Have you ever been alone in the woods and feel like you are being watched or followed? Lately I've felt that way in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, but it doesn't cause fear or concern. The watchers are the ghosts of those who inspire me as a photographer.
January is usually a quiet time in the Pine Barrens. Not much goes on and it's a good time to plan workshops and other photographic opportunities,. Not this year though. January has been a busy month with two snow storms, a bitter cold snap and even a bit of Piney magic happening.
2024 was one of the most unique years since since I've been photographing the in the Pine Barrens and the Franklin Parker Preserve. Among the misty mornings, wildflowers and beautiful light, there was a solar eclipse, a comet and the northern lights. It was a year that included a heavy snow storm, floods, extreme temperatures and an epic drought. To say the least, it was a very interesting year.
Instead of hanging up my gear and waiting out this dry spell, I decided to photograph it. One reason is to document this unfortunate, but historic event. The other reason is to challenge myself to make at out of these conditions.
Landscape photography takes on a different feel when there is history in the scenes you compose. On a recent trip to Gettysburg Pennsylvania, that history became overwhelming at times.
There is no better place to master composition than a challenging environment. The best challenging environment I've worked in is the Airplane and Automotive Graveyard right here in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Since 2016 it has been my pleasure to work with the owners of this unique location to let photography groups learn how to make art out of scrap.
Fall in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is the one time of year that the Pines become an amazing place to photograph. Fill will have many days with morning mist and the deciduous trees show off their bold reds, yellows and oranges as the season transition from the greens of summer to the muted colors of winter.
On one of those trips, nature showed it's ability to overwhelm with beauty. Here is that story. It took place in a few minutes, 32 to be exact, where I was able to witness a day begin in a magical realm of color and light.
The 21st century Catskill Mountains are not the 19th century Catskill Mountains. When artists like Thomas Cole, Fredric Church, Asher Durant, Suzie Barstow and others set up their easels to paint, they saw a near wilderness with old growth forests. Those old trees are long gone and many of the small villages and hamlets along the Hudson River have grown into small cities. What's left of the wilderness is now well traversed by hikers and tourists.
The idea of photographing landscapes without the possibility of dramatic clouds presented a challenge. It was a creative problem that required a solution. This blog has the solutions I used on our trip to the Eastern Sierra Mountains.
Looks like Fall, but it's Not! The changing colors of the trees in the fall brings leaf peepers out all over the northeastern U.S. There is nothing like it, or is there? This spring in the New Jersey Pine Barrens we were treated to tree color that was almost equal to the fall. To call this leaf peeping really isn't correct. These [...]
Sometimes as a photographer it is good to take a risk. Not the dangle from a cliff or any put yourself in an unsafe condition kind of risk, this post is about taking subject or compositional risks.
Joshua Tree National Park in California is very different from the New Jersey Pine Barrens where I do most of my work, but this desert landscape has been a favorite place for a long time. Its odd little Joshua Trees that aren't really trees, and those otherworldly rock formations irresistible.
When starting to photograph the Pine Barrens, it's easy to chase the sky colors showing our beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The light reflects in some of the 17 trillion gallons of water under the Pines that makes it to the surface in the form of bogs and lakes. As you get to know the Pine Barrens, you start to see the beauty of the shapes, forms and textures of the forest in differing light.
What I got from the Hudson River School of landscape artists is an interest in photographing storm light with the goal of showing beauty in the awesome power of nature.
The Blog Post That Isn't a Blog Post Not long ago there was a major wildfire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Pine Barrens forest fires are part of the ecology so there is do doubt that the Pines will recover, sort of. This wildfire was different. It was big, covering over 13,500 acres in some well travelled areas of the Pine [...]