One of the world’s most formidable landscapes, the Atacama in Chile is the oldest, driest desert on earth and has been for about three million years. This was my first experience there and it did not disappoint. I just love these craggy, austere landscapes, where the light plays such an important roll in getting great photographs.
Using San Pedro de Atacama as our base, we photographed in the Los Flamencos National Reserve with its impressive Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley. A highlight was photographing at the geyser basin of El Tatio at night as the Milky Way stretched across the sky. Purely primeval.
It’s autumn in the southern hemisphere. It’s always windy; between the latitudes of 40 & 50 degrees, the Roaring Forties, strong westerly winds, smack the Andes and create the most amazing cloud formations. Lenticular clouds scud across enhancing the most spectacular of landscapes in Los Glaciares National Park, which includes Mount Fitz Roy Massif and Cerro Torre.
My first trip to Torres del Paine was in February 1988; much has changed since then – the camera equipment and accommodations have improved – but the scenery always remains absolutely breathtaking. We had several good days of trekking, which afforded us different views of the Horns as well as some views of a snow-capped Paine Grande.
Take a virtual trip today and check out a selection my new imagery taken between January 1st and March 31st. Locations include Antarctica, India, Laos, California, Washington State, Florida, and Cuba.
Before heading off to Cuba a few weeks ago, I shot some aerials over southern Florida. Freshwater issues abound in this state. How do you accommodate an increasing and thirsty population and a thriving and powerful agricultural industry while protecting water quality and the fragile ecosystem of the Everglades, as well as other increasingly endangered wild areas of the state?
If you are into gritty abstracts like I am, you would love the ancient layers on the walls of Havana. I’ve spent 40 years photographing professionally around the world, evolving both my style and subjects. If you know me, you know how much I dislike being pigeonholed as a fur and feathers guy. Don’t get me wrong; I love photographing wildlife, but delving deep into my art history background has challenged me intellectually and helped me maintain enthusiasm and creativity for the medium. Getting in close to humanity’s coarse and granular surfaces creates photographic art on a different level.
My first trip to Cuba was in 2001, and the U.S. State Department tried to fine me and the group I was with for supposedly traveling there illegally. Now, President Obama is visiting the country. How times have changed! With it comes the good and the bad, but it’s always fascinating to see a country starting to open up.
The peak cherry blossom timing is carefully tracked in Japan. People join their friends and families in large numbers at parks, shrines and temples that have “sakura” trees to hold flower-viewing parties. On this trip I had to arrive on location in the wee hours of the morning to have a more relaxed photographing experience. The large trees really are quite magnificent when in full bloom.
Save 20% on any Sakura print purchased this month. They are printed on EPSON Premium Photo Luster paper using archival EPSON Ultrachrome inks, and I hand sign them with a silver acid-free pen. Get more information about my Fine Art prints here.
After planning to photograph in Bangladesh after India, I made a management decision and headed off for the lush Luang Prabang Province in Laos–an area and country I had never visited before. At the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, it is an area of great natural and cultural beauty.
After the crush of the Kumbh in Haridwar, the nature and solitude of Ranthambore National Park was a welcome change. With an area of 400 sq. km encompassing rocky hill crests which descend to open valleys between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges, dotted with water pools and fruit trees, this park gets its name from the thousand year old fortress, which looms above the forest. Well known for the diurnal activity of tigers, Ranthambore is a very special and unusual area where a natural present meets a historical past.
