Grand Teton Pinnacle Sunset

Last week I spent four days photographing in Grand Teton National Park. This area always rejuvenates and lifts my spirits, so I wanted to illustrate that feeling in a photo (click on image to see larger).

In this photo the rays and shafts of light are dancing behind the peak of the Grand Teton mountain (13,775 ft (4,199 m) as the sun begins to set directly behind it. This was photographed just as the sun dropped behind the peak. Because the mountains rise almost 7,000 feet above the valley floor, it will be another 30 - 40 minutes before the setting sun starts to cast its orange and red colors in the sky. This is why the sky is still blue near the corners of the photo.

Technical Stuff: When the sun is starting to set behind a peak, you can often run or drive to a position that will put you in the shadow of the peak. Just a few feet or a few seconds can really make a difference. Here's an example of the lens flare that happens if the sun isn't completely covered by the peak:


Although this can be pretty in its own right, it's not exactly what I had planned--but I like experimenting anyway, just to see what I can create.

Controlling Lens Flare: In this photo of the grazing horses, the sun was just above the mountains. Lens flare would have greatly degraded this image if I hadn't used a gobo to keep the sun from glaring into the lens. Lens hoods are not enough when you are aiming the camera this close to the sun. Gobos are like the visor that you drop down behind the windshield in your car when you are driving into the sun. Click on this photo and read the "Technical Stuff" under the Flickr photo if you want to learn more about gobos and French flags.



You are invited to see my "Most Interesting" images on Flickr (based on popularity stats).

Inspiring Redwoods - My Vision

When I drove to northern California a few years ago, I had a idea in my head of how I want my picture of the redwoods to look. But I wondered if I could pull it off. A lot depended on luck. I had this vision of sunlight bursting through the mist that often hangs around these magnificent giants.

The redwoods along the northern coast of California receive about 70 inches of rainfall each year just from their own needles and branches -- water that condensates and collects from the fog that shrouds these huge trees. As the fog rolls in from the ocean each day, droplets of water condensate and build larger on the needles until they drop to the forest floor. As the fog rolls further inland, occasional breaks in these low-hanging clouds allow sunlight to burst through between the branches.

The key is to be there when these rare breaks in the fog and clouds occur. Driving back and forth along the coastal highways, looking ahead for possible upcoming breaks increases you chances for success. And that is what happened on this late August day, just a few miles south of Crescent City. The break came in an instant and last for only about 90 seconds. Jumping out of my car, I was able to get off about a dozen shots before the rays of light were gone.

About 15 years ago I started a stock photo project of trying to discover and photograph "conceptual icons in nature." The idea was to find and photograph simple and dramatic concepts in nature that were instantly recognizable, even when reduced to a thumbnail size. "Inspiring Redwoods" is one of those successful images that follows those principles. It was a lucky shot, but I had envisioned the concept and prepared myself to capture the image when it appeared.

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."