Digital Panoramas and the Fall Landscape

In this Photographic Moment video I share some tips on capturing the fall landscape with digital panorama photography.

The Beauty of Sunrise in Autumn

Nature and landscape photography captured on the morning of October 20, 2009 at The Inn at Cedar Falls, in Hocking Hills.

October in Ohio

Nature and landscape photography showing the haunting beauty of October in Ohio, with photographs taken in both Hocking Hills and Caesar Creek State Parks. Autumn sunrise images captured at The Inn at Cedar Falls.

JPG: A Sacred Place

JPG: A Sacred Place

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Season of the Good Light Video

Episode seven in my series of "Photographic Moment" video tutorials. This one on the capturing the Ohio landscape in the season of the "good light" - autumn. Here I share tips on white balance, ISO settings, shutter speed, aperture and composition. The video was shot on location in the tall grass prairie at Sugarcreek MetroPark, just south of Dayton.

New Workshop on Digital Workflow for Nature Photography

I'm happy to announce my next full-day photography workshop, set for Saturday, November 21 2009 at Cox Arboretum MetroPark, just south of Dayton, Ohio. The primary topic of this program will be digital workflow for nature photography including image importing and editing using Apple Aperture, fine tuning and enhancements in Photoshop CS4, monochrome conversions using Nik Color Efex Pro and High Dynamic Range Photography using Photomatix. As of 10-6-09 there are already 10 people registered to attend. I limit my workshops to 20 attendees, so there are still 10 seats remaining, however, I expect these to fill within the next day or two. There will be another workshop this winter, most likely on a Saturday in late January or early February, so it's always a good idea for those interested to submit their names and emails to my waiting list.

Another Cover on Ohio State Parks Magazine

I'm happy to announce that one of my photographs has once again made the cover of Ohio State Parks Magazine. The most recent issue - fall/winter 2009 - features an image I captured while in Hocking Hills State Park during a weekend in early November. I was there with my two favorite fellow sojourners when venturing out to the woodlands and hollows of Hocking, my daughters Emma and Chloe. Over the last six years this is either the fourth or fifth time one of my photographs was selected for the cover of Ohio State Parks.

With all the emphasis currently on our system of National Parks, thanks to another exceptional series airing on PBS by Ken Burns, it's easy to overlook the beauty and the gifts offered through our local and state parks. I've visited and photographed many National Parks, including Great Smoky, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Capital Reef, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands and Rocky Mountain. All of these strikingly beautiful parks present natural scenery that is beyond breathtaking, there's no doubt. However, it's the local, visual treasures found here in my home state of Ohio where my creative spirit and nature-loving soul feels the most at home. Especially Hocking Hills. That's where my love for nature and landscape photography first took flight during a winter hike with the nature photography club from the Dayton Museum of Natural History (now Boonshoft), so long ago when I was 13 years old.

The State Parks in Ohio are now under a considerable amount of pressure to reduce services and cut costs. It's a shame. If our National Parks are truly "America's best idea," (did you know that Ohio has a National Park ? It's Cuyahoga, between Cleveland and Akron) then state and local parks and natural areas are the second best idea. In some ways these smaller versions of their big cousins are even more important to protect and preserve due to the fact that they represent places where most people make "first contact" with the beauty and wonder of nature. I've always said that the City of Dayton's best recreational asset is the Five Rivers MetroParks. Considering the shrinking population and economic base in the Dayton area, we are VERY fortunate to have a relatively large number of local parks which are easily accessible, well-managed and each in their own way, provide the essential connection to the healing powers of our natural environment.