Category Archives: Photography
The Future of Photography
In “Where the Photo Industry is Going in Five Years,” Chris Gampat talks about the future of photography. “The industry and the state of technology is evolving or developing so quickly I frankly cannot guess what will be five years from now. I am not certain if you’d asked me this during January 2014 I […]
The Art of a Moth
Brent has a beautiful eye for capturing the essence of a photograph. This moth is perfectly framed on the pine needled covered ground at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. Moths are amazing. There are over 160,000 species of months, nearly ten times the number of butterflies, so sayeth Wikipedia. We love photographing moths. […]
The Spider That Thinks He’s a Flower
Many years ago, Brent VanFossen was hiking around the Olympic National Park in our favorite area of Hurricane Ridge during the beautiful alpine wild flower season. He spotted this plumb yellow crab spider poised perfectly in the middle of lupine leaves like the yellow center of a flower. It’s arms were outstretched, waiting for dinner […]
Letter to Those Desiring a Career in Nature and Travel Photography
On a regular basis I get emails and comments from students attracted to the photography bug. To them, photography represents the exotic, exciting, and adventurous. While there are some aspects that involve travel, adventure, and excitement, for the most part photography as a hobby is fun. Photography as a business is hard work and boring. […]
Water Droplets on Sheet Web
Just as there are many types of spiders, there are many types of webs. A favorite of ours is the sheet web. Lying flat across plants and grasses, Brent and I are impressed by these diligent web makers as they work on the horizontal rather than vertical. Our front “yard” filled with knick-knick, Oregon Grape, […]
Backlighting Devil’s Club Overhead
Traveling to Seattle, a friend and I went to the John Bastyr School for one of their health and herbal festivals. A nature walk through the forest next to the campus intrigued me. It was incredibly informative, discussing how to use plants in the wilderness for medical treatments and health. The Pacific Northwest forest was […]
Flash Isolates Natural Subject
This dried thistle head in the Painted Hills of Oregon caught my attention with its textures and lines. I’ve always loved thistles, alive and vital with their fluffy tops, and dried out cone-like structures of mystery and pattern. To isolate this thistle, I used flash to force the background to go to black. The flash […]
Exploring Painted Hills in Oregon
A few years ago, my mother and I went on a genealogy romp through Oregon trying to track down the records of my family. We swung out into Eastern Oregon to one of my favorite nature parks, Painted Hills. I’ve photographed it for many years. Here are a few of the choice images from that […]
Photographing the Moon Eclipse 2008
It was freezing cold outside. And dark. Not the kind of dark that just comes with night but the dark that happens when the earth passes between the sun and the moon. It was February 20, 2008, and I was in our new temporary home in Gaston, Oregon, an hour west of Portland, in time […]
Cherry Tree Blossoms, Seattle Arboretum
The Seattle Arboretum is a glorious place to wander year around, but in the spring, the rows and rows of flowering trees are wonders to behold. I often led many nature photography tours in and around Seattle’s most famous park, a long green belt that starts near the University of Washington and Museum of History […]
Arctic Ground Squirrel in Grasses
You can’t travel up to Alaska and through Canada without running into the ubiquitous Arctic Ground Squirrel. Brent found this cooperative ground squirrel near our campsite in Alaska, a brown fuzzy creature against the lovely green grasses in the background, dotted with buttercups. Photographing these animals is like “shooting fish in a barrel,” as my […]
Patterns in Nature: Beetle Camouflage on Tree
We love looking for patterns in nature to photograph and nature provides no end of opportunities. This beetle was almost passed by as it blends so perfectly in with the tree bark. It’s near perfect as camouflage. To photograph patterns in nature, specifically subjects that resemble other more family subjects or those that melt away […]