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Most people who rise before the sun do it because they have to. And sadly, because we’ve been so conditioned by a lifetime of rising for school and work, rushing to “pressing” obligations, the joys of early mornings never seem to outweigh the pleasure of staying in bed. While I won ‘t pretend that I truly relish a 4:30 a.m. alarm, not only have…
About a month ago I wrapped up my ninth Grand Canyon raft trip. As my guides and I get better at identifying the best spots and when to be there, there’s an aspect of similarity from trip to trip, but thanks to group dynamics, weather conditions, and the secondary stops we chose to make on any given year, each trip always feels unique. As…
Ode to the Coffee Table Book I grew up in an era when coffee table books were a thing. For decades, these dense rectangular blocks, packed with thick, glossy pages containing far more picture than text, dominated living rooms across America. Whether acquired by purchase or gift, once installed on a coffee table, most coffee table books would rest unopened for years, virtually untouched…
Virtually every scene I approach with a camera is beautiful, but a beautiful scene isn’t enough if all the parts don’t work together. Human experience of the world differs greatly from what the camera captures—the photographer’s job is to understand and use those differences. Ansel Adams and visualization Most photographers know that Ansel Adams visualized his final print, and the darkroom work necessary to…
True story: I once had a Yosemite workshop participant meter an El Capitan reflection scene, put her Nikon D4 in continuous-frame mode, then press the shutter and spray in a 180 degree (10 FPS) arc until the image buffer filled. Unable to contain my dismay, I asked her what she was doing and she just shrugged and said (with a smile), “It’s Yosemite—there’s sure…
The first time I visited New Zealand (way back in 1995), I was surprised not just by the number of mountains, but also by their size. New Zealand’s mountains reminded me very much of the Eastern Sierra peaks I visit every year for the way their serrated profiles tower above the surrounding landscape. And while the east-side view of the Sierra Crest is truly…
One of my favorite things to do at year’s end is to look back at the images that made the year especially memorable. And my favorite part of this exercise is the realization that, even though I can’t say how, I know I’ll be similarly rewarded in the coming year. But what to do with the images I’ve selected? I’ve always struggled with the…
The key to successful sunrise photography is arriving early—dark and early. Not just to photograph the early morning twilight, but to familiarize yourself with the surroundings to be ready for whatever the rapidly changing morning light delivers. Exactly how early is “dark and early”? Well, another way of looking at it would be, if you can navigate without a flashlight, you’re too late. I…
Imagine a world unmarred by the din of civilization, a world so quiet you can hear nature’s every stirring, where each breath carries a pristine bouquet of subtle fragrances and the sky is a continuously shifting kaleidoscope of indigo, blue, yellow, orange, and pink. Not a fantasy dreamscape or a garden planet in a galaxy far, far away, I’m describing the world just beyond…
Before returning to the Hawaii trip, I want to wrap up my Grand Canyon trip with another image from the wonderful lightning show on the last night of the second workshop. I wrote about this evening, and the frustrations that preceded it, in my August 29 “Feast or Famine” post. I’ve actually processed three of my favorite lightning strikes from that evening, and it…
Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 