As a photographer who participates in numerous art festivals during the summer and fall, I often find winter to be the quieter and slower-paced time of the year. The hustle of hours on the road and setting up a big white tent is traded for the comparatively relaxed and deliberate pace of culling and processing new work from some of the best photographs I have made over the past few years. It's a balance that I've come to enjoy.
This winter, I have been a bit more diligent in completing new work than I have been in past winters. Below are thirteen new images, in no particular order, that I've completed since my last update in December. I hope to have at least that many more ready to go before the 2016 art fair season begins in May.
"Kawishiwi Falls" – Superior National Forest, Minnesota, USA
Last summer, I visited the town of Ely, MN for the first time to
participate in the Blueberry Arts Festival. On two consecutive evenings while
I was there, I visited these falls at the edge of the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness. On the first evening, the conditions did not
cooperate for the image I had in mind, but it was good scouting
opportunity for the second evening...when I was able to make this image!
I really liked how the curving cloud boundary in the western sky matched the curvature of the falls, albeit in an inverse fashion.
"Twists of Time" – Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California, USA
The bristlecone pine is considered to be among the oldest living trees
on Earth, with some specimens believed to be over 5,000 years old. It is
a humbling experience to walk among these ancient, weathered trees which thrive in some of the harshest environments, at about 10,000 feet in elevation in the White Mountains of California.
I had also anticipated doing some night photography in this location,
but a couple of circumstances hindered that plan. First, clouds obscured
the night sky for most of the time while I was in the area. Also, not
long after making this image, I fell ill with what seemed to be a
digestive bug and was pretty much confined to my motel for 24 hours.
Despite my short visit to this grove, I was happy to bring this image
back.
"Hidden Oasis" – Kanarra Creek Canyon, Utah, USA
The Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park gets most of the
attention from photographers and visitors seeking a slot canyon
experience in southwestern Utah. Kanarra Creek Canyon, while not inside
Zion, is a hidden gem that is often referred to as a miniature version
of The Narrows in Zion.
There are a couple of waterfalls within the canyon that
can navigated by well-placed ladders and ropes. I wanted to venture
further up the narrows when I was here last April, but the light was
quickly fading. So, my journey that time ended at the base of the first
waterfall where I made a few photographs.
Hiking this canyon was an awesome experience and is definitely on my list of places to return.
"Stone Wash" – Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA
Yes, nature's beauty and design can be found on the floor of a narrow canyon in the desert! I found this beautiful arrangement of stone while exploring the southern Nevada desert. When it rains here, which isn't very often, lots of water rushes through this narrow chasm. The patterns you see are sculpted by thousands of years of sediment-carrying flash floods.
"Til Death Do Us Part" – Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
Glacier NP is renown for its stunning mountainous landscape, of which I
enjoy photographing. But, sometimes an interesting subject, soft
ethereal light, and deep meaning converge at an unexpected place and
moment.
"Triple Falls" – Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
The area around Logan Pass could easily be considered the crown jewel
of Glacier N.P. During the summer, snowmelt from the upper elevations
cascades down innumerable slopes and into streams and rivers. In this
spot, three small creeks cascade together into a large crevice before
continuing downstream.
"Clements Mountain & Wildflowers" – Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
This image doesn't have the stunning sky like the falls image above, but I like how the early morning light highlights the
towering Clements Mountain.
During the months of July and
August, while much of the country is sweltering in heat, it is
springtime at Glacier NP's Logan Pass. Numerous wildflowers can be found
blooming in the alpine meadows. The yellow and violet flowers seen here
are known, respectively, as Broadleaf Arnica and Monkey Flower (yes, I
had to look those up! :)).
"Ice & Surf" – Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Minnesota, USA
I made the trek to Split Rock Lighthouse last month with hopes of
once again seeing and photographing the annual moonrise behind the
iconic Lake Superior lighthouse. The clouds did not part enough, for the
100+ eager photographers present, to get a glimpse of the glowing lunar
orb, but there was still plenty to photograph, including a rare winter beacon lighting!
I found much beauty in the ice formations along the shore. There is a
lot to take in within this image, but if you know some of the basic
compositional guidelines, it really is an organized chaos.
For the photography nerds among us: the
shore ice and incoming waves form a "leading line" that guides the
viewer toward the somewhat distant cliff-perched lighthouse. "Counterpoint" is
another technique used here to balance the composition. The subject of interest is
the lighthouse, and the bottom-right cutout shape in the ice serves as a counterpoint. Finally, did you notice the similarity between the
cutout shape in the near ice and the shape of the opening in the clouds
above the lighthouse?
"Catalyst" – Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
Light, color, and form converge in a unique place on the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. What more is there to say...it is a sandstone paradise!
"Surf & Sunrise" – Grand Marais, Minnesota, USA
I enjoy walking along Lake Superior and watching incoming waves wash
over the ancient basalt shore. For thousands of years, the tempestuous
lake has sculpted the volcanic rock into some of the interesting shapes
we see today. This images is from Artists' Point in Grand Marais.
"Blazing Roof Ruins" – Cedar Mesa, Utah, USA
Scattered throughout the canyons of Cedar Mesa are several ancient
Puebloan cliff dwellings that have survived for hundreds of years. This
particular dwelling is colloquially known as "House on Fire" for reasons
that should be obvious by viewing the photo. I have another shot
from a slightly different vantage point that I'll show in the future that will make the
name even more evident.
I chose this composition for how the
pattern in the roof and the slickrock "steps" at the bottom left draw
the viewer toward the ruins.
"Morning Rainbow" – Grand Marais, Minnesota, USA
How would you like to wake up to this?
As I was photographing the sunrise image at Artists' Point (two images up), I turned around to discover a brilliant rainbow
over the Grand Marais harbor! I quickly repositioned myself and snapped a
few frames before the rainbow quickly faded along with the delicate morning light.
Here's an interesting rainbow tidbit: if you imagine a rainbow
completing the full circle below the horizon, the center point of that
circle is exactly opposite, or 180 degrees from, the sun. That's why we
don't see rainbows in the sky during the middle of the day. And yes, rainbows really are complete circles—we only see about half of a rainbow because of our usual vantage point in relation to the geography.
"Mobius by Moonlight" – Alabama Hills, California, USA
For this image, I used a combination of moonlight and light from my
headlamp to illuminate this scene featuring California's iconic Mobius
Arch in the Owens Valley, just east of the Sierra Nevada range.
I love looking up at the starry night sky, especially in a location
like this where it is not only warm, but the landscape holds intriguing
features!
