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Aviation

Aviation photography is one of the most adrenaline-packed fields to work in! It’s fast, fun, and full of challenges. From static planes, ground to air, or air to air, each area possesses its own obstacles and its own rewards. On

Wildlife

Humans are not the only inhabitants of this world. All wildlife share an important role in the world ecosystem. Telling their tale takes patience and knowledge but it is important that we document their stories while they are still here.

Landscape

Our natural world is an amazing place! There is a romance to the landscape that transports one away from life and into a state of tranquility. Bringing out that romance takes a good photograph and a little help in the

Fishing

Everyone who fishes has their own story and there’s no better way to tell that story than with a photograph. It requires speed and precision to get the fish back in the water quickly and to make the client happy.

Tech Talk

There are ten straps out there for every camera body. Each person has a preference as to which one is the best. For me, it comes down to safety, functionality, and comfort. We spend a lot of money on our

Education

From books to magazines to websites, there is always something to learn and as a photographer, our job is not just to take pretty pictures but to also push the envelope for ourselves and our fellow photographers through that knowledge.

Field Reports

What’s happening in Montana or the Rocky Mountains? What’s the latest adventure and the newest story? Every photoshoot is something different and each one has its own lessons to be learned. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned.

Spring Critters Are Almost Here

admin Blog, Wildlife March 22, 2023March 19, 2023Mountain Cottontail

It feels like Spring is around the corner with the bluebird days and warmer temps but I wouldn’t count winter out yet. Anyone who has lived in Montana for more than a year knows that we can get snow storms until June but I think the days of negative double digits are over. People aren’t the only ones right enjoying the long days of sunshine. All of the furry critters out there are spending their days warming themselves in the sun. This Mountain Cottontail spent the morning lounging in the warm morning sun after spending a good time cleaning its paws and face. Unfortunately, it was pretty bright out at the time and the range of light between the dark green background and those dead grasses in the foreground meant I had to underexpose to avoid a lot of bad highlights. This meant losing a lot of the detail in the fur along the rabbit’s back. Still, a lesson was learned and a morning of fun still had.

An Early Spring Visitor or Late Bloomer

admin Blog, Wildlife March 17, 2023March 16, 2023Western Meadowlark

A good friend called me over one day to tell me about a new visitor he had at his ranch. Well, it’s not exactly a new visitor, this particular Meadowlark has strangely been hanging around all winter despite having some of the coldest temperatures in recent years. Naturally, he’s become one of the family. Of course, when I heard about him I had to see him for myself. Well, he’s become pretty accustomed to the ranch and meal worms so he tends to follow Mike around as he works his cattle. The Meadowlark wasn’t as used to me but it was a cold day so we put some worms out and waited. After a while, he finally approved of me and the 600f/4 on the tripod so he came close enough so I could get a couple of photographs.

Some Goldeneye Action

admin Blog, Wildlife February 28, 2023February 22, 2023goldeneye

As I mentioned last week I was enjoying using the Nikon Z6II and 24-120z lens while working with some patches of ice on the Madison River. Well, the ice wasn’t my only subject I was working on the river that day. Now I’ve seen lots of waterfowl on the water when I go out but I’ve never seen this many Goldeneye in the Beartrap Canyon before. It was a very warm almost spring day in February so maybe that’s why but I wasn’t complaining since they were somewhat cooperative. Being in a heavily trafficked area this flock of ducks was pretty workable from the bank but as you can tell I only had one lens so I made lemonade out of lemons and use the light in the background to be as much of the story as the ducks are as opposed to trying to get closeups of the Goldeneye. It’s like a wildlife landscape piece all rolled into one.

Fun with Ice!

admin Blog, Landscape February 23, 2023February 22, 2023black and white, Madison River

Well hello, world! It certainly has been a while since I posted anything, don’t worry I’m not dead or retired. As the saying goes life gets in the way of life but with time and effort, you always get back to what you’re good at. Except for writing blog posts, that still challenges me. Well truthfully I have been quite busy working with several aviation nonprofits here in Bozeman and at some point, I share some of that with all of you. For now, here are some photos of frozen and nonfrozen water.

I do enjoy photographing bodies of water in the wintertime. On sunny days you can have a lot of fun with ice because the light from the sun glistening off of the water combined with the light on the ice makes some great contrast. Ice itself is very bright and the contrast against dark water is a no-brainer. Fast pockets of water are naturally a good spot for black-and-white opportunities but combined with ice it can be even better. I was using the Nikon Z6II with the 24-120z lens and boy it was easy and fun at the river this day.

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