Category Archives: Nature Photography

The Natural Beauty of Leavenworth Washington

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Welcome To Leavenworth

The American love of mountains is inextricably tied to the long history of mountaineering in Europe. While the U.S. would later be responsible for the resurgence of the sport in the 1960s, the original golden age of alpine mountain climbing comes, fittingly, from the Alps–the wonderland of glacial massifs spreading from Switzerland across Germany, Austria, Italy, and France. As the first major waves of settlers crossed the Rockies during the Gold Rush, British and Swiss climbers, with their French guides, were setting a new standard in adventure and popularizing a lifestyle and aesthetic which would echo across time and all subsequent feats of natural exploration.

To put it more succinctly, from the moment the American populace encountered the majestic ranges of the west, they conjured up images of the twisted peaks of the Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn, emerald sanctuaries of flowered meadow, weather-worn redoubt chateaus, and the thrilling plunge of a snowy downhill slope.

Thus, when you find yourself driving through the evergreen ridges of the eastern Cascades, it should come as no surprise to find a Bavarian hamlet nestled among the cedars and firs. This is Leavenworth, one of the better-kept secrets of Washington State for both lovers of nature and those with a passion for culture.

Rollin On A River

A gentle breath of veiled sunlight caresses the rocky banks of a clear river as it makes its way through a deep mountain valley. The faint chill of autumn on the way inspires embers of bright foliage along the banks and up on the hillsides. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Leavenworth Washington Nature Photography

For nature photographers, the areas to the South & West of Leavenworth are a visual playground year round. This is especially true in the autumn months when Tumwater Canyon and the entire area from Stevens Pass through the town of Leavenworth explodes with autumn brilliance. My home is just a short two hour drive from Leavenworth, allowing me to visit many times each year.

Just outside of Tumwater Canyon, Icicle Creek and the entrance to the Enchantments, Lake Wenatchee State Park and countless other visual sights beg you to pull the car over and grab a few photos or take a walk along the Wenatchee River as it slowly meanders through the canyon.

The Wash

A rush of clear water races down from the forbidden peaks of a range of misty mountains. Along the rocky banks, flashes of gold announce the arrival of autumn to the high places. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

History of Leavenworth Washington

Leavenworth is a central European mountain town in every sense (other than location), yet its charming appearance belies an unexpected history.

The Chinook, Yakima, and Wenatchee peoples called the tranquil vale on the Wenatchee River their home until the coming of white settlers in 1892. These groups arrived with the coming of the Great Northern Railway which aimed to connect Seattle with St. Paul, Minnesota. With a fast and reliable conduit to one of the largest timber industries in the country at the time, logging quickly became the major industry of the fledgling community. By the early 1900s, it was home to the second-largest sawmill in the world.

Fortunes changed, however, when the Great Northern was diverted to pass through the larger town of Wenatchee to the east in 1925. The logging and sawmill operations foundered, and even the less transport-reliant industries like fur trading and gold mining either dried up or fell on hard times as well. For three decades, the town limped along, constantly on the brink of becoming a ghost town.

Then, in the early 1960s, town leaders formed the LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement for Everyone) committee in an attempt to escape the quagmire. The town had seen brief success during the depression with the introduction of a small local ski slope, and it was to tourism that the committee now looked again. In the mid-60s, members Ted Price and Bob Rodgers hit upon the idea of transforming Leavenworth into a theme-town, fashioned after the mountain villages of Bavaria, in the northern reaches of the Alps. Inspiration and guidance for the idea was furnished by the town of Solvang, a Danish enclave nestled among the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains northwest of Santa Barbara which had also seen major success as a tourist destination.

The ensuing remodel, which saw most of the town reconstructed in a south-German style, was an expensive gamble, but a resounding success. Combined with recreations of traditional German festivals and cuisine, and the addition of new ski resorts on the surrounding slopes, Leavenworth became a must-see attraction for anyone passing through the Cascades.

Echoes Of Fall

A tangled web of skeletal branches lace together the ashen trunks of a grove of aspen near Leavenworth, Washington. Unfazed as yet by the chill of winter, the fiery hues of the autumn undergrowth bleed through a hush of fog. Fine Art Limited Edition of 100.

Leavenworth Culture

Organized along an alpine Bavarian theme, the appearance and culture of the town closely resemble that of a traditional 19th century German village.

The architecture of the town is mostly comprised of black-and-white half-timbered structures which will most readily be identified with Tudor and Tudor-Revival style buildings, but which have also been a staple of German architecture since the Middle Ages. Gothic fonts and woodblock graphics adorn many of the shops and restaurants, further conveying the feel of an old-world hamlet.

The food to be found in Leavenworth also largely conforms to traditional German cuisine. With brathauses and biergartens scattered along the main street, visitors can sample popular German sausage and wash it down with a stein of cold gold lager.

To complete the experience, a number of festivals are held each year, some with German roots, and some unique to Leavenworth. Of those which are novel inventions, the Autumn Leaf Festival celebrates the vibrant colors of the surrounding Cascade foothills. Tourists can enjoy rock climbing events, rose planting, live music, and even a car show. During the Christmas Lighting Festival, the town is decked in over a million lights of all colors, with visits to Santa, ice skating, carriage rides, music, and more. In terms of traditional festivities, the biggest event is, of course, Oktoberfest. Here, every fall, guests can drink their fill of hearty German beer while enjoying classic German attire, participating in contests, listening to music, and much more. Not to be dismissed or forgotten, however, there is also Maifest, the annual spring festival which includes Maipole dancing, Bavarian music, and a costumed Grand March through the town by the locals.

Despite its orchestration as a tourist attraction, the sights and scenes of Leavenworth leave nothing to be desired, as faithful and immersive as a visit to the old country itself.

Lemon Lime

A dense stand of quaking aspen sits on the edge of a meadow near Leavenworth, Washington. A brilliant canary yellow spreads through the boughs–a sure sign of cooler weather to come. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Winter Sports

Of course, no reproduction of an alpine village would be complete without some offering of winter sport. Though not in league with the snowy meccas of Zermatt or Aspen, Leavenworth offers a number of lodges and slopes for skiers and snowboarders when the days get short and chill. Mission Ridge Resort and the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club are the best ways to get out on the slopes, and Steven’s Pass is the most popular destination for people of all ages and skill levels.

Listerine

Torrents of troubled whitewater rush across the silken surface of a stony rapid as the wide ribbon of a mountain river is funneled through a spell of shallows. Golden boulders, adorned in dark bands of algae, jut from the sparkling veil. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

The Natural Wonder of Leavenworth Washington

The true beauty of the surrounding Cascades, however, can only truly be witnessed in summer. Here, the similarity of the country to the high Alpine wilds of Europe reaches its peak, and in many ways even surpasses it in terms of natural beauty. The jewel of the region, and perhaps of the entire Cascade range, from California to British Columbia, is the Enchantments. Not ten miles from Leavenworth, nestled among a formidable fortress of high rocky crags and glaciers is a collection of sapphire pools arrayed just beneath the clouds. Each year, a special lottery is held by the National Forest Service to allot backpacking permits to those wishing to visit the area. Only twenty-four people are allowed in the entire region per day to preserve the stunning yet fragile scenery.

Yet, the Enchantments are only one small sector of the sprawling Cascades, and every corner of its snow capped peaks and hidden valleys is filled with beauty and wonder. Skiing, hiking, fishing, rafting, and mountain biking are all within reach. Leavenworth offers a perfect base camp for exploring this wilderness, and a welcoming respite from the rigors of the United States’ own unique brand of alpine adventuring.

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Leavenworth is an unorthodox experiment, but one which has become a marvelous success. Nowhere else in the country are the festive traditions of a Teutonic past so gracefully interwoven with a landscape of tranquil wilderness. It’s a strange combination, but one with great historic precedent, and any trip to the little hamlet in the hills will be an experience long cherished and fondly remembered.

Shift Change | Oceans & Rivers Photography | Aaron Reed

Flurries of ruby and gold crowd the banks of a tranquil stream in the heart of autumn in the mountains. A frosty shroud of fog obscures the forbidden scarps higher up in the alpine vale. Fine Art Limited Edition of 200.

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Reducing Climate-Driven Flood Risk Can Be Done In Ways To Also Help Nature Recover

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The 2022 Living Planet Report, released earlier this month from the World Wildlife Fund, showed a dramatic decline in monitored populations of wildlife across the world – a 69% decline in abundance, on average, since 1970. A few days ago, I wrote about how halting, and then reversing, this decline will require far more comprehensive actions than what we typically consider as wildlife conservation. In fact, it will require a ‘whole-of-society’ approach.

While that sounds daunting, much of what needs to be done to restore wildlife and nature are transformations that we need to make anyhow for economic security and for people’s health and safety, such as the rapid transition to decarbonized power systems to maintain a stable climate.

Here I will explore one of these needed transformations to make people safer that can be done in ways that also protect or restore wildlife and nature: flood-risk management in response to rising danger from floods, fueled by climate change and other factors. At the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) next month, governments should make good on past commitments to provide funding for low-income countries to adapt to rising climate risks, including floods, and they can do this in ways that are consistent with protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems.

River flooding is already the world’s most damaging form of disaster, averaging approximately $115 billion in costs per year. The World Bank reports that 1.5 billion people worldwide are at risk from flooding, with one-third of them considered to be poor and thus particularly vulnerable to property losses, dislocation and economic disruptions.

There are several drivers of rising flood risk globally. First, new development often occurs in areas prone to flooding. A recent study projected that, between 2015 and 2030, nearly half of global urban development—500,000 km2, an area the size of Spain—will occur in areas at risk of flooding.

Second, countries with mature systems of flood-management infrastructure (e.g., dams and levees), often have underfunded maintenance and replacement. As a result, these systems are aging and deteriorating. For example, every two years, the American Society of Civil Engineers releases a report card for infrastructure in the United States and their 2021 report card gave both levees and dams a letter grade of “D. ” They noted that hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed to rehabilitate structures to get them up to current standards.

Third, changes in land use are also increasing flood risk. The expansion of urban areas—with their extensive hard surfaces such as buildings, roads and parking lots—prevents rainwater from soaking into the soil, dramatically increasing rates of runoff and flood levels. Drainage systems in agricultural areas can also accelerate runoff and increase flood heights downstream.

Thus, for a variety of reasons, flood risk is rising in much of the world even if temperatures and rainfall patterns were holding steady. But they are not holding steady. The climate change we’ve experienced to date (an approximately 1.2° C increase in average global temperature) is already driving increases in flood frequency and magnitude. Scientists can now do “attribution studies” to discern the influence of climate change on the probability that a given flood event occurred. For example, the research organization World Weather Attribution studied the devastating floods in Europe in the summer of 2021, which killed over 200 people. They concluded that the warming experienced to date had increased the likelihood of a flood event of that magnitude, within a range of 20% more likely to nine times more likely.

Even if we successfully hit the most ambitious climate target (keeping warming below 1.5° C), flood losses will increase considerably. With that level of warming, the number of people exposed to river flooding is projected to increase by 50–60% and flood damages are projected to increase by 160–240% (with global losses reaching nearly US$400 billion per year). Warming of 2° C would result in a doubling of the people affected by floods and an increase in damages up to 520% compared to today. This is a surprisingly large increase in losses relative to warming of 1.5° C, underscoring that seemingly small differences in temperature can have major differences in disruption to people’s lives.

Due to this layering of rising risk on top of current vulnerabilities, keeping communities safe from flooding will need to be a major priority of governments over the next few decades. In the past, flood-risk management has most commonly focused on building dams, levees and floodwalls, designed to keep floodwaters away from people. In addition to the maintenance challenges discussed above, this strict reliance on infrastructure can have a range of unintended consequences. By preventing floodwater from spreading out on floodplains, levees can accelerate flood waves downstream, increasing risk for others. Levees and dams also can produce a misguided sense of security, leading to dramatic increases in development on what are perceived as now-protected floodplains, resulting in far higher damages if a levee fails or is overtopped. As a testament to this effect, annual flood damages in the U.S. tripled in constant dollars during the last century, even as tens of billions was spent on flood-management infrastructure.

Further, dams and levees fragment river systems and disconnect rivers from biologically productive floodplains and wetlands. The Living Planet Index revealed an 83% decline on average in freshwater-dependent vertebrate populations since 1970. Various studies have found that dams and levees are among the leading drivers of the decline of freshwater ecosystems and species.

These various limitations and unintended consequences of engineered infrastructure have led to growing calls from flood managers for a “diversified portfolio” approach.

While keeping floodwaters away from people (e.g., using levees or floodwalls) will remain necessary in many places, that strategy should be complemented by keeping people away from floodwaters, such as through more careful zoning. Flood risk also can be reduced by directing floodwaters to the places we want to flood—wetlands and floodplains—in order to take pressure off the places we don’t want to flood, such as cities and farmlands.

This diversified portfolio approach can make a critical contribution to halting, and even reversing, the decline of nature and wildlife. More careful zoning that avoids development on floodplains will not only keep people out of harm’s way, it will also reduce conversion of these key habitats. Nature-based Solutions (NbS), defined as interventions that use ecosystems or natural processes to achieve a societal goal, can combine flood management with large-scale protection or restoration of floodplains and wetlands.

Specific examples of NbS for flood management include (and see figure below):

· Protection of forests, wetlands and floodplains to store and convey floodwaters to reduce flood levels in other places we want to protect

· Reconnecting rivers with floodplains to allow floodwaters more room to spread out, by repositioning levees further away from the river and/or through features called flood bypasses.

· Using “green infrastructure” in urban areas to slow, hold back and store runoff and allow it to soak into the soil, reducing stormwater and flood risk. These features can include green roofs (vegetation on top of buildings), swales, wetlands and parks. As a bonus, these features can also make cities cooler in the summer and increase access to nature for city dwellers.

· Allowing rivers to deliver sediment to their deltas, building new land and protecting deltas and the people and agriculture that depend on them.

All of these NbS interventions can help halt the decline of freshwater wildlife. If implemented at large scales, they can contribute to the restoration of the habitats they need to recover. At COP26 in Glasgow, wealthy countries have committed to directing $40 billion a year toward climate adaptation in vulnerable countries. At COP27, countries should commit to following through on these pledges. When they do, NbS should play a major role in these adaptation projects, so that the projects needed to keep people safe can also help wildlife recover.

In subsequent posts, I’ll go deeper on these various NbS, including how they contribute to flood-risk reduction and how they contribute to the recovery of wildlife.

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‘I still get excited every day’

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Genelle Uhrig is director of ecology at The Wilds. One of her duties in restoring native habitats that were once strip mined.

CUMBERLAND – For a career, her love for animals won out.

“I was a shy, awkward kid,” recalled Genelle Uhrig, “but always up for an adventure outside. My friends and I would ride our bikes everywhere, climb trees, build forts, and play in the streets. I dreamed of travelling and experiencing new places. I never dreamed I’d end up at The Wilds.”

Today, Uhrig is the director of ecology at The Wilds.

“Even after graduate school,” she added, “I had no idea such a place existed – a place that combines both worlds of wildlife conservation, zoology and ecology. I still get excited every day driving into work and seeing rhinos and giraffes out in pasture. It’s truly a remarkable institution and I’m grateful to be working here.”

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PPA International Photographic Competition – Barger Nature Photography

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I recently submitted four images to the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) for judging in the 2020 International Photographic Competition. I was fortunate to have all four images selected to receive merits in the judging, which earned me the award of Gold Medal. Two images of my images received Purchase Awards into the International Loan Collection, and the other two received Purchase Awards into the General Collection.

Intense moment frozen in time. Aurora framing the mountains in the background and Vikbutan Bay in the foreground, Lofoten Islands, Norway. The intensity of this display lasted for a short 10 minutes.

Professional Photographers of America Press Release

2020 International Photographic Competition Gold Medalist

November 2020

New Richmond, Ohio Photographer Named Gold Medalist at the International Photographic Competition

Steven Barger of Barger Nature Photography is honored by peers and jurors for high-quality photography.

Two cubs-of-the-year protected by their mother; one climbing on its mothers back while the other watches in Wapusk National Park near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Hew Richmond, Ohio – Steven Barger of Barger Nature Photography in New Richmond, Ohio was named a Gold Medalist during the Professional Photographers of America’s (PPA) 2020 International Photographic Competition (IPC). Barger’s work will be on display at the upcoming Imaging USA, to be held virtually January 17-19, 2021. Imaging USA is one of the largest annual conventions and expos for professional photographers.

A panel of 36 eminent jurors from across the United States selected the top photographs from over 5,000 total submitted entries at PPA headquarters in Atlanta. Judged against a standard of excellence, 1,706 images were selected for the General Collection and 865 (roughly 17 percent) were selected for the esteemed Loan Collection-the best of the best. The Loan Collection images will all be published in the much-anticipated “Loan Collection” book by Marathon Press.

This polar bear north of Svalbard on the pack ice in the Arctic Ocean is cooling off.

The level of the award is determined by how many of the four images submitted by the photographer receive the highest possible honor: acceptance into the PPA Loan Collection, which is displayed at photographic exhibitions, conventions, and other photographic events. Barger was named a Gold Medalist, meaning that all four of his images merited, selected for the General Collection, and two of the four merited images entered the PPA Loan Collection. In 2020, there were 60 Gold Medalists.

Great Grey Owl perched on a spruce tree in a dark forest near Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. The owl had landed on this spruce tree moments before this photograph was taken. The shaded trees in the background creates the dramatic contrast between subject and background.

Founded in 1868, Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is the largest and longest-standing nonprofit photography trade association. It currently helps 30,000 professionals elevate their craft and grow their business with resources, protection, and education, all under PPA’s core guiding principle of bridging the gap between photographers and consumers.

Steven Barger
513-460-6091
https://www.BargerNaturePhotography.com
[email protected]

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Art In Nature : Black Rock Desert Wanderings

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The professor and pandemic life has, unfortunately, limited Aubrey and my opportunities to explore over the past year. However, two weeks ago we finally got away for Nevada Day–a statewide celebration of Nevada’s admission to the union 8 days prior to Abraham Lincoln’s re-election in 1864, made possible by a $70,000 (today’s dollars) telegram of the entire state constitution.

We headed out to the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon to explore some hot springs and rocky landscapes. Aubrey did the planning for this trip, which gave me a rare and wonderful opportunity to be surprised at every turn. I had absolutely no idea what we might expect to see, and I was astounded with how beautiful the canyons were. The landscape was reminiscent of eastern washington (but with a little less water). The similarity isn’t surprising given that the basalt layers were formed by the same volcanic activity that formed the Columbia River Plateau, and the canyons here were carved by sudden massive floods, not unlike those that occurred across the Columbia River Plateau.

Aubrey in some warm reflected light of an impressive slot canyon.

Me exploring the fascinating patterns of the High Rock Canyon area.

Cooking breakfast in our heated ice fishing hut (it was cold out!).

canyons, nevada, deserts, red rocks, slot canyons, black rock desert

An ancient flood sculpted this deep canyon in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, leaving beautifully rounded boulders in its wake.

nevada, rocks, canyons, deserts, black rock desert

Towering walls of lichen covered rock make for endless echoes in this colorful side canyon of Nevada’s High Rock Canyon in the Black Rock Desert.

Earlier over the summer we also made a trip to the White Mountains, but I never got around to sharing any of those images–after all, there was only one. A twisted old bristlecone root ball.

bristlecone pine, trees, abstracts, white mountains, california

Hidden among the graying weathered branches and roots of this old bristlecone pine is a heart of red. Perhaps it will provide a little shade for the next generation.

Tags: black rock desert, bristlecones, canyons, high rock canyon, nevada

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Get your best ever autumn landscapes

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October 4, 2022

Town, country or coast, capture the best autumn has to offer. We speak to three photographers for their practical advice on shooting Autumn landscapes and capturing amazing colour

Liam Pearson

liam

Liam is self-taught and loves wandering around London and the English countryside with his camera. Having created his social media sites 18 months ago to showcase his photography, he is rapidly gaining recognition. See his website here and @lundonlens.

I bought my first DSLR back in 2015 and took photography up as a hobby. I’d spend hours on YouTube getting to know my camera and soon became hooked. I then started shooting for London Fashion Week, capturing street style fashion portraits, and it wasn’t long before my work was published in magazines and online. Another passion of mine growing up was history and geography and I soon began to incorporate this into my photography.

Being that autumn is my favourite season, I love to capture historical buildings and scenes across the country during the fall. There’s something magical about the colours and light at this time of the year. I really enjoy being on my own and exploring is my meditation. Even if traditional landscape photography isn’t your forte or, if like me, you live in a built-up area, don’t let that stop you from documenting what this wonderful season has to offer.

autumn landscape photo liam pearson

Image: Liam Pearson

Textures

I love to find buildings with textures. Bricks, thatched roofs or stonewalls have more character than a generic glass office block. Try capturing buildings in morning or evening sun as the light will shine horizontally across them and highlight the textures. Even having the shadow of trees dappling a boring-looking building will make a difference.

Be respectful

When taking photos of cottages, or any type of building for that matter, you must remember that these are people’s houses and businesses. Don’t stand around for ages shooting frame after frame and fiddling with your camera. Try to get your settings right before you shoot the subject, then go in and get a few shots and go. Sometimes whilst I’ve been out in villages I’ve got speaking to the owners whilst they were in their gardens and they happily let me capture their home. Some love it, some not so much, so always just be careful and have respect.

Trees and foliage

For me autumn is all about the trees. Their colour and silhouettes are nature’s models to photograph. For me, it’s best to frame a shot with foliage, get down low and into angles that are uncomfortable, in order to achieve something unique. Having the sunlight behind the trees, especially on misty mornings, will give you those amazing rays, bursting through the trees.

autumn leaves walking through the park Image: Liam Pearson

Image: Liam Pearson

The early bird

Early mornings in the autumn are far more civilised than summer with the sun rising much later. With the morning light low in the sky and dew giving scenes that extra dimension compared to the middle of the day, it’s a fantastic time to shoot. Being an early bird also makes it easier to get around in built-up areas as there are fewer people and fewer cars on the streets, which typically create unwanted distractions in your pictures.

Explore by foot

When I’m in London I hardly ever use public transport unless to go further afield, instead I’m always walking. The number of hidden alleyways, buildings and houses I’ve found by just getting lost or walking is amazing. Try going a different route to the shops or perhaps get off a stop earlier if using public transport and walk the rest of the way, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

autumn landscape with thatched cottage in background

Image: Liam Pearson

Keep shooting

Be prepared to take lots of shots throughout the day. I often take 400-500 images in a morning-afternoon walk and only ten might be good enough. Scenes change rapidly, from the weather and light, to people or cars appearing in the frame. Sometimes it only takes a couple of seconds for all the elements to come together to create that special shot you’ve been waiting for, too slow and you miss it!

Benjamin Graham

Dedicated thalassophile, devoted campervan man and enthusiastic tutor, Benjamin was overall winner of UK Landscape POTY in 2017. He lectures, is a group leader with Light & Land and teaches photography at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation near Chichester. See his website here.

In my experience, the majority of landscape togs spend most of their contemplation time in the summer (with its dastardly 3am starts and 11pm finishes…) pining not just for the colours of fall but also for the more civilised shooting times the season offers. As I write this in mid-September, the sunrise is 06.45 and sunset 19.10. So, whether you typically shoot the beach or the beech, those are for sure rather more civilised hours.

And, much as I adore the coast all year round, the autumnal countryside is a super-compelling reason to leave the seaside behind for some alternative views. Autumn presents the most ephemeral period of amber, ochre and gold; and is a season in which, before we head out into the mist, our thoughts once more turn to neoprene gloves, woolly hats and Gore-Tex underpants… Or maybe that’s just me that last one.

tree trunk in autumn landscape scene

Image: Benjamin Graham

3:2 aspect ratio

You can use the 3:2 aspect ratio in the vertical format with your woodland shots. While typically suited more to a horizontal orientation, this aspect ratio, natively common to a lot of digital cameras, usually tends to seem uncomfortably tall in ‘portrait’ shots. In woodland, however, with its repeated vertical forms it seems to work a treat, implying height and emphasising parallel lines.

Look up

A counter-point to the previous woodland tip, use the converging verticals of the trees thrusting into a twilight sky to your advantage and shoot a diagonally-dynamic, gazing-straight-up shot.

looking up to trees

Image: Benjamin Graham

Keep watch for mist and fog

Use a weather forecast app to look for low or, better still, zero wind and for humidity levels of over 97%; this should get you some of that elusive dawn fog that does wonders for mystifying both woodland and urban environments. Also, for woodland, if you can, get out before the first violent gales of the season that can, in a matter of hours, strip the vulnerable amber foliage from the branches.

Use long lenses

We’re talking 100mm to 200mm, or longer to isolate patterns and details (those are ‘full’ 35mm frame suggestions; your mileage may vary). While there are exceptions, wider angles tend to include too much sky that can cause bright distractions in your woodland shots. If you’re down the beach in the autumn, a wide angle will be just dandy though.

research and reccy your landscape photography location golden hour at the beach

Image: Benjamin Graham

Research and reccy

Like all landscaping, you can get lucky now and again but there’s no substitute for studying the weather and doing a location reccy beforehand. Explore places in broad daylight so, when you return in the dark for that early shoot or towards the end of the day to watch the sun go down, you can find your parking spot and know your way to your shooting position.

Shoot wide open

Experiment with shallow depth of field in the woods. The blurry background will help give the image a sense of mystery and depth and will isolate foreground trees and foliage.

get creative with autumn foliage

Image: Benjamin Graham

Get creative with your autumn landscapes

Try panoramas, intentional camera movement (ICMs) or multiple exposures of trees overlaid with leaves or texture images. Give your gear a wiggle. Vertical movement tends to work in the woods, horizontal at the beach. But there are no general rules. Just have a play.

Jeremy Walker

Multi award-winning Jeremy has built a solid reputation as one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers. A former Nikon Ambassador, he is currently a LEE Filters Master and Zeiss Ambassador. Visit his website here or @jeremywalkerphotography

The season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ as Keats wrote, is well and truly upon us. I love crisp, misty autumnal mornings. In fact, I love autumn; it is my favourite time of year for shooting landscapes. The early morning excursions in pursuit of an elusive veil of mist or woodland shrouded in a cloak of foggy secrecy certainly get the photographer’s pulse racing. Crisp carpets of autumnal colour, nature’s finest details etched with a heavy frost and sunbeams dancing across a forest floor are all there for the taking, as long as of course you don’t mind an early start and a bit of cold discomfort.

Mist filled valley at sunrise in autumn.Yorkshire, England.

Mist filled valley at sunrise in autumn. Yorkshire, England. Image: Jeremy Walker

Pine forests 

We all think of autumn as being about deciduous trees and forest floors covered in autumnal colour but pine forests and mist or fog go well together. Yes, you do not get the foliage colour but you do get strong shapes and patterns formed by the trees, especially as the mist lingers and wafts through the forest. Pine trees are also good for shooting early morning golden beams of sunlight as they pierce the forest canopy.

Waterfalls and rivers

Think about introducing some blur and motion to an autumnal image to help add some mood and atmosphere. An exposure of a second or two achieved with a LEE Filters Pro Glass Neutral Density filter will be enough to gently blur a fast-flowing river for that little something extra. Working near fast-flowing water can be a bit dodgy at the best of times but in autumn there is an increased chance the rocks will be damp or even icy so extra care should be taken.

Use a long lens

Landscapes are not just about big views and wideangle lenses. Isolating a single component of a landscape such as an autumnal tree or taking a small section out of a much grander view can often work well on a long lens. A longer lens will also compress the perspective and give the image a slightly different look and feel to it which is perfect for looking into distant layers such as mist, trees and hedgerows. Of course, we do not all have access to super-long telephotos but the longer end of a 70-200 zoom will do a very good job.

Oak tree in a misty meadow and farmland at sunrise.

Oak tree in a misty meadow and farmland at sunrise. Image: Jeremy Walker

Shoot into the light

Don’t be afraid to shoot into the light. Backlighting can really emphasise colour, shape, shadows and texture. If you are shooting a woodland scene on a bright crisp day, try to partially hide the sun behind a branch or dense foliage. This will help to reduce the chances of flare and knock the exposure of the sun back slightly. Look for foliage that has already started to turn yellow or golden but is not too thick or dense – backlighting will make the leaves glow.

Indoor still-life

As an alternative to the big outdoors why not try to convey the feeling of autumn as a still life? Not everyone can rush out to shoot a misty morning or traipse around a foggy forest. No need for specialist lighting kit as window lighting will work. If the light is too harsh try placing tracing paper over the window to soften the quality of the light. For props, the supermarkets will have autumnal fruit and veg.

Mist and fog

Find locations that attract mist and keep returning as it will be different every time. Low-lying, damp locations near rivers or sheltered valleys are a good starting point but you will start to get a feel for a location if you visit often enough. Check the Ordnance Survey maps for your area and walk the paths. Once you have found your spot try to shoot into the light. Mist is at its best backlit, glowing and beaming.

Pumpkin and butternut squash in a rural barn.

Pumpkin and butternut squash in a rural barn. Image: Jeremy Walker

Set the shot up on location

If you have found a great location and all the elements aren’t quite working for you, give Mother Nature a helping hand. If you have a wonderfully textured log background and need the right leaf in the right place, why not move things into position? When frost is forecast you will not be able to move anything in the morning as you will damage the delicate frosted structures so you will need to set up your composition the night before.

Focal point

Autumn is all about colour, early morning mists and cold crisp frosty mornings. But your image can be about more than just trees and golden leaves. Have a focal point that is not necessarily about autumn. A church, castle or village that sits in an autumnal landscape can help convey a real sense of time and place. Have a focal point or subject that enhances and adds to the scene and makes the image more than just another autumnal landscape.

autumnal leaves backlit

Autumnal leaves back lit. Image: Jeremy Walker

Micro autumn landscapes

Not everyone has immediate access to the countryside so try to shoot autumn in your back garden or yard. A simple macro lens of about 105mm is perfect for the casual close-up photographer. Look for simple subjects, plant details, leaf structure, frosted spider’s webs and dew drops on grass. Clean lines, shapes and textures work best. The look of your subject matter can often be helped with the use of a reflector – a sheet of white paper will do the trick.

Further reading

Best UK locations for capturing Autumn landscapes

Get great autumn wildlife shots

Our best-ever landscape photography tips

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Maroon Bells Aspen Colorado | Aaron Reed

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Maroon Bells | Aspen, Colorado

The U.S Park Service has a hard time dealing with especially large tracts of natural beauty. It’s more than a little difficult to manage the hundreds of thousands of acres that fall within national parks like Kings Canyon or Yosemite, and they only constitute small fractions of the surrounding wilderness.

Take the Rocky Mountains, for example. The Rockies stretch from the upper reaches of New Mexico, through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia. Each peak and valley holds precious and stunning natural wonders found nowhere else on Earth, but creating a national park of that size would be simply impossible.

So, instead, Colorado has Rocky Mountain National Park, a microcosm of the sprawling range which offers tourists, climbers, and hikers a glimpse of the treasures hidden between and atop the labyrinthine peaks. Yet with all the pomp and glamor—and of course the name—of Rocky Mountain National Park, other protected lands in the range are overlooked. This a good thing from a conservational standpoint, but it also means a wealth of unseen scenery waiting for the curious and the dedicated.

King among these lesser-known tracts is the Maroon Bells Wilderness, 283 square miles of emerald valleys, crystalline lakes, dizzying passes, and some of the highest summits on the continent. Straddling Gunnison and White River National Forests and only ten miles from Aspen, it is one of the best-kept secrets of the Rockies.

The Crown

Cloud shadows flow across the face of the scarred peaks of Colorado’s Maroon Bells Wilderness. Glimpses of jade boulders on the lakebottom are seen through the veil of gold radiated by the autumnal aspens on the shore. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Maroon Bells Geology

Like the rest of the Rockies, the mountains of the Maroon Bells Wilderness were formed by the subduction of a number of tectonic plates beneath North America between 80 and 55 million years ago. This literally crumpled the landscape, thrusting up a huge train of mountains spanning more than 3,000 miles.

When people talk about the Maroon Bells, they’re usually referring to the two highest peaks of the wilderness, which also happen to be the most picturesque. Maroon Peak (14,163 ft.) and North Maroon Peak (14,019 ft.) are two of Colorado’s famous “fourteeners” which stand side by side in the middle of the park. Both are composed of a unique variety of mudstone, a family of sedimentary rocks formed by the cementation of layers of mud or clay over eons. The specific type of stone present in the two peaks has a striking reddish-purple hue, hence their names. Mudstone is crumbly and fractures easily, making it challenging and dangerous to climb, but it’s also responsible for the unusual and eye-catching striations on their faces.

The wilderness also boasts a collection of jewellike alpine lakes, fed by glacial melt and rainwater and slowly draining, via small creeks and subterranean seepage into the larger rivers below. Each valley in the park is encircled by high and precipitous ridges, transforming each vale and glade in its own private sanctuary, its sapphire pools and verdant gardens of wildflowers bounded by formidable talus slopes and icy towers above.

Royalty

The interplay of sky and mirrored lake create an azure hourglass of clouds and mist in Colorado’s Maroon Bells Wilderness. Flurries of gold fly across the hillsides as the groves of quaking aspen awaken to the fall season. Fine Art Limited Edition of 100.

Endless Aspen Trees

Photography opportunities around Maroon Bells and all throughout Colorado are absolutely endless. Especially in the Spring and the Fall, the endless hillsides full of Aspen trees provide beauty around every corner. Photographing trees is one of my favorite things to do and there are certainly no shortage of amazing trees all across the state.

Aspen trees are found across most of North America, from Canada all the way down to Mexico, so that’s not necessarily going to narrow down your options. Birch trees, however, are generally only found in the eastern United States and parts of Canada. So, if you’re out West, the golden leaves waving at you probably belong to an aspen.

One

A vibrant tide of green, gold, and scarlet parades across the forested valleys of the Rocky Mountain foothils near Telluride, Colorado. The thin white trunks of the resplendent aspens peak through the autumn canopy here and there like the delicate strings of a harp. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Activities Around Maroon Bells

Maroon Bells offers all the staple recreational activities afforded elsewhere in the Rockies, with an added bonus of seclusion compared with some of the more popular areas nearby.

Hiking is the main attraction. The Maroon Bells Wilderness boasts an extensive network of trails providing access to all its major attractions and hidden gems. Difficulty ranges from the relaxing promenade around Maroon Lake to the challenging and comprehensive Four-Pass Loop. Because of the numerous steep mountain ridges in the park, many of the harder trails require fording passes as high as 12,500 feet. Even with the smaller size of the park, exploring it all is no easy feat.

Climbing is another popular activity in the wilderness, as it is all across the Rockies. The majority of experienced climbers come to Maroon Bells for its eponymous peaks. A popular project across Colorado is to summit all the “fourteeners” in the state—all the peaks whose elevations surpass 14,000 feet. Of the fifty-eight fourteeners in Colorado, Maroon Peak holds 27th place, and North Maroon Peak claims 50th. This might seem to imply a significant difference in height, but one must remember the tallest fourteener in the state, Mount Elbert, is only 14,439 feet. Of course, other types of climbing besides summiting are also popular, and many visit the area to practice bouldering and other more technical forms of the sport.

The Maroon Bells Wilderness also offers ample opportunities for skiing during the winter months. Once the major roads into and around the park become impassable to cars, Maroon Creek Road becomes transformed into a Nordic-style ski slope for use by the public. This 6.2-mile stretch offers a 1400-foot change in elevation, a gentle grade easy and accessible for all skill-types. The only obstacle to be aware of is the equally popular snowmobile tours which share the road. Other opportunities for skiing and snowboarding are offered by the mountainous slopes of the park, but these must be reached by foot though miles of snow and ice, and may be leagues away from the nearest road or home—challenges only to be attempted by those with significant experience.

Other activities include camping for the purposes of sightseeing, backpacking, skiing, or climbing; mountain biking is allowed on some of the more level and popular trails; fishing is permitted in lakes and streams with a proper license; finally, stargazing and astrophotography is possible everywhere in the park, but best at the higher elevations and on clear nights.

Colorado Gold

The bleached trunks of a grove of quaking aspen stand like the columns of a Hellenic ruin near Aspen, Colorado. Wreaths of golden leaves crown the neat pillars and their colors are reflected in the meadows of grass below. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Aspen, Colorado

Ten miles to the northeast of Maroon Bells stands Aspen, and any trip to one should necessarily include the other.

Aspen was founded as a silver-mining frontier town back in 1879. During its first three decades, the town boomed and could soon boast a hospital, police department, opera house, and even electricity. The settlement slumped when the productivity of the mines waned, but was revived in the 1930s as a skiing destination; an industry which still thrives today.

Aspen is known across the world for its snow sporting opportunities and facilities. Chief among these is the Aspen Snowmass, a massive winter sports complex and resort which has been home to the WInter X-Games since 2002. The four major divisions of the complex—Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass, are major training grounds for amateur and professional skiers and snowboarders from all across the globe.

Beyond the snow, hiking and climbing are also popular in the peaks around Aspen, and the summer months see no fewer visitors than in winter. Another draw is, of course, the city itself. Aspen is home to dozens of local artists, from painters and potters to fine art photographers. Much of this art can be viewed and purchased from the array of excellent local galleries, celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of the surrounding landscape.

If you plan to visit the Maroon Bells, it’s more than likely Aspen will be your home-base. If so, consider taking in the sights and attractions of this alpine hamlet as well as the wilderness beyond.

Despite its lower visitation than places like Rocky Mountain National Park, the Maroon Bells Wilderness suffers no shortage of adventure or scenery. Back in the 1950s, it proved worthy of the lens of Ansel Adams in his aptly named Maroon Bells, and has certainly lost none of its majesty since then. Whether passing through Aspen or even just crossing the Rockies in general, this secluded wild is well-worth the journey.

Colorado Heights

A juxtaposition of two alpine biomes offers a dazzling spectacle in the Maroon Bells Wilderness in Colorado. Floods of fiery aspen rush across a forested hillside, while beyond, scatters of evergreens cling perilously to the plunging cliffs. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

Orange Crush

The marble white columns of a stand of quaking aspen looks like tears through a bolt of golden fabric on a fall day in Telluride, Colorado. The grove is so dense that even the leaves seem to have trouble finding space to flourish. Fine Art Limited Edition of 100.

Glorious

Aglow with the last light of day, the striated massif of Colorado’s Maroon Bells Wilderness is doubled in the silvered surface of an alpine lake. Fields of lemon-lime aspen race down to the placid waters as if dying for a drink. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.

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Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve to start accepting JCB credit cards from Japan

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Oct. 29—The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve will begin accepting the Japan Credit Bureau (JCB ) credit card for online reservations and in-person admission fees in November, according to city officials.

Starting Tuesday, Hanauma Bay’s advance online reservation system at will accept the JCB credit card for payment, along with Visa and Mastercard, for entries that begin on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the JCB credit card will also be accepted for in-person admission payments.

The nature preserve is regularly closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Concessions operating within the nature preserve will not accept the JCB credit card as they are not expanding their forms of acceptable payment.

The change was made in anticipation of Japanese tourists returning to Hawaii in coordination with Gov. David Ige’s office, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s office, and multiple city agencies including the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Prior to the pandemic, Hanauma Bay, which remains a popular tourist destination, drew an average of 3, 000 visitors a day.

In 2020, city officials temporarily closed the preserve for more than eight months due to pandemic-related restrictions, then reopened it in December, with a new reservation system that takes about half the number of daily visitors to strike a balance between conservation goals and public recreation.

The online payments are non-refundable, unless the nature preserve is closed due to unforeseen circumstances, officials said. The reservations are non-transferable, and a matching, valid photo ID is required prior to entry.

Reservations and payments can be made for up to 10 people at a time, consisting of no more than five children and /or five adults. Admission is free for keiki ages 12 and under and Hawaii residents with a valid photo ID.

Hawaii residents may also continue to access the nature preserve without a reservation for the first two hours of operation, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Wednesdays through Sundays.

Visit the nature preserve’s official website at for more information.

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Save $730 in Best Buy’s biggest super early Black Friday TV deal

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Hold on, isn’t Black Friday still weeks away? That’s what we thought. But Best Buy is claiming to have started its Black Friday sale almost a month early, and it has some massive TV deals. The biggest deal is the LG Class A2 48-inch OLED 4K smart TV for $1,299.99 $569.99 (opens in new tab) – a massive saving of $720.

We highly rate LG as a TV brand, and the OLED 4K display on this option offers super-rich colours and punchy contrast. The TV comes with built-in access to Netflix, Prime Video, the Apple TV app, Disney+, HBO Max and more than 300+ free LG Channels. WebOS 22 allows the customisation of separate accounts for family members, and you can easily search with voice control on the LG Magic Remote. 

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WORLD PHOTOGRAPHIC CUP – Barger Nature Photography

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On Thursday, December 10, 2020, the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) announced the members of the Team USA 2021. Team USA is comprised of eighteen photographers, who must be United States citizens, who will represent the United States in the 2021 World Photographic Cup (WPC). Founded in 2013, WPC is run by the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) and PPA, with support from additional photographic organizations. Its goal is to unite photographers globally in a spirit of friendship and cooperation via a one-of-a-kind international photographic competition in which teams of photographers battle for the cup.

The 2021 competition winners will be announced in Rome, Italy, on April 19, 2021. Teams enter up to three images in each of six categories: Commercial, Illustrative, Nature, Portrait, Reportage, and Wedding.

Two cubs-of-the-year protected by their mother; one climbing on its mothers back while the other watches in Wapusk National Park near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

My image, titled “Safe”, of a mother polar bear with her two, three-month-old cubs taken in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada was selected as one Team USA’s images for competition in the Nature category. If you recall, “Safe” was one of two images of mine juried into the 2021 PPA Loan Collection.

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