Arctic Fox, Columbus Zoo, Ohio. August 1, 2012.
August is a slow photography month for me. It is just not the month I am inclined to pick up a camera unless some portrait photography is involved. But I decided one day to head for the Columbus Zoo and practice my wildlife photography skills.
Fawn, first image. Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
When a potentially fleeting photo opportunity arises, get the shot first. Then take the time to improve the shot.
Green Frog, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan’s U.P.
If you want a nice image of a frog, you have to go where the frogs are. And that means getting down in the swamp or bog or whatever other wet place the frog happens to be.
Torres del Paine, Chile
I came across this article from a link on Facebook. The article is from 2014 but it is still a great list.
Venus and the stars over Lake Michigan. Click for a larger version.
Twilight hangs on for a long time in June in the far northern reaches of the United States. I captured this image a few days ago while leading a photography workshop in northern Michigan.
Pika, Rock Cut, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the summer? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Royal Arches, North Dome, and Washington Column from Stoneman Meadow. Yosemite National Park. California.
Summer is the most popular time to visit the national parks. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the summer?
Ocotillo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Believe it or not, spring has finally arrived in areas of the country that were dealing with a lingering winter. Which national parks are at their photographic best in the spring? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph. Don’t forget, this is national parks week and many of our national parks are having special activities all week long.
National Parks Collage. Click for a larger version.
April 21-29 is National Park Week and April 21 is a fee free day! The National Park Service is partnering with the National Park Foundation to celebrate our national parks. It is time to head to one of our national parks.
Sunset, “The Window”, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
David Muench is a world class landscape photographer. So when he recommends his favorite national parks, I pay attention.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California.
I know, April seems like an odd time of year to write an article on winter photography hot spots. But I was going through old photography magazines before consigning them to the recycling bin and found a great article on winter photography hot spots.
Posted April 3, 2018. Updated April 9, 2018.
Wildlife Location Guides
Looking for wildlife this year? If you want to photograph wildlife you need to find wildlife. A good wildlife location guide can send you to the right places and save you hours or days of frustration looking in all the wrong places.
Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park. Photo © Sue Anne Hodges.
I came across an article on the prettiest drives in America. One of the photos that jumped out at me is this excellent photo of appropriately named “Thunder Hole”. Kudos to Sue Anne Hodges for this image (and my thanks to her for permission to use this image in this article). It is filled with action, intensity, and drama. You can feel what it would be like to get drenched if you were at the end of the observation area.
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake. Mid-morning. September 24, 2015.
UPDATE: The most recent and updated version of this article is here.
Welcome to my Colorado fall color travel and photography guide with over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out), 114 photos, and 17 maps. I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and one real gem of a road that is mostly unknown to photographers and leaf peepers. Spend anywhere from a few days to three weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Pika, Rock Cut, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the summer? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Royal Arches, North Dome, and Washington Column from Stoneman Meadow. Yosemite National Park. California.
Summer is the most popular time to visit the national parks. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the summer?
Ocotillo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.
If I could go on a fabulous spring photography trip to the national parks of my choice, with no time limit and all expenses paid, which ones would I pick? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Moon Over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah.
Are you planning a spring photography trip to some U.S. national parks? Where should you go? Which parks will provide the best photographic opportunities? Which parks are at their best in the spring?
Black-crowned Night Heron, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont, California.
I learned the hard way that a poorly positioned outside car mirror can cost you some great wildlife images.
Denali, Arches, Bryce Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Parks
Planning a trip to photograph some of our national parks? You will get better images if you visit a national park at its prime season of the year. But when is each park at its very best? And how about great locations that aren’t in the national parks? This article has answers.
Originally posted January 18, 2017. Re-posted February 8, 2018. Most recent update: March 29, 2022.
Snow Hummocks, Merced River
Just like metering daytime winter scenes, the key to metering evening winter scenes is knowing what to meter and deciding how much exposure compensation to use.
Cougar
Most wildlife are medium to dark in tone, making them a challenge to meter properly in the bright, white tones of winter. If you trust one of your camera’s automatic exposure modes, the odds are good you won’t get the best exposure. If you switch over to manual exposure and make the right decisions, you can get great exposures and better quality photos (more about that later).
Elk in the Snow, Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Metering dark toned wildlife in the snow is a major exposure challenge. It is usually best to avoid large “burned out” areas (washed out, featureless white) in a nature or landscape photograph, but with properly exposed snow, the wildlife can be so dark as to lose all texture. On other hand, metering for the wildlife can burn out the snow. So what do you do?
Mount Hunter from a Bush Plane. Denali National Park. Alaska.
Metering for scenes with a lot of snow can be tricky since the bright snow fools the camera meter. I see a lot of winter photos with gray snow, which means the camera meter did exactly what it was designed to do. The solution is quite simple provided you know what to do.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
In addition to all of the usual photographic challenges, winter provides some extra complications, especially in terms of metering. So I began my series of articles on winter photography. Check out the links below. The articles will help you meet the unique challenges of winter photography. So get out there, have fun, and create some great winter images!
Last Light on Long’s Peak and the Keyboard of the Winds, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Each a winter I think about a photography trip to some U.S. national parks, some of which I haven’t been to before. I always need to narrow down my choices to fit the time I have for the trip. My search for information is what led to the advice in this article. After you read this article I recommend you also read the companion article: The Best National Parks to Photograph in Winter.
Originally posted January 17, 2017. Updated and re-posted January 3, 2018. Updated November 28, 2018.
Bryce Canyon
Winter provides some wonderful photo opportunities in our national parks. So if you haven’t gone into hibernation for the winter, here are the best national parks to go photograph this winter, grouped by state from the west to the east. There are a few bonus locations thrown in too. At the end I give you my “best of the best” list.
Posted January 17, 2017. Updated and re-posted January 3, 2018. Updated November 28, 2018.
Snowy Owl looking for prey.
If there are cold enough temperatures and plenty of snow cover on the ground, the northern United States has a winter invasion of Snowy Owls. These are magnificent creatures and well worth your photographic time and attention. This series is filled with tips on how to find and photograph snowy owls.