How can you make a unique image from a place that everyone has seen depicted in photographs hundreds of times? I think that it's an example of one of the supreme challenges of photography: Making the best of the situation and scene in front of you, at that moment in time, all while trying to imbue your own artistic imprint.
Travel
Lipan Point, Grand Canyon
Saguaro National Park
Our recent trip to Arizona included a day trip to Tucson, and while there we decided that we had to see some of Saguaro National Park. It's a beautiful desert preserve that is split into two sections flanking the city on either side.
Cholla in Superstition Wilderness
Arizona is a fun place to photograph nature, especially in the winter, when you're visiting from up north where everything is in full "winter drab" mode. Our recent trip to visit my parents in Sun Lakes included several day trips to local wilderness areas and parks, and in this post I thought I'd highlight a landscape shot and how I "massaged" it into what I was envisioning for the image.
Sonoran Desert National Monument, Part Two
Tomorrow we are flying down to Arizona for the annual trip to visit the parents at their snowbird home. My hope is that Marly and I will get several chances to get out and shoot the desert landscape and wildlife. Last year, my mother and I went to Sonoran Desert National Monument one evening and I posted about it a while back. I thought I would share a few more images from that day in anticipation of this year's trip.
A Short Trip to Florida
Marly and I just got back from a quick trip to the Bradenton, Florida area. We joined friends for a lot of tennis and good company, but of course I was also hoping to do some photography. We didn't get to do much in the way of pictures, but I did manage to snap a few shots on some early morning walks in the neighborhood.
Back to the Beach, Part Two
The morning after my South Carolina Photography Workshop, I hopped in the rental car at 6:00 am and drove back to Hunting Island Beach to do some more shooting on my own. I found an interesting grouping of stumps, attached my polarizing filter, and set my tripod into the wet sand.
Back to the Beach, Part One
After visiting a couple of less fruitful locations, we returned to the other end of Hunting Island Beach for a late-afternoon shoot. The low-angle sunlight provided interesting shadows cast on the sand. The only problem with shooting this time of day and in this way is getting your own shadow out of the frame!
Chapel of Ease Ruins
After our sunrise shoot on Hunting Island, my February workshop in South Carolina headed inland for some sightseeing. Our first stop was the Chapel of Ease Church ruins on Saint Helena Island.
Hunting Island Beach Sunrise
My workshop experience in South Carolina last February began with a beach shoot at sunrise. We arrived at the beach just as twilight was beginning to reveal a surreal landscape. This particular stretch of beach is strewn with the skeletons of large trees, killed and blackened by the encroaching ocean.