These Places Really Crack Me Up

• Nature Photography

I love to photograph Cracked Mud like this. I might even be obsessed! The patterns and textures and details are very fascinating and I think it makes great subjects for the camera. I even wrote an article once for Pro Nature Photographer on The Art of Photographing Mud.

There is so much of it around in the outdoors where it was wet and is now dry. I am not a cracked mud expert, but I have noticed as I shoot these details that the mud dries differently and cracks differently, so there is something in the geological makeup of each sediment that I guess contributes to how it dries. Any mud experts out there? 🙂

Having spent most of the winter wandering around the deserts of the USA Southwest, I have shot a lot drying mud and its cracks. This image was from a slot canyon in Utah. What makes this cracked mud different is the layer is thin so it curled up. And…this was cool for the photo: the topside was Red, from the red sandstone I am sure, and the underside was white’ish. 

The Lucky Guy

• Nature Photography

I am without a doubt, the luckiest person in the world…next to you of course! To be able to spend so much time outdoors in amazing places like this one here from Northern Arizona, would make anyone feel like the luckiest person in the world.

To trek out here and find such amazing geology and then have a camera and tripod in hand allows me to record and relive this forever. My presence in this landscape takes my creative ‘self’ to a higher level of awareness. My adrenaline kicks in. It is so exciting! Is that what being ‘high on life is?’ If so, I am an addict!

I was excited about the leading lines and textures and shot it with a 5D and 16-35mm lens. Little processing was needed.

Photo of The Day: Canyon X in Arizona

• Nature Photography

This was an amazing location: Canyon X in Arizona. This location is on provate property and requires a giude and a group of us hired one.

I think this slot canyon is deeper than Antelope Canyon, but I am not sure. It seemed much darker and that could be due to different geological formations, but again, I am not sure.

It was tough to process and it went very blue at the bottom and warm at the top, so I added a B&W adjustment layer and dialed some color out and painted back in the warm colored slit.

Photo of The Day: Cracked Mud

• Nature Photography

I took an afternoon hike in the middle of the day, mostly for exercise since I was on the computer all day. I saw this cracked mud and had to shoot it.

I processed it in Photoshop and added contrast and a slight brown tone to exaggerate the colors.

Photo of The Day: Aspen Cams

• Nature Photography

It is said by many, and hard to argue, that we live in a surveillance state and world these days. Everywhere you go physically and virtually, you are being watched.

Well you can imagine my surprise when I discovered while photographing in the Colorado Rockies, that I was….YES….being watched.

I couldn’t believe it! In the middle of the forest all alone, and these eyes staring me down.

A Photographer in Paradise: Day 5

• travels

Roatan Honduras: So by mid-week we were slowing down due primarily to an abundance of Caribbean Rum and the weather was turning rather stormy. It didn’t matter because when it rains or pours and it is 82 degrees, well so what?

West End Beach

We fell for Cindy and her small curbside cafe and that great ‘Caribe’ accent she had; “Ya Know Mon?”

A Photographer in Paradise: Laughing Birds

• travels

Day 4 and 5 were wonderful as well chilled a little and hung closer to home. We mixed through West End Village and met many wonderful people, locals and from abroad.

This is a great place where you fit right in with most everybody speaking English. They are happy you are here and frequent their business while others will give a tour around neighborhoods without  expecting anything in return.

The highlight of the day was clearly these laughing birds. Not sure if they are parrots or a different tropical bird, but this was fun in Roatan Honduras