Friday, November 27, 2009

More of Zion National Park

Here are some more from my 2009 Zion National Park trip in late October going into early November. As mentioned in a prior post it was only less than three days of actual photography yet it was pretty productive overall as you can see. The image with the cascading falls is on the hike to the Subway and the other image is the ever so popular Watchman which can be shot from standing on a bridge. I know it's a tad more saturated and processed overall than much of my work. Being that I was shooting with 30+ other tripods this evening I wanted to work to give mine a little "uniqueness" even though I know some folks may not care for it. Zion in the Fall is a must to see, photographer or not. I hope you find time to visit in the future.

On a different note I do plan to have another podcast episode of Northwest Nature Photography coming up soon. Thanks for all of you that have subscribed already.




Sunday, November 15, 2009

Photographing Iconic Destinations - Podcast

The 3rd episode of Northwest Nature Photography podcast is now available. I had hoped for this to be an interview with another photographer but due to technical difficulties that will be coming up in the next couple episodes. After my recent trip to Zion National Park I had some thoughts crop up that I have experienced before and I thought would be interesting to cover for a podcast. Basically I talk about how it can be a different mindset and process to photographing iconic locations than lesser known and lesser traveled areas. Also posing the question are some places like icons over photographed today. I believe everyone deserves their own take and chance to photograph these natural wonders. Yet there are a number of things to think of when photographing them depending on your intent for the final image. Listen to the podcast for more...












Zion National Park - Fall Visit 2009

A couple weeks back I set out for a short yet fun trip with my peer and friend Kevin McNeal. We flew into Vegas, drove out to Zion for a few days of hiking and shooting. Needless to say anytime is a great time in Zion but I think Fall is now my favorite and not just because of the colors. The temps are much more pleasing, although some might say too cold, and it's not nearly as busy as the summer months. I have been here once on Memorial Day and there is nothing like a crazed atmosphere of human beings in nature than a National Park on a National Holiday!

Anyway, Kevin and I enjoyed the time with some other photographers that we knew which also made for a more memorable experience. I do like to travel by myself sometimes but traveling in small groups does add to the experience in a different way, usually a good way, at least that is the hope and in this case it did. Here are a few images from this trip which included a hike to the iconic Subway.







Sunday, November 01, 2009

The Traveling Landscape Photographer

The Traveling Landscape Photographer is what I cover in the latest episode of Northwest Nature Photography Podcast. I appreciate all the feedback I have received already and the many subscriptions. Let me know if you have any ideas for future episodes and I will do what I can to incorporate them. Happy listening!











On this topic that the podcast is covering I should disclose how bad I felt from a recent trip to Zion I took with my good friend Kevin. We were staying at a hotel for a couple days and my thermostat in my body must have been WAY off. The A/C was on the whole time we were there (or not there) and it was not warm outside. Kevin said he could not turn off the A/C when we arrived but I truly thought he was joking as I was unpacking my stuff, since I was comfortable. I heard the wall unit but I assumed it was just the fan running and not the A/C. To make a long story short it was left on the three days we crashed at this place and the manager commented at check out how odd it was that we had it on the whole time. They rarely see that this time of year in Zion. The cleaning crew I guess were freezing when they went in there. I am still a little bewildered why the cleaning folks did not turn it off on the first day. I know I would have. Anyway, even though I was comfortable in the room with temps outside in the 30's and the A/C on (ya, I can't figure it out either but Kevin said he was cold!), I feel bad from an environment standpoint as I would not have done this, especially while not being in the room. We hardly use our central A/C here in our own home when it's 50 degrees warmer!

Note: Please bare with me as I get the audio improved. I just purchased new equipment that should make the 3rd podcast even a little cleaner sounding.


Mountain Light Interview with Kah Kit Yoong

Recently I was asked by Kah Kit Yoong to do an interview for the Mountain Light group on Flickr. In case you are not aware this group does showcase some of finer nature work on Flickr plus some other great interviews with the like of Guy Tal, Michael Anderson and more. Definitely worth taking a look around and spending a little time reading. Here is the link to the interview I had with Kah Kit, who by the way is an excellent landscape photographer from Australia.

Mountain Light Interview with Adrian Klein