I needed to get out of Dodge for a few days so I thought, why not go to the northeast where it won’t be super hot and humid like it is in Chicago. Wrong choice, the northeast got hit with high heat and humidity so from a temperature point of view not so good. From a photographers point of view, Acadia National Park is always a good choice. Normally I would go in the fall for the colors, but decided why not?
Every morning I got up at 4:15 as sunrise is at 5 this time of year, and every morning it was foggy with a 40mph wind. Even on a tripod the camera vibrates so blocking the wind or steadying with your hands is essential. A good way to check whether or not the camera is moving from the wind is to go to Live View and check for movement, it’s really easy to see that way. This is Cadillac Mtn. a minute before the fog rolled in and obliterated everything. More to come.
This shot of the Grand Canyon south rim was taken a couple years ago. I like to go back and look at my photo collection from time to time with fresh eyes. This was sunset right after a quick rain storm. The light was changing every 30 seconds.
Beautiful sunrise at Zabriski point. Lots of shooting can be done way before the sun comes up at this location. The rock textures are great. Example will come tomorrow.
Death Valley is bigger than Yellowstone. Fortunately you can drive faster here than you can in Yellowstone. The salt basins are enormous. Most of the sights you want to see are 30 minutes from each other.
Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level. Some of the hottest temperatures every recorded on earth have been here. These are salt formations on the flats. Nikon D4 14-24mm
Following birds in flight is one of the trickiest things to do. Shutter speed, framing, focus point on the eye. They do slow down a bit when coming in to land. Camera technique and a gimbal head are a must for me at least. I know a few people who can hand hold but a 500mm can be a bit much.
As pretty as this is in color I think the mood is better in black and white. View from a small island in Katmai National Park Alaska.
Sometimes you have to do a little work to get a shot. Walked around a lake wearing waders and boots in knee high water over rocks and slippery mud to get to this lake. It was worth it. Complete silence and a few wolverine tracks.
It’s nothing like you have ever seen. A winter wonderland with critters. More on my website in the Yellowstone gallery.
Taken at Old Faithful D3s 500mm TC 1.7
These two National Parks are a great place to shoot in the fall. There are very few visitors making it easy to get the shot without having to wait for folks to move out of the way. I went the weekend of the time change so getting up at the crack of dawn isn’t so bad and you don’t have to wait until 8 pm to get your sunset. I spent a few hours driving around the La Sal Moutains which are just east of Moab. When I arrived they were in the middle of the first snowstorm of the year so the mountains had a beautiful fresh coating of snow. I only spent 4 days in the area but could have easily spent a couple weeks. Rent a 4 x 4 and take the backroads to get a totally different perspective of Canyonlands.
More at my website