Thoreau’s famous words apply as much to successful landscape photography as life itself. Often when we first approach a classic scene we’re inclined to capture as much of it as possible in hopes that nothing is left out. Many times a wide angle view is the best perspective for those grand vistas, but it still must be carefully composed in order to guide the viewer’s eye through the frame. The problems arise when there is too much information and the image becomes cluttered and confusing. It’s time to go long and distill the elements down to their essence.

As with taking on too much in our lives and missing the forest for the trees, sometimes we need to simplify the scene to make it stronger. By carefully cropping out distracting elements and focusing on light and form we can create images with much more visual impact that connect with our audience on a higher level.

It always amazes me how fast the seasons seem to change this time of year. Feels like summer was just here and already fall is giving way to winter. By most accounts it was an unusual year for fall color with mother nature not quiet sure what she wanted to do in many parts of the country.  The Sierra Nevada provided another bounty for us in the west although not quite as dramatic as last year. I hope everyone got out to enjoy the colors in your local woods and maybe preserved a few visions of your own from this most colorful season.

As another Thanksgiving approaches I’m reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. In this often crazy world, nature provides a constant source of inspiration and renewal (photographically and in life), and is often as close as our own backyard. I’m looking forward to gathering with friends and family in the days ahead - then exploring the great, white wonderland of winter as soon as the snow starts to fall. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend everyone.

Climbers on the classic traverse of Matthes Crest, Yosemite National Park, California (click for larger view)

Exploring the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California is a magical experience. The Range of Light, as John Muir affectionately called it, is essentially in my backyard (just a few hours drive away) and I try to make the most of it throughout the year. Winter is a fantastic time to discover the vast solitude that awaits the backcountry skier, late spring and summer provide ample opportunity to backpack to secluded lakes and hidden valleys, and autumn, my favorite time of year, is perfect for sharing the lofty summits with good friends.

Many of the peaks in the range average over 13,000 feet and the views stretch far and wide. Photography in the crisp, clear alpine air needs no polarizing filter to faithfully reproduce the deep indigo hue that looks as if it must have been tweeked in Photoshop. My go-to lens in these high and wild places is the Nikkor 16mm, which has a wide field of view, provides maximum depth of field with extremely close focusing, and is very compact making it especially easy to climb with.

Climbing photography is challenging as vantage points are often limited and safety always comes first. But the heightened sense of awareness that is a requirement when scaling the peaks has a dual benefit - that of visual clarity. Great shots have a way of presenting themselves, and capturing those images is often just a matter of living in the moment.

Fall color and fresh snow, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California (click to view larger)

Making great images of fall color obviously starts with the seasonal changing of the leaves. Where and how this happens is dependent upon elevation and temperature and no two years are ever the same. The higher mountains of the west begin in mid-September, eastern hardwoods in October, and the lower red-rock country of the southwest in early November. Once you’ve settled on a destination and found that great grove of trees the next step is to consider the light.

It might seem like the vibrant reds or yellows before you would be faithfully reproduced by your sensor no matter what time of day, but understanding the quality of the light can go along way towards guaranteeing your success. Using backlight or sidelight when the sun is low on the horizon and illuminates the leaves from behind creates a wonderful warm glow, especially when set against a dark background. Softlight is another great light source (illustrated above) that occurs when the sky is overcast and acts like a giant studio softbox. Under these conditions, it doesn’t matter what time of day you’re shooting as the shadows are eliminated and the uniform light both reduces the contrast while intensifying the colors.

So when the scene presents itself, consider the light and don’t be too quick to trip the shutter. A slight change in position or a little patience could make the difference between a good image and a great one.

Fall aspens at South Lake, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

It’s September 1st – the days are getting shorter, and there is a crispness in the air that definitely signals the close of summer. This is my favorite time of year when the crowds give way to the colors of fall, and the natural world seems to come alive once again with a riot of color.

It’s always hard to predict just when the peak of autumn will occur, and temperature changes play a large part in this. Higher elevations in the western mountains tend to peak late September to early October, the eastern hardwoods around mid-October, while desert canyons such as Zion typically show their full colors in early November.

Indications are that 2011 will be another big winter, which means the season may be cut short as early snows cause the leaves to turn brown or drop prematurely. But if your timing is right, you can have the best of both worlds with one season visually ushering in another.

Skier under Banner and Ritter Peaks, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Backcountry skiing in the Sierra Nevada is a perfect winter counterpart to the Desert Solitaire of Edward Abbey’s Utah. This popular and often crowded summer destination takes on another form during the shortest days of the year where deep in the wilderness that rare form of quiet is still plentiful. 

Whether you want to ski your own private bowls or just enjoy the tranquility and unique photographic opportunities, it’s all there for the taking. Proper equipment and skills are obvious requirements and outdoor retailers like REI not only sell all the appropriate gear, but also offer classes in technique and safety.

Evening light on tufa towers at the south shore, Mono Lake, California

The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, which was established in 1982, is one of 70 parks, historic buildings and monuments that California State Park officials plan to close by the end of June 2012 due to budget restraints. The famous south shore tufa will still be accessible (as will the rest of the lake), but the visitor center and information kiosks will likely close and with them a valuable educational resource that has helped keep Mono Lake alive.

Since the early part of the 20th century, the water rights along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains have been hotly contested with the construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct. The classic story of how Mulholland bought up the ranch lands of the Owen’s Valley to build his dream and bring water to the desert of Southern California is well-documented in the movie Chinatown, and the subsequent LA Department of Water and Power has been in court many times over the years as a result.

Mono Lake has no outlet and its proximity near the start of the LA aqueduct makes it critically dependent on the naturally flowing streams that feed into it from the nearby Sierra. Its highly saline waters are a perfect breeding ground for brine shrimp, which in turn are the staple diet for over 2,000,000 migratory birds that visit the lake each year (including the second largest nesting population of California gulls in the US).

Fortunately we’ve had a couple of very wet winters and Mono Lake is receiving the water it needs for now. But with the growing demand of a rapidly expanding and thirsty west, its future remains uncertain.

Cliff and blocks of columnar basalt at Devil’s Postpile, Devil’s Postpile National Monument, California

This small national monument near Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada is celebrating its centennial this week. It was spared a watery burial one hundred years ago today when congress saved it from a proposed dam on July 6, 1911.

Its unusual basalt columns are the by-product of an ancient lava lake, which rapidly formed and then cooled leaving behind the perfectly shaped hexagonal pillars that make up the cliff. The constant force of winter freeze and thaw is slowly eroding the formation, and the symmetrical blocks that look as though they were snapped together are littered at its base like a child’s building blocks.

The road to the monument, which is closed in winter but easily accessible the rest of the year, is just past the Mammoth Mountain ski area and is also the jumping off point for the popular Minarets and Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Evening light on Lembert Dome and the Tuolumne River, Yosemite National Park, California
(click image for larger view)

It’s always nice when the stars align and this year in the Sierra Nevada they’ve done just that. Today is the summer solstice – the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. And in celebration, the National Park Service is waiving the entrance fee for all 58 parks in the country. Even better, if you live near or are visiting Yosemite, the Tioga Pass road into the high country has finally been cleared of snow opening up the pristine Tuolumne Meadows area for the first time this year.

Fall aspens along Bishop Creek, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

The digital age has opened up a whole new realm of possible solutions from HDR (High Dynamic Range) to stitched panoramas, and filters have always been invaluable in controlling and shaping the light just as much in the digital realm as in the days of film.

With all of these techniques available it’s easy to lose focus, to put the cart before the horse so to speak, and attempt to “shoot for HDR” or push a filter to its limits. As with the constant temptation to buy the latest camera or software, we need to remember that it’s not about the gear or the technique, but the vision. That’s the essence of creative photography and yet often misplaced amid all of the many possibilities.

No matter what the future may bring our most important tool as photographers will always be our mind’s eye, and the equipment in our bag or on our desktop is just a means of  helping the viewer connect with what we felt emotionally when we made the image.