Rock Amid Rapids by MichaelBandy

Probably my final good McGee Creek shot from our Fall colors trip in October. We had a great time using our waders and getting into the water to really get the good comps. This was one of the ones I really liked. Hopefully you do as well!
I wish I had some nice winter scenes as it is almost Christmas, but I am afraid I do not. Hopefully soon!

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Passed Time by RyanDyar

Namibia Untamed
Northern Lights Finale – With Arild Heitmann
Processing Tutorial Videos
Processing Instruction via Skype

As my whirlwind year of 2015 rapidly comes to a close, I’ve already got my sights set on 2016. Big trips back to Norway with my homies Arild and Stian of LofotenTours, two back to back trips to Namibia to work with the Squiver team, Iceland with my wife and great friends, and Alaska for some off-roading adventure. It’s going to be a fantastic year, but the thing I’m stoked on most isn’t the locations… it’s the people I get to share them with. I get just as (if not more) excited about spending the time with friends as I do the actual shooting.

Marcel Van Oosten was kind enough to honor me with the privilege to lead a tour to Namibia for him next year… I’m guaranteeing it will be epic. Also my good friend Arild Heitmann and I will be leading another crazy tour next March to shoot the Lofoten Islands… it’s always a successful trip. Check out the links above for all the info you need!

Happy Holidays everyone.

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Fall – Eastern Sierras by randgr

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Mono Lake Dreamtime by ErwinBuske

Mono Lake Dream Time
This iimage is of an unexpected and beautiful sunset at Mono Lake California. Most photographers were positioned at a completly different location looking the oposite direction of this sunset, and many had already given up and returned home. A small opening in the clouds over the eastern Sierras is all it took to illuminate the western part of the lake with spectacular light and a powerful afterglow about 5 minutes after the sun had technically set. This is one sunset I will never forget! This image is best viewed on a large screen against a black background. Thanks for viewing my image.

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Color Rush by MichaelBandy

This is one of my favorite photos from McGee Creek. We had such an awesome time wading into the creek and fighting the rapids and current to get these shots. I love this spot and it never disappoints. I hope you all enjoy it.

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Silver Sunrise by MichaelBandy

In case the title wasn’t obvious enough, this is sunrise from Silver Lake on the June Lake Loop. I have always wanted this shot from there ever since I saw fellow phtoographer Cindy Lee Hoover’s image with a very similar comp, and I was hoping for some pretty great conditions. Alas, we got some whispy clouds that burnt off pretty quick. By the time the light was hitting Carson Peak the clouds were gone. Thus this photo is an exposure blend with the sky from before the sun was up and the landscape and mountains from just after. Furthermore I found that Carson Peak looked tiny with my wide angle field of view, so I zoomed in and took another shot which I then blended into the wide angle image to bring Carson Peak back to it’s more appropriate size. This was my first time trying a focal length blend and it was pretty difficult. I imagine that it is a tad easier for experts like Ted Gore (who does a masterful job with focal length blends btw). But for a first time effort, I am pretty pleased.
Big thanks to the ever helpful David Thompson. This would be far less dialed in without his suggestions and guidance.
Thanks everyone. I hope you enjoy this photo of a lake with the mountains (somewhat) reflected in the water.

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Volcanic Ridge by Brandontylerlyons

I took a trip to the Eastern Sierras this past September with Paul and Mich Rojas. We backpacked to Minaret Lake the day before making it up to Volcanic Ridge. Paul points to the top of Volcanic Ridge and says, “we’re going up there tomorrow”. I was initially a little hesitant, as there wasn’t a clear path to the top. Bushwhacking and scrambling with a dull headlamp isn’t recommended. In hindsight, we should’ve just camped at the base. We approached the ridge from the southeast side at 4 in the morning to get to the vantage point that gives an unobstructed view of the Minarets, Mt. Ritter, Banner peak and the surrounding lakes Cecile, Iceberg and Ediza lake (word by Mich Rojas). We scrambled 1700 ft to the top to reach 11,500 ft elevation. I pushed myself to the brink of collapsing to get up here in time to catch the aplenglow. I missed the burning light but was more than pleased to make it just minutes before the mountain was engulfed in warm light. A huge shout out to Paul and Mich Rojas for being great friends and motivating me to get to the top.

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Surprise Sunset by MichaelBandy

I took this one Friday night after meeting up with a bunch of fellow West Coast Photographers (FB photo group). My buddy Jojo had assured me we would have an awesome sunset, but as we all lined up and positioned our tripods for our selective comps it wasn’t looking great. The sun had dipped below the mountains for quite some time and the light was fading. We were just about to admit defeat when we noticed a slight bit of color on the horizon. In the next 10-15 minutes the color seemed to just keep getting better and better while we all shot away. It was a great moment and we all felt luck to have been there.

Finding a good comp at Mono Lake comes easy for some. For me it is a struggle. I am not sure why. I think the shear quantity of options causes me to lock up a bit and as I settled on this spot, I knew there were probably better spots elsewhere. None the less, I am pretty happy with how it turned out and I had a great time shooting a great sunset with a great group of people! I am looking forward to the next time!

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Owens River by dkproperties

“Owens River Alpenglow”
I took this image just after the leading edge of a thunderstorm had moved overhead from the East. The sun had just set and clouds were beginning to turn color, everything was building for a great shoot but the lightning and thunder began growing closer and intensifying, next the rain began to fall. I know many of you are familiar with Owens River area but for those who aren’t; it’s basically flat; very few trees, with foliage mainly around the river, in-other-words not a good place to be shooting with a tripod when rain and lightning are bearing down on you.
The color in the sky was incredible but even more spectacular was the alpenglow on the western mountains, but it was too dicey to remain, I took a handful of final images and ran like a Ninny, I mean Olympic sprinter back to my car.

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Exodus by AronCooperman

** Best When Viewed On Black”

A view of Half Dome’s less photographed east side. What makes this view really unique is how the setting sun will light up the eastern face of Half Dome… and as the sunsets off into the west the light slowly creeps up face until only the tip of Half Dome is highlighted. Then, its gone…

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