Twin Peaks

In the canon of iconic Iceland mountains, Vestrahorn is rivaled only by Kirkjufell, the much-photographed wizard-hat on Snaefellsnes Peninsula. While Kirkjufell’s acclaim is much deserved, as a photographer, one thing in particular that distinguishes Vestrahorn from Kirkjufell for me is its variety of compositional options. Kirkjufell is arguably Iceland’s most visually striking mountain, but the vantage points from which to photograph its distinctive outline…

Shock and Awe

That night at dinner, one person in the workshop group asked if there was a chance we’d see the northern lights, or if he could safely have another beer. I laughed and told him, while I can’t predict the future, I’d be shocked if the northern lights happened this night and to just go ahead and have that beer. I’ve never been happier to…

2025 Horsetail Fall: Success—and a Surprise

Let’s review I just returned from Yosemite, where I basked in another year of Horsetail Fall mayhem. But before I get into this year’s experience, let me just sing the praises of the Horsetail Fall experience in general. Horsetail Fall (don’t call it the Firefall) is a narrow, unassuming waterfall that, for a couple of weeks each February, gets thrust into the spotlight when…

Iceland, Weather or Not

As I’ve probably said a million times before, and likely will say a million more times, the best weather for photography is the worst weather to be outside. I mean, why else would Don Smith and I schedule a workshop for Iceland in January? Of course our number one reason for an Iceland winter trip is the northern lights, which means winter clouds aren’t…

Grand Finale

For most of my full moon workshops, I try to schedule the moonrise main event for the workshop’s final sunset. Sometimes other factors prevent this (for example, in Yosemite I try to avoid weekends), but when the schedule works, a nice moonrise gives the group something exciting to anticipate throughout the workshop. This becomes especially important when some or all of the workshop’s hoped-for…

Surprise Sunset

Greetings from Iceland. Running a workshop that starts before the sun and often goes deep into the night doesn’t leave a lot of time for blogging. But I want to share this image from earlier this month in Yosemite, along with a few paragraphs about its capture. We all long for drama in our landscape images, and I try to time each of my…

The Best Camera Is…

… The one that’s with you Yes, I know it’s a cliché, but like most clichés, this one is founded on truth. Even people like me, who pay the bills with our pictures, don’t carry our “real” cameras 24/7. In those instances, when I see beauty I deem worthy of recording, I’m happy that my iPhone (which is always with me) gives me serviceable…

Ten Reasons to Take Up Nature Photography

Recently I was talking to a friend on the cusp of retirement, and while she was looking forward to her impending freedom, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with all her free time. I instantly blurted, “Nature photography!,” then started listing reasons. I surprised even myself with everything I came up with, and how quickly it came, which got me thinking…

Happy 2025!

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks compiling my favorite images from 2024. It’s an exercise I always look forward to as the year winds down—of course for the opportunity to revisit special moments past, but just as much for the reminder that more special moments await me in the coming year. As I assemble these highlights, I resist ranking them, or labeling any…

2024 In the Mirror: The Night Sky

This is my third and final post looking back at my 2024 photography experiences. Next up: 2024 Highlights—my favorite images of the year. My relationship with the night sky predates my photography life. In fact, for most of my photography life, cameras weren’t even capable of capturing dark skies well enough to do them justice. That changed with the advent of digital capture, and…