River in Autumn

Jewel

And sometimes I try something new...

Utah Slot Canyon

One of my favorite things to do is to explore where there are no trails. Where the only footprints that I see are my own, or the occasional boot prints of someone else who loves the wild and less touched places, just as I do. I love setting out on my adventure having no idea the treasure that I will find. Sometimes I find something beautiful to photograph. Other times I just enjoy the sun on my face and the cool breeze in my hair. On this particular day, I descended down a rugged and steep hillside into a deep wash.  I followed the dry wash for a long time before reaching the end, discovering a beautiful slot canyon, cutting through the red sandstone. I spent the next several hours photographing this beautiful hidden canyon. The amazing colors and textures curved gracefully around every bend of the canyon walls.

Texture and details in infrared

I have always been fascinated by textures and the tiny details in nature, like miniature landscapes within the larger ones. This photograph was made with a converted infrared Nikon D300. It was taken of the underneath side of an uprooted pine, its roots still clinging to some of the stones that they had formed around. 

Utah Wildflowers

What a beautiful year for wildflowers!  They seemed to hang on a little bit longer this year?  The Indian Paintbrush has always been one of my favorite. They were the most brilliant red this year, and red happens to be my favorite color    ;)

Let's take our hearts for a walk in the woods & listen to the magic whispers of old trees...

Model ~ Jewel

Baby Raccoons

As I was doing a photo shoot with a couple of models, we noticed these adorable and very curious onlookers. I was shooting in infrared, but lucky for me, I had brought my second camera with me. I didn't have the ideal lens with me to capture these cuties, but I was able to get this photo of two of the three. They stayed around and watched us for the entire shoot. What adorable little critters!  (The raccoons, not the models)  ;)  The models were gorgeous!  

Ghost of the Forest

I found it interesting that this stump of a fallen tree resembled a forest ghost, rising from the brush that surrounded it. The spirit of the tree that once was...
Photographed in infrared

Jaydyn Rae

I wanted to try a little something a little different, and Jayd is always such a stunning subject.  Photographed in only natural light coming through a window. 

Abstract Aspens

I got creative with slow shutter motion blur in a grove of Aspens. I like just the hint of new spring leaves, leaving most of the tree trunk bare. I think it helped make it interesting.

For this image, I layered another texture image onto the original photograph, creating a whole different look and feel. 

Female portrait in infrared

This is one of my favorite ways to photograph fine art portraits. I love the natural and surreal look that I get with infrared. It makes skin look flawless with no softening in post needed, and the landscapes dreamlike. I had the sensor converted to infrared in one of my Nikon cameras a couple of years ago, and have really enjoyed making photographs with it since.
Model ~ Jewel

Antelope Island State Park

Antelope Island State Park is the largest of several islands in the Great Salt Lake. It is home to a unique variety of wildlife and landscape. A fun day trip to explore and photograph.  It has several campgrounds as well, if you want to stay. The Bison herds roam freely on the island and are fun to photograph, but should definitely be respected.

One of the hundreds of nests out on egg island.  It's early enough in the spring that the nests are all still empty. 

A panorama of egg island, looking back toward the main island and the Wasatch Mountains.

February Solitude

I decided to escape the northern Utah winter for a few days and drove south to explore some of my favorite places among the red rocks. We have received more snow than normal this year in our beautiful state, including the mountains of southern Utah. The snow covered peaks were such a gorgeous backdrop for the red rock landscape around me. The sun was warm while there was still a crisp breeze on my cheeks. The quiet solitude and beauty around me was exactly what I was searching for. Back at home, we are still a winter wonderland buried in snow, and I now have a severe case of spring fever! 

Sunset on a time long passed

The warm glow of the late evening sun shines on Anasazi ruins in Utah.

American Bison

The mighty American Bison.  I love these animals!  This big guy was nice enough to pose for me in just the right spot.

Day Dreamer

If you want to try something fun, set your camera to multiple exposures and shoot away. In camera double exposures can be a fun and creative photo project. Practice makes perfect, since it's kind of a guessing game at first. I chose 2 exposures for this image, but you can choose more if you would like.  The first exposure was of my day dreamers profile, the second, a photo of some snow plastered on the front window of my house. From the inside looking out, it made some really cool textures with some outside light peaking through in some places. The more creative you can get, the more fun! 

Winter

No matter the season, I've learned to enjoy every day for what it is.  See the beauty, feel it, embrace it.  Don't wish it away

Oregon

A warm autumn walk in the woods.

Sunset

What a perfect way to end a perfect day!
Gunlock, Utah