Photo: "Break the Mold"

Glacier National Park, Montana

It seems that lately, friends of mine on G+ are sharing photos that are outside of their comfort zone, so I thought I'd share one of mine that falls into that category. 

I shot this image during a recent trip to Glacier National Park with family. Having lived in California my entire whole life, I never really had a chance to see mountains like this until this trip and I'll just say, they were glorious! 

When I began editing the images, I saw this shot and loved the snow patterns and clouds, but didn't feel like it had the impact I had hoped for. I mucked with it for about 15 minutes and then suddenly realized it had to be in B&W. 

Those of you who know my work, know I engage in minimal processing for 98% of my images and rarely convert to B&W, so this is definitely an image I feel is unique for my catalog, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

(Print - http://smu.gs/19sY35M )

Photo: "You've Got A Way"

Glacier National Park, Montana 

There is something about nature that changes me completely. I've always been an observant person, but in nature that escalates to an even grander scale. I observe every vibrant flower, falling leaf, crawling inchworm, tiny singing bird, glimpse of a snowcapped mountain and still pond. I notice things most people don't see, but I rarely photograph those things because in nature, sometimes I love just being an observer. 

During the hike to Avalanche Lake a few weeks ago when I visited Glacier NP, I saw this still patch of water along the river and the only way I could imagine it as a photograph, was if I shot it with the camera resting on the ground. I guess a part of me always imagines what the world would look like if I were 2" tall. 

 (Buy a print)

Photo: "Illuminate to Recreate"

Mono Lake, California

Until last weekend, it had been a while since I'd been out shooting under the full moon. A few years ago, I was able to get out nearly every month and shoot at least one moon night, but life seems to get in the way lately. I guess it's time to start figuring out how to make that happen again. 

(This image was a 9 minute exposure taken at ISO 100 and f/16.)

 

Photo: "Stirred, Not Shaken"

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Lake Tahoe, California

This was taken back in January on the way home after spending a Saturday in the Eastern Sierras with +Jeff Sullivan and +Lori Hibbett. On Sunday, +Tran Mai began the trek home and stopped in Tahoe for snowshoeing and  sunset. We didn't get great color, but it was a great opportunity to slap on the Big Stopper and get a long exposure. 

Photo: "Hey There Manly Beacon!"

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After setting up my tripod at the top of the hill with the rest of my group, I decided I wasn't happy with my perspective. Since I shot sunrise from that same spot during the last trip, with a nice sky, I decided I wanted a new angle.

I began the decent into the canyon half an hour before sunrise, stopping along the way to take shots from various angles and not realizing that I had walked so far until the Manly Beacon was directly to my right. I suddenly realized the walk back to the car would be much farther than I had anticipated.