Maui Vacation 2020 – Doors Helicopter Ride

The next selection of pictures I have chosen to share with you are some of my all-time favorite images. While we were vacationing in Maui Kathy and I took a doors off helicopter ride. The helicopter trip took us over the west Maui mountains across the water and around part of Moloka’i and back down […]

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Maui Vacation 2020 – The Road to Hana

No trip to Maui is complete without driving the road to Hana. The landscape is a beautiful display of vibrant green colors and fantastic waterfalls. It is very easy to spend a couple of days driving down to the south end of the Island and back. Here are some of my best images collected on […]

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Maui Vacation 2020 – Dragons Teeth

Here are a series of images I captured on a landmark called the Dragons Teeth in Kapalua. We arrived at this area about 30 minutes before sunset and we were treated with beautiful skies and fantastic golden hour light. This area is really great to explore and I am sure you could spend hours finding […]

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Maui Vacation 2020 – Hololani Sunset

This image was captured the first night we spent in Maui. I set my tripod up in the backyard of the condo complex we were staying at. This evening there was a bright colorful sky over the island of Lana’i which you can see in the distance. Over the course of the 4 weeks we […]

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Maui Vacation 2020 – Haleakala Sunrise

One trip I highly recommend is driving to the top of Haleakala for sunrise. The crest of is at 10,023 feet and just a few days ago got a nice dusting of snow. Haleakala (which means the house of the sun) is the dormant volcano that occupies the southern portion of the island of Maui. […]

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Maui Vacation 2020 – Sunset Tree

Kathy and I just got back from a wonderful month long vacation to the Island of Maui. We had several wonderful adventures and I always had my camera ready to shoot some beautiful images. This image was taken along the a stretch of beach in West Maui. I really love the colors and how the […]

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The Canadian Rockies – Last Day Helicopter Ride

On our way out of town on the last day we took a short (15 minute) helicopter ride. Here are a few images from that ride. It was great to see the end of the Rockies geology and the start of the open plains down into the Calgary area. Hope you have enjoyed my images […]

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The Canadian Rockies – Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake is known for its vivid colors due to high concentrations of rock flower in the water. I really like this view point from above and down into the lake valley. The blue-green color is off the charts ! What a beautiful place to visit.

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The Canadian Rockies – The Columbia Icefields

After we stayed in Lake Louise for a few days we took a tour to visit the Columbia Icefields. It was really breath taking to see the source of the active glaciation going on in the Canadian Rockies. We actually took a bus up the slopes and got out and walked around part of the […]

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The Canadian Rockies – Lake Louise

While we were here we spent 2 nights at Lake Louise. Kathy and I were dodging rain drops every time we went outside to take a walk. Here is an image I took directly out the back doors of the Lodge. While it was cloudy and overcast, it is still beautiful to look at !

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The Canadian Rockies – Jasper and Maligne Lake

On our first day in Jasper National Park we went to Maligne Lake. What a beautiful area ! Most all of the surface water in the Canadian Rockies are sourced from glaciers. The movement of the glaciers creates friction that breaks and grinds up the rock to a fine powder called rock flour. The small […]

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Canadian Rockies Trip – The Train Ride In

On Wednesday of this week Kathy and I just got home from a ten day vacation to the Canadian Rockies. We took the Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver through Kamloops and then onto Jasper National Park. We then stayed 2 nights at each of these locations Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff. I took a total […]

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Australia and New Zealand – A Trip to the Shire

One of our most favorable stop on our recent trip to Australia and New Zealand was Rotorua. Here we board a bus and drove out to the set that served as the setting for “The Shire” home of the hobbits. This is one of the few areas where the sets used in the filming of […]

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Australia and New Zealand – Cape Kidnappers

Our next stop on our vacation to Australia and New Zealand is Napier. Here we took a tour bus to Cape Kidnappers. The viewpoint from this Cape is stunning and allows one to look out over the coast land and see all the way back to the port at Hawke’s Bay. The first photo is […]

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Australia and New Zealand – KaKa Bird

The next day we cruised down to the city of Wellington and visited an urban ecosanctuay called Zealandia. It was a beautiful place to visit, very green and lush, with lots of wildlife and birds. The morning we visited was very rainy and I had my camera and big lens (150 to 600 mm) stashed […]

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Australia and New Zealand – Kangaroos and Koloas

Our next stop (after a day at sea) was Melbourne. There we stopped and visited the Serendip Open Range Sanctuary. This wildlife sanctuary contained wild kangaroos, wallabies, emus and Koala bears. We got to see the Kangaroos right at sunset by the time we saw the Koalas it was really dark and it required some […]

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Australia and New Zealand – Abstract Sydney

The next grouping of pictures was a new growth and new experience for me. While I was in Sydney I meet up with a local photographer and he took me around downtown Sydney. We focused on abstract images, we looked for images of color, texture and structure to create works of spacial art. We focused […]

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Australia & New Zealand – Visiting Sydney

Kathy and I have just returned home from a fantastic vacation. We spent 18 days exploring (and photographing) Australia and New Zealand. We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed ourselves. We were expecting mid summer like weather and ended only being able to wear short one day in Sydney. The rest if the time […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 11

And now we come to the end of this photo review with my personal best shot of the trip. We got up at 3:30 am the first morning in the Grand Canyon and we drove for over 1 1/2 hours to get to a spot where you can get a fantastic view of a rock […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 10

  The next day the group drove down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. After dinner we walked down to Bright Angel Point and captured another fantastic sunset. It was extremely windy that evening I need to weigh down my tripod to keep the lens as still as possible. No matter how many […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 9

  This is a very ionic shot for Zion National Park. The large rock cliff in the background is called the Watchman and the Virgin river runs along the valley floor. The location of this photograph was along a bridge that crosses over the Virgin River. I was there right around sunset and the photograph […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 8

Later that evening we drove out to Sunset Canyon (just outside Zion Canyon and got some great photographs. This location gives you a shot straight up a parallel canyon. The lighting was really great and I attempted to incorporate some of the lighting to shine on the foreground where there were lots of cactus plants […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 7

  This next image was taken in the Zion valley next to the Virgin River. I think it shows the tremendous scale of these sandstone cliffs. With the sun shining directly on the cliff face you can se the glorious colors set against the deep blue sky. What an incredible experience to be able to […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 6

  We entered Zion from the east side. It is hard to describe the view after you emerge from the Mt Carmel tunnel and enter the park. The sight is just spectacular, as you enter the bottom of the narrow valley there are steep cliffs rising thousands of feet into the are surrounding you. It […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 5

The next day we left Bryce and drove down to Zion. We pulled off the road right before you enter the long tunnel on the east side. At the location of this image you could see in great detail the depositional patterns in the sandstone rock. This formation was deposited as a series of migrating […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 4

  Once the sunlight begins to fill in the Bryce Canyon valleys and walkways the Hoodoo’s begin to glow with these bright almost translucent colors. This image was taken near the Bryce Canyon edge just a few minutes after sunrise. I really love the bright incredible array of colors contained within this image. Remember each […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 3

This next image was taken just moments before the sun rose above the walls of Bryce Canyon. It is quite bright outside and you can see the thousands of Hoodoo’s across the field of vision in the camera. I was shooting with my wide angle 24 to 70 zoom lens. In this image you can […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 2

We got up early the first morning in Bryce and boarded a helicopter for a 45 minute ride over the park. Bryce is known for it’s beautiful display of of rock pinnacles called Hoodoo’s. These rock formations were formed by erosional forces that left thousands of these standing vertical pinnacles that range in height from […]

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Canyons of the Southwest – 1

  Kathy and I have just made it home from an 8 day trip to photograph the canyons of the Southwest. The photographic workshop started at Bryce Canyon, moved to Zion Canyon and finished with a couple of days along the north rim of Grand Canyon. We had near perfect photographic and weather conditions during […]

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The Mighty Waves of Ke’e Beach

  Over the course of the time we were visiting Kauai we comeback and visited Ke’e beach several times.  Just with the beautiful location it is a spacial place to photograph with the view of the extension of the Na Pali coast.  But there is location right off the end of the beach on the […]

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Sunset at Poipu

The southern part of the island is a great place to be at sunset also ! These images were taken either just before or just after the sunset.  The multi layered clouds can create a variety of colorful streaks in the sky.  Those streaks can be reflected in the water along sandy and/or rocky beach. […]

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Sunset on Ke’e Beach

 One of my best and most favorable places to visit when on Kauai is Ke’e beach.  This beach is located on the northwest tip of the island and it provides you with a spectacular view of the Na Pali coast !  If you walk out along the beach to the north you can set up […]

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Kauai Sunrise Glorious Skies !

It’s morning like these that makes it so exciting to get up early and be out in position to photograph the sunrise.  These 2 images were taken the same morning right at sunrise  at Poipu beach.  In the first image I like the the silhouette of the central main Palm tree and the color strips […]

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The Kalalau Lookout

  One of the best places to visit when you are in Kauai is the Kalalau lookout.  This is an area past Waimea canyon and allows you to look over the western edge of the island and look across the Kalalau valley to the ocean below.  This is over a 4000 foot elevation change and […]

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Sunrise on the South Coast of Kauai

My wife Kathy and I were fortunate to spend a month long vacation on the southern coast of Kauai.   We stayed at an oceanfront condo in Poipu and this gave me great access to get out and explore the area for sunrise and sun set images.  These 4 images were some of my favorites […]

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Farr Law Group – Professional Poses

Just a few weeks ago I had the outstanding opportunity to work with the Farr Law Group. They are a small law group specializing in estate and family matters. They were putting together some new marketing material to promote their business and expand their reach. There were 7 people in the group and they wanted […]

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Mariana’s Senior Portraits

                                      This past Sunday I had the pleasure of working with Mariana to capture her senior portraits. We met up at Pine Lake and spent the better part of 2 hours chasing the light. She was a […]

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The Total Solar Eclipse of 2017

                      After traveling to Idaho to photograph the eclipse we settled on Ontario Sate park for our location to set up our equipment. We were the first ones to arrive at the park around 3 am on Monday morning. We were treated to a beautiful […]

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The Cute Cubs – Photographing Grizzly bears – part 4

The cute cubs ! The young bears were so cute and playful. Here are two images I captured. I named the first one “Doing My Pilates” and the second photo I named “Mud Slingers”. These cubs were never far from their mother and she always kept a watchful eye on them. They would race around […]

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Kinderdijk and Amsterdam

During the last few days of our trip we visited Kinderdijk and Amsterdam. Kinderdijk is home to several working windmills. They use the windmill power and energy to pump water out and create buildable land that is below sea level and would be flooded. These windmills served the greater community keeping things dry and providing […]

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The city of Cologne Germany

The next day of our trip we visited the city of Cologne Germany. Home of the 14th century Gothic Cathedral a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We went on a special behind the scenes tour of the Cathedral in the afternoon. It was called the Top of Cologne and it took up inside the great Cathedral. […]

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Castles Along the Middle Rhine River

One of my most favorite days was when we cruised the Middle Rhine River sonic valley. This area is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. When you cruise this stretch of the river you are surround by steep slopes blanketed with vineyards and the highest concentration of Castles anywhere, This day we were traveling from […]

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Moats, Castles and Medieval Towns

On the 11th day of our cruise we signed up for a unique shore excursion. We got to visit 2 modern day estates of today’s nobility. The first place we visited was Schloss Mespelbrunn which is the home to Countess Grafin Hedwig Margarete. It was a beautiful castle surrounded by a mote. I was able […]

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Wurzburg

This last set of images came during our visit to Wurzburg. One is a photo of the fountain in front of the Bishops resident and the other 2 are shots along the river were we cruising as we left Wurzburg for the day ! Hope you are enjoying these images !

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We then visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber which describes itself as Germany’s most beloved Medieval City. What a great place to walk around and visit. These are some street scenes that show the cobblestone narrow streets and half timbered houses !

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Visiting Regensburg

  Here are several images from Regensburg Germany. The first of these images show the narrow cobblestone streets that make up a maze of criss crossing roads in the city center. The last image is from inside St Peter’s Cathedral. It was really cool to see the streets lined with ancient houses.  

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Frauenkirche of Our Lady’s Church

One of my favorite places to visit was “Our Lady’s Church of FrauenKirche” in the city of Nuremberg. The construction of the church began in 1352 and was completed in 1361. Nuremberg suffered almost complete devastation during world war 2 but was completed restored later.  

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Cruising the Wachau Valley

We had wonderful weather during most of our trip down the Danube river. On one of the days we were cruising down the river in the Wachau Valley. This was an area filled with history and beautiful castles and Cathedrals. Hope you enjoy these images !  

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Visit to Passau Germany

The first city in Germany we visited with Passau. It is know as the city of three rivers and rests at the confluence of the Inn, Illz and the Danube rivers. It is a beautiful city to approach from the water. While we were there we were treated with a lunch time organ concert. The […]

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New Travels – Budapest to Amsterdam Part 1

Just got back ! Kathy and I have just returned from a 2 1/2 week river cruise in Europe where we went from Budapest to Amsterdam beginning with on Danube River. What a fantastic trip and the photo opportunities were endless. This first image was taken on the Buda side of the river looking out […]

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Hilo Botanical Gardens

        While these images don’t exactly fit into the category of recent trips, they were taken a few years ago when my wife and I visited the Big Island of Hawaii.  One of my most favorite places to visit is the Hilo Botanical Gardens.  I can easily spend hours here photographing images […]

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Visit to Depoe Bay Oregon

    Title “Morning Walk Along the Oregon Coast”. This image was taken about a year and a half ago when my wife and I were visiting places along the Oregon Coast. This particular morning was cold with temperatures in the low 30’s, but the sky were clear and crisp. The sun was just at […]

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Visit to Leavenworth

                            The image in this posting was taken late in October last fall at Enchantment Park in Leavenworth. This is a great place to spend a few days wondering around the shops and hiking in the parks along the river.  We visited […]

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Rockport Eagle Rafting Trip

In mid December last year, my good photography buddy Rick May and I attended a raft adventure down the Nooksack river to photograph bald eagles.  The Skagit valley is home to a large congregation of Bald Eagles during the winter months.  There are several companies that give river tours where you can get up close to the birds in trees and along the river banks.

The morning Rick and I went was clear and very cold.  When we arrived in the morning the outside temperature was hovering around freezing.  There was a lot of ice covering the ground and the wind was blowing 10 to 15 miles per hour.  We chose to tour in a boat called a jet sled and it allowed us to traverse up and down the river several times over the course of the few hours we were there. When the birds were up in the trees they pretty much did not mind us going back and forth in the boat.  The eagles on the river banks were a bit more skittish and we had to approach them very quietly otherwise they would fly away up into the trees.

The peak viewing season only lasts from about mid December through mid January.  The challenge in capturing great images is the movement of the boat in the water.  All of the photographers on board had large telephoto lenses.  I was shooting with my Tamron 150 to 600 mm zoom lens. The motion of the boat and trying to hold a big lens steady is tough.  Most people will adjust the exposure to have relatively fast shutter speeds above 1/400 of  second.  Usually the f stop will be set to give you a shallow depth of field.  This will soften the background and make the eagle stand out better in the image.

Attached to the blog entry are several of the images I captured during this trip.  I hope you enjoy them and they encourage you to go and try these workshops yourself.  Let me know if you have any question.

 

Welcome to my New Website

I am excited to welcome you to my new website ! This website is designed to support the delivery of  my photographic products and services.  As you work with me I hope you see how dedicated I am to providing you with top professional quality services to meet your needs and projects.  My value proposition […]

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Award Winning Photography – Fall Color in the Tetons

The image “Swiftly Go the Clouds” wins the grand prize award for the month of September from BetterPhoto.com.  There were over 5000 entries for this competition. This image was taken in mid September during a photographic workshop geared at capturing fall colors in Grand Teton National Park.  The trip was  led by Joseph Rossbach and […]

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