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It happened again! If you read my last blog post, my day of photography back then didn’t go as planned but I ended up being in the right place at the right time. This time everything was perfect - I was going to spend the morning at Hawk Mountain in the fog taking wonderful pictures. The cloud conditions were perfect. It was a Saturday and I had the time set aside. The road that leads to Hawk Mountain climbs in elevation. Within a mile of the top, I entered the fog bank and smiled because all the planning paid off! I started debating between black and white or color images and couldn’t wait to start. I pulled up to the trailhead entrance… and was greeted with a sign saying “Trails Closed for Safety During Deer Hunting”.

I sat there… stunned. I debated going in anyway, but came to my senses and made the intelligent decision not to (ok, the guard sitting in his car stopping people from trying had something to do with it!)

This time there was no whining, no anger, no cursing my bad luck. I turned around (thought again about going in, but the guard was still there!) and drove back down the road toward a small patch of winter color that caught my eye. I had seen it many times on the way to Hawk Mountain and always slowed down and even stopped once before. This time I parked the Jeep and started making some photographs.

Who said winters colors had to be shades of brown or grey? The rain and mist, along with the red colored branches, the berries, the lichen on the trees, and the winter grasses came together to produce color that you never seem to notice in winter.  And the raindrops on the branches echo the red berries, lacking only their own color.  I spent almost three hours just walking and photographing along a roadside in this small patch of winter color - and loved every minute of it!

I can’t wait to meticulously plan my next photo walk only to see what disappointment happens… followed by great discovery!

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Things happen for a reason. 

The light was perfect for this kind of image.  I was hiking in Wharton State Forest in The Pinelands on a late November Sunday afternoon.  It was the kind of soft filtered light you get when the sun is shining through a high, milky white sky.  It's the kind of light that seems to happen more in late autumn and winter.  If I had tried to make this photo on a clear sunny day, it would have been too harsh - with deep shadows on the ground and white branches that would have been too bright.  Instead, I found myself staring at these bare winter trees under perfect conditions - I was at the right place, at the right time, under the right light. 

I didn't plan it that way...

I was originally going to be there the day before - which turned out to be a bright, sunny, cloudless day.  My plan was to do a quick hike in a woodland near my home to make photos of the last autumn leaves in the forest and then spend the rest of the day in the Pinelands.  But my plans were changed for me.  Does anyone know how hard it is to find an earth-green colored camera backpack in a boulder-strewn forest covered with fallen leaves?  I do!  I put my backpack on the ground (like I always do) to take the first image of the day - but then moved a few yards and took another image - then moved again because the boulders over there looked great - then moved again for yellow leaves backlit by the sun - then moved again for more boulders covered in leaves - then walked further up the hill for a different angle.  Ok, where's my camera backpack?

Almost two hours later, after nervously walking the woodland back and forth in a systematic pattern to cover all the ground, after first being amused, then getting annoyed, then getting mad, then cursing so bad it made autumn's last leaves drop from the trees... I found the backpack - with all my lenses... and my phone... and my car keys.  

I was aggravated - I had the day all mapped out and this dumb two hour delay prevented me from making the drive to the Pinelands as I originally planned.  I would have to go tomorrow, when it wouldn't be nearly as nice and sunny, because clouds were forecast to move in.

And that's how I ended up at the right place, at the right time, under the right light.

Brian

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Earlier this summer I traveled to the Canadien Rockies with a friend for some hiking and photography. It was a wonderful trip.  We hiked in warm sun and cool air. We walked along emerald colored lakes and streams.  We hiked into the high passes to see glaciers. And we saw wildflowers everywhere.

I still haven't released the full gallery, but I am getting close.  And a funny thing happened as I worked with the images from this trip. I tend to prefer the intimate landscapes - the small scenes, that when viewed together, provide a feeling of the place we visited.

I tend to downplay the “grand landscapes” as images that anyone could make - all you need to do is travel there and push the shutter button of the camera. But I realized that isn’t the case. The grand landscapes can carry just as much unique feeling and personal expression as the smaller scenes. I searched the web and found many grand landscapes of the Canadian Rockies for sure - but they don’t look like the images I made there. I grew to like these images as my favorites from the trip.  I started to see them as portraits of the mountains we visited - each with its own unique personality.

Be sure to click the link to view a small nine image gallery of Mountain Portraits on my Canadian Rockies Gallery page.

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Something told me to turn left instead of right at the stop sign of the deserted early morning street corner. It was barely light but in a few short hours beach goers would be swarming the street. For now it was just me... and a guy on a bike with coffee in one hand pedaling slowly with no destination in mind. Being awake and outside on a calm morning before sunrise was the destination for both of us.

My original plan was to head to Corsin’s Inlet for some wandering in the early morning light - but I listened to the suggestion and turned left. As I parked the car near the sand dunes in the northern end of Ocean City, I felt like I was guided to the right decision. The sky was still a deep magenta, but with orange spreading out where the sun would rise. I immediately composed some frames with dune grasses in this great light. I then walked quickly toward a rock jetty as the perfect cloud formation waited for the sun to rise directly beneath it.

It was the kind of “quiet” where a single sound - the roar of the constant surf - replaced all other sounds. I saw a few other people walking or sitting on the beach, but they melted away as I became obsessed with different compositions of light, clouds, and water. Everyone else ceased to exist.

Thirty minutes later, I emerged from my sunrise experience breathless - as if I were photographing a sporting event. It’s surprising how fast the sun moves, and how quickly the color changes, as it passes close to and then behind the clouds on the watery horizon. I watched the sky go from the magenta and orange of pre-sunrise to the orange yellow and blue of early morning, as the sun rose above the water into the breeze-stretched clouds. What a thirty minutes it was!

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THE ELDER

The tree called out to us almost audibly and stopped us in our tracks. Yes, there were hundreds of other trees around, but this one had presence. And this one’s voice was quiet but commanding. It was clearly the elder tree of the forest - the master - the one that every other tree deferred to. And it possessed both vitality and tiredness.

This giant of a tree seemed unable to stop the slow passage of time as evidenced by the the bare white branches still attached at the bottom. And the limbs (bones) strewn around the ground at the bottom of the trunk looked like they had been undisturbed for many years. It all clearly suggested that this tree seemed to be in the latter days of its great long existence. But it wasn’t ready to give up yet. The bright green needles of the new spring growth gave away the energy still alive in this master of the forest. There was still life, growth, and something to offer, to all who would make the time to listen. We stood there for what seemed to be a long time and listened.

Sometimes I take photos and when I get back home the ones I thought would be great turn out to be just ok and sometimes the ones I don’t expect to be great turn out to be surprises. And then, occasionally, there are the images, where you just know as you see it, as you make the image, and when you get back home - it just works. For me, this was one of them.

This image may be just another tree photo for many of you, which is perfectly fine. But for some, maybe it will speak to you as it spoke to us - when we stood there and just listened and then made its portrait. Either way, I hope you enjoy viewing the image as much as I enjoyed creating it!

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I just returned from a week of hiking and photographing in the Canadian Rockies with my college friend Rich. We spent five long days hiking and photographing - the sun rises at 5:45am and sets at 10:10pm in the middle of July and we were determined to see every bit of light every day we were there! It was an amazing place - you are constantly surrounded by high mountain peaks, emerald lakes, glaciers, pine trees, beautiful clouds, and clear mountain streams. We stayed more towards the Jasper end of the Rockies to avoid the Disney like crowds near Banff.

The scene above is from what might have been my favorite hike. We hiked a couple miles up the mountain until we got above the tree line and came to a signpost and trail junction. The trail went left and so did all the people. So naturally we went right and walked another mile or two in a beautiful high altitude meadow surrounded by peaks. The meadow was crossed by a small stream from melting glaciers and it gave the water needed for soft green grass and colorful wildflowers. We took a break and just sat for thirty minutes on the softest bed of mossy grass by the stream and just watched the clouds and shadows roll over the landscape. It was perfect.

The trip was amazing. We saw elk, bald eagles, two black bears and one grizzly bear (from the safety of our car), a coyote, mountain goats, and more. We washed our face and head in the coldest clearest mountain streams during long hot hikes. We hiked in warm sun and cool 75 degree air. We walked along lakes and streams that were emerald in color from the melting glaciers. We saw the glaciers of the Columbia Ice Field spread across multiple peaks. And we saw wildflowers everywhere. We were up and down the Icefields Parkway which is an amazing 100 mile road winding down the valley carved by the Athabasca and other rivers - completely surrounded by tall mountain peaks on both sides - for all 100 miles.

It’s no surprise I took a lot of photographs and you can expect to see some more in future blog posts as I work through them and select the best ones. If you are looking for an outdoor destination - I would highly recommend the Canadian Rockies!

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A trip to The Pinelands always brings the unexpected. This area of southern New Jersey is full of stories - from the home of the Jersey Devil to the dumping place for many an enemy of Tony Soprano. Usually for me, the unexpected involves just the natural world - the interplay of light, clouds, water and land in an ever-changing display of color. A friend and I spent a typical Saturday afternoon in the Whites Bog section of The Pinelands. By the end of the day, it became anything but typical. As the day ended, we were treated to mysterious and unexpected music in the Pines…

Music In The Pines!

It was closing in on 6pm and we were about to get the most beautiful light of the day. I couldn’t wait - three hours of hiking and scouting was about to pay off photographically! Except for one thing - the cloud bank that quickly formed on the horizon destroyed any hope of sunset and deep golden light.

After whining for at least twenty minutes, I decided that the photographic part of the day was over. So we packed up and started driving out. I took a slight wrong turn and we were soon lured in by the most unexpected of sounds - heavy metal music! In the Pines! It turns out the band Tallah was shooting a music video for their song, “We, the Sad”. We sat and listened to the loud music in what is usually a very quiet setting. They yelled over to us and asked if we wanted to be in the video, but we knew our hiking boots would make us look out of place and besides, we left our frown face robes at home that day! :) They were very gracious and let me take some photos of my own while they performed and shot the video. It was an incredible thirty minutes to cap the day. Thank goodness the clouds came in or we never would have seen this!

The Band Tallah

After the band was done with the video we talked to them a little and we watched them wrap up. I assumed I knew what heavy metal band members would be like. Yet they were normal people like you would find anywhere. With one exception - they are artists. They have a message and they communicate it through their music, their art. Some might not like it - just like some might not like impressionist paintings. But we should respect their skill, their work, and the fact they care enough to communicate. It was eye-opening in a way.

A big thanks to the band Tallah for letting us enjoy their performance. They were just signed by Earache Records and we were told the video shot in the Pinelands for “We, The Sad” would be online at the end of the month. For now, you can listen to the song here (it is extreme metal music - but have an open mind!) And many thanks to Paul Stamper who was producing the video and graciously allowed me to have some fun photographing this very unique event in the Pines! They all treated us well and allowed us to enjoy the evening with them.

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It was time to go back. I hadn’t been to Hawk Mountain for a photo-walk in awhile and I had a specific idea in mind. I wanted to create some images with the mountaintop enshrouded in fog and cloud. I kept checking the “cloud ceiling forecast” to see when the cloud conditions would line up with a day off from work - yes, there really is a cloud ceiling forecast website!

Finally, I had my chance… the website said the cloud ceiling would be 600 feet early one Saturday morning - until about 11am. Knowing that the Hawk Mountain trails top out at 1500 feet, I knew I would have the conditions I wanted - as long as I got there early enough. I arrived at 7:15 and had the place to myself for a couple hours of solitude.

It was quiet except for the constant dripping of water from the previous night’s rain. There was no sound of wind in the trees, no sound of people who would come later in the morning. For now, it was quiet, I was alone, and I could concentrate on the feeling I get from a morning on the mountain.

The twisted branch immediately caught my eye. I made fifteen different versions, but liked this one the best - with everything seeming to radiate outward from the center rocks. I never get tired of Hawk Mountain and seem to find something new almost every time I visit.

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My favorite time of year by far is Spring. I love to see the buds forming on the bare branches of the trees. In fact, if you are very observant, you will see the buds forming already in February here in the Northeast. But it is in late March and early April that they burst forth in all kinds of color. In many ways, this burst of Spring color rivals the color we see in Autumn.

The image above was from an early April morning just after sunrise. I was drawn initially by the simplicity of the branches with the pop of the red buds on the ends of the branches. The rising sun and cloudy sky reflected on the water behind this tree and the whole scene just said “early spring” to me.

It is now late April and we are racing through a beautiful Spring. The trees have traded their colorful buds for fresh green leaves while still showing the underlying network of branches. I really love that one to two week period where you get equal part leaves and equal part branches. And as we enter May, the branches will gradually disappear from sight until they outlast the leaves one again.

I hope you are all having a great Spring!

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I was hiking at White’s Bog in the Pinelands on a breezy, early spring Sunday and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.  Bright white clouds racing against a blue spring sky grabbed my attention as they reflected off the still bog water. I had to work quickly since the clouds were moving and changing shape every ten seconds. 

I shot image after image - each one different than the one ten seconds ago, each one a unique natural composition.  Sometimes the water was rippling in the wind, sometimes the clouds were just randomly placed.

It all came together as the clouds formed a circle and floated on the bog water toward some branches and lily pads and into the frame of my camera.

Had I walked by five minutes earlier or five minutes later I might never have stopped.  Most of the sky was clear this spring day and I would simply have seen some sticks poking out of reflected blue water.  But I happened to be there at just the right time - when a small group of clouds put on a show that captured the feeling and lightness of an early spring day in the Pinelands.

Spring has finally arrived!!

More images of The Pinelands available at the following gallery link… The PineLands

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I was in Phoenix for business and I decided to add on three days to explore Sedona for the first time. What makes Sedona a great town to visit gave me challenges for photography.  The town, full of shops, art galleries and restaurants, is nestled right among the red rock cliff walls.  It was challenging to find views and make images that did not include buildings. But once I figured out the orientation of the town and the surrounding red rock canyons, I spent my time deep in the canyons where a sense of wilderness could find me.

I was treated to an incredible sunrise and an equally beautiful sunset on Doe Mountain. I delighted in an overcast afternoon along Oak Creek Canyon walking among the chaos of a thick grove of leafless sycamore trees. And I spent a long day wandering up and over a high mesa top surrounded by even taller canyons.

By the time the trip was nearing its end I realized I had just scratched the surface of Sedona and will need to visit again (and again) to truly capture its beauty.

You can see a small collection of Sedona images at this gallery on my website...  On Location - Sedona.

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I thought I would also add two fun pictures.  On the day I hiked to the top of Doe Mountain for sunrise, five hot air balloons rose into the early morning sky.  They came so close to me on the cliff top that I was talking to the people in the basket!  And second, I rented a red Jeep Wrangler 4x4 for the trip.  I took it on two really rough forest roads that were filled with rocks and mud.  I would definitely do that again!

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Another year has come and gone - it seems like time is flying by faster than ever.  I hope 2018 was good for everyone and here's wishing everyone a great 2019!  As I have done in each of the last two years, I am publishing a page of my favorite images from 2018.  Check them out at the link below.

Link to Favorite Images of 2018.

The image that headlines this post is from the Pinelands of New Jersey and it couldn't be more appropriate.  2018 was the "Year of The Pinelands!"  I discovered The Pinelands early in 2018 and went there many times.  Marilyn and I drove our new Jeep Trailhawk through the sand roads and forests.  Rich and I did a six hour kayak trip down the Mullica River.  And Marilyn and I joined the locals for the Cranberry Festival in Chatsworth in the Fall!  :)  Almost half of the images on my favorites page are from The Pinelands!

I didn't do a big National Park photo trip this year due to some changes in plans.  But I revisited some old favorites like Hawk Mountain and Ricketts Glen and was not disappointed.  Six of my favorite images of the year are from these two places that hold special appeal for me.  It shows that even after multiple trips a year for many years, you can always see something new and different.

I told four stories this year.  I like the idea of short "photo stories" where a series of four or six or nine images share what some thing or some place looked and felt like.  I told a story of Winter Morning Light and what the snow looks like before the wind and melting erases it's beauty.  I told a story of walking one magnificent sunrise morning in The Wetlands of the NJ coast.  I shared the quiet beauty of the The Meadow on a late summer afternoon as the light constantly changed - still one of my all-time favorites.  And I led you all on a sunrise walk among the oaks on A California Hillside.  I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Pulling these images together was a nice reminder of the year and it's a good way to look at the trends in my photography - and to learn from them.  Whether I get two or eight or twenty favorites, I I enjoy photography, it helps me see the world around me, and I love being outdoors!

Happy New Year!