The final image, Christmas Valley Blizzard Panorama, was taken in January 2017, just up the pass from my house (literally a 3 minute drive from home). I had visited this grouping of trees several times and knew I wanted to compose a soft image of them, using the the far side of the canyon to add depth. I waited for a heavy snow, which was easy given our record winter (200% of normal snowfall), and headed out the door. As the sun dropped behind the mountains, I was able to get a nice even light with minimal contrast for the mood I had envisioned. I chose the panoramic format to eliminate sky, further minimize contrast, and simplify the focus on the trees. Given the low light, slow speed film and small aperture required for focus, I ended up with a 2 minute long exposure. This eliminated the ability to see falling snowflakes, and added a bit of detail to the trees, but maintained that soft "foggy" look of the background, as a lot of snow was falling.
Read MoreFinding Hidden Gems (in the Film Archives)
I occasionally go back through my film files and "see how I saw". I have reinforced the idea that I had a latent ability to see "The Fine Art of Nature" before I truly became a photographer. The above image, "Foggy Forest Detail", is a prime example of a hidden gem found in my film archives. Early in my career I captured images
Read MoreNOT Taking a Photo at Sunrise
As a professional, and as an artist, I have set very high standards for my fine art landscape photography. Given the medium I have chosen, large format film, I put myself out there in the elements where special light is possible, but only expose film when the conditions are worthy of my vision. Simply, I only expose a sheet of film when I feel I have "THE Shot".
Read MoreHow I Used Change to Re-Affirm My Photographic Process
Often times, we look outside ourselves to find our path. As an accomplished professional of almost two decades, I occasionally look outside myself to see what I should be doing. How I should be doing it. Which path is being followed by others. It can appear as though everyone else is right. I often feel lost. The self doubt of an artist is difficult, but can be re-affirming.
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