Reflections on Lake Gunn in New Zealand

Anyone can buy a drone, fly it and be happy with the shots. But, I try to take it to the next level. Do things right and maybe good things happen. When I mean do things right, I mean applying for your concession from the Department of Conservation so you could fly your drone over public lands in New Zealand. Sure, you are limited to where you can fly, but when you see something like this, who cares!? This is Lake Gunn which is on the way to Milford Sound. This is a panoramic from three pictures stitched in Adobe Lightroom, then processed in Aurora HDR and final touches in Adobe Photoshop.

The Golden Hour Begins in Queenstown

I did not go far from my AirBNB to find my spot for the sunset. This is the Franktom Arm of Lake Wakatipu just outside of Queenstown, NZ. Sometimes I am asked how I find the places to go, so I will share a little tiny secret with you... my iPhone! I have an application which allows me to see where the sun will set and it allows me to overlay that on a map. I scroll around and move the map until I find something that looks like it may work. Once I find it, I check out the times for sunset, the golden hour and the blue hour. I get all my stuff ready and go!

The Cuban Musician

Amauris Lastre Zamora is a street musician who I had the pleasure of meeting on the famous “El Malecón.” His eyes were striking. And after he and his band played music for my friends and I, I asked him to pose for this photo. Thank you Amauris! Esapñol Amauris Lastre Zamora es un músico callejero al que tuve el placer de conocer en el famoso Malecón. Sus ojos llamaban la atención. Y después de que él y su banda tocaron música para mis amigos y para mí, le pedí que posara para esta foto. ¡Gracias Amauris!

The Yellow Sunset in Havana

Red Classic Chevrolet Taxi in Havana

Aurora Borealis in Fairbanks, Alaska

I was not going to go out last night, but I am sure glad I did! The northern lights were amazing to see dancing in the sky for me - absolutely gorgeous!

Downtown Miami Aerial Panoramic

Downtown Miami Aerial Photograph - large-scale prints available. Original photo dimensions 250" x 84" and photo is over 100 megapixels. Legally taken photograph by an FAA certified remote pilot.

The Magical Bridge

A Night with the New York Skyline

I was always intrigued about what New York City would look like from the New Jersey side, and if you were wondering as well - wonder no more!

Autumn in May

Yes - this was taken in the month of May! Autumn is a special time of year when many of us that live in North America enjoy the changing of the colors in September/October. Luckily, I was sent down to Canberra, Australia in May and was able to get out one day to walk through a park and take some photos. I wish I would have had more time to get out and get some more of these!

The Divi Divi Tree on Aruba Beach - fofoti tree

My first visit to Aruba and I had one photographic goal in mind - to be at The Divi Tree at sunset. Unfortunately, the day I had available turned out to be a bit more cloudy than desired. I also learned after posting this photo that the tree in question might not be a divi divi tree, but a fofoti tree. I am still waiting for an official answer from the Aruba Tourism Board!

Colorful Slot Canyon

The slot canyons found in Arizona are no doubt gorgeous. The lightbeams that are often visible during the right time of the year are awesome, but so is coming around the corner and seeing how the light makes the canyon walls mystical and beautiful. The grooves, the darkness in the shadows and the details in the light all come together beautifully.

Bridging the Gap - Milky Way

Looking up between these two mountains while camping at Milford Sound Lodge last week was amazing. For the first time in my life I could see the Milky Way by simply looking up. I was pleasantly surprised when I loaded these shots up on my computer and saw that I had also captured a shooting star in one of my frames. I certainly wish it were towards the center of the photo, but I will take what I was given!

Gold Columns

This photo features some of the 1,048 column found at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Horseshoe Bend in Arizona

I've always wanted to see this iconic landmark in person and I can now say I have! It is by far the most photographed place around Page, Arizona, but I didn't care, I had to do it myself (well, with my friend and fellow photog, Rene). To get to this spot, you must walk (or hike if you want to call it that since it is dirt and rocks after all) approximately 3/4 of a mile from the parking area. If you go for the sunset, remember to time your arrival so you could get there with plenty of time to find a spot on the rim and setup your gear. The rim drops down 1,000' to the shore of the Colorado River below and there are a handful of deaths yearly from careless behavior. This was actually put together from two shots, one up to get more sky and one down to see the shoreline below, making a 52 megapixel final image which is up on my site. If you look closely, you will see an orange ball at about the 6:30 position... I am adding a zoomed in screen grab of this to give you an idea of the detail captured... Think I am printing this one for my wall!

Time for a New Bed

Another scene from the ghost town near the Nevada/California border

The Uncomfortable Chair

One of the structures remaining in the ghost town is this old house. I was surprised to find this old destroyed chair sitting there calling for my attention. I stood squarely in the doorway to the small home, setup my tripod and fired away to capture the essence of the mood.