that borders part of of the lake. The road is only about 30 yards from this spot and the rising sun cast beautiful light through the trees onto the lake.