Then about 3 years ago my wife started running marathons, and I would tag along to explore each new city and take photos. When I submitted some of my marathon images while applying for credentials, I was asked if I would photograph the entire marathon from a creative point of view. That’s when my travel photography business was born. I covered about 12 marathons this past year and it looks like it will be even more next year. Every marathon …
Disguised as a wandering landscape photographer to capture New York City
Los Angeles, It was a big sprawling city even in those days. One block looked like the next. I don’t have any photography to speak of from those days because I always felt that nature was elsewhere. I’ve never looked back and, through my photographic travels and workshops, I’ve been treated to some of the most beautiful and scenic locations imaginable. The National and State parks throughout the American West are my home and photographic focus. Nevertheless, I recently had …
Tracing the Silver Bay landscape image from pre-visualization to post production
I thought I would offer a basic case study explanation of how this image of Silver Bay was created from the pre-visualization stage to the final post production steps. My basic motivation to create this image was to test an idea that’s reflected in many landscape photographers’ work. I’m referring to the idea that the photographer can control where the eye of a viewer first enters the image and the path that the eye follows while looking at the image. …
Capturing impressive infrared landscapes with the Nikon D-70 and an I-Ray filter
I became interested in landscape photography in 1997, when I was on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada. I was in school learning about infrared film. I had done a bit of work with it, but I was eager to see what it would do in the lush forests of British Columbia. My mother and I traveled to the island for Christmas break and I spent some time shooting photos in various places. Of course, this was infrared film back …
Reviewing the basics of Graduated Neutral Density Filters in the Digital Age
Nowadays, my photography is still a passion that I pursue both as a doctoral graduate in biology and as a frequent photo workshop leader. While the magical effect of a polarizer is nearly impossible to recreate in image editing software, there are now all kinds of computer-based ways of replicating the effect of ND grads in post-production. In fact, many software packages offer built-in ND grad ‘effects’ that can easily be applied to images. We also have HDR software techniques …
Steve Kossack’s new location moves him closer to his two favorite national parks
I’ve just visited two of my most favorite National Parks now that they are closer than ever, When I first moved to the deserts of Arizona ten years ago, I considered Page AZ but did not move there. Instead I went a couple of hundred miles south to the small town of Cottonwood, about 100 miles north of Phoenix. For more than a decade, Phoenix served as a terrific base for conducting my various photo workshops throughout the western states. …
Reflections of this year’s visit to the splendors of Glacier National Park
Sometimes I wonder whether success in any creative art is more dependent on the singer or the song? That is to say, is it really the photographer or the place? Over the years, I’ve come to realize excellent outdoor images can be made almost anywhere at any time. Nevertheless, that rationalization fades from memory when I find myself surrounded by the awesome grandeur of our nation’s National Parks, and one in particular. Although it’s in a remote location, Glacier National …
Visiting Oregon, I brought along my Singh-Ray filters
Aspiring landscape photographer Loscar Numael recently had an opportunity to try out his Singh-Ray filters while visiting Oregon. “I brought along my entire kit of filters and I was glad I did because Oregon has to be one of the most photographically diverse and beautiful places a landscape photographer can find. Only knowing Oregon from seeing the images made by other photographers, I wasn’t sure what to expect. With each passing day of the trip — as I discovered how …
Series of dramatic architectural studies reflects constant search for fresh ideas
For the past two years, I’ve been working on a project that combines my love for architecture and photography. Called The Fountainhead, after the Ayn Rand novel, this series features images of skyscrapers that have been dramatically distorted to give them a very modern and futuristic look. Rather than transforming these images by using Photoshop, however, I resorted to a much more ‘old-school’ technique that enabled me to visualize and capture the final images in my digital camera. I photographed …
Finding out that Iceland is a great place to apply the versatility of the Vari-N-Trio and ColorCombo
Now, thanks to our new series of workshops, organized in cooperation with the folks at Focus-on-Nature in Iceland, I have been able to realize that dream. We began our series there last summer and have the next workshop set for July 10-16, 2011. Since there are also a number of other workshops held there throughout the year, I thought it might be helpful to pass along a few general observations and suggestions for those planning to photograph in Iceland. During …