This past weekend, 2/25 - 26/12, I was in Old Forge to do 2 enjoyable and informative comprehensive one day photography workshops at View. While Saturday had a full blown snowstorm for weather, Sunday was bright and clear, but we found some great opportunities both days to play with the cameras and practice techniques after going through the classroom segment. Since I was in town overnight, I headed ourt early Sunday morning to scout new locations, and do some shooting in the crisp, clear morning light with the fresh snowfall coating everything with about 10 inches of new snow.

I headed to the Green Bridge first and took a few photos in the dawn light, then headed west from Thendara along 28, to a location I had never been to at a bend in the Moose River. The sun still hadn't crested above the horizon when I first started shooting, allowing the use of longer shutter speeds to add some motion blur to the water, which gives a softer effect to the look of the river.

Mist was rising from the water in the near zero degree cold, adding a mystical effect to the river and snow covered trees along the shore. The sun came up in a location where the first rays highlighted the mist along the river bend just beyond where I had set up. While I had been lamenting the fact that the brighter conditions were making the shooting speeds faster than I preferred for getting a nice soft blur in the water, I quickly realized the magic hour light playing on the mist was simply extraordinary, and I quickly stopped worrying about motion blur.

As the sun continued to rise, I to shoot different angles on the mist and the river. After I was satisfied with what I had shot, I pulled out my most recent purchase - a Tiffen 2 - 8 stop neutral density filter. As the front element of this filter is rotated, it diminishes the light coming through the lens from as little as 2 stops, to as much as 8 stops of light. In addition to using a small aperture and dropping the ISO to it's lowest setting, this is an easy way to slow shutter speeds down in any daylight situation. Instead of having to work at 1/15 or 1/30 second, I could increase the length of the shutter speed to seconds, and completely soften any ripple detail in the water.

After getting the images I wanted of the river and mist with the filter on, I started looking around for more angles on the landscape and river, and found some great reflections on the water around the ice formations as the frazil ice floated by on the surface of the river.

This past Saturday, 1/7/12, I headed out to climb Rooster Comb and Snow Mountain in the Keene Valley area with the group that had signed up for the High Peaks Full Moon Photo Tour. In all my years of hiking up here I had never hiked Rooster Comb before, but with all the scouting I did through photos, Google Earth, and with a program I have that sets up lunar schedules and sky locations, I knew the summit of Rooster Comb would be a good place to be when the nearly full moon rose on Saturday afternoon. All we needed was cooperation from the weather.

We met at the parking lot at 9:30, had our introductions, got the gear together, and headed up the trail. Even though there was almost no snow on the ground, it wasn't long before we were stopping to photograph scenes along the trail. Given the warm day and light thaw, there was a variety of icy patterns in the streams and wet areas, as well as icicles hanging over the rocks and ledges. With the sky being pretty overcast, the light was quite soft and diffuse which made for excellent photography light in the woods along the trail.

Depth of field is often a critical issue when taking a photo. This is true when working with any focal length. The shorter the focal length the greater the depth of field potential. What's most important though is to understand where to put the actual point of focus in order to maximize the depth of field. I have charts to work with as handouts that detail the range of depth of field at different aperture settings for a variety of focal lengths (this is also in my photo techniques books as well). The actual point of focus (the hyperfocus point) is twice as far away as the closest subject that can be in focus at the given focal length / aperture opening. While this sounds complicated, it's easier to understand when you see it in practice, and then work with it for a bit.

All the stops we made for photos along the trail slowed our progress a bit, so when we reached the junction for Snow Mountain, I decided it was best just to head for the top of Rooster Comb. The timing worked out well! Clouds were breaking up, and we had some really nice light over the mountains. The clouds were still hanging over the summits, making for some really dramatic images. We hiked on over to the Valley View lookout before heading on to the actual summit.

The light was great when we first got to the top, but another bank of really dark clouds was pushing in from the west. After a half hour or so the view with the sunlight on Giant was replaced with a dramatic sky that had a rather ominous look. The dark clouds added a whole different character, but unfortunately blocked any view of the moon rising over the ridge to the north of Giant. The wind picked up as the sky started spitting little snowballs at us, making it feel much more like winter on the exposed ridge.

Patience paid off though. The low, fast moving clouds were not a completely solid layer, and as they began to break up, some of the deep blue twilight sky was peeking through. The moon finally made an appearance through one of the openings, and for the next half hour or more we all photographed the landscape with the full moon showing through breaks in the passing clouds. One of the favorite photos I shot that evening was a 30 second exposure that showed the motion of the clouds, but the moon also made a brief appearance during the exposure and put the moon within the exposure range of the rest of the photograph. While the overall weather wasn't exactly what I had hoped for, in many ways it exceeded my expectations, and gave opportunities for a variety of unique images!

While late fall this year has had it's ups and downs in terms of winter weather, this past weekend had a definite winter feel to it! My son and I headed out to climb Big Slide on Sunday morning (12/18/11) with the thermometer reading just above O (F) in Brant Lake. We packed plenty of fleece layers for insulation, knowing it would be at least 10 degrees colder in the peaks. There had been a light snowfall, so the ground had a nice white coating, covering roots, as well as ice on the trail. The weather service missed the mark - pleasantly so - with their partly cloudy forecast. The day ended up being as brilliantly clear as it gets with barely a breeze blowing - even on the top of the mountain.

We weren't the only ones climbing on Sunday, but there were only a couple of other groups out on the trail over The Brothers to Big Slide. While we had crampons along, we were able to make it OK over the icy sections. We noted some others did wear extra traction cleats - most likely a big help on some of the steeper sections!

Daytime temps were quite brisk in the shade, but the sun - even as low as it stayed in the sky - aded a nice warmth when we were out in the open. While some clouds in the sky adds some interest to a photo, the clarity of the air allowed for sharp rendition of both near and far mountains. The Great Range (Lower / Upper Wolfjaws, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, and Basin) is right across the valley, but the further away Dix, Colden, Algonquin, and even the Green Mountains of Vermont were just as clear as the closer peaks. Both Mount Mansfield and Camels Hump were capped with white on the Vermont's rolling horizon. The panoramic summit view of Giant, the Great Range, Marcy, Colden, and Algonquin is simply fabulous.

We took our time at the views on the way up and on the summit, taking photos and enjoying each view, before heading down the trail to Johns Brook Lodge and back out to the Garden parking lot. I carried two lenses along with my D300S - an 18-200, and an 11-16, to give me lots of flexibilty on different angles and compositions. I also shot a few panoramic sequences that still need to be stitched together.

The sun was getting low as we started our descent. Debris, ice, and bridge washouts from Irene made the trail to JBL interesting. Twilight faded into night and the stars flickered among the treetops as we hiked out. Since we both enjoy walking at night we waited as long as we could before turning on our headlamps. After I slipped a couple of times on ice that I thought was dirt, we decided a bit of light would make the last mile or so both easier and safer. After we put our gear in the car, we hung out in the parking lot a few minutes gazing at the stars and Milky Way with the sky so absolutely clear you felt you could reach out and touch them....

In the Adirondacks, the colors of autumn both begins and ends in the wetlands. In mid September, almost two weeks before the surrounding hillsides reach peak color, red maples (swamp maples) in the many wetlands throughout the region, turn a fiery red color, signifying the beginning of the foliage season. Within a week or so after these leaves have turned and dropped, reducing the trees to a collection of bare branches and stems, the maples on the hillsides come alive with varying shades of yellow and red. Following this, beech leaves turn yellow and red oaks sport a crimson tone before all the colors fade to brown. Then, last but certainly not least - almost 8 weeks after the first red maples changed color, the soft, delicate needles of the larch, turn to a beautiful yellow-gold tone.

Larch are the only coniferous trees that anually lose all of their needles. This happens each year about a full 6 weeks after white pines have shed the previous year's layer of needles. One of the great things for photography is that the the larch turns at a time of year when there is a good likelihood for heavy morning frost to add a silver edge onto each golden needle of the tree. With the abundance of moisture found in a wetland, the icing can build into a frosting that almost completely covers all the needles. As the sun rises above the horizon and slowly burns away the mist, the ice coated needles shine with a vivid golden glow in the first warm light of the day.

While leaves have fallen through much of the Adirondack region, trees are still turning around the lowest elevations of the park. Lake George, at about 300 feet above sea level, and Lake Champlain at only 95 feet above sea level should have some really prime colors this coming weekend - Oct. 22, 23. While the mountain tops have lost many of their leaves, the shoreline areas are just turning, offering some great photo opps! It's also the first weekend of big game season, so be sure to wear bright colors in the woods, and keep a conversation going with your friends. Hunters tend to shy away from areas that are frequented by a lot of hikers, so most popular hiking destinations would have few, if any hunters.

There are a number of public accesses to the lake around Lake George Village - Million Dollar Beach, Shepard Park, Lake George Battlefield Park, and Usher Park. There's also Rogers Memorial Park in Bolton, plus the overlook on 9 at Sabbath Day Point, and the great views of the lake from Hague, Ticonderoga, and Hullets Landing. There are parks in each of these towns as well. While Rogers Rock and Hearthstone State Campgrounds are closed, I believe there may be limited access to the shorelines.

A wonderful way to see the lake is from one of the boat cruises which are still operating through this coming weekend. There are also kayak rentals and tours based in Bolton Landing. Weather is looking good, so have a last fling before the leaves drop and winter starts to set in!!

There was lots of water in the streams and rivers this past weekend in the Adirondacks, with many of them running at spring water levels. I had scheduled a photo tour for Sat. Oct. 15th to photograph along the West Branch of the Sacandaga during a hike back into the gorge. Since this is suggested to be done during low water conditions, I opted to check out some other locations in the area instead. While the rain had taken down many of the leaves from the trees, there were still some nice colors along the waterways.

We headed north of Wells first and checked out East Jimmy Creek, hiked a bit around Griffin Gorge on the East Sacandaga, and then did the short hike back to Hope Falls, which is south of Wells. There was lots of water going over any falls and cascades!

The day was mostly overcast and showery, with a couple of pretty good rains around mid afternoon. The light was perrfect for working in the woods and along the streams. The soft, diffused light filled in shadows so textures were more apparent, and the low light allowed for longer exposure times to help soften the effects of water motion.

Even on cloudy days there's still often a 'glow' in the light that comes around the time the sun sets. We were walking back from Hope Falls, and had set up to photograph Tenant Creek with a forest of beech trees as a backdrop. We hadn't been there long, when the light began to build, and the recently turned beech leaves glowed a wonderful golden color. It sure was a wonderful end to a great day with a fun group of photographers!

It's always fun to see where and how the colors are turning each year. One thing that is pretty consistent, is the change is elevation based. Trees start turning first at the higher elevations in the High Peaks around the last week in September. Much of the northern, central, and western Adirondacks change close to this same time, and then colors progress toward the lower foothill areas in the southern Adirondacks which peak around the first and second weeks of October. Lake George and Lake Champlain reach peak about a week after that. This weekend (Columbus Day weekend) should be prime color here in the Warren / Saratoga County region and periphery of the park, with nice colors yet in Keene Valley and other low elevation locations around the peaks. One thing I've noticed this year though, is that although we're getting some really great colors, the leaves don't hang on the trees very long after they've turned.

In addition, the long range weather forecast for this Columbus Day weekend is looking pretty good. All major roads have been repaired after the flooding from Irene, and most trails are open as well. It's been pretty wet this fall, so most streams and rivers are flowing at a higher level. That makes for some real nice water coming over waterfalls and cascades!

Over the past 10 days during my late September and early October workshops and tours, I've had a chance to wander across much of the Adirondack region to view and photograph the changing fall colors. I've really enjoyed the groups I've been working with, and we've had some special, unique light, as well as great foliage in different locations. There has also been a mix of rain, mist and showers, as well as a quite chilly and showery wind blowing down Tupper Lake during the Wild Center workshop this past Saturday (Oct. 1). The soft light of misty conditions though is great for creating imagery with a mystical feel.

For photography, colors tend to 'pop' the best in the glow of early morning and evening light. Morning is especially nice when there is some mist and moisture to add a dreamy effect to the images. The moisture also helps accentuate some of the colors. A polarizing filter can enhance the fall colors as well as sky contrasts when it's used at angles of about 90 degrees to the direction the light is coming from. However, I find I can enhance the colors and sky with little difficulty in post processing techniques to compare with the colors I expected from film, and rarely use filters for my digital photography.

With all the colors around it may seem like pictures would be everywhere, but take time to compose your photos so they have a nice balance of contrasts and details. Hone the composition to just the details that tell the story. It's often the simplest compositions that have the greatest impact.

Happy shooting!

Finding a wild shoreline draped in fog, with spider webs dangling and dancing lightly in a gentle breeze, is one of nature's special wonders. I'm always captivated by the sight, and it's hard to know where to set up to photograph first. That's exactly how it was when my friend, Eric Dresser, a top notch wildlife photographer, and I paddled up an inlet of Helldiver Pond in the Moose River Plains in the middle of August.

The fog added a wonderful mystical effect, and created a diffused light that was perfect for photographing the detail around the shoreline. The air and water was just about dead calm, but it only takes a butterfly flexing it's wings somewhere downstate to jiggle a hanging spider web - so it's quite a challenge to photograph a web and the details of each tiny droplet.

One large web in particular caught my eye, so I set up there first. I did some images with a slight telephoto focal length and enough depth of field to catch most of the web in sharp focus, and then switched to a wide angle lens and shot at F /22 so I could get both the web in sharp focus, as well as the background. To gain a bit of shutter speed, I pushed the ISO to 320 on my D300S. I knew the images would still be noise free, and it got me to a 1/10 second exposure time.

After this I started working some other angles and locations along the shore, trying to make the most of the wonderful misty light before the sun burned through the fog and created a dynamic range of light that was really tough to capture. I did do some more photography as the sun was showing through the fog, with patches of blue showing through. When it got pretty bright and contrasty, I did some more shooting from the canoe, paddling up into the bullrushes and enjoying the changing light.

You don't need to be at the edge of a wild pond to enjoy photographing the intracies of webs, though - they are found around most yards and fields in the morning, and are fun to photograph with close-up lenses - as well as many other focal lengths! Happy shooting!

When I first started photographing back in 1975, even the best equipment was still quite basic. My Minolta SRT 101 had a built in light meter that averaged the light in both the top and the bottom half of the image. Adjusting either the shutter speed or the aperture opening moved a circle on the viewing screen to match up with the line of the light meter. I knew nothing about the real dynamics behind the aperture or shutter related to the light in the scene, and was essentially shooting the manual camera in 'Program Mode'.

It wasn't long before I came across Kodak's 'Pocket Guide to 35 mm Photography' in a local camera store, and I started learning the basic exposure principles and creative effect options of the aperture and shutter. As I learned more about photography I began adding my own notes to the booklet so I could easily refer back to specific tips I found helpful in different situations.

In recent years, as my handouts evolved for the photography and Photoshop workshops I was teaching, I got the idea to create and write a landscape photography field guide that was designed for use in the field. It needed to be small enough to be carried, but large enough to be useful, and would contain easy to reference tips, charts, and techniques for shooting any kind of outdoor photography situation. The text needed to be quite concise, but easy enough to uinderstand, so readers could start from scratch on each technique if needed, and still be able to experiment and get the shot they envisioned.

A couple of years ago, I wrote my first photo techniques book, 'Contemporary Landscape Photography', which is published in the US by Amphoto, and internationally by the Ilex Press in the UK. I enjoyed being able to write about the techniques and principles I had learned over more than 30 years of working with a camera, and be able to share that information with others. After I had finished that project, my eidtor at Ilex asked whether I was intersted in working on the field guide idea I had previously mentioned to him. So, I spent much of 2010 writing, researching, experimenting, and refining the text, charts, outlines, photos, and photo tips I thought were most important to include for reference in 'The Landscape Photography Field Guide'.

The finished book just arrived this past Monday. 192 pages of outdoor photography techniques, with hundreds of photos for examples, plus many tips, charts, and guidelines for all facets of outdoor photography. My first thought, 'It's so small...', was quickly followed by, 'That was the plan!' - to have a complete guide to all kinds of outdoor shooting situations at my fingertips in a package that was small enough to easily fit in a camera pack.I've already put a copy in each of my camera packs - and I hope everyone else finds it helpful as well!

Happy Shooting!