Photographer's Journal

Smoke on the Water: Braving Frigid Temperatures to Capture an Amazing Phenomenon
February 5, 2023  |  Portland, Maine

Living in northern New England offers a wide variety of benefits for photographers such as myself. Beautiful landscape that includes mountains, rolling hills covered in flowers, thick forests, rivers, lakes, dramatic cliffs dropping hundreds of feet into the ocean, lighthouses, and picturesque fishing harbors to name several...

Trip Report: Rocky Mountain National Park
January 29, 2023  |  Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

There's something special about starting out on the trail in the pre-dawn hours, the temperatures well below freezing, a light snow falling. Headlamps switch on, illuminating the 15 feet in front of you...

Location Spotlight: Dream Lake in Winter
January 23, 2023  |  Dream Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

On my recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, the top item on my list was to reach Dream Lake, one of the most popular locations in the park. It draws a lot of people, with the park advising visitors to arrive early or use the park shuttle since the lot will be full...

Photographing in the Winter
January 20, 2023

Having just returned from photographing in the Rockies in winter weather with my friend Kristen Wilkinson, I thought some might find it helpful to hear some tips about photographing in winter weather...

Location Spotlight: Wells Beach
January 4, 2023  |  Wells Beach, Maine

Located on the coast of southern Maine in York County, is a popular summer destination called Wells Beach. Wells Beach is somewhat of a rarity on the Maine coast, as one of a handful of sandy beaches on an otherwise rocky coastline...

Why I Left Art Storefronts & Joined WideRange Galleries
January 2, 2023

If you're a photographer or visual artist looking to sell your work, you might have interest in the various sales platforms available online. I began selling my work as art sometime in 2009 as I began a transition from sports photography to fine art landscape photography...

2022: My Year in Pictures
December 30, 2022

“Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” - Ansel Adams

Well, to be sure, I've shared more than 12 photos in my year-end review here, but to be fair, using a digital camera allows me to produce many more photos than Ansel Adams using a view camera that took one sheet of film at a time...

An Unlikely Collaboration: How My Image Inspired a Shave Soap
December 12, 2022

This is going to be a slightly different type of entry. But first, a little backstory on the image in question. I photographed this small cascade at Diana's Baths, just outside North Conway, New Hampshire, in the winter of 2020...

Tips For Photographing In the Snow
December 8, 2022

Winter can be a lot of things. Cold. Wet. Damp. Raw. But it can also be magical. Fresh snow and ice can sparkle over the landscape, make it clean and fresh, and change it from the norm. That's one of the reasons I love photographing in the snow...

Behind the Image: Capturing A Long Exposure Sunset on Deer Isle
November 15, 2022  |  Deer Isle, Maine

This past weekend, eager to avoid spending the day at home doing nothing, I asked my wife if she'd like to take a drive. I'd been looking at weather reports, tide reports, and sunset positioning for a few different locations I've been wanting to photograph, and everything seemed to line up well for a sunset at Sand Beach on Deer Isle, Maine, near the village of Stonington...

What Makes A Photo Good?
November 9, 2022

We live in a time when more photographs are taken than ever before, and more photographs are shared with the general public than ever before. We also live in a time when it's easier than ever for anyone to set up a website, or use any of more than a dozen marketplaces, and try to sell their photos...

The 5 Worst Compliments You Can Give a Landscape Photographer
November 7, 2022

I know this entry may be a little controversial, or feel like I'm whining. I apologize in advance if it comes off that way. My goal here is not to belittle anyone who's ever said these things, but rather, to educate viewers of photography...

The Story of the Otters
November 6, 2022  |  Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Living on the coast of Maine, hurricanes are not often an issue for us. They often veer east away from Maine, and head up into the maritimes, so we don't usually take a direct hit. What we do get, and in my mind is a lot more fun, is a very angry ocean...

Trip Report: Autumn in the Smoky Mountains
October 26, 2022  |  Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a wide variety of subject matter for any landscape photographer. Grand vistas, flowing waterfalls, historic cabins, and expansive meadows with majestic trees are all on the menu...

My Favorite Maine Harbors
October 13, 2022  |  Maine, USA

Maine is a state with a lot to offer and explore. There are over 5700 lakes. 65 lighthouses. 14 mountains over 4000 feet tall. Many people visit to see lighthouses, to go hiking, or just eat seafood...

Deconstructing the Composition: Maroon Bells II
October 1, 2022  |  Maroon Bells, Colorado

One of the primary things that elevates a photograph from snapshot to art, whether it be a portrait, a candid street photograph, or a landscape or cityscape, is the composition. Composition, or the arrangement of elements within an image, can often look random, when in fact, the photographer has considered the placement of even the most minute object...

Five Tips For Amazing Fall Foliage Photos
September 16, 2022

Autumn is my absolute favorite season of the year! The air gets cool and crisp. You can smell the scent of wood burning from fireplaces and wood stoves. Apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice flavors and scents are everywhere, warming us up on chilly mornings...

Can Landscape Photographers Get Artist's Block? And How I Deal With It
September 10, 2022

We all know writers get writer's block, unsure where to take a story or article or essay. And you're probably aware that painters and other visual artists like sketch artists and illustrators can deal with artist's block...