The Franklin Parker Preserve About 20-some years ago, I slammed on the brakes of my car, bringing it to a screeching halt. It wasn't a traffic incident, but a sign on the side of the road that caused me to stop so suddenly. That sign read "The Franklin Parker Preserve." It was just outside of what was a cranberry farm. The sudden [...]
Storm Light In Arches National Park Recently in Utah, we had a day where the storm light just didn't quit. Snow and rain squalls were moving around Arches National Park the entire day, creating extraordinary light. Storm light is something that the landscape artists of the Hudson River School, one of my main inspirations, captured in the 19th century. It is literally [...]
Situational Awareness Situational awareness is the self-defense technique of being aware of what is around you at all times. It is training yourself to recognize potential dangers and threats, find escape routes, and remain safe. Situational awareness is basically seeing and analyzing what is around you. So what does this have to do with photography or this particular photograph? One of my [...]
To me snow is inspiring due to a conversation I had with landscape artist Peter Fiore years ago. One of the things I remember from our talk is a story he told about when his kids were little. One winter they were outside and he asked them what color the snow was. White was the obvious answer, but Peter pointed out how the snow actually can be many colors by reflecting all the colors around it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 [...]
Photographing the New Jersey Pine Barrens For the last few years I've ended the year with a blog post that looks back on what I've done photographically in order to share some things that I have learned. This year, one major accomplishment happened that doesn't have anything to do with specific photographs. It was the publication of my book called Photographing the [...]