By Kurt Budliger | May 8, 2012
Posted in: Arizona, Creativity, Landscape Photography, Tech Tips |

Cloud Light

All photographers are students of light but as landscape specialists we’ve got to be keenly aware of the subtle nuances of light on the landscape, particularly if we want our images to stand out in a crowd of ever-growing landscape imagery. In my last post “Getting Lucky at the Grand Canyon” I included a sunrise shot from Yaki Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There is nothing [...]

By Kurt Budliger | May 3, 2012
Posted in: Arizona, desert, Grand Canyon |

9 Comments

Getting Lucky at the Grand Canyon

No, not like that. Geesh get your minds out of the gutter! I’ll leave those kinds of posts to George and Ian, they’re much bigger players than me I mean truly getting lucky with the light and atmospheric conditions when out photographing. George wrote a great post a couple of weeks ago with an awesome message about finding a spot and sitting on it, coming back over and [...]

By Ian Plant | May 1, 2012
Posted in: Creativity, Patagonia |

16 Comments

Meat and Potatoes

Everything in nature has an essence, an unmistakable core that makes it what it is, and not something else. Many photographers (including myself) often speak of simplifying a subject, of “reducing it to its essence.” I think that most confuse this process of reducing a subject to its essence with simplicity of composition. A simple composition, however, does not necessarily reveal anything of the truth of its subject—nor, for that [...]

By Kurt Budliger | Apr 26, 2012
Posted in: Landscape Photography, Vermont, Workshops |

7 Comments

Spring in Vermont Photo Workshop

Greetings from Arizona! I’ve been on the road with my family for the past week visiting a few gems in the desert. My kids have been loving the new sights, sounds and smells, a world very different then their home state of Vermont. It’s mostly been a family trip but I’ve gotten a few opportunities to get out and shoot. My wife truly is amazing in that respect. The weather [...]

By George Stocking | Apr 22, 2012
Posted in: Arizona, desert |

11 Comments

Sit On It

In a way this is another form of the “shoot local” theme that I believe may have been previously mentioned in passing a few times on this forum. This is going to be much the same, just a whole lot more anal. I know, thats pretty terrible, but please follow me here. I actually have a point. Back in the 1970′s, there was a sitcom on network television in the USA [...]

By Ian Plant | Apr 20, 2012
Posted in: Outdoor Photographer Blog, Patagonia |

6 Comments

Lost and Found

My latest post to the Outdoor Photographer blog, Lost and Found, recounts the finding of an epic shot in the backcountry wilds of Patagonia, and then losing it forever. The image below, which illustrates the post, was my failed attempt to recreate the lost photo. I say “failed” because I was hoping for a sunrise shot, but was only able to get good light at sunset. I’ve shot sunset from [...]

By George Stocking | Apr 19, 2012
Posted in: Arizona, desert, Inspiration |

8 Comments

You Stole My Shot!

..read the email. I don’t even know how to react to that. If I stole your shot, I first would have had to have seen your shot. And since there’s no way for you to know for sure if I have seen it, I pretty much have to assume that you feel that way only because what I published must bear a resemblance to an image you took. My reply [...]

By Ian Plant | Apr 17, 2012
Posted in: Patagonia |

21 Comments

Square Pegs and Round Holes

One of the worst things people can do is to make something into something it is not. Whether it is a politician telling lies to get elected, a marketing executive trying to make a product sound far more exciting than it really is, or a cover band turning a rockin’ song into a horrible slow jazz remix, when you turn something into something it is not, you end up with something that [...]

By George Stocking | Apr 15, 2012
Posted in: Arizona, Creativity, General, Inspiration, Landscape Photography |

7 Comments

Superstitious To The Bone

Outwardly I deny it. I’m not at all superstitious. I freely walk on cracks, under ladders and four leaf clovers are to me, somewhat unique but meaningless. But my wife knows. She sees me turn off the big game in the middle and walk away…..because my team is doing poorly. Seems every time I watch, my team sucks. When I don’t see it, say I’m on the road, they win. [...]

By Kurt Budliger | Apr 9, 2012
Posted in: Belize, Inspiration |

8 Comments

Fresh Eyes

Sometimes we’re too close to our work to make the right judgment about whether it’s good or not good; whether an image is a keeper or destined to a life of obscurity in the deep recesses of a hard drive. More specifically I think we’re too close to the event or experience to make these critical decisions. We often return home from a trip or even just a local evening [...]

By George Stocking | Apr 6, 2012
Posted in: General |

4 Comments

Look, Don’t See

While out in the sandstone a few weeks ago, I had a few hours to kill during the middle of the day. (Yeah I know, who woulda guessed?). Looking in the truck for something to read, all I could find was this adventure / mystery thing. The hero was a huge dude and a former commando in the military. He cruises around fighting crime with his incredible powers of observation [...]

By Ian Plant | Apr 2, 2012
Posted in: Patagonia |

7 Comments

A Dark and Stormy Night

I’m sitting watching sheets of rain gust past me at 50-60 miles per hour over Lago Pehoe in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Of course, I am safely ensconced in my hotel, protected from the raging gale outside. The majestic old building creaks with each blast, however, and I can hear and feel each rolling breaker of white-tipped storm-borne fury crash upon the shore. Just another day in Patagonia. I love [...]

By George Stocking | Mar 29, 2012
Posted in: bristlecone, California, Landscape Photography |

9 Comments

It’s Not (Actually) Religion

Photography, I mean. The other day I got to listen third-hand to a discussion between two very passionate shooters that got a little heated. I’m not gonna mention what they were talking about, but lets say that the exchange reminded me of how car enthusiasts will occasionally gently discuss the differences between Ford and Chevy. I mean, both Ford and Chevy have their pros and cons; but step outside? Really? [...]

Social Media or Social Medium for Photographers?

By Kurt Budliger | Mar 28, 2012
Posted in: General, Inspiration, Landscape Photography, Vermont |

6 Comments

Social Media or Social Medium for Photographers?

I’ve been one of those reluctant users of online social media. I’m one of those Gen Xers that actually wrote and passed paper notes to friends in high school. I remember when google was just a number. I learned to use a road atlas and not rely on a little blue pin when navigating cross country, had a calling card and used payphones to call home in college. I didn’t [...]