Shoot for the moon

The full moon may provide an excuse for all sorts of crazy activities, but it can also provide an extra special element to landscape photographs. Here are some tips for capturing the moon as a part of a landscape image.

A bright and dusty sky

Every so often, there's a comet that's so bright it can light up the night sky. But a couple times a year, comets that have long since passed by, or maybe even disintegrated entirely, can light up the night sky, too.

The phenomenon is called the Zodiacal Light and it's the result of a giant cloud of comet dust that stretches from Mercury to Jupiter. It's about as bright as the Milky Way and it's visible with the naked eye about two hours before sunrise in the fall; two hours after sunset in the spring.

The edge of a storm

Blue skies are fine for travel brochures, but my favorite landscape images have an element of drama. And they're captured at what I call the edge of a storm.

I'm not talking about anything as extreme as hurricanes or severe thunderstorms. Photographing right at the edge of an approaching rain storm or right as the storm is breaking up can give your landscapes extra punch. The dramatic red clouds of a passing storm can allow you to make a unique image even from a popular national park photo spot.

There were no osprey in 1941

While walking along the shore of Mono Lake in California, I saw an osprey fly overhead with a giant stick firmly locked in its talons. Not only was I surprised to see an osprey there, I was stunned it would even nest in the area.

The scientific name for osprey translates to "fish eagle." Mono Lake, however, is so salty that only brine shrimp live in its waters.

Cloudy skies, clear perspective

Someone who knows I'm a nature photographer, but isn't one himself, recently asked me what I do on cloudy days.

"On a day like today," he said, gesturing out a window toward the gray sky, "what would you photograph? Anything?"

A waterfall of murres

I've seen plenty of waterfalls, but until recently, I had never seen a "waterfall of murres." That's how friends of mine in Cannon Beach, Oregon, describe a truly wondrous nature show that takes place this time of year on the nearby Chapman Point.

Moving to eliminate distractions

Why is it that some people feel the need to carve their name into everything? I realize the cavemen did it, but they didn't have Facebook and DrawSomething.

Whatever the reason, the work of a modern day caveman was squarely in the middle of a scene I wanted to photograph.