In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

While snow is rare at our house in the Sierra foothills, Yosemite Valley has received a few early-winter snowstorms, so Claudia and I have been able to go up there and enjoy the snow on several occasions, which is always a treat. To me, the holidays always feel more...

    Speed Up Your Lightroom Workflow
Free Lightroom Video: Six Develop Module Tips to Speed Up Your Workflow
I’ve been using Lightroom since Adobe released the beta version in 2006. Over the years I’ve learned many shortcuts, and in this video I share some of my favorite tips – things I use all the time to streamline my workflow:

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The Primeval Coast

The Primeval Coast

We recently returned from our annual trip to the northwest corner of California, land of fog, ferns, giant redwoods, and wild, rugged stretches of coastline. I always love going back to this area with its damp, primeval moodiness. And once again we had a great time...

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The latest update to my course Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide is now available! This new edition is revised and updated for Lightroom Classic CC, and includes a brand new example where I take you step-by-step through processing a Milky Way photograph, plus six new videos about the Range Mask, the Profile Browser, fixing coma, removing color fringing around stars, and more.

Of course this new version still has all the features that made the first edition so popular. First, you can download the original Raw files used as examples in the ebook, and then follow along with each step yourself – just as if you were attending one of my workshops.

Second, when you purchase the ebook you get exclusive access to 17 videos demonstrating different aspects of Lightroom’s Develop Module, like using the Adjustment Brush, Spot Removal Tool, and Point Curve, advanced retouching in Lightroom, the HDR Merge, the Range Mask, and much more. It’s great to read about a tool or technique; it’s even better to watch a demonstration, and then try it yourself on the same image.

Learn more…

I’m absolutely loving everything about your book! It’s fantastic on all fronts.
And your videos are a gigantic bonus; extremely helpful. I love the clarity of your instructional style.

Chris Dierdorff

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you that I purchased your ebook and it is excellent. I’m an experienced LR user however I have learned a number of new things in your ebook. Your teaching style is excellent and your photography is outstanding. I would highly recommend this ebook to anyone looking to improve their image processing in LR.

Betty Wiley

I want to thank you for your “Landscapes in Lightroom″ ebook. I will mirror Scott Oberle’s comments about having watched lots of videos & instructions, including Adobe’s, on Lightroom. Previously, before your e-book, I felt like I was still stumbling around the Develop Module without understanding “what” I was trying to accomplish, but more importantly, the “why and how” I was doing something to the image. Your e-book made it very clear. I’ve gone from dreading post-processing to actually enjoying it, because now I evaluate an image, and THEN decide HOW I want to change it.

Bill Beckler

     Feed Your Creative Vision

I love to share my knowledge of photography and help others express their photographic vision. Here’s what you’ll get when you subscribe to my blog:

– Landscape photography tips
– Video tutorials
– Popular photo critique series
– Yosemite photo updates

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Photographing the Milky Way

Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite

Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite


Gear Doesn’t Matter—Except When it Does

Regular readers know that I’m not much of an equipment geek. It’s not that I don’t think equipment is important—a photographer needs good tools. It’s just that I think light, composition, technique, vision, and imagination are more important. In other words, how you use the tools is more important than what tools you use.

But sometimes the right gear can make a difference. Two weeks ago I was recording video segments for some online courses I’m working on (more about that later!), and needed a digital SLR that could record video—something my trusty old Canon 1Ds Mark II can’t do—for some “through-the-lens” views. So I called up my friend Jim Goldstein. Many of you know Jim through his popular blog and social media streams. Jim also works for Borrowlenses.com, and he set me up with a Canon 5D Mark III for my video shoot, and then asked, “Is there anything else you need?” Hmm… well I’ve been wanting to test the Canon 24mm f/1.4L lens for night photos, so yes, there was something else!

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2013 Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops Announced!

A January moonrise from Valley View, Yosemite

A January moonrise from Valley View, Yosemite



The Ansel Adams Gallery recently announced their 2013 workshops. I’m pleased to be teaching four Yosemite photography workshops for the Gallery next year—Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom: Mastering Lightroom (January); Spring Yosemite Digital Camera Workshop (April); Hidden Yosemite (July); and The Digital Landscape: Autumn in Yosemite (October).

As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Lightroom because it’s simple, yet powerful—easy to use, but sophisticated enough to get great results with almost any image. Last January was the first time I taught a workshop specifically focused on this tool: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom: Mastering Lightroom. This class was popular, and a lot of fun, so we’ll be doing it again next January. Of course it’s not all computer work—the workshop includes field sessions to photograph snowy January landscapes, the rising full moon, and, if we’re lucky, clearing storms. I’m really looking forward to it!

The other three workshops—Spring Yosemite Digital Camera Workshop, Hidden Yosemite, and The Digital Landscape—have been very popular in the past, and sometimes fill quickly, so be sure to reserve space early.

And stay tuned… I’ll be announcing more workshops within the next month.

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Photo Critique Series: Space and Separation in a Mt. Shasta Photograph

Mt. Shasta and Lake Siskiyou by Kyle Jones

Mt. Shasta and Lake Siskiyou by Kyle Jones


I know it’s been awhile since the last critique; it’s been hard to find the time lately. But many of you have told me how much you like the critiques, and I really appreciate that, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to do another one. I’m writing this critique, rather than doing it by video, because, well, it’s just easier. But I may still do video critiques again in the future.

The subject of this critique is a photo by Kyle Jones called “Mount Shasta and Lake Siskiyou,” from the far northern reaches of California. I think this image has some interesting things to teach us about space and separation in a composition, and shutter speeds for water.

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Winter Pilgrimage

1. Ross's geese taking flight in the fog

1. Ross's geese taking flight in the fog


I’ve had a love affair and obsession with snow geese, along with their close cousins Ross’s geese, for 25 years. Watching a large flock of these birds take flight, filling the sky from horizon to horizon while deafening your ears with their calls, is an unforgettable, transcendent experience.

I’ve photographed these birds in every way imaginable over the years. You can see more images of them in my album of bird photographs on Google+, including some deliberate blurs, and a flash-blur. Last Wednesday and Thursday Claudia and I drove down to the San Joaquin Valley once again to photograph birds. This time I focused on capturing ethereal images of geese in the fog, and tried looking straight into the late-afternoon sun. I’ve included some notes on the accompanying photos a little further down.

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