Landscape Archives - Page 26 of 88

July 20, 2016

White Pass Summit

If you visit Alaska perhaps one the places you will see is Skagway. The biggest employer in that town is the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. It winds from the sea port up the mountains into British Columbia. If you like trains then add this to your list because not only is the scenery spectacular there’s a lot of history preserved in these trains and the rail museum in town.

We took an excursion up to the top of the pass which takes about an hour-and-a-half one-way. On the way up we were in the first car behind the engine but on the way back the engine reattached to the other end and we were at the rear. That afforded me the chance to stand out the back and capture this other train as we entered the main track from a siding.

favorites from the gallery

This is a popular attraction and for good reason. When we booked the trip there were no more standard tickets so we booked the first class parlor car. Boy, that was nice, we had soft cushioned seats, an attendant and all the food and drink we wanted. However I couldn’t manage to sit still, I preferred to stand on the outside platform taking picture most of the way. When we finally got back to lower elevations I came back in the coach to find everyone asleep in their comfortable chairs. That was pretty funny, but I’m still glad I stood outside and enjoyed the scenery from the cheap seats, even if I did pay for a comfy chair inside.

July 20, 2016July 20, 2016

Waves and Sunsets

This is a typical scene from the South Jetty in Venice Florida. People showing up to watch the sun go down is a Florida pastime. It’s a natural thing to do especially if you come visit from somewhere else. Most people in Florida are from somewhere else, even if they live here. Florida is one of those places where people are migrating to.

As for myself, I was born and raised in California. It used to be that everyone relocated to California from somewhere else. I was born there and relocated in the other direction. But California is a beautiful state to visit, I love going back and as a photographer I see so much more than I did growing up.

sunset photos

Other than the sound of the waves and the sunsets there is not much resemblance between California and Florida, they both have their own unique beauty. But waves and sunsets are a good thing to have in common.

July 18, 2016July 18, 2016

Cedar Top Beer

I did a short hike through the Tongass National Park in Ketchikan Alaska. Despite the northern latitude this is a rain forest and Ketchikan receives the second highest amount of rainfall in the world, second only to the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. It goes without saying that the predominant color was green in all directions.

In fact it was raining during the hike, a light pleasant rain, however it was warm at the same time so a light poncho was all I needed. Tongass is the largest national forest in the US and I saw only a sliver of it.

These cedars are used for a lot of different things including the making of musical instruments. They are also used in the brewing of Cedar Top beer up in Skagway. Don’t bother looking it up (I just tried), it’s a local brew only. I know this because on advice of a guide I tried it at a bar in Skagway. It took a pint to get used to the flavor and after that it was smooth sailing on pint two.

Landscapes from the Gallery

Beer aside, I stopped on the trail when I came to a clearing and took this image. It just seemed kind of mystical with the low clouds over the mountainous terrain. And of course I was wondering how they got those cedar tops into the beer.

July 17, 2016

State of Mind

From a photographic sense I love the summers here in Florida because we get storms during the day. That means in the evening the clouds break and we have sunsets with a lot of colors in the sky. For this shot I grabbed my camera and headed over to a nearby rest stop along the highway. I’ve taken many pictures from here but each one is different in some way. I love gradients in the sky like this. I guess you could say this is a remake of a previous photo, it’s new perspective on a familiar scene.

The other day I wrote something to the effect that photographs are not so much from a place as a state of mind. Each time I go to the same place to take a photo I see and experience it differently. Even if some of the same objects are in the frame, the image reflects a completely different experience. And of course, the time of day, weather and lighting all contribute to that. But the main thing is that if I’m aware of these things, each time they will combine in a different way.

Photo of or around this bridge

When I’m aware of what’s around me then each moment is different and so this is not so much a picture of the bridge but a snapshot of a moment when I experienced this scene. That’s why photography for me is a state of mind. It’s not so much the location but the things I notice and see when I’m present in the moment. Whether it’s something truly new, or something I just noticed for the first time, each time is a new experience and a new image, even if it has some of the same old things.

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Unforgiving

This is another image I took with my Sony 70-400mm G lens fully extended. I almost didn’t bring the lens on the trip because of its size and weight but I’m glad I did. It was key in getting perspectives I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Of course, having a tripod to mount it on was key.

The features of the landscapes like this are amazing and, for me, a little terrifying. The elements are entirely unforgiving. When I look at this my mind projects me onto the slopes and once there I consider my prospects dire. There is no easy way up or down and survival is anything but assured. I’m a problem solver by nature, but when I look at this there are no easy options.

portfolio

Why I do that in my head I don’t know. Why is it that when looking at images like this my heart races? Yet despite my reservations, if given a chance I would probably climb. I would be terrified and on life’s thin edge yet continue nonetheless. Perhaps that’s why I get terrified when I look at this, because I’m already working out the route and know that this mountain is in fact, unforgiving.

July 12, 2016July 13, 2016

Reflection Study

I drive by this pond quite a lot and this morning I happen to have my camera. As I passed I thought to turn around and get a picture. I’ve taken this before but no two days are alike and indeed it came out quite different.

This is a continuation of a study of reflections I’ve been doing. The study is to capture or produce reflections to add interest to an image.

I never get tired of reflections. In some cases they can be more compelling from than their source, at the very least they enhance it. Reflections resonate with us for reasons we can only guess. Perhaps it is a hint to how we perceive world.

more reflections

I used another photo of clouds and combined it for the sky. This is an example of using textures to enhance the flat section of an image.

I’ll continue posting these them in the days and weeks ahead as I continue to explore both real and artificial reflections in my images.

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016

Arc of the Sun

I took this in Venice Florida when I came down to take pictures at sunset. This is a fun place to visit and if you like photography you’ll appreciate it even more. I always leave with some great shots in my camera. Mind you, I take a lot of bad shots but that’s not the fault of the scenery.

In this case I used a telephoto lens fully extended at 240mm. When you extend a telephoto lens it has the effect of compressing distances. So in this case the sailboat and the sun are more or less equal actors in the scene.

Speaking of the sun, I just returned from Alaska and up there I noticed a big difference in how the sun looks. First, it has a low arc in the sky as opposed to Florida where the arc is high. Second, in Florida it’s dark about 45 minutes after sunset whereas Alaska seems to have perpetual dusk during summer, I never once saw it completely dark.

more sunset photos

Anyway, I always like it when I can include the sun in my photos. Something about it just amps up a scene.

July 10, 2016

Eldred Rock Lighthouse

The Eldred Rock Lighthouse is somewhere outside of Skagway Alaska. On our cruise I spent a lot of time on the balcony just watching the scenery and taking pictures of peaks and land features. For this I used a Sony 70-400mm G fully extended and mounted on a tripod. Thanks to image stabilization this was possible despite the vibrations of the ship.

One of the best things we did was to bring a set of binoculars which helped in a couple of ways. First we could see things along the shore up close, but perhaps more important, they helped provide a sense of scale. In Alaska everything is so large you easily loose all sense of perspective. The landscape tricks you into thinking things are not so large on account of the immense spaces. Upon closer examination with the binoculars the impossible size of slopes, cliffs, waterfalls and peaks become apparent.

favorite photos from the gallery

Like anyone else I’ve seen Alaska in pictures and television yet was still surprised at what I saw. Images will never do justice to Alaska’s landscape. Nevertheless it’s still fun to take them if for no other reason than to remind myself of the experience.

July 4, 2016July 4, 2016

Hundred Miles Away

The thing about the Pacific northwest is that you can look for hundreds of miles in any direction and only see wilderness. When was the last time you did that?

This is the coast of British Columbia a few hours out of port on the way to Alaska. I’m on a boat spending a lot of time watching the scenery.

Its like looking back in time to a planet we once had and still do in this remote corner. I am left with the sense that this is one of the few places left where the earth still breaths.

One of the first things that strikes me is the layers to the ranges, one ridge, then another and another into the distance. There are forest, lakes, wildlife and, very few humans, the climate and terrain ensure that.

landscapes from the gallery

The mountains along the pacific rim are just as majestic as any I’ve seen, only more remote and, since there is nothing to obstruct the view, I can see them for a hundred miles away.

June 30, 2016June 30, 2016

Waterway Panorama

Lately I’ve been taking panoramas of places near home. This is from the bridge to Anna Maria Island and is four images taken side-by-side and then stitched together. Actually I took six images but the full length is too long for social media.

The images are taken in portrait mode meaning I held the camera on its side. The result is that there is a lot of detail, so much that you can zoom in to see a little things you wouldn’t normally see in a photo. The main reason for doing this is because the print resolution is so good.

I love looking at panoramas displayed on walls. It invites you to get right up close and experience the image in a more personal way. But it is a physical medium, not necessarily a good fit for social media.

full gallery

All that aside, as you can see this was near sunset on a cloudy day and all kinds of strange things happened with the light and how it played out on the water. Funny thing is, had it not been a panorama I might not have even noticed all that detail.