In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Aug 5, 2026 | Announcements
Curves at dusk, Death Valley NP, California
I recently did an interview with Grant Swinbourne for his Landscape Photography World podcast, and thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Grant asked a lot of thought-provoking questions, and we ended up talking about all kinds of things – capturing a mood, planning, goals, what defines success, learning the craft of photography, my early photography education, experimentation, getting past creative roadblocks, self-imposed restrictions, sharing locations, photographing familiar places, what photography has taught me about nature, authenticity in photography, and much more.
Grant just released this podcast episode; you can watch it on YouTube here, listen on your favorite podcast platform, or listen on Grant’s website. I hope you enjoy it!
— Michael Frye
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by Michael Frye | Jul 26, 2026 | Announcements, Wildlife Photography
Roseate spoonbill landing, Florida. Soft light, before the sun rose high enough to light the bird, brought out the beautiful, subtle colors in this spoonbill’s feathers. The background is out-of-focus water reflecting blue sky. 305mm, 1/500 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 8000.
Back in March, on our trip to Florida for the Out of Merritt Island bird photography conference, we had some wonderful opportunities to photograph roseate spoonbills in flight. The spoonbills’ repeated forays ashore to gather nesting material allowed us to catch them flying with varying wing positions, light, and backgrounds.
Like so many Florida birds, the spoonbills weren’t particularly afraid of people, which made things easier. But it was still a challenge to track and frame these fast-moving subjects, keep them in focus, and photograph them with good light against the right background.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 5, 2026 | Wildlife Photography
Great blue heron at sunset, northern California
An edge habitat is a boundary where two ecosystems meet – like when a forest meets a meadow, or a wetland meets a dry grassland. These edges usually support a greater variety and abundance of animals because you’ll find species from either ecosystem, plus species that need both ecosystems.
Roosevelt elk, for example, are pretty common along the northern coast of California, but live only where forests and meadows meet. They use the meadows (and some more open forest areas) for feeding, while the dense redwood forests provide shelter and protection from predators.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 2, 2026 | Announcements
Dried mud and cottonwood leaves, Utah
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be going back to the Moab Photography Symposium next year! I was a presenter at the symposium way back in 2011, and had a great time there. I’ve wanted to go back, but it didn’t work out for various reasons – until now.
The symposium has evolved a bit since Bruce Hucko ran it every year. Bruce is still involved, but now the symposium is an every-other-year event, and organized by our good friends David Kingham and Jennifer Renwick, who I think are the perfect people to carry on this legacy.
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by Michael Frye | Jun 21, 2026 | Light and Weather
Sea stacks at sunset, Pacific Coast, northern California
During our redwoods workshops we always hope to find fog, but we also hope to see a nice sunset or two along the coast. Unfortunately those two things don’t usually go together. The kind of high fog layer (or coastal stratus) that might seep into a redwood forest often appears as a low overcast along the coast. Even if the stratus dissipates late in the morning, it can reform again just before sunset, blocking the light.
The most interesting sunrises and sunsets usually need some clouds to catch the light from the rising or setting sun and add interest to the sky. But the most colorful sunrises and sunsets usually involve high clouds, not low clouds. Since they’re so far above the earth, high clouds can catch the light from the sun well before sunrise or long after sunset. And because the sun can light those high clouds from such a low angle, the light travels through more atmosphere, filtering out the blue wavelengths of light, and leaving only oranges and reds.
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by Michael Frye | Jun 14, 2026 | Light and Weather
Trail through a redwood forest, northern California
In photography, light is vital. A wonderful subject can look drab without good light. But a mundane subject can look fantastic with the right light.
The light doesn’t have to be spectacular to make a compelling photograph; it just has to complement the subject, and help tell the story you’re trying to tell. But of course special light is always welcome. And one of my favorite kinds of light is sun breaking through fog. This beautiful light can work with almost any landscape, but it’s especially magical with trees or forest scenes.
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by Michael Frye | May 31, 2026 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories, Uncategorized
Wave splash at sunset, Pacific Coast. 185mm, 1/500 sec. at f/16, ISO 3200.
Claudia and I are in the northwest corner of California scouting for our upcoming redwoods workshop. I always enjoy coming here, as I love both the forests and the coast in this part of the world.
On a previous visit Claudia had spotted some unusual wave activity at one coastal location while I was off photographing something else. Her description intrigued me, so I kept that spot in the back of my mind in case we got the chance to photograph big waves there. And we got that chance on Tuesday, with waves 16 feet or higher according to the nearest wave buoys. Waves like that are unusual for this time of year, so it seemed like a great opportunity.
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by Michael Frye | May 17, 2026 | Travels and Stories
Creek flowing through a limestone side canyon, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
I just returned from a wonderful 12-day raft trip down the Grand Canyon. This was my fourth time down the canyon, and third with Visionary Wild and my amazing co-instructor, Jerry Dodrill. It’s always so special to raft through the heart of this spectacular, wild, and remote landscape, and it was wonderful to share this adventure with our great group of participants, and with our fantastic AZRA guides: Ed, Tony, Michele, and Boh.
During each of my trips down the Grand Canyon I’ve been struck by the contrast between the grandeur and immensity of the main canyon, and the quiet, subtle beauty of the side canyons. You can be walking beside a roaring rapid along the Colorado River, with cliffs and terraces ascending thousands of feet above you, then turn into a narrow side canyon and be out of earshot of the river within a few minutes. And in these quiet sanctuaries you can find tinkling streams, hanging gardens of ferns or flowers, waterfalls, and beautiful, sculpted, polished rock.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 26, 2026 | Travels and Stories
Sunbeams and the Colorado River, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
Tomorrow I’ll begin another raft trip through the Grand Canyon. This will be my fourth journey down the canyon, and third for Visionary Wild. And once again my co-instructor will be the fabulous Jerry Dodrill – a wonderful photographer and teacher who knows the Grand Canyon intimately.
My previous trips were either eight- or ten-days long. This one will take twelve days, which I’m really excited about. The more time in the canyon the better!
Prior to arriving here in Flagstaff, Claudia and I did a short road trip through Utah and Arizona, finishing at the south rim of the Grand Canyon on Thursday and Friday nights. It’s always fun to see the canyon from the rim before going down into the heart of it. The perspectives from the top and bottom are very different, but all the perspectives on this canyon are beautiful.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 19, 2026 | Light and Weather
El Capitan and the Merced River after a spring snowfall, Yosemite NP, California
Last Sunday another small weather system came through California. This one was colder – cold enough to turn rain into snow in Yosemite Valley toward the end of the storm. It was wet snow, and melted quickly, but it was enough to briefly etch the tree branches in white.
Seeing snow and mist on the webcams, I drove up early Sunday morning to the valley to see what I could see. One thought was to try and photograph dogwoods with snow. The dogwoods started blooming early this year, no doubt because of the strange, warm weather we had in March.
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