Summer

Here are a few more photos from my recent adventure on St. George Island, in Alaska’s Pribilof Island Group. I have been working on editing the nearly 3,000 photos created over those 3 days. The “Selects” have been narrowed to a much more manageable group of around 30 images.  That is 1 “Select” image out of every 100 clicks of the shutter. There is an old-ish saying that I first heard from Galen Rowell, “The difference between a professional and an amateur photographer is that a professional takes more bad photographs.” Over the past few years, I’ve been focusing more on my landscape photography. St. George Island gave me a very unique opportunity to shift my main focus to the incredible wildlife, albeit with a few...

To quote Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Dr. Ellie Arroway in Robert Zemeckis’ “Contact”: No words to describe it. Poetry! They should’ve sent a poet. Alaska has been kind to me. I’ve visited locations most photographers dream of & seen things most will never witness. But Alaska is always full of surprises. I spent the past 4 days at a location that I’ve been dreaming of visiting for several years. St. George Island sits just 45 miles to the east of the Continental Shelf. In this region, everything about the Earth’s crust is precipitous. If you were able to stand atop the ‘cliffs’ above the Continental Shelf, you’d already be in nearly 600 feet of water. But vanishing into the blackness below would...

I am a finally settling back into a ‘normal’ rhythm after returning from my Wild Lands & Wild Life: Cordova Photo Tour, this past Saturday. After over a full week on the road, with many late nights, a few very early rises and a mid-tour hard hitting virus, this tour was a tour de force. And soooooo worth it! The clients had an excellent time. One of the clients even cried. “Wait. I thought you said you had an ‘excellent time’, Dave?” My client (who shall go un-identified) was seated next to me during one of our aerial photography sessions. I turned towards them mid-flight and caught the glint of a tear rolling down their cheek. I asked if everything was ok. The reply was so poignant. “It’s...

Australian professional landscape photographer (and fellow Fstop gear user!), Christian Fletcher, is having a great discussion over on his site. It’s in regards to creating art that people haven’t seen, particularly in photography. Photographers far more elegant than me have handled this topic before. Here in America, one of my friends and ‘phantom mentors’, Guy Tal has said: “Photograph for yourself and satisfy your own sensibilities and aesthetics. True artists do not pander to a pre-selected audience. Instead, they carve an audience of their own from those who will encounter and be moved by their work.” “The best way to use your imagination is simply to not stand in its way.” I think he’s right. We have to shoot for...

Print of the Month for May, 2011 – “The Glow of Spring – #002″ Every year, I return to Cordova, Alaska. Simply put, it is one of the most spectacular locations on our planet – for photography and for escaping city life. The variety available in this region staggers me; ocean, rain forest, glaciers, mountains, ponds, lakes, marshes, meadows, streams and rivers. Then there is the wildlife! Moose, bear, wolverine, sea otters, bald eagles, trumpeter swans and so much more. My photo tour also coincides with the massive wildflower bloom in mid-late June. Fields of lupine, dotted with buttercup, columbine, bunchberry, yellow pond-lillies, and many other varieties. The brilliant yellow of the buttercup in this image contrasts nicely with...

Hello everyone. I’m back to dangle the proverbial carrot… My June 18-24, 2011, “Wild Lands & Wild Life: Cordova” Alaska Photo Tour is filling up! I have only 1 spot left, but it likely won’t last long. Never heard of Cordova? You’re not the only one! I first visited Cordova 4 years ago, and have since gone back every year to make up for lost time. It is quite literally my favorite place in ALL of Alaska – quite probably the entire world. Yeah, it’s that extraordinary. But what sets it apart?   Cordova could easily be called “Hidden, Alaska”. It is tucked back in Orca Inlet, on the eastern edge of Prince William Sound. It is remote, yet logistically fairly simple to get to. It’s just far...