I let the real-time conditions determine my shooting schedule and direction in place. This type of responsive strategy forces me to always adapt, to be flexible. It keeps the actual practice of landscape photography less bullish and more like a dance, I think. The...
There’s snow in the overnight forecast. It’s coming from the south. What? Is this something that actually happens? We wake on the morning of January 22nd with no real plans. We—my mother (also a photographer) and I—just want to see snow on the beach. In all the...
For nearly all of my biggest shots—the photographs that feature the most undeniable moments of light and atmosphere in the natural world—there’s a clusterfuck of poor and questionable decisions by me behind the lens! Mistakes that nearly derail the capture. That...
The weather is always the driver of my outdoor photography. My ability (or inability) to adapt to the weather is likely the single greatest barometer regarding success or failure behind my lens. As the first week of January pushed by without many frames, I was...
January 2025 Outer Banks North Carolina / Winter / Coast Each winter I travel to the coast of North Carolina in January to photograph the barrier islands of the Outer Banks. A migration of sorts, I guess. This year, the average temperatures were well below normal....
Landscape photography, for me, is like assembling a puzzle. Only this puzzle--the outcome of which is an understanding of place--can be approached and completed from infinite different angles and strategies. The pieces don't follow any particular order or make any...
I'm a morning person. I'll always favor the early hours of day. The way that I feel physically: loose, energized, strong. The way I feel mentally: fresh, hopeful, optimistic, a sea of possibility. I'm relaxed but I'm also primed. The new day is another...
Cliff Saxifrage is an extremely tiny wildflower native to the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It grows in the damndest of places, appearing along the margins of rock outcrops at high elevation. I've always smiled that such a dainty flower chooses to live in such an...
Anyone familiar with cloud, or temperature, inversions knows how hypnotic they can be. Warm air traps cooler air, the pressure and temperature difference bringing intangible elements of the landscape to life. A layer of misty fog seems to crawl across the lush,...
The Black Balsam area off the Blue Ridge Parkway is one that I'm pretty familiar with, but that I've also never much connected with. Not sure why. The Art Loeb Trail, shown here, traverses the crest of open, grassy balds. The views are gorgeous. The popularity of...
"A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings." --Charlie Wardle Despite failing more than succeeding at the business of photography, I've never questioned the "rightness" of the pursuit....
While my photography client and I were working a roadside meadow together along the southern Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina, she called me over to see some beautiful water droplets that were hanging from the stigma of each greenish/yellow flower on an...
My favorite photo clients are those who can appreciate--and even enthusiastically embrace--the small. I know, I probably shouldn't say that. Sorry, not sorry :-). The Southern Appalachian Mountains are absolutely full of beautiful small botanical treasures, each...
I'm always nervous before leading a paid photography adventure. While I have no control over the weather--and the weather will largely shape the experience of outdoor photography--I still want to deliver the type of day that will inspire my clients to keep...
I love to witness sunrise from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Instead of posting up at a popular overlook, however, I've taken to the challenge of finding atypical views between the overlooks. This was between East Fork Overlook and Black Balsam in Western North Carolina....
If you've ever driven the southern Blue Ridge Parkway through Western North Carolina, there's one iconic rock that you'll likely remember: Looking Glass Rock. Standing nearly four thousand feet in elevation with a slick, bare surface of whiteside granite, Looking...
Whiteside Mountain in Western North Carolina's Jackson County has the highest sheer cliffs in Eastern North America at nearly 800ft. The mountain itself stands at just under five-thousand feet in elevation and the sheer faces point generally southward. Anytime I am...
The Chattooga River was designated Wild & Scenic on May 10, 1974. Fifty years later in May 2024, I found myself behind the camera on the banks of this beautiful river. The Wild & Scenic Chattooga River has long been a favorite destination: I was introduced...
Rich Cove Forest is where I lose time! Days seem to compress as I crawl about on hands and knees, finding endless combinations of herbaceous plants to delight me and the lens. Finding rich cove forest isn't hard if you've ever driven the Blue Ridge Parkway in early...
During winter 24' a strange 4-day stretch of weather left the Outer Banks shrouded in thick fog along the Atlantic Ocean. It stuck around all morning and into the early afternoon. I wish, in hindsight, that I had noted the unique set of weather conditions that...
While walking the beach one very cold and windy winter morning in January 24' I found this beautiful piece of black sea glass along Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was wet, solid black. Not sure if it was a rock or glass, I held it up to the overcast sky and got...
I drove past this stack of crab pots day after day during the winter of 2024. My rental home was nearby and this area was a frequent way point for me to get eyes on the current environmental conditions. The visual pattern and colors of these stacked crab pots always...
It's general practice for me to be on location forty-five minutes to one-hour before sunrise. I can't know what's going to happen at first light. There's no app for that--and I wouldn't use it anyhow. Each morning I wake up and show up to read the conditions,...
Renting a home in the waterfront town of Manteo, North Carolina for several winters has been a wonderful experience. To be able to access subject matter without the car and at any time of day is beyond convenient; it's beautiful. The most obvious photo subject is...
When I parked at beach access ramp #4 along Cape Hatteras National Seashore on January 10, 2024 I had no ideas about what I might photograph, only that sunset might provide opportunity. What I needed was a walk. Walking clears my head and is often associated, for...
For several years I've been over-wintering in North Carolina's Outer Banks. There's a set of conditions that will always have me driving north towards this bright yellow Art Nouveau home at Corolla Historic Park: calm (no wind) and clear (no clouds). In my limited...
My mother always feared the Bonner Bridge! And for good reason. It was routinely ranked as one of the worst bridges in America. Like spoiled milk, the Bonner had long passed it's stated expiration date. By the early 2000's, the bridge--built in 1963--had long...