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Greetings,
I've been busy. Between a couple weeks in Yellowknife, a camping trip, and now tackling another project, I've not been idle.
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A trip to La Push
Regular readers will know that my wife and I recently bought a small RV. We’ve taken a few trips so far, the best being our recent weekend trip to La Push on Washington’s Olympic Coast. My brother and his husband and their puppy joined us in their trailer.
First Beach, which sits between Rialto Beach to the north and Second Beach to the south (both within Olympic National Park), is part of La Push. And our camping site faced directly out to the ocean with the beach just steps away.
I’ve been to La Push many times; it’s often our first sunset shoot during my Olympic National Park photo workshops. And, because the photography gods have a sense of humor, our first night in La Push brought forth the best sunset I’ve ever seen there.
For those wondering, I did bring a camera and tripod. But that evening they stayed in the RV. Instead, it was an evening to enjoy with family and puppies. (that's me and Syd in the picture above, taken by my wife Tracy)
By the way, Sydney LOVES THE BEACH!
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Yellowknife report
Aurora and fog above Cameron Ramparts
I’m happy to report that Yellowknife did not try to kill me this year. I might be exaggerating a little about the “kill” part.
Two years ago, Yellowknife gave me Covid. And last year, as I was gazing overhead at auroras, I felt the first pangs of what turned out to be a hernia. To be fair, Yellowknife probably didn’t cause the hernia. I’m guessing that it had been developing for some time. Probably.
And this year there were no wildfires in the region. Yay! Though there were a couple of days with smoke haze in the sky blown in from distant fires. Fortunately, that didn’t affect the nighttime aurora viewing. Regular clouds managed that for us on a few nights.
But we did get to see and photograph some good aurora activity with plenty of reds, violets, some yellow and, of course, greens. and for both tours we had at least one night when we were completely surrounded by auroras.
We also got to see more wildlife than we usually do. Between both groups we saw four black bears, numerous foxes, various squirrels, and one black wolf. Plus ravens, gulls, and those clever gray jays. One even landed on my head for no apparent reason other than some of the other folks were eating snacks.
Yellowknife 2025
For 2025, I’m again teaming up with my buddy John Barclay for a pair of tours. Dates are Sept. 14 - 24 and Sept. 25 – Oct. 2. There’s more information on my auroras page.
Sign up is through John and, as I understand it, the first tour is sold out but there is still space in the second tour.
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Sitka Bubble Net Feeding Tour
If you like wildlife, being on the water, and stunning landscapes, then this tour is for you. We’ll be spending three days on the water photographing Humpback whales cooperatively feeding on herring, also known at bubble-net feeding.
It’s a spectacle you’ll not soon forget and some of the most exciting wildlife photography you’ll ever do.
In addition, we’ll see bald eagles and other birds, fishing boats, spectacular scenery, and perhaps some Gray and Minke whales.
We’ll be on our comfortable boat approximately eight hours each day (not to worry, there’s a bathroom aboard).
You can find more info, watch a video, and sign up on the Bubble Net Feeding page of my workshops site.
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Olympic and Palouse workshops
I’m extending my early bird discount through the end of November on these two bucket-list photo destinations: Olympic and Palouse.
Olympic is one of my favorites, not just because it’s close to home, but because I’ve got so many good memories associated with the park from backpacking trips and from leading many workshops there.
Palouse is one of my favorites because in addition to old favorites, every year I find something new. I don’t think there’s a way to run out of subjects and scenes.
For more information on Olympic, you can visit my Olympic workshop page.
To take advantage of the early-bird discount, visit this page. The password is ONP2025.
For more information on the Palouse workshop, see my Palouse workshop page.
And to take advantage of the early-bird discount, visit this page. The password is PALOUSE2025.
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Faroe Islands
Registration is now open for my August 1 - 8, 2025 Faroe Islands photo tour.
This picturesque archipelago of volcanic islands situated in the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway harbors many hidden gems for landscape and nature photography. From lush valleys and striking mountain peaks soaring high above the sea to waterfalls plunging directly from sheer cliffs into the tumultuous ocean below, this rugged and wild region has it all.
For more information, and to sign up, visit my Faroe Islands page.
photo courtesy of Iceland Photo Tours
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Two steps forward
I guess this could also be called "Stepping Stones."
As I was going through some of this year's images, this one jumped out at me again. I really liked the idea of it when I made it earlier this year (on Ruby Beach during my Olympic National Park workshop). I shot this in a square format, which allowed me to frame what I liked without including some things that didn't add to what I liked about this little scene.
Photographing only what you like about a scene, what caught your eye. This is something I learned from David Middleton years and years ago. He called it photographing a phrase.
The idea is to distill what you like about a scene into a short phrase and then photographing just that.
Doing that has gotten me out of many a frustrating situation where I knew there was a photo to be had but it just wasn't coming together. I just stop and find my phrase (or remind myself what that phrase is). This leads to the solution. Whether it's using a different lens or f-stop, or filter, or maybe a different perspective. And sometimes it leads to the realization that what I want isn't really possible given the physical situation. But it always helps
So give it at try next time you're out photographing.
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More projects?
Yes. More projects.
This time we're replacing our old cedar deck boards (many of which I already replaced years ago) with that new-fangled composite decking stuff.
Luckily, I have help (and not just Sydney's help). Our new neighbors Mark and Roz, the ones that bought our adjacent lot from us, are waiting on the county for their building permit and were just bored out of their minds and chomping on the bit for something to do. So when I asked them if they'd like to relieve that boredom by helping with my deck, they jumped at the chance.
Mark's a builder and knows a whole lot more about construction than I do, so the project has been going well.
I'm looking forward to never having to sand and stain this deck again.
Of course, this isn't the end of projects...
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