Mt. Rainier National Park

There are fewer images here than I had hoped for. I had great expectations of wildflowers everywhere and dramatic views of Mt. Rainier. An unperfect photographers storm of unfavorable weather and very poor photographic execution on my part produced a yawning number of very mediocre images. Maybe I'll do better next time.

Olympic National Park

There are not as many photos here as I had planned and hoped for. I had great expectations of brilliant sunrises and glorious sunsets on the beach. Alas, there was a convergence of unfavorable weather and very poor photographic execution on my part that yielded very few acceptable photos. The rain forest shots turned out to be as boring as a family vacation slideshow. Maybe next year.

Oregon Coast

Photographing on the Oregon coast was the most challenging I've yet experienced. The environment was completely new to me and beach photography is filled with equipment perils I hadn't imagined. I was not used to salt spray on my equipment or fine sand in the tripod legs, or dirt, grit, salt and sand in my ballhead. I didn't know about salt spray accumlating on the lens and filters. And, I didn't know about seven straight days of shooting every sunrise and sunset. Days usually began at 4 am and shooting sometimes didn't end until 10 pm - and, I have the pictures to prove it. Also, I didn't know about the different skills necessary to make those early mornings and late nights worth it. But, that's why I went there - to learn how to capture the light, to see patterns and formations, to meet new friends and re-connect with old ones. It was a grand experience and I plan to return - this is probably my favorite photo experience yet. And, there was more than just the beaches. Lighthouses drew us in, wild flowers abounded, forests towered and the best fresh sea food was there, too. Mark Rasmussen of LightChase Photography was masterful in teaching us about the light, filters and being the herder of a group of photo cats.

Pacific Northwest - Seattle and Victoria, BC

The images found here don't fit into my usual national parks type locations but there are some photos I hope you'll find of interest - maybe even in a whimsical way.

Both cities are beautiful gems and deserve a "chamber of commerce" treatment. They didn't get that here but only because I haven't had the opportunity to do so. I will in the future, though.

Panoramics

Panoramic photos are, to me, the real fun part of photography. A good "pano" combines creativity, solid composition, spot-on exposure, near perfect focus, patience, and the abiltiy to do all that very quickly. And, there's even the requirement to have some basic mechanical skills as well. Once you have all the desired exposures, you sit back and let the software automatically put it all together - most of the time. You'll find the photos in this collection scattered throughout other albums, as well.

Texas Hill Country

Texas Hill Country is a region of hills, some rugged and desolute, others gentle and welcoming. But, in the early spring, the only thing that matters is the wild flower bloom and acres and acres of bluebonnet, paintbrush, cactus, and dozens of other varieties. I've made two trips to Hill Country and am looking forward to the next one. The hospitality is warm, friendly and open; I've had ranchers direct us to unknown fields of wildflowers just because they saw us with our cameras.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone, the first national park, has it all - geysers, waterfalls, canyons, terraced springs, thermal pools, mudpots, wild rivers, lush valleys, and wildlife - so much wildlife that Yellowstone is often referred to as "The American Serengeti". Bison, elk, deer, moose, wolves, coyotes, black bear, and of course "griz" live here. I've been to Yellowstone many times and see it differently every time. And, I'll go back many more times because you simply can never see it all.

Sunrise - Sunset - ALBUM IN PROGRESS

There's nothing quite like experiencing the beginning of a day nor the end. Working to capture a sunrise is a lot like gambling - you are betting ahead of time that conditions will be favorable to capture those first rays of light. Sometimes you win, sometimes... And, sunsets are like that, too. You hope there is good cloud structure to show off all the color along with an interesting foreground.

The Puppies

This is strictly a personal indulgence featuring puppies that have shared our home and made it a more comfortable place. No show dogs here although we have been very proud of "The Puppies" and always thought they were real champions and wonderful, loving and lovable companions. And, they were - and are.

Wildflowers and Trees

A couple of friends gave me the idea of a gallery consisting only of wildflowers and trees. It's a great idea so check in - some images are found in other albums but here, they are the stars.

Photo Equipment

A number of you have asked what equipment I use so I'll post a list here:

Camera(s): Most photos on this site were taken with a Nikon D200. However, my first DSLR was a used FujiFilm S1 - great camera and great fun. All the photos in the San Juan Mountains album (Colorado) were taken with my son's FujiFilm S3. The dynamic range of that camera is outstanding. My "walk around" point and shoot camera is a Canon S90 - an unbelievably excellent camera that produces outstanding results and is really fun to use.

Lens: My favorite lens is a Nikon 17-55mm f2.8. It's a brute, weight-wise, but tack sharp. Other lens used include a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR, Nikon 28-105mm f3.5-5.6, and a Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro. Most wildlife shots were taken using a Nikon 80-400 f4.5-5.6 (I rent it). I occasionally rent a Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8 lens - it's really sharp and gives that added "wide angle" edge when desired or needed.

Filters: the ever-present circular polarizer is almost always in place and recently I have been learning how to use GNDs (graduated neutral density) filters - a gift from the photo fairies.

Tripod: Manfrotto 055CX3 carbon fibre - a reakkt good mid-range carbon fibre tripod. It's light but very rigid and sturdy.

Ballhead: Kirk BH-3 - a fantastic piece of equipment. What a difference a good ballhead makes.

Leveling Ballhead - All my panoramic images are made possible by a Bogen-Manfrotto 438 levelling head. Some folks have the eye to be able to get the camera level for all the shots; I don't. Thus, this piece of equipment plus a "spirit" level mounted on the hotshoe of my camera.

Printer: Epson 1400 - I can't say enough good about this printer.

Imaging software - Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0. It's the little version of the big daddy but it works just fine and isn't menu and terminology fussy. Besides, why do I need to put neon highlights on my photos? All panoramic and HDR processing has been done in various versions of Photoshop Elements.

Resources & Recommendations

Framed Images