Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
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.
The Eastern Sierras of California
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.
Photographing an Abandoned Factory
Taking a Break from Photography with Photography Many professional photographers use personal projects to keep their love of photography and their creative voice alive. Personal projects allow you to do what you want instead of what a client needs. When I retired from commercial photography a few years ago I thought my work would be nothing but personal projects. While it is [...]
The Magic of Mist In The Pine Barrens
Photographing Mist and Fog My friend Ron recently coined a new spelling for mysticism. It's "Mistycism" which describes what misty mornings do to the New Jersey Pine Barrens landscape. It tends to turn that landscape, especially the cedar swamps into a mystical, or "mistycal" world. Here are some examples and a bit of a tutorial on photographing mist and fog. Soft backlit [...]
My Favorites Images of 2019
As a photographer, 2019 was pretty significant for me. It was successful for print sales, workshops and speaking engagements, but I'm most happy with my growth as a photographer. Instead of just showing my favorite photographs from 2019, I'd like to share why they were made which may help you on your journey as a photographer and artist. . Inspiration This year, [...]
Lancaster County Pennsylvania
Do No Harm With Your Photography Lancaster County in Pennsylvania is known for its Amish and Mennonite religious sects. The Amish are a closed sect that shun the modern trappings of life and choose to live without electricity and the machinery driven by it. They farm with horses and travel in horse drawn buggies which makes them particularly attractive to photographers. But, [...]
Lake Tahoe
I know this is a photography blog but recently a problem on a trip to Lake Tahoe opened the door to an amazing experience.
Foreboding Light
This is a presentation on how I made and processed an image called Foreboding Light.
A Pine Barrens Ruin
Every picture tells a story, but which one? Of all the ghost towns in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Amatol may be the strangest. Hastily built in 1917 during World War I, the town's sole purpose was to staff a munitions factory. At one point Amatol had a population of over 7000 people with churches, a YMCA, speedway, movie theater and more. [...]
Joshua Tree by Moonlight
Journey Into Night at Ryan Ranch Our recent trip back to Joshua Tree National Park was a great time to explore the night. Thanks to some handy jetlag, I was wide awake at 3:30am and hiked to the ruins of Ryan Ranch. The moonlight was bright enough to make wearing a headlamp unnecessary. Ryan Ranch was built by JD Ryan who ran [...]
White Hill Mansion
More Photographs from a quirky piece of American History. Sequels are not just a trend in movies, they happen in photography too. Many photographers revisit locations that attract and continue to interpert them creatively. When I photographed the Abandoned White Hill Mansion months ago, I felt I had finished that project. At least that was until I had the pleasure of leading [...]
Back At The Shack For The Super Moon
The Judges Shack Revisited New Jersey excels at many things including great places to photograph a moonrise and quirky little gems of history. Those two things came together on a cold winter night along the windswept New Jersey shoreline of Island Beach State Park. The Judge's Shack, located in the park, is always interesting to photograph. When the January Super Moon rose [...]
Judge’s Shack
Andrew Wyeth and a New Jersey Shack The Judge's Shack is a beach shack and one of our state's lesser icons. New Jersey is known for many things. but our beach shacks tend to get little attention. They were small vacation homes built in rural parts of the Jersey shore back when there were rural parts of the Jersey Shore. Their only real [...]
An 18th Century Ruin
Why We Photograph What We Photograph This photograph is part of a series about the ruins of an 18th century stone house. It was a bit of a surprise to find this building during a hike, especially one made of stone where this home is located. I thought it may be a good idea to discuss how I made the image. Vision It is important to have intent in your art. The method [...]
A Quiet Morning In The New Jersey Pine Barrens
We all can use some serenity, right? When color landscape photography is posted on social media, it is the colorful, over-saturated and dramatically composed images that seem to rack up the likes. Here is an interesting fact. Scientific studies show that while images, photographic or otherwise, with intense color catch the attention immediately, they tend to not be remembered in the long term. I'm [...]
Bombay Beach
What happens to a seaside paradise when the seaside gets toxic The story of Bombay Beach, California is an unusual one. In the early 1900's an attempt to control the Colorado River for irrigation backfired when flood waters filled the Salton Basin creating the Salton Sea. This new sea in the desert may have been an environmental disaster, but was and still is the largest lake in [...]