Kebler Pass offers a beautiful drive between Crested Butte, Colorado and Paonia State Park to the south. While it is a popular drive in Autumn, when the leaves display their gold brilliance, it offers plenty of photographic opportunities any time of the year.

This scenic image of Medicine Lake and its surrounding landscape was taken in Alberta, Canada.

Although the mood is calm and peaceful, nature was not at rest. While creating foreground shadows, reflections in the lake and the patterns on the distant mountain, there was so much to appreciate from this gift to the soul.

Highway 93 connects the city of Jasper, Alberta and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. Known as the Icefields Parkway it has many photographic opportunities. Most notable are Bow Lake, Mistaya Canyon, Maligne Lake, Athabasca Glacier and pictured here: Herbert Lake.

The best time to photograph the lake is in the morning. From the south end of the lake the reflections can create an interesting drama and the air is still. For several days the sky was clear and cloudless which may be fine for a color image with a polarizer filter, but, in black and white a clear blue sky is rather uninteresting. Finally, on day four the clouds appeared and we were back at the lake. I had pre-scouted the area and knew just where I needed to be. Setting up my Gitzo tripod on the muddy shoreline was tricky, and I needed to shore up the front leg of my tripod with a rock to avoid having it slowly sink while I made the exposure.

I wanted to maintain the details in the shadows across the lake in pine trees. I metered these at EV 9 and the clouds on EV 15. This meant I would be reducing my development to a minus one.

A yellow filter was used to created gentle contrast in the sky. I preferred the yellow since an orange would darken the pines too much. My exposure was ½ sec at f-22. I used my Rodenstock 210 Lens.

Jackson Lake WY - Cat #714

I know Oxbow Bend is a more popular location to photograph, but, on this trip to the Tetons I could not resist the backlit clouds over Jackson Lake. I made this image at 7pm during the first week of September. The sky was still rather bright and would not produce the image I had in mind.

While I was thinking about a horizontal or possibly a panorama print I selected my 180mm lens for my 5 x 7 camera. This format is a bit more conducive to the panoramic format than the slightly more square 4 x 5 or 8 x 10 format.

I was using Kodak Tri-X and the bright backlit clouds measured 17.7 Ev. The trees on the right measured Ev12- which I placed on Zone III. My exposure would have been f-45 @ 1/8 sec but I wanted the blue sky much darker. To add the contrast I installed a red filter on my lens. This filter requires a 3 stop exposure compensation which I adjusted with my shutter speed to 1 second. A slight tilt of the front lens ensured sharp focus of the image.

Since my Ev (exposure value) was 5 ½ stops I slightly reduced my development in D-76 1:1. Tray development was used since I did not have my Jobo processor at the time. I now use D-76 straight in the Jobo.

My printing process includes Ilford FB glossy fiber paper. Slight burning in the top right and dodging on the bottom gave me the image I was looking for. To finish the processing of the prints I selenium tone them for permanence.

The Valley of Five Lakes in Jasper Canadian Rockies

First of Five Lakes – Canadian Rockies #716-M2

The Valley of Five Lakes in Jasper Canadian Rockies is a beautiful three mile hike that takes you around five individual lakes. The first of the five lakes is the largest with a number of photographic opportunities.

We began our hike shortly before sunrise, while the air was cool and the lake was warm. There was a fog moving gently across the surface of the lake, slightly obscuring the beautiful reflections. While, I was walking around the south end of the lake I began to see a number of possible compositions. With the use of my viewing card I began to isolate an image. I selected a lower angle of view to include the foreground rocks which placed the horizon on the top third of the frame. As I set- up my view camera I selected the 250mm lens which allowed me to frame the image with the trees on the right and left sides of the composition. A slight tilt of the front lens allowed me to keep the foreground rocks in focus as well as the distant trees and mountains.

I based my exposure on darker pines on the left of the image. An Ev (exposure value) of 11 placed on zone III - is equivalent to f-32 @ 1/15th of a second using Ilford HP-5 film. I wanted to increase the contrast in the sky so I selected an orange filter. This is a two-stop filter so I adjusted me exposure to ¼ sec.

This was a nice way to start of the day in Jasper.

I composed the image to crop the top of the arch after arriving early n the morning to set-up my 5 x 7 view camera. While waiting for the sun to highlight the foreground landscape I metered the highlights in the sky, which measured an EV of 15, the darker shadows measured an EV of 9.5. I used an orange filter to darken the sy and brighten the foreground. The light values changed rapidly, from 2 seconds to 1/2 of a second.

I had to move quickly, but, I was able to make 2 exposures on Kodak T-Max film.

The film was developed in Kodak D-76.

Season's Greetings!



May your holiday be filled with the warmth of love from family and friends,
the sound of joyous laughter
and the dulcet sounds of the season.

Have a wonderful Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

This scene from Yosemite Valley caught my interest for a few reasons. 
Not only did I appreciate the delicate nature of the full trees. I also thought the branches on the ground at the base of the tree added a nice balance to the tree top.
Also, the rock wall behind the trees added a nice contrast to the graceful nature of the scene.

This area on the Merced River caught my eye due to the various textures in nature.

The photograph is created using either a  5x7" or 8x10" view camera using Ilford sheet film. The film is processed in D-76 mixed 1:1.

Each fine art print is made by hand using traditional wet darkroom techniques,
using an 8 x 10" enlarger and Ilford fiber based, silver gelatin, double weight paper.

The prints are double fixed and selenium toned for longevity.  They are then washed in a vertical print washer to completely eliminate any residue.  
Prints are carefully allowed to dry for two days.  
Next, each print is float mounted on museum quality archival mat boards with acid-free mounting tissue, and an archival museum quality overlay mat.  
Although each print takes a considerable amount of time and meticulous effort, this archival printing and mounting process is the only way to ensure print permanence and collectability.
Give it proper care and your print will last hundreds of years without fading.

My signature and the print number are visible on the mount board, below the print.
 Prints are limited to 50 per edition.

I found the delicate flowers and interesting contrast against the old wooden fence. Along with the soft and delicate blossoms leaning against the old coarse wood.

The photograph is created using either a  5x7" or 8x10" view camera using Ilford sheet film. The film is processed in D-76 mixed 1:1.

Each fine art print is made by hand using traditional wet darkroom techniques, using an 8 x 10" enlarger and Ilford fiber based, silver gelatin, double weight paper.

The prints are double fixed and selenium toned for longevity.  They are then washed in a vertical print washer to completely eliminate any residue.  Prints are carefully allowed to dry for two days.  Next, each print is mounted on museum quality archival mat boards with acid-free mounting tissue, and an archival museum quality overlay mat.   Although each print takes a considerable amount of time and meticulous effort, this archival printing and mounting process is the only way to ensure print permanence and collectability. Give it proper care and your print will last hundreds of years without fading.

My signature and the print number are visible on the mount board, below the print. Prints are limited to 50 per edition.

Buck Canyon is located near Monticello, Utah.
The canyons below were carved out by the Colorado River, over thousands of years. This spectacular view faces east towards the LaSal Mountain Range.

The photograph is created using either a  5x7" or 8x10" view camera using Ilford sheet film. The film is processed in D-76 mixed 1:1.

Each fine art print is made by hand using traditional wet darkroom techniques,
using an 8 x 10" enlarger and Ilford fiber based, silver gelatin, double weight paper.

The prints are double fixed and selenium toned for longevity.  They are then washed in a vertical print washer to completely eliminate any residue.  
Prints are carefully allowed to dry for two days.  
Next, each print is float mounted on museum quality archival mat boards with acid-free mounting tissue, and an archival museum quality overlay mat.  
Although each print takes a considerable amount of time and meticulous effort, this archival printing and mounting process is the only way to ensure print permanence and collectability.
Give it proper care and your print will last hundreds of years without fading.

My signature and the print number are visible on the mount board, below the print.
 Prints are limited to 50 per edition.

13 out of 27. It's a good thing TripAdvisor isn't handing out grades, because Herbert Lake would be getting an exceptionally undeserved F minus.

It's a little easier to understand when the competition is the surrounding Canadian Rockies. There is no shortage of natural beauty here, and it has been one of my favorite places to visit and revisit over the years. Apparently I'm not alone.  In the past, one could simply show up and find a room wherever you thought you'd like to spend a day or two.  On a recent trip, however, my companion and I were surprised to find nearly all the hotels in the region totally sold out!  We did find one eventually.

Keep your eyes open for Herbert Lake if you're ever cruising up the Icefield Parkway (the drive alone is a bucket list item). Especially at dawn before the day catches up to it, the lake is like glass and makes reflection images like this one possible.  There's something about the water here - it's just so crystal clear that even compared to other still waters these Banff lakes really know how to shine.

This image was created in the morning, using MY 5X7 Deardorff view camera and a 450 lens.I used a yellow filter and T-Max 64 Film.  Exposure was F22 at1/2  second.  Development was  +1. The low zone of the shade in the pines was 9 and
the high zone of the yellow grass was13.