by Michael Frye | Apr 21, 2024 | Travels and Stories
Crashing wave, Monterey Peninsula, California. I used a 1/2 second shutter speed to create some blur and sense of motion, while still preserving some of the shape and texture of the wave.
Because of our eclipse journey I haven’t had a chance to write about the Out of Big Sur conference yet – a big omission, because it was such a fun event! Great people, wonderful co-instructors, great locations, and well-organized by Chris Smith, Chrissy Donadi, and the rest of the Out of Chicago team.
We all had lots of fun photographing the Monterey Peninsula, Point Lobos, and the Big Sur Coast. Though I live fairly close to these areas, I’ve actually spent more time photographing coastal areas farther north near the northern-California redwoods, and along the Oregon Coast. So it was good to get re-acquainted with the Monterey and Big Sur region, and discover some new locations I hadn’t photographed before. It’s such a beautiful area.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 11, 2024 | Travels and Stories
Total solar eclipse, April 8, 2024, northeast Arkansas
The “diamond ring” and solar flares as the sun emerges from a total solar eclipse, April 8, 2024, northeast Arkansas
I started thinking about the 2024 solar eclipse right after our last one in 2017. Claudia and I, along with our friend Robert Eckhardt, viewed that eclipse from the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho, and it was such an amazing experience I immediately wanted to do it again.
When I looked at this 2024 eclipse, the best part was the length – four-and-a-half minutes of totality in Mexico and Texas, compared with only a little over two minutes in Idaho in 2017. Two minutes seemed way too short.
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by Michael Frye | Mar 31, 2024 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories
Dunes in a sandstorm at sunrise, Death Valley NP, California
Death Valley is a dynamic place. While the appearance of other landscapes frequently changes because of weather and seasonal changes, in Death Valley the land itself undergoes routine transformations caused by wind and water – especially the infrequent, but highly destructive, flash floods.
Last August Tropical Storm Hilary dumped over two inches of rain on Death Valley, washing out roads, closing the park for two months, and filling Badwater Basin with water – a resurrection of ancient Lake Manly. We visited Death Valley in late December, and got to see and photograph that lake, though it was shallower by then. (You can see some of my photos from that trip toward the bottom of my year-end-photos post.)
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by Michael Frye | Feb 7, 2024 | Announcements
Trail through redwoods in fog, northern California coast
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be joining Nic Stover’s Nature Photography Classes again for their Winter Speaker Series. This series is focused on “Discovering the Mood and Mystery in Our Images,” and includes three sessions: Franka Gabler, with “Conveying Mood and Capturing the Essence,” on February 26th; Michele Sons, with “The Art of Fog,” on March 5th; and then I’ll be presenting “A Sense of Mystery,” on March 11th.
I decided to talk about mystery because I think this is an essential but often-overlooked component of successful landscape photographs. Brett Weston once said, ” Unless a landscape is invested with a sense of mystery, it is no better than a postcard.” And that rings true with me. Evocative images don’t just show what something looks like; they convey a mood, or feeling, or surprise the viewer in some way. And they don’t necessarily show everything. It’s often more intriguing to show part of something, and let the viewer imagine the rest. Images with a strong emotional impact also usually suggest something bigger and more universal than the particular subject matter of the image.
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by Michael Frye | Jan 5, 2024 | Announcements
The votes are all in and counted, and here are my top photographs of 2023!
We had a great response this year: 478 people looked through my initial selection of 45 images and voted for their favorites. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to look through these photographs and voice your opinions! I also really appreciate the kind words so many people posted in the comments or sent by email. I wish I could respond to everyone, but please know that I’ve read them all and am very grateful for all your support.
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