Wow! These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of early mornings and late evenings. I’ve managed to take some time off from remodeling my house to get out and get some quality time behind the lens.

The wildflowers up in Albion Basin are pretty much at their peak right now (if not slightly beyond). Regardless of how many times I go up there, it’s still a wonderfully serene experience–not to mention ridiculously beautiful. I always manage to see some great wildlife–especially moose. I was fortunate to stumble upon a group of four bull moose one evening. Sweet! Needless to say, it was a chore fitting all of them into one frame–I think the best I got was three. It’s important not to forget compositional elements when shooting wildlife. Occasionally, I’ll just shoot a straight-up head shot, or “documentary” wildlife shot–if it’s a spectacular animal. But you can make your wildlife images so much better if you simply take care to include other compositional elements. Pick a part of the animal to emphasize, include blurred foreground elements, or try to get down low or up high for a different perspective.

While not as prolific as last year, the wildflowers in Albion Basion are still a “smorgasbord” of color, shape and texture. I’ve found the best time to shoot the wildflowers is dawn or dusk–preferrably just before the sun rises or just after it sets. Light overcast days also provide spectacular soft, diffused, even lighting for the flowers as well. I took a bit of a different approach to Albion Basion this year, and tried to wander off the beaten path. While I did make a number of “iconic” Devil’s Castle wildlfower images, I had a blast finding new and undiscovered spots.

I just recently did a mountain biking shoot for Solitude Mtn. Resort. That place is awesome–and definitely lives up to its name. On the trail at 7:30 am, it was great to be back on my bike–not so great to be hauling my 25 lb. camera pack–but nice to breathe fresh air just the same. I was experimenting with some cool blur shots, and different angles as well. Solitude’s singletrack bodes well to finding new angles and opportunities for unique action shots.

Lastly–I’ve been putting a newly purchased macro lens (Sigma 150mm 2.8) to the test and it is awesome! I was tentative in purchasing anything other than Canon “L” series glass, but I am super impressed with this lens. I’ve only had one opportunity to test it out so far, but its image quality absolutely blew me away. Color, contrast and clarity are off the charts–rivaling my Canon L series lenses for sure.

Thanks for reading!

Well here I am–nearly two months after my last post. It’s unbelievable how quick time flies when you’re busy. Fortunately–some of the last 6 weeks have been spent behind the lens. I’ve had opportunity to travel to Southern Utah as well as go back east. Sweet! I’ve been wanting to get some skyline shots of NYC for some time now. I had a perfect evening (albeit ridiculously humid), and made several quality images–the best being right at dusk–or twilight.

For all the aspiring photogs out there that may or may not read this, dusk is an awesome time to shoot. This is the time where the sky registers a deep blue (almost purple at times) and the city lights glow a warm yellow. There’s still enough light out to keep detail in the shadows, and the sky is not completely black. For those of you that put the camera away when the sun goes down–don’t!! Many photographers refer to this time as the “magic hour”–and it can last anywhere from 20 minutes, to over an hour.

As you browse my images on, you’ll no doubt notice the importance that light plays in each individual photo. It’s interesting that one of the greatest times to shoot is when the light is waning. I made several images both before and after this favorite, and neither was as good as the image made at dusk. The sunset was lackluster at best, and soon after dusk, the sky grew dark, leaving me with a lifeless black canvas.

You’ll also find that, in many instances–right before the sun comes up is an equally beneficial time to make awesome photographs. This shot near Lake Powell, UT was made about 20 minutes before sunrise.

Although there was no direct light on the foreground, I was able to register both sky and foreground as seen with a graduated ND filter. This is a scenic photographer’s best friend! Many photogs now choose to simply process the image in Photoshop for the sky and the foreground–call me a traditional, but I prefer to capture as true an image as possible–on site.

Here’s several other images from the past couple weeks. Enjoy!