It's a tree! It's a branch! It's a... Twig?

Time for a trip down memory lane.

Remember my encounter three summers ago with Twig the Fairy? Well, ever since then I've always wanted to collaborate with her on a photography project. I always knew that together we could make some knockout images. I actually tried to contact her a few times that summer to see if she wanted to work together, but to no avail. (Getting ahold of fairies is no easy task. They don't exactly have cell phones, ya' know?.) After awhile, I gave up trying to contact her. I figured if it was meant to be, it would happen somehow.

And then, this past April, happen it did.

One day, out of the blue, there was Twig. She had somehow found me. I told her of my idea and she liked it. And a partnership was born.

Earlier this month, she and I went out into the local Minnesota wilderness and made some images. I gotta say, I'm quite proud of 'em -- they exceeded even my already-lofty expectations. I really poured my heart into making them. I hope you like them, too. (Be SURE to view the larger versions in my Twig the Fairy Gallery. They do the photos much, much more justice.)

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Beginning August 21st, we'll be selecting three of these images and making large, high-quality posters of them for sale at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I'll be out there everyday, as will be Twig, of course. Stop by and say hello, and if you're lucky, Twig will grace your poster with her autograph. (I'd offer my autograph, too, but all we'd hear is crickets chirping.)

Well, I gotta get going. I've gotta start preparing my stomach for an onslaught of turkey drumsticks and mead. Take care! ^_^

P.S. If you'd like to learn more about Twig, her Facebook page is the way to go.

Street Life

Recently, I had the opportunity to get on top of the overhang of the world famous First Avenue music venue in downtown Minneapolis. How and why did I get up there? Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to evade the police. (Although, if I were, the top of the overhang would be an excellent spot.) Actually, I'm just not going to tell you how or why I got up there, because it's not important.

What is important is the image I created while up there.

This image is both a reflection of the street corner below as well as a view through the window at the back of the bar's liquor rack. See how the liquor bottles read correctly, while the street components (Hard Rock logo, taxi cab, etc.) read backwards?

I feel it makes for a nice juxtaposition of life both inside and outside the club. Street life, baby. Street life.

The large version can be viewed HERE.

They say "persistence pays". Turns out they're right.

Remember the St. Croix landscape images I've mentioned the last couple times? Well, I ended up spending all of my energy on creating just one. But she's a beauty, and she's ready to show.

I found this spot on the west end of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, in early April while scouting locations. The island in the center is a seastack, which are rare in the Virgin Islands. This is the only seastack I've ever found on St. Croix in ten years.

I returned to this remote spot several different times over the course of three weeks and shot the sunset. I had to be on my guard to keep my camera dry while shooting near the crashing waves -- my feet were often in a foot of water. On the last sunset before I had to leave the island for the summer -- my very last chance to get what I wanted without having to wait until next winter -- I finally got it. So many times we landscape photographers bust our humps and the weather doesn't cooperate -- it's very rewarding when persistence pays off and we finally do get what we're looking for.

I honestly think this is one of the strongest images I've ever made in the Virgin Islands. I hope you dig it, too. Be sure and look at the large version of this -- it really does it much more justice.

Well, that about does it for this latest entry into the Greatest Photoblog In The Entire Known Universe. I hope after reading it, you will now march forth, with your newly-acquired divine knowledge of seastacks firmly in hand, and solve world hunger. Or, at least smile a little. ^_^

The Only Seastack

(Click HERE for large version.)

Dolphins!

There are some things in this world that just about everybody loves. Puppies. Rainbows. Sunsets. Politicians getting caught lying. Me making a fool of myself. You get the idea.

I think we can safely add another thing to that list: dolphins. Besides being the smartest animals on Earth, they are very playful and just plain CUTE! Getting to see and interact with one, especially in nature, is a rare treat that many have yearned for.

In my time in the Virgin Islands, I have been lucky enough to encounter dolphins in the wild not once, not twice, but three times! (They must be attracted to clumsiness.)

The most recent of those times was just eight days ago. While sailing the 40-mile stretch from St. Croix to St. John, a pair of dolphins swam up to my boat and proceeded to frolic all around for about 45 minutes. It was unforgettable!

The icing on the cake was the weather: it was dead calm. Now, for a sailboat, this is not ideal (we had to motor most of the way). But, for photographing underwater critters, it's perfect! The stillness of the water allowed me to see the dolphins easily even when they were deep underwater. That made it much easier to follow them and capture them at just the right moment when they breached the surface. In addition, the calmness combined with the unusually thick cloud cover created what were honestly the most surreal conditions I've ever seen in ten years in the islands.

Take a look and see for yourself. Please view the LARGE versions where applicable, as they do the photos much more justice.

Until next time, take care! I'll be back soon with those landscape images from St. Croix that I talked about last time. ^_^

Approaching Dolphins

Underwater Pals (Large version HERE.)

Follow Us! (Large version HERE.)

Close Encounter

Close Encounter II

Huzzah!

Huzzah! I feel great! Why? Because I just got my camera replaced. (Yep, I wrecked another one. Again. I am now quite certain that the ocean has a personal vendetta against my electronics.)

I've got about a month left here in the Virgin Islands, and now that I'm back in action, I will be churning out quite a few landscape images before I leave. In fact, I've already begun scouting locations, and should have the first images posted soon.

It just feels so GOOD to be out shooting again. Which is why I say: Huzzah!!

And, speaking of "Huzzah", I have a special image to show you. It's from the closing ceremony of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It's not easy to get a spot up front to photograph this, but I have my ways. Hope you enjoy it. The larger version can be found here.

As always, take care, and I'll be back soon with landscapes from the Caribbean.

P.S. I'd like to give a BIG thanks to fellow photographer Kelly Greer. She helped me in a big way when my camera was on the fritz. Thanks, Kelly!!

Oregon Odyssey #4: A Difference Of Opinions

As I've said before, my friend and companion on this odyssey, Marc Adamus, is currently one of the best landscape photographers in the country, if not the world. As such, I give my utmost attention to everything he has to say about photography. He is a treasure trove of knowledge and a great teacher.

So, it is exceedingly rare that I disagree with his advice. Yet, the photo I'm about to show you is one such case. (Hey, at least that proves I can think for myself at least once in a blue moon, right?)

This is a very little known waterfall in the Colombia River Gorge in northern Oregon. Now, there are plenty of rarely visited waterfalls in the Gorge, but what makes this one special is its close proximity to an urban area. We were literally able to drive our vehicles right to the foot of this beauty, close enough that the spray from the falls obscured our windshields. And we had the whole place to ourselves. Pretty unusual, I'd say.

Soon after we arrived, we busied ourselves with photographing the falls. When we finished, I asked if we could walk downstream a ways and explore. Marc was happy to oblige. When we came upon this spot in the photo, I immediately said to Marc that I thought there was a strong photograph there. To my surprise, he disagreed. He said that he'd looked at a similar shot many times in the past, but it never measured up for him. He just didn't like it. I for one certainly did like it and proceeded to shoot it with gusto. The results are below. Please be sure to view the LARGE VERSION, it does it much more justice.

I dunno. I have supreme respect for Marc's abilities, but even he is human. Perhaps this marks the first time that I saw something he didn't? Tough to say, I'll let you be the judge. But I think you know how I feel. Me likey. ^_^

Well, that's the last of the photos I have to show from my Oregon Odyssey. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did showing it to you.

Next time, I'll have some new stuff to show you from a completely different photo session. Till then, take care.

"Near The Source"

Oregon Odyssey #3: The Difference Between Life and Death

While in a random, desert-like part of eastern Oregon, we came upon a very unusual area. It was a sea of sand dunes... with trees growing in it. Never in any of my travels had I seen this. It was exciting because it offered the opportunity to create some unique photographs. I wasted no time in doing so, most often using the ripples in the sand as foregrounds leading the eye into the photograph towards the main subject: the trees, of course.

While we were busy shooting away, Marc taught me something that I had never really considered. He said that, most times, dead trees -- not living ones -- made the most interesting subjects. As soon as he said it, I knew he was right. It made perfect sense, I just hadn't really thought about it. Dead trees often have a peculiar aura -- they tell a story.

We soon came upon a dead tree that drove the point home. Although the living trees that we had been shooting were definitely photogenic subjects, this dead one was clearly more interesting. It seemed ominous, almost... wise. Something about it just made it seem more... intriguing than the other trees.

So, time for you to see for yourself. Below are two of the trees I shot that day. Both are similar compositions, but I think you'll agree that they have are totally different images. What do you think? Can you see the difference I'm talking about?

Look at 'em for awhile. I think you'll see it.

'Till next time. Take care! ^_^

Against The Grain (Large version here.)

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