Slickrock and Shadow

Tongan sister carries her baby brother up the long steep hill Tongans are friendly and generally open to photography themselves.  As I wandered all around the islands in search of unique experiences, I met many Tongans.  I'd hold my camera up and ask if it was OK to take their photo and most said it was.  I had a few refuse, but most were happy to smile and typically went on with their own business.  This man was a pastor at one of the island churches.  He rode his bike to service on Sunday.  Many Tongans are dressed elaborately for Sundays. Tongan women dressed for church Four Tongan Boys in a Dugout Canoe Walking on Tonga to Sunday Service In the middle of our trip we were invited to a Tongan Feast on the island of Vakaeitu.  Vakaeitu has only one family living on the island so this was an authentic family affair.  The marlin was caught that day and brought in by everybody who could lend a hand.  After the feast, the f...

Cottonball Clouds at Sunrise:  They Floated over the Islands Sunrise or sunset at the ocean is a fabulous life experience.  The golden hour light enhances any prime landscape location and a trip to Tonga is included.  The morning clouds were a little of everything during my trip:  overcast and grey, bland blue skies and partly cloudy.  The partly cloudy skies are the best for photography as the clouds take on various hues of the rainbow and contrast well with the clear areas.  My lead photo was taken at the end of the trip when unusually tall clouds floated over the islands like marshmallows or cotton balls.  They were beautiful and seemed like moving islands themselves.  The low angle of light also catches on the boats nearby for better yacht photos too. Sailboats at the Golden Hour:  a sure-fire successful photo Morning light catching an anchored sailboat I had better sunsets than sunrises.  I can't say if Tonga is alwa...

Mangrove Jungle at Low Tide:  a transient photo opportunity This post we're leaving the beautiful beaches and diving headlong into the jungles of Vava'u.  Plenty of photo opportunities with natural and cultural charm await the jungle trekker. Hunga is a dirt-poor island with very nice residents who wave, smile, come out and talk and make a wonderful friendly impression.  We stayed in the inner bay of Hunga one rainy night  At low tide, the mangrove jungle becomes walkable.  I sauntered in and around many jungle plants looking for the right composition.  Here are two of my favorites. Mangrove branches reach out like a parasite! Inland on Hunga we had a wonderful time with the people but I also enjoyed photographing all the pigs here.  They wander openly around.  Most pigs on other islands are wary of people but the Hunga pigs seem to not fear or flee. Pigs of Hunga, Tonga Kenutu is a fantastic anchorage with a legitimate jungle t...

Euakafa Beach is just one of many stunning deserted beaches. This articles is about Tonga Landscape photography in Vava'u.  I recently returned from a 10 day trip in these beautiful islands.  Because there is no information on photography in the island group of Vava'u, Tonga, I want to share what I have learned.  In this article I will focus on many of the incredible beaches.  They are clean, empty, private, gorgeous and unspoiled.  These are reached by boat.  Many of the islands in Vava'u group are uninhabited and the only way to really get around is on the water. I will give my best beaches a ranking from number one and on down just for fun and for interest! #1:  Best beach in Vava'u Tonga:  Ngau and its' neighboring isle of Taunga . This stunning beach is actually a stretch of sand reaching from one island to another.  At low tide one can walk without getting feet wet.  When the tide is a bit higher, wading from one b...

Artist Point, Yellowstone National Park looking up at Lower Yellowstone Falls In contrast to my previous post where I was all alone, at the incredible Artist Point in Yellowstone Park I had to wait for 30 minutes before I could find a place to park my car.  Then I walked out and was able to get away from civilization a bit to enjoy the spectacular view from artist point.  I've been here at sunrise when I had it entirely to myself.  I have also, in the middle of the day, such as on this occasion, and share the view that with many others.  Yellowstone National Park is a melting pot of all nationalities coming to enjoy the recent nature.  Under any circumstance, it is worth the visit.  I came with my family on this occasion but still enjoyed the photography.  If coming alone and primarily for landscaping purposes, I would suggest rising early or staying out late.  You will not be disappointed at this location. Artist point, looking downstream...

Wolf Creek extends up to snowy mountain tops of the Madison National Forest Landscape photographers go to many of the same places.  In Montana I had the opportunity to explore the Madison National Forest in the area of Wolf Creek.  This is known for bears, elk and being far off the beaten path.  Hiking up to peak, both the wind and the views were spectacular.  This is a photograph taken looking into Wolf Creek.  The mountaintops were covered with clouds and snow.  Summer in Montana can be a spectacular fleeting moment. Gordon's hike rating: Hike Difficulty:                   ★★★★ Strenuous Trail Condition:                   ★★★ Moderate Trail Hazards:                      ★★★ Moderate:  rocks, rare Grizzly sightings Trailhead:                  ...

The Old Ladder:  Only for the Brave The Kanarra Creek ladder Is a man-made structure that makes this wonderful canyon more accessible to visitors.  The ladder by itself is also very photogenic.  Or, shall I say it used to be photogenic?  Having gone up Kanarra Creek over several years time, I noticed the change.  The top picture is of the old ladder.  It is entirely made of wood.  Some of the rungs were small, loose and slippery.  You may notice that the steps stop well before the top of the log.  The old ladder required a very large last step to get to the top and this portion of the log was very wet and slippery.  You can see that in the picture!  I slipped and nearly fell on this once myself. Two or 3 years ago this ladder was enhanced by removing all of the wooden steps and replacing that with a metal ladder that is directly attached to the log.  The metal steps have teeth and texture so that they are not slippery a...

Kanarra Creek Waterfall in the Springtime:  lots of water and green trees. One of the first, if not THE first, decision a photographer must make is how to hold the camera. Horizontal or vertical?  Landscape or portrait?  Up and down or side to side?  With the old cameras, the default was landscape.  With the advent of cell-phone photography, portrait orientation has become much more popular. In my case, I don't want the easiest or most convenient shot when I have all day to compose a shot.  I want the most aesthetic shot, the one that shows off how amazing my surroundings are.  Sometimes the choice is obvious.  Sometimes it is not.  With Kanarra Creek's 3rd waterfall, the portrait shows more of the lovely red cliffs above.  With landscape orientation, the path of water is shown better as it leaves the pool at the waterfall base.  Both are good so in this case I took 2 shots. A compromise is a square photo.  For some re...

Barren Winter:  yellow stubble for grass and a hidden sun A winter visit to Montana afforded me an opportunity to shoot my little remote cabin in subzero temperatures.  Wind and rain made things cold indeed.  The large cloud did not however spoil the sunset because some golden yellow rays came down between the cloud and the mountains.  Grass was short, dead, awaiting summer temperatures to revive.  

Exit:  The only word on the floor and on the slanted column Herzog and De Meuron Building is an unassuming parking structure in South Beach Miami.  Over several years it has attracted photographers and models because of the fascinating columns, background city and modern design.  Located right on Lincoln Avenue, it's an easy walk from Taschen bookstore into the parking building.  Each floor is unique.  Here are a 3 of my takes. Modern Stairs 3, 4, 5

Abyss Pool at West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Abyss Pool violently erupted in the 1990s before settling into a placid phase.  This green goddess is one of the most beautiful pools in the entire park.  Like many pools in Yellowstone, the colors defy description and even photography is challenged to show the brilliance and full spectrum of greens on display! I chose this as my  Photo of the Month  pick for June because of the wonderful colors, the clouds sweeping across the sky, the absence of humans and the balanced composition.  This was my best landscape shot from Yellowstone this year. Some Technical Information: To photograph such colors I used a polarizing filter to reduce the surface reflection.  This allows the greens underneath to shine better.   I shot 4 vertical pictures from left to right with identical aperture and shutter speed and then stitched these photos together in Photoshop back home.  My widest lens, the 17mm...

Flower Field in the Peaks District:  Stone walls, sheep and lovely skies add to the scenery. What do you do when something very small catches your eye?  How do you photograph minuscule objects while simultaneously including the greater landscape?  These challenges generally call for at least 2 things, usually 3: 1.  A wide-angle lens which can include so much in every directions. 2.  Very close proximity to the tiny object. 3.  Narrow aperture is third, which is necessary to show everything sharply in focus.  An open aperture could focus on the small object while blurring the background. This lovely small yellow-orange flowers in the Peak District challenged me greatly.  So small at only a centimeter each, I doubted my ability to really show them off.  Setting my tripod at its' lowest height, nestling into the grass, getting down, crawling around, moving a few longer wet grass shoot away from the lens is how I hoped to succeed. ...

Waterfall, flowers and redrock located in Zion's Right Fork of North Creek Ever since hiking to Double Falls in 2011, I have wanted to return and explore further.  I made it happen this year and hiked all the way into the deepest part of the canyon possible without ropes, harnesses and such:  Barrier Falls.  While Barrier Falls is not particularly scenic, seeing the "Barrier" remains quite an accomplishment because the hiking here is so slow, rocky and wet.  The last mile is pure bushwhacking and bouldering. Below Barrier Falls, this smaller and idyllic pool and waterfall are located.  The waters are cool on my legs.  I'd often wade up to my thighs and sometimes higher.  I loved the sound of falling water on the rocks and a breeze through the trees.  No other disturbances in this remote location. I loved these little red flowers.  As I saw them, I wanted to include them somehow in a grander photograph of the surroundings.  Getti...