On safari in Krugher National Park

 • Africa Photo Safari ~ I have always wanted to go to Africa, but it is a long way away, and it is expensive to get there, I had to figure out a way. ......... rest of story

• Winter Photography in Jackson Hole ~ A  frosty sublime; winter in Jackson Hole and Grand Teton Park is a special time. The snow showed valleys, and towering peaks create an ambiance much different from summer. Gone are the crowds of summer, buried are the remnants of wildflowers, gone are the leaves of the deciduous trees, replaces by a carpet of snow and an exponential essence of wilderness. Crisp delicious air fills your lungs as you fumble with gloved hands to adjust your equipment to capture a frozen moment of alpenglow of the mountains reflecting brightly against the snowy white canvas of the peaks...... rest of article

• Living a richer life without any money ~ Since purchasing my first camera, I have been living a visual feast that has cost me a real estate career in a lucrative Southern California market. My scenery seemed to always be just over the next hill somewhere; cityscapes just were not my kind of inspiration. I soon tired of local beach sunsets and disturbingly enough; the sun bathing beauties scattered about. It wasn't long before I was traveling farther a field................ rest of article

• Photographic Composition ~ One of the things that differentiate a great photograph from an ordinary one is composition. You don't take a great photograph you make it. Composition is how objects or subjects are placed in the shot. Good pictures result from careful attention the basic elements of composition   .........  rest of article

• Quick Start Guide for Manual Mode Photography ~ One of the many hats I wear to keep my life afloat is that of Wildlife Safari Guide in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park. Most tours are not photography tours however, everyone brings a camera. Me as a pro photographer and instructor I often teach those willing to listen while we travel between moose, pronghorn and hopefully bears. I have worked out a simple way to communicate intuitive shooting for manual mode I share with my guests. Yes it is abbreviated, yes it is over-simplified, and yes it works. Quick Start Guide for Manual Mode Photography ~ Shooting on the manual mode setting isn't as hard as most people think because they haven't given it any thought. Today's DSLRs have opened the door to shortcuts, I love shortcuts!....................  rest of article

Bear spray really works

• Bear Spray Really Works • One fine spring afternoon while searching for grizzly bears in Grand Teton National Park, I spotted two grizzlies in a meadow west of the highway. Unfortunately, they were about two hundred yards away, too far for good grizzly pictures so I decided to close the gap a bit.  ...................   rest of story

• Photographic Exposure Basics ~ One of the most important aspects of being able to communicate the essese of our vision through a photograph is the proper use of light. While there are certainly many other aspects of great photography, if the light is wrong, nothing else will work! Nature photographers often speak about seeking out certain light conditions or only shooting in specific types of light. Light has a triple nature for the photographer to factor: color, direction, and quality. Photography is capturing light which is exposure.    .............. rest of article

• Hungry Wolves ~ On the tree line ahead I saw a cow elk peacefully grazing across the meadow of sagebrush about one hundred yards away, and I kept watching her as I poked along. Prey animals will tell you by their behavior if predators are near then suddenly she broke into a run for her life. Without seeing them but knowing the wolves were chasing her because of her panic I threw my car into park, jumped out and sat in the sagebrush for a low perspective so I could include the snow capped mountains in the photo and fired toward the action. ...................  rest of story

• Search for Serendipity, the photographer's quest ~ Luck favors the prepared mind, as does serendipity. Webster's definition-Serendipity – an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally. Audacious, is the photographer who chooses to make his living stalking serendipity from one location to another then back again hoping to capture light as it has never been captured before or tougher yet as they may have captured it in the past. But that is what we nature photographers do, and that is what we live for. ...........  rest of article

What's for breakfast?

• Wolf Chase ~ About three quarters around my loop I stopped to photograph a six point bull looking for the ladies and while photographing him a black wolf walked into the frame, stopped, posed then moved out of the frame. How fortuitous, I love it when serendipity smiles upon me! ............. rest of story

• Yellowstone Dinner Party – wolves and grizzly bears ~ video ~ A  series of events that doesn't happen that did.  I captured this incredible footage while leading a private tour in Yellowstone. ............ see video

• A Cheechaco's Alaska ~ a retrospective ~ A funny retrospective about my first year in Alaska, and my transormation from California kid to dog sled racing Alaskan.  Has nothing to do with photography but a good read published in Mushing Magazine. ............. the story

• My Free Horse ~ I am a man of ever changing interests and around 2004 I was transitioning from fly-fishing maniac back to cowboy imposter, horses and trail riding. I had been dwelling around the river valleys and canyon streams chasing trout long enough, it was time to re-acquaint myself with the unpredictable adrenaline rush horses often provide while expediting my exponentially ample ass up the mountain trails to the sublime subalpine regions of our high mountains, a place I am reluctant to propel myself under my own power. I started collecting some horses for the kids and myself. ...................  rest of story