Saguaro cacti at night, Saguaro NP, AZ, USA

Last month Jim Harmer at Improve Photography interviewed me for his popular podcast, and that interview is now live. You can listen to the podcast directly on Jim’s site, or find it in iTunes.

One of the topics we discussed is creative ruts, and how to get out of them. I told the story of how I got out of such a rut in the early ’90s by experimenting with different subjects, techniques, and equipment. I used flash for the first time, which led me to trying flash at night, and eventually to my series of colorful, surreal, nighttime landscapes. The photograph above is perhaps the most recognizable image from that series, but you can see more examples here. (If you click on the thumbnails you’ll find descriptions of how each photograph was made.)

You’ll hear more in the podcast, including discussions about the photography business today, my style (or really, styles) of photography, processing vs. overprocessing, alternatives to HDR, light-painting, simplifying compositions, and more.

On another note, my article Creating Depth: Beyond the Wide-Angle Formula was featured in Extraordinary Vision, the photography magazine for the iPad. Most of you have probably read this piece before, so I mention it mainly just to recommend this magazine to iPad owners. It’s free, it’s beautifully designed, and has some excellent articles.

— Michael Frye

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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.