A Sense of Mystery : Michael Frye Photography

Trail through redwoods in fog, northern California coast

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be joining Nic Stover’s Nature Photography Classes again for their Winter Speaker Series. This series is focused on “Discovering the Mood and Mystery in Our Images,” and includes three sessions: Franka Gabler, with “Conveying Mood and Capturing the Essence,” on February 26th; Michele Sons, with “The Art of Fog,” on March 5th; and then I’ll be presenting “A Sense of Mystery,” on March 11th.

I decided to talk about mystery because I think this is an essential but often-overlooked component of successful landscape photographs. Brett Weston once said, ” Unless a landscape is invested with a sense of mystery, it is no better than a postcard.” And that rings true with me. Evocative images don’t just show what something looks like; they convey a mood, or feeling, or surprise the viewer in some way. And they don’t necessarily show everything. It’s often more intriguing to show part of something, and let the viewer imagine the rest. Images with a strong emotional impact also usually suggest something bigger and more universal than the particular subject matter of the image.

I’m looking forward to discussing this topic in depth on March 11th, and showing how you can add a dash of mystery to your photographs to create more intriguing and evocative images. And I’m looking forward to Franka and Michele’s presentations. They’re both outstanding photographers, so I know their talks will be great, and it’ll be interesting to hear their perspectives.

You can sign up for any of the sessions individually for $17 each, or get all three for $47. And 10% of the proceeds go to individual charities chosen by the speaker (I’ve chosen the Yosemite Conservancy). Click here to learn more or sign up:

Winter Speaker Series from Nature Photography Classes

I hope to see you on March 11th!

— Michael Frye

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He lives near Yosemite National Park in California, but travels extensively to photograph natural landscapes in the American West and throughout the world.

Michael uses light, weather, and design to make photographs that capture the mood of the landscape, and convey the beauty, power, and mystery of nature. His work has received numerous awards, and appeared in publications around the world. He’s the author and/or principal photographer of several books, including Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, and The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.

Michael loves to share his knowledge of photography through articles, books, workshops, online courses, and his blog. He’s taught over 200 workshops focused on landscape photography, night photography, digital image processing, and printing.