Announcements

Color, Light, and Form Exhibit at The Ansel Adams Gallery

by | Aug 1, 2009 | Announcements

My next exhibit at The Ansel Adams Gallery, called Color, Light, and Form, will be on display from August 20th through October 4th. A reception for the artist – yes, that’s me – will be held on Friday, August 28th, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Gallery is located next to the Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley. Hope to see you there!

We’re still designing the show, so I don’t know exactly which images will be displayed, but there will be a lot of new work, almost certainly including Late October Aspens, June Lake Loop, above. Let me know if you have a particular favorite, old or new, that you’d like to see.

Full Moon Night Photography Workshop

by | Jul 9, 2009 | Announcements, Workshops

Monday’s Full Moon Night Photography Workshop proved to be a lot of fun. After dodging mosquitos at Tenaya Lake we headed to Olmsted Point and it’s photogenic collection of junipers—perfect subjects to light up at night. I demonstrated some light-painting techniques using simple flashlights, then the students set off to try it on their own. They took to it like ducks to water! It was fun to see people collaborating. Often two or three people would frame a view of the same tree and take turns handling the flashlights, discussing the results after each exposure. Digital cameras certainly make the learning curve much easier.

This outstanding photograph was made by one of the participants, Kyle Jones. Clearly Kyle is a quick learner and a talented photographer.
We’re planning to do another of these one-day workshops before the summer is over—probably on September 2nd. When the details are worked out it will be posted on The Ansel Adams Gallery’s web site and blog.

Full Moon Night Photography Workshop

by | Jun 16, 2009 | Announcements, Workshops


There’s still space available in my Full Moon Night Photography Workshop on July 6th.

I’ve been interested in night photography for a long time, and have created a rather surreal body of nighttime images using flash and flashlights to illuminate objects in the dark. If you haven’t seen this work you can view the nighttime portfolio on my web site. The techniques required to make such complex photos take years to master, but this one-day workshop is a good introduction to this fun and creative arena of photography. I haven’t taught many classes on this subject, so this is a rare opportunity to learn some of the essential skills needed to make nighttime photographs. To register or get more information visit The Ansel Adams Gallery’s web site.

Hidden Yosemite Valley Workshop

by | Jun 8, 2009 | Announcements, Workshops

My Hidden Yosemite Valley workshop with The Ansel Adams Gallery ended yesterday. This is the fifth year I’ve done this class, but the first time we based it in Yosemite Valley. In previous years we stayed in Lee Vining in July and photographed the Yosemite high country, but decided to try something different and concentrate on Yosemite Valley this time.

The weather was rather unusual for June. A low pressure system brought rain and high-elevation snow, closing Tioga Pass briefly on Friday. But in between the showers we had some great photo opportunities—sunbeams on Bridalveil Fall Wednesday, chiaroscuro light and clouds from Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome on Thursday, the sun breaking through late Friday to light Bridalveil and Half Dome, and misty meadows Sunday morning. I told the group yesterday that they had the best light and weather of any workshop I’ve led. We even got to photograph two bears on Friday!

We had a nice group of people, and had a great time. The photo above shows John on Sentinel Dome Thursday afternoon.

Tioga Pass is Open

by | May 22, 2009 | Announcements, Yosemite Photo Conditions

Tioga Pass opened Wednesday, and we now have easy access to some of my favorite Yosemite locations: Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Tioga Pass. I haven’t been up there yet, but usually when the pass first opens there’s still a lot of snow on the peaks near Tioga Pass, and ice on some of the lakes, making for some interesting photo opportunities. I made this image of melting ice and reflections near Gaylor Lakes (a short but steep hike from Tioga Pass) in 2006.

This photograph is a good example of telephoto compression. Long lenses compress space and make objects look closer together than they really are. This is a good way to create abstract patterns, as in this image where the ice at the top of the frame is actually much farther from the camera than the ice at the bottom, but the visual impression is a flat, abstract design.