Photography Blog

This blog offers a window into our journey as we chase light, wanders through wild landscapes, and find meaning in the quiet moments we encounter. Join us for stories from our travels, lessons learned in the field, and the small joys that come with a life spent outdoors. Some posts explore the practical side of photography while others focus on the wonder of seeing the world through a lens. Whether you’re a fellow photographer or simply enjoy a good story, we invite you to join behind the scenes and along the road.

5 Quick Tips For Better Landscape Photos

There is nothing better than capturing a beautiful sunset or the way the light is catching that cloud during your hike. There is nothing worse than getting back to show your friends or family the grandeur that you’ve witnessed only to present them a photograph that doesn’t come close to representing the display mother nature played out in front of your eyes. By following some simple rules you can increase your likely hood of capturing that amazing scene with your camera that your viewers can’t get enough. For a more in-depth description, click on the blue links. Keep that Horizon Out of the Middle When it comes to composition, maintaining the rules of thirds is a good start to a pleasing appearance. By taking the horizon out of the middle of your image and placing it close to an imaginary line dividing your image into 3 parts, the viewer will

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Moai of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) during a colorful sunrise.

Chile 2016 in the Rear View Part 2: Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Few places on this vast planet still evoke the mystery of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). There are so many conflicting theories on the statues whose presence overlook the landscapes of the furthest inhabited island in the middle of the pacific, we may never know the truth behind the civilization that lived on this island. Despite all of my travels, this was the first time I made my way to this amazing destination, and I was lucky enough to be able to lead the second part of my Chile workshop there. Being a volcanic island, Easter Island has a vast network of caves and lava tubes. Some of these caves were used at different periods as homes by the ancient inhabitants of the island. You can still see petroglyphs and cave paintings in some areas. The stone used for the different parts of the Maoi was sourced from different places on

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Our fearless guide Javier surveying the waterfall from a cliff side in the snow and wind.

Chile 2016 in the Rear View Part 1: Patagonia

I’ve got to be honest, it’s has been pretty hard to sum up this trip. This was my third time roaming around this incredibly diverse country, but my first time bringing a photography workshop to see this amazing place. During our journey we were lucky enough to see every major animal in Torres del Paine National park and also were graced with some incredible sunrises and sets.   The next morning, for our first sunrise the clouds had split and the winds had subsided to a paltry 40-50mph. This ended up bestowing a beautiful sunrise upon us. The winds create waves on the surreal opaque blue waters of Lago Pehoe that can reach multiple feet at times. A little later in the day we headed up into the hills to find some wildlife. One of the more prominent animals in the region is the Guanaco. They are in the camalid

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Statues seemingly stare at a woman drawing their stony forms

Photos and Art…Taking Pictures in a Museum

I am an avid museum goer. I have a membership to the Seattle Art Museum, and try to visit as many different museums as possible while I am traveling. In the past month I have been to The Seattle Art Museum (twice), the Portland Art Museum, San Francisco Fine Arts Museum, The Martin Lawrence Gallery in Las Vegas (not a museum but more fine art on display than most museums), The UCLA Hammer Museum, The LACMA, The Petersen Automotive Museum (rolling art), The Broad and The Getty.   As long as it is post 1700-ish (religious or portraits of kings or random wealthy people are not my bag) I can stare into paintings all day. I can peer in to the abyss of a Van Gogh and the way he uses bright colors along with the depth and texture of paint to create light, shadow and direction within his paintings.

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5 Tip for Better Portraits (Even With Your Phone)

When photographing our friends and family (even with your phone), there are some simple rules that you can follow to help make your photos stand out. 1 – Don’t Let Thing’s “Grow” from People One of the more common mistakes I see in photographs of people are objects like telephone poles or trees “growing” out of people heads. Being aware of your background is crucial to any photograph, ones of your friends or family are not exempt from this rule. When taking pictures of people we often get lost in trying to get everybody in the shot, ignoring the background entirely. Now that you are looking at your background, try and find a placement that a tree looks like it is taking root in the ground rather than your friends head. 2 – Try Indirect Lighting Sunlight can appear very harsh in a portrait, especially if there are heavy shadows

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Las Vegas

Whoops, I Ended up in Las Vegas on St. Patricks Day

After the completion of my annual Death Valley workshop on night photography I had to head to Los Angeles to teach a few classes for Samy’s Camera and also speak to a camera club in Santa Barbara. When I was about to leave Death Valley I realized I would be heading into LA at the height of traffic. If you have been to LA, you know how much you want to avoid this if possible! After asking Siri, I figured out that it would only add an hour total to my trip if I headed to Las Vegas for lunch. There is a great Mediterranean restaurant in the Cosmopolitan that has a 3 course set lunch for about $25 that could be one of the best food deals in Las Vegas (I am a serious foodie, I just don’t burden you with pics of meal that passes through these lips).

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