Searching for Gold - White Pass & Yukon Route, Skagway, Alaska

This may be a strange title for this photo, but is actually quite appropriate. The White Pass and Yukon Railway (WP&YR) was built in 1898 as a result of the Klondike Gold Rush. The gold rush itself started in 1896 and attracted over 100,000 prospectors to the Yukon. The building of the railway was quite impressive, taking a little over two years to complete. This is especially so when you take into account that the railway is 110 miles long, climbs 3,000 feet through rugged mountains with grades of almost 4%, and has numerous tunnels, trestles and bridges. 

Maybe the most interesting thing about the railway is that it served prospectors for a little over a year. By 1899, gold had been found in Nome, Alaska, and most of the prospectors packed up and headed there to strike it rich. Today the train runs as a seasonal tourist attraction, beginning and ending in Skagway, Alaska.

Going to the Sun Stop - Glacier National Park, Montana

If you are looking for rugged mountains, pristine forests, mountain lakes and waterfalls, look no further than Glacier National Park. According to Wikipedia, there are over seven hundred lakes in the park, along with over two hundred waterfalls. Most of these natural destinations are scattered throughout the one million acres of the park, which requires some hiking. Almost all of the trailheads originate from or near the one main road that bisects the park, the Going-to-the-Sun road. The good news is that some of the more famous waterfalls are pretty close to the road and require only a little walking to get to. For example, McDonald Falls (pictured here) is located at the north end of McDonald Lake and is at most a hundred yards down an incline from the road. 

When we arrived here at the parking area, it had been raining off and on in the afternoon. The rain had just stopped and the sky was overcast. This is actually the best sky for shooting waterfalls, as the clouds create a huge softbox that eliminate any sun glare on the water. I immediately knew that with all of the  "steps" in the rocks, a long exposure would accentuate the water movement. 

Castle Valley Oasis - Castleton Tower, Moab, Utah

Castle Valley is an area northeast of Moab off of the Colorado River National Byway (aka River Road or Route 128). The Moab area is mostly desert and has the characteristic orange color of sandstone found in the southwest that always contrasts well with blue skies. The sandstone is everywhere and there are some really cool rock formations that have been formed through erosion over the centuries. The formation in this photo is known as Castleton Tower. Often when I am in these serene places, my mind wanders and my imagination kicks in.

I can almost see a man lost in the desert that has been surviving without water. He comes over the crest of a dune and spots this oasis and wonders to himself, "Is that really water or is it a mirage?" That is the thought in my mind as I click the shutter button to capture the moment. I know that this is not a mirage but real. Could what I imagined really have happened sometime in the past? Probably not, but who knows?

Eye Contact - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Over on my Facebook page, I have been participating in a seven-day Wildlife Challenge with a number of other photographers. Today is my seventh and last post for that challenge, and I thought that I would post it here on the blog. Head on over to Facebook to see the rest of my wildlife postings, as well as the other photographers' photos.

There have been numerous news stories over the past few years about bad encounters with wildlife. Usually, all of those encounters end up with a human being getting seriously hurt or killed by an animal. Given my experience with some of the visitors I have seen in our National Parks, it is usually the humans that have brought it on themselves. We have seen stories of people getting gored while they were taking selfies of themselves with a bison in the background. I don't understand what they are thinking when they do something stupid like that. Bison are territorial and may decide to protect themselves when someone violates their territory. My rule of thumb is this: when a bison makes eye contact with you as this one did with me, make sure you have an escape plan close at hand. In this instance, I was right next to my car door and I slowly got into the car until he walked away. Just because these bison may weigh up to 2,000 pounds, it doesn't mean that they are slower than you.

Banff Beauty - Banff National Park, Alberta

Waterfowl Lake, Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta

There are times that you stop at a location and the scene just takes your breath away. When Jeff Clow and I stopped at Waterfowl Lake along the Icefields Parkway, that was the case. As we worked the scene looking for different compositions, none of them conveyed the whole scene in its entirety. It is at these times when I realize that the only way to properly capture the essence of the entire scene is to shoot a panorama. 

Into the Fog - Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Paradise Road, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

After flying across country and driving almost two hours, the last thing I wanted to see was Mount Rainier totally socked in. I did a little hiking before I called it a day, and I was hoping that the next morning would be clear with some nice cumulous clouds. After rising before sunrise, I headed out to catch a sunrise reflection in the aptly named Reflection Lake. The mountain was in full view, but as I started down the road into the valley, this is what waited for me. Fog and lots of it. Don't get me wrong, I really like fog, but not too much of it. It sets a great mood to most photos. I stopped along the way to get this shot of the surrounding mountaintops just peeking above the fog. I wasn't going to get that reflection shot of Rainier this morning, but did manage to get it the next day.

Break on Through - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Being a travel photographer with a special fondness for mountains, whenever I go to the Rocky Mountains, my excitement level reaches high levels. To get to these destinations, you spend a bit of money, endure painful airline security, sit in cramped airplanes and have at least one layover (sometimes two). When you begin your descent, you start to think of all of the great shots you will take, and then it happens, your plane gets below the clouds and you realize that the mountains are socked in completely. Yep, those photos showing the golden light that you dreamed of turn into a white nothingness. You hope that the sun will break through for the rest of your time there, but sometimes it doesn't.

On my last trip to the Tetons, our group was faced with such possibilities. As we drove around the park, we all looked for the change in the weather that would revive our hopes. A tiny little break in the clouds would indicate that a better weather front was coming. As soon as a tiny little peak was there for a few seconds, all you could hear was a lot of cameras firing away, shots that none of us would taken had we had good weather and visibility. But when the sun finally puts on a push to break on through, photos like this one happen quite quickly. To those who weren't there with us, this photo shows the beginning of a change that made the rest of the tour meet our photo expectations.

Connecticut Splendor - Kent, Connecticut

Lake Waramaug State Park, Kent, Connecticut

As you may have noticed, I spent the last two foliage seasons away from my home state of Connecticut. Last year, it was taking a tour of Colorado to see the colors of the aspens against the magnificent mountains. This year, I co-hosted a Maine Photo Tour with my good buddy Jeff Clow. When I got home, I was too busy to get a chance to shoot the Connecticut foliage. So this photo is from a few years ago, and is of my go-to location for foliage photography. Located about an hour from my house near Lake Waramaug State Park, this particular location is privately owned and difficult to shoot. The property is large (some might consider it a mansion) and I wish that I had the run of the place to photograph it. There is no shoulder on the road, so it is hard to pull over to shoot it. I sometimes park on the home's driveway (about a half-mile long), hop out and get in some shots. I am always ready to hop back in the car and take off if I see anyone coming. Perhaps one day, I will get the courage to drive the very long driveway, knock on the door, and ask permission.

Homestead - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

John Moulton Homestead, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Imagine that you decide to move west to Wyoming. You pack up all of your belongings into covered wagons that are more than likely powered by oxen. You brave the sweltering heat of summer and try to stay warm on those frigid nights on the plains. Along the way you see the beauty of the American landscape, but with that beauty comes a ruggedness that many will not overcome. Finally you reach your destination with the magnificent Grand Tetons of the Rockies as your backdrop. You think about relaxing, but no, housing has to be built and food and water needs to be found. Somehow, you survive and raise a family in this location.

These are my fictional thoughts of what might have happened as I compose photos of the John Moulton Homestead. I wonder if I would have survived such a trip without a supermarket to buy food from, a car to get around, a computer to find out what is going on, electricity to power all of my modern conveniences, etc (the list goes on and on). Probably not, but standing in front of these remaining houses and barns with the majestic mountains in the background, I think I might have tried. Just think of waking up every morning and seeing what Mother Nature would have in store for me. I guess for me, shooting photos in this wonderful place is a trip through time that leaves me wondering what really happened.

From the Rocks - Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine

I have visited Marshall Point Lighthouse a few times, but I had never shot it at sunrise or sunset. I always wanted to, but my visits in the past were on family vacations with non-photographers. On our Maine Photo Tour, I resolved that I would shoot at both times, as I thought that the light would be great (I wasn't wrong). Every time I have visited this light, I have never seen it with the tide in (I still haven't). I would like to some day, but, with the tide fully out on this evening, we were able to scramble on the rocks to get some unique views of the lighthouse. Not only that, there were some great puddles left by the tide that enabled us to get some terrific reflection shots. This is one of the puddles that my buddy Rad Alzyoud found. Not only did it give us a great reflection, it also gave us an extremely unique composition, one that I had never seen before. I think it is only possible when the tide is fully out.

Winter is Coming - Little Long Pond, Mt Desert Island, Maine

I know, stealing a favorite line from Game of Thrones is lame, but coming up with titles for these images can be challenging. Since I was a big fan of Game of Thrones well before the it aired on HBO, I feel like I can do so. Anyway, there is no doubt that fall is my favorite season of the year. The golden colors of the leaves are magical when you see them at their peak color. It is funny that just when the peak color hits, within a day or two the color is gone and the ground is covered with a blanket of dead leaves. I particularly liked this leaf, as it still had some great color, and the frost left some great looking details on it.

When we were shooting at Little Long Pond just outside Acadia NP, winter was waking up. It was pretty cold (a high of 40 degrees in mid-October) with a pretty steady wind. As some of us walked around the lake, we spotted that some of the leaves on the ground were showing some frost. 

Perfect Alignment - Boulder Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine

Boulder Beach is my favorite sunrise location in Acadia National Park. Getting there takes a little work and an ability to walk on unsteady footing. After scrambling down a steep incline, you are faced with walking on these round boulders that can be tricky to stay upright on (I have taken a spill in the past). The challenge is not only walking on rounded rocks, but also not knowing which ones are loose and which ones are slick from being wet. Despite these challenges, the payoff is worth it.

I have shot from this location many times, and it is hard to get new compositions, especially when there are lots of photographers already staked out. Fortunately, there were only a few photographers there before us and we were able to get into some good positions. I wanted to be able to get to a position with a good angle of the Otter Cliffs and also be able to capture the rising sun. When the sun popped over the horizon and the rock in the foreground was one of the first to light up, I knew I was perfectly aligned.

Acadia Foliage - Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, Maine

On our post Maine Lighthouse Photo Tour, we were lucky to time it perfectly with the peak of the foliage season in Acadia National Park. Pure luck, as the peak can occur over a six-week window from late September to the end of October. On our first morning in Acadia, we stopped at Thunder Hole to shoot the rugged coast. While we were hoping to hear the famous 'thundering sound" made when the tide is in, all we heard were a few low 'booms". Despite that, we had a beautiful sunrise, and we were able to capture some terrific shots. Walking up toward the parking lot, I happened to look north on the one-way Park Loop Road and saw this glorious scene with the Maine foliage on full display.

Porch View - Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine

Last week I talked about working the scene and trying to get as many unique views of a subject that you can. The funny thing is that when you think you have photographed it at all possible angles, you see someone else's photo and you realize you missed some. That is why I love shooting with other photographers. Back in April on our Maine scouting trip, Jeff Clow posted a similar composition to this that I had failed to see. The second I saw it, I knew that I would be shooting it the next time I visited Marshall Point Lighthouse. For those of you who think you may have not seen this lighthouse before, you are probably wrong. It was featured in the movie Forest Gump when Forest ended his cross country run. I can just picture a video camera from this vantage point filming the end of his run.

In the Reeds - Doubling Point Lighthouse, Arrowsic, Maine

When scouting the Maine lighthouses back in April, we stopped at this lighthouse located on the Kennebec River, about ten miles from the coast. Both Jeff Clow and I immediately added it to the list of ones to visit on the tour. It was the first time I had ever seen this hard to find lighthouse and was intrigued by it. Fast forward to our Photo Tour last week. The scene had changed significantly. Back in April, the reeds surrounding the light were knee high and it was easy to compose shots from all angles. Now, the reeds were a little taller than me, and I had to raise my camera above my head to get the shot. While you had to work a little harder to get different compositions, I really like the look of the high reeds, as it gives a different feel to the photo. The dark tops of the reeds in the foreground also add a little interest to the scene.

Maine Color - Blueberry Field, Ellsworth, Maine

While driving to Acadia after our Maine Photo Tour, my buddy Jeff Clow did what he does best to find the off-the-beaten-track spots. He said to me, "Why don't you turn down this unpaved road and find out if there is anything there worth shooting?" Usually when he says that, the payoff is terrific. This was the case as we drove a little ways down the road. The colors of the foliage were on full display very quickly. We had luckily timed our tour with the peak of the Maine foliage season. It was late this year and both we and our tour participants were rewarded for it. 

I have lived in New England for over 20 years but had never seen the ground change colors from green to red. Trees and bushes yes, ground no. We found out later that this was a huge blueberry field and blueberry plants change color with the season (who knew?). In any case, the colors just popped for us even though the ground and trees were in the shade due to the cloud cover. Maybe I should have titled this post "Blueberry Field Forever?"

Low Point of View - Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine

One of the things that I have learned over the years is how to work a scene. What that means is to shoot the classic composition of a subject first and then experiment. Beginners often take that shot and think they are done. By working a scene you might end up with something completely different and better than you expected. How do I work a scene? I shoot from all different angles, trying to see if a different point of view works better. I will shoot at different focal lengths from wide-angle to telephoto. I also shoot from different heights: low, eye-level and high.

Often, one of the non-classic compositions will speak to you when you look at it. Take this low shot of Marshall Point Lighthouse. This subject has been shot numerous times from eye-level with great results. For this shot, I took my camera off of the tripod and placed it on the walkway to the light. I love how this shot turned out, as the eye can follow one of the boards through the photograph right to the door. While I have seen others with this composition shot at eye-level, I have not seen one from this low of an angle.

Behind the Bridge - Somesville, Maine

After Jeff Clow's Maine Photo Tour, we also co-hosted a two day post tour in Acadia National Park. Acadia is situated on the coast of Maine and actually is located on Mount Desert Island. Many of the photos from Acadia feature the amazing rugged coast and some impressive lakes. The island is not only home to the park, but also has some great small harbor towns where many of the lobster fishermen live and go out of. In addition to these sights, there are some locations that have a unique feature. One of my favorites is this small footbridge in the town of Somesville. It is often photographed from the front and one of my favorite photos is from that vantage point. 

I have often taken photos from behind the footbridge, but have never been satisfied with the result. On this day, everything seemed to work in my favor. The sun was at a great angle and lit up the scene wonderfully with an equal dose of light and shadow. The foliage was peaking on a few of the trees, and my favorite part of this image is the reflection of the leaves in the back window. This is definitely my best effort from the back of the footbridge.

Pemaquid Flare - Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol, Maine

Just completed co-hosting with Jeff Clow on his inaugural Maine Photo Tour and things went extremely well. We couldn't have asked for a better group of photographers to join us. We photographed twelve different lighthouses, various quaint harbors, and ate a whole bunch of lobster rolls. I will be featuring some of the photos I shot there over the next couple of weeks.

For those who regularly follow me, it is no surprise that I would kick off the photos with my favorite lighthouse, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. We had already shot it at sunset two days before and we decided to shoot it at sunrise on our last day. The weather forecast was not stellar, with rain in the forecast. On the way to Pemaquid, it began drizzling, and we were expecting to be shut out. The photography gods had better plans for us, granting us a brief period of time (20 minutes at the most), where the sun peeked above the horizon and lit up the overcast skies. I shot this at f/22 to get a sunburst and was happy to find a decent lens flare in the photo. I am not usually one for lens flares, but this one seem to fit the mood of the morning. 

Paradise River - Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Narada Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, Washingtom

Mount Rainier is the main attraction in the national park, but there are so many other attractions that can get overlooked, namely waterfalls. There are eighteen waterfalls located in the park that I am aware of. Some require strenuous hikes to reach, while others are just off the road. I have a particular fondness for capturing the flow of water using long-exposure photography. Whether it is a photo of the waterfall itself or a stream running to or from it, I just love the silky look that the water has when taking the shot with a long exposure. 

This is an example of what I am talking about. Near the parking lot for Narada Falls there is a footbridge where a small stream flows that will ultimately go over the falls downstream. It is not a wide stream, and the morning light lit up small parts of it in a way that caught my attention. I played around with quite the number of exposures, and settled on a 12-second one that I thought gave the right amount of "silkiness" to the photo.