November Frost

2012 Nov 26

November seems to be a good month for shooting frost and dew. This year was no exception. A few weeks ago we had the fortunate combination of freezing temperatures and moisture that yielded several mornings with picturesque frost. After walking the dogs I headed back out with the camera and tripod and set to looking for photogenic leaves.

Bismarck Beetle

2012 Sep 10

I haven't done much photography lately (too much tennis and work!) but we recently made our annual Bismarck trip, which usually yields a few good shots. Along with many monarch butterfly caterpillars, this red milkweed beetle was hanging out in my mother's milkweed garden.

Morning Moonflower

2012 Jun 10

Flower photography seems to be a rite of passage for aspiring nature photographers and I was (and am) one of them. Of course, my goal is always to find a different angle or approach to make a more interesting shot than the billions of other "pretty flower" pictures out there. Against those odds, you're not going to succeed much, but it's fun trying.

Dusk in the Superstitions

2012 May 14

The new version 4 of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is quite an improvement, and I think it's going to completely change my photography workflow. For years I have been using Bridge, Camera Raw and Photoshop as my workflow, but in 90% of all photo editing, I can see Lightroom 4 handling it all.

Saguaro National Park

2012 Apr 6

Our recent trip to Arizona included a day trip to Tucson, and while there we decided that we had to see some of Saguaro National Park. It's a beautiful desert preserve that is split into two sections flanking the city on either side.

Cholla in Superstition Wilderness

2012 Mar 10

Arizona is a fun place to photograph nature, especially in the winter, when you're visiting from up north where everything is in full "winter drab" mode. Our recent trip to visit my parents in Sun Lakes included several day trips to local wilderness areas and parks, and in this post I thought I'd highlight a landscape shot and how I "massaged" it into what I was envisioning for the image.

Sonoran Desert National Monument, Part Two

2012 Feb 5

Tomorrow we are flying down to Arizona for the annual trip to visit the parents at their snowbird home. My hope is that Marly and I will get several chances to get out and shoot the desert landscape and wildlife. Last year, my mother and I went to Sonoran Desert National Monument one evening and I posted about it a while back. I thought I would share a few more images from that day in anticipation of this year's trip.

Snow Geese at Squaw Creek NWR

2012 Jan 4

If you've never seen a flock of hundreds of thousands of large birds, it should be on your "bucket list." The first time I witnessed this spectacle was during my 2010 North Carolina photography workshop. On New Year's Eve 2011, I had the "snow goose experience" again.

Sonoran Desert National Monument, Part One

2011 Dec 15

My parents now have a winter home in the Phoenix area, so last January we stayed with them for a week or so and loved it. The pleasant temperatures, sunshine, and lack of wind made it easy to understand the annual migration of the "snowbirds."

A Short Trip to Florida

2011 Nov 18

Marly and I just got back from a quick trip to the Bradenton, Florida area. We joined friends for a lot of tennis and good company, but of course I was also hoping to do some photography. We didn't get to do much in the way of pictures, but I did manage to snap a few shots on some early morning walks in the neighborhood.