The Simplicity of B&W

Oct 16, 2025 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography

Tooth of Time captured by Z 8 / Z24-70f2.8II

A symbol to travelers crossing on the Santa Fe Trail, the Tooth of Time. When they came up to this massive rock, they knew they were a week away from reaching the town of Santa Fe. The Tooth is part of Philmont Scout Ranch and has come to mean a whole lot more to those who trek these mountains, many climbing the Tooth in the dark to celebrate the rising sun from its summit. I was not on the trail to summit, rather, at the Stockade. In years past, the skies have been bald from this vantage point, so I made no clicks. Those simple wisps of clouds made all the difference. A simple switch to the Z 8’s Dark Tone Monochrome was all that was required to make the click. The elements in B&W naturally arranged themselves, the moon being the final topped. It’s a major reason I love the simplicity of B&W.

A Good Problem to Have?

Oct 14, 2025 | Landscape Photography

Baldy Town color captured by Z 8 / Z24-70f2.8II w/polarizer

It was a spectacular morning at 10,000 feet! We were up Baldy Town at Philmont Scout Ranch to greet the sun. The fall color was off the chart, blazing away in the first rays of the say. I set the camera to -1/3 comp, rotated the Nikon Polarizer to remove the reflection of the solid blue sky. In the EVF, I had that warm feeling from the frame. Once I got the image back in the computer, there was so much color from the under exposure and the polarizer doing its job, I dialed back the yellow some to finish the image. I don’t remember needing to do that before. I think it’s a good problem to have.

Looks Are Deceiving

Oct 7, 2025 | Wildlife Photography

Kodiak Brown Bear captured by Z 8 / Z600f4TC w/Z2x @1200

Kodiak Brown Bears like all bears, love their salmon. We tend to think of them standing at a fall catching the salmon fresh from the creek and eating only the finest sushi. Well, that does happen but more often, they go for the easy stuff. What’s the easy stuff? You can smell it a long ways away and I’m not talking about the bears. Not wanting to gross anybody out, but the bear was eating from a stagnant pool of about five hundred dead salmon that and been dead for days and days. It was rather disgusting! If it helps, it would pick through the putrid mound for the freshest, but that’s really not saying much. The thing is, all the bears visited that salmon pile, and they all pertaked! You’re simply lucky this is not a scratch-and-sniff blog post because looks are deceiving!

Falls a Comin!

Oct 2, 2025 | Landscape Photography

Philmont Scout Ranch captured by Z 8 / Z26f2.8

Here in Montana and up at altitude in New Mexico, fall has started to pop. It’s time to get out the tools and techniques to bring back the memories. A couple of important tools at the polarizer. It removed the blue color cast from the sky from the leaves so their brilliance and color scream! I’m excited this year to be out with the new Z24-70f2.8 II, which produces a magnificent starburst. Simply close a lens down to it smallest aperture, make sure you front element is clean and then shoot. You can pinch the sun like you see here through a canopy to make a targeted starburst. Lastly, get boots on those feet and walk into a grove and look up! It’s a grand time to be out, so grab them tools, falls a comin!

It’s Just My Style

Sep 30, 2025 | Wildlife Photography

Kodiak Brown Bear captured by Z 8 / Z600f4TC w/Z2x @1200mm

This is the look of a Kodiak Brown Bear deep in concentration. What’s he doing under the water with its paws, you ask? Mom taught him that this little bend in the river up against the rocks is where the salmon like to pool up and rest before rushing further up the river. The salmon are tired here and by simply waiting, they will swim right up into your paws. You simply extend your five-inch claws and you have a meal. Bears have just two things on their mind, getting fat and going back to sleep is at the top of the list. The more calories you take in with little effort, puts fat on. This big old male appears to have learned the lesson well, coming up to eight hundred pounds in five years. He’s real good at lounging in the water and pulling up sushi, it’s just his style.

The Long Ride Home

Sep 19, 2025 | Landscape Photography

Uganik Bay captured by Z 8 / Z26f2.8

Nine hours later, we left our Kodiak Brown Bear friends and headed back towards camp. It was a full day of brilliant photography, conversation, fishing and laughs. One can’t ask more from life, especially from photography. With darkness upon us, we get in the skiffs and make the turn towards home to this gorgeous display. It couldn’t have mimicked the sentiments inside any better of our tremendous day! Seeing the skies ablaze, my mind wandered back to the day, a day that I wished never ended. What a day and I wished it lasted longer, hoping to soak up a little more time in the long ride home.

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