Rock Stars - Utah 2007
Goblin Valley State Park

"Artificial Sun" - Kings Canyon National Park
This was taken at very end of twilight. The trees were lit with a head lamp during a 30 sec exposure. I left my intervolometer/cable relase at home so 30 secs for every shot with the self timer was getting to me. It's the moon around 9pm taken over an hour past sunset. The moon isn't close to setting yet but the peaks around 11,900 ft elevation and the lake is at around 10,900ft so it actually not setting until about midnight. The intervolometer is a just a cable release w/ some timer funtions on it. It's a good tool to have in case your sleepy and forget that you left your DSLR on bulb all night long. After backpacking the 8.5 miles to get here and missing sunset I felt the need create something. I gave it a touch of the orton effect(learned from Marc Muench) to give it some dreaminess.
Eastern Sierra Nevada Range, CA
Canon 5D 17-40mm at 17mm Iso 200
August 2007

The Other Side

Learn to see in a different way http://www.ScenicPhotoWorkshops.com
Joshua Tree NP Light Painting Workshop with yours truly so you'll get some of the best night photography instruction around in a very limited sized group.

Still Earth
New Mexico

I arrived at this location far beyond my scheduled time near sunset but I still felt the need to create something. Creating the gold color is a bit of secret of mine but most importantly I asked myself if I can fell the texture of rocks when I look at the photograph. If I answer yes then I know the photograph isn't flat and dull.

Alpen Moon Glow Minarets & Milky Way

Light Paint
Longs Peak - Colorado
Lake elevation: 11,760 feet
15 seconds

Double Sided Arch

Learn to see in a different way http://www.ScenicPhotoWorkshops.com
Joshua Tree NP Light Painting Workshop with yours truly so you'll get some of the best night photography instruction around in a very limited sized group.

Light Up the Darkness - San Luis Obispo County , CA

This is one of the most difficult types of scenes to light paint since there is so much structure in the scene.

Rainning Bull - I could deal without the shadow in the middle of the rock but I didn't have a choice, lights from a structure nearby couldn't be turned off. On top of that it was raining, 2 items not in my favor still led to something desirable in my book.

Light Paint
Bishop, California

This is one of those famous Galen Rowell locations but I've completely changed the view of it.

Petroglyphs in the Dusk Sky
Owens Valley / Eastern Sierra
Light Painted

You can blast any subject with light but if not done artistically, it may rob the mood and emotion right of the scene.

Moonlit Bridal Veil Falls 2 - Yosemite

A Lantern's Glow

Magma Arch - Mojave Desert (location unknown)

Light Painted

Ryolite - Death Valley

Death Valley Moonrise

Light source: foreground painted with light - middleground ambient light at twilight -background moonlight mimicing the sun

I choose to shoot across the valley floor to pick up more of the atmospheric particles to get the moon's color a deep redish orange. Works just like the sun behind smoke from a fire. I used one small flash light to paint the foreground but the cliff in front didn't give me much of an angle to work with.

30 second exposure

Celestial Alignment
Joshua Tree National Park

This is one of the heavier photographed icons in the park and you'll see it photographed more and more every year. If you'd like directions to it contact me.

God's Candles
PCT Trail Southern California

The California Whipple Yucca has the nick name of God's Candles so I couldn't think of better way to make them flicker in a dusk sky.

Mono Lake - This was one of my first night shots. The camera was left there all night. Thanks to short summer nights I didn't get much sleep.

Olympus OM2 35mm Velvia 1999

A Winter's Night - Yosemite

The Glow of Los Angeles

The Wizard's Eye
Joshua Tree National Park

I try to seek out and find subjects off the beaten path but this was too close to one of the photographed icons in the park so ask if you're interested in it's location.

Center of the Earth
Lava Beds National Monument - Self Portrait

One of the largest lava tubes in California.

Nightfall on the Colorado River

Volcanic Spires rise above the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert

Night Arch

A local sea arch on the Coast of Malibu California

A Lava Chamber in the Mojave Desert
There are many of these out there so get out and explore the desert!

Moonrise on the Sea of Cortez 2008
East Cape of Baja California, Mexico

Go ahead Corona make another commercial!

Natural arch in Joshua Tree Naitonal Park, light painted at night.

We light painted the "Goose Neck" here at Joshua Tree National Park over the weekend. One of the students lived for nothing but light painting and he learned there are many different ways to light paint. I would teach one way to paint with light and then change my mind or idea right in the middle of it. Here's an example.

Mt. Whitney and the Milky Way from camp the night before summiting all the peaks in this shot, Whitney, Keeler Needle, Day Needle, and Mt Muir. All 14,000 foot peaks. We came back over Whitney again on the way back down to our camp site.

Giant Marble Rocks light painted at night in Joshua Tree National Park.

White Sand Blues

I wanted to capture the mood of twilight here at White Sands. This was shot the day after the full moon so I waited until right before the moon came up to capture the last bit of ambient sunlight and then the moon popped and took away the natural vignetting you see in this shot. Achieving an artistic look was what I was aiming for here.

Valley of Fire Nevada Details

Joshua Tree Light Painting Workshop Tour

Moon over Malibu and Los Angeles

The Milky Way over a dead tree in the Domeland Wilderness, Southern Sierra.