In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Jun 25, 2023 | Light and Weather, Vision and Creativity
Redwoods, ferns, and rhododendrons, northern California coast. I’ve photographed sun breaking through fog in redwood forests many times, but it’s always a special treat. At this particular moment the sun highlighted the redwood trunk on the left, providing a visual focal point, with the ferns, rhododendrons, other trunks, and patches of sunlight all arranging themselves in a harmonious way. I consciously planted the tripod at a spot where I could see decent spacing and separation between the trunks.
Claudia and I have been traveling a lot this year, with trips to Mono Lake, Zion, Valley of Fire, Anza-Borrego and the Central Coast ranges for flowers, the Olympic Peninsula, and multiple visits to Death Valley – along with day trips to Yosemite, of course.
And recently we made another trip, this time to the northern California redwoods for our annual workshop there. But even though that was a long drive, it seemed like we were coming home, rather than leaving home. I always feel that way when we return to the redwoods, because I love that area so much.
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by Michael Frye | Jun 8, 2023 | Composition
Sun setting in a temperate rainforest, Olympic NP, Washington
After our Death Valley workshop, wildflower odysseys, and quick trip to Tucson for the NANPA Summit, Claudia and I flew up to Seattle and drove to the Olympic Peninsula for the Out of Olympic photography conference.
That was such a fun event, with a great group of participants, and wonderful instructors. It was great to meet or reconnect with so many good people. And, as usual, the conference was really well organized by Chris Smith and his Out of Chicago team.
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by Michael Frye | May 25, 2023 | Travels and Stories
Desert candles above a flower-filled arroyo, Coast Ranges, California
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. We did a night-photography workshop in Death Valley in mid-April, which was really fun, with some great conditions. In early May I spoke at the NANPA Summit in Tucson, then immediately after that Claudia and I flew up to Washington for the Out of Olympic photography conference. Both those events were also lots of fun. We got to meet many wonderful people, connect with old friends, and photograph the beautiful rainforests and beaches of the Olympic Peninsula.
But meanwhile, all the winter rains in California had spawned an exceptional spring wildflower bloom, which we definitely wanted to see. So from early March to late April, sandwiched around our Death Valley workshop, and juggled with other events and projects, Claudia and I traveled to Antelope Valley, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and various locations in California’s Central Coast ranges.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 23, 2023 | Digital Darkroom, Video Tutorials
Lightroom’s Powerful New Denoise Tool
Adobe released major updates for Lightroom and Camera Raw last week (version 12.3 for Lightroom Classic, 6.3 for the cloud version or Lightroom, and 15.3 for Adobe Camera Raw). Lightroom Classic now has Curves in the Masking Panel, which I’ve been hoping to see for a long time. But I’ll talk about that later, because to me the most exciting news is the new AI-powered Denoise tool.
I’ve used most of the noise-reduction tools out there, but the new Denoise function in Lightroom and Camera Raw has quickly become my favorite. It’s not perfect, and it has limitations, but it’s performed minor miracles on some of my noisiest, most troublesome photos.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 4, 2023 | Announcements
Swirling dogwood blossoms, Yosemite
I hope to see some of you at the NANPA Summit in Tucson next month! The dates are May 4-6. I’ll be accepting NANPA’s Fine Art in Nature Photography Award (a great honor!), and giving a keynote presentation on the 4th. I have to fly up to Washington the next day for the Out of Olympic conference, but I hope I get the chance to say hi to some of you on the 4th.
There’s still time to register for the NANPA Summit, and it promises to be a great event. I’ve always enjoyed participating in these summits in the past, as there are lots of great speakers and events, and it’s a wonderful place to network and meet other like-minded people. This year’s speakers include Wendy Shattil, Daniel J. Cox, Gabby Salazar, Adam Schallau, Dave Showalter, and Greg Johnson. Quite a lineup!
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by Michael Frye | Apr 2, 2023 | Travels and Stories
Pool in a slot canyon, Valley of Fire SP, Nevada. Recent rains had filled this colorful little slot canyon with water.
After our wintry visit to Zion, Claudia and I opted to head for the warmer lands of Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. Valley of Fire has sandstone and red rocks, but the rocks are different from anything I’ve seen in Utah. Some are rusty red, full of holes and small arches. Other areas have amazing, multi-colored layers of pastel hues – yellow, purple, orange, and pink.
I didn’t expect to create moody, dramatic images in a place like Valley of Fire. If an opportunity for something like that presented itself, then sure, I’d take advantage of it, but that wasn’t why I went there. It was more about exercising my eye for color and design in a rocky playground, which for me is tons of fun. And isn’t that why we do photography – because it’s fun? It doesn’t have to be super serious all the time.
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by Michael Frye | Mar 26, 2023 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories
Cottonwood in snow, Zion NP, Utah
After escaping Mariposa’s snowmageddon, and spending a few days in Death Valley, Claudia and I decided to head for Zion. I’d never photographed Zion with snow, and snow was in the forecast. Well maybe. We drove there on a Monday, and it looked like some higher elevations could get a dusting of snow Monday night, followed by a more substantial storm, with colder temps, on Tuesday night. The question was whether it would be cold enough to snow on the floor of Zion Canyon. That seemed iffy, but odds were decent enough to make it worth trying.
We arrived just before sunset on Monday, with enough time to drive up into Zion Canyon before dark. While we’ve been to this park many times, it had been a long time since we’d visited the main Zion Canyon, because most of the year it’s only accessible by shuttle bus, which isn’t very conducive to photography. But during the winter (outside of holidays) you can drive in. And it was great to be back. It’s such a spectacular place.
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by Michael Frye | Mar 18, 2023 | Night Photography
Clouds lit by the setting moon, Death Valley NP, California
The night after the rainstorm cleared during our recent visit to Death Valley, the half-full moon was due to set around midnight, and I thought there might be an opportunity to photograph an interesting moonset if the clouds lingered.
Claudia and I ate dinner at our campsite, slept for about an hour, then I got up and checked the weather. Things looked promising, with clouds, but not too many. So we headed to a spot looking over the badlands toward the lowering moon.
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by Michael Frye | Mar 12, 2023 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories
Snowy mountain above salt flats, Death Valley NP, California
I love winter, and I love snow. But when Claudia and I learned that our house might get two or more feet of snow during the last weekend of February we knew things might get difficult.
We’ve lived in our house in Mariposa since 2005, and several times have received eight inches of snow, and once even got ten inches. Our road and driveway don’t get plowed, and feature a couple of steep hills, but with high clearance and four-wheel-drive we can get in and out with eight or ten inches of snow. But not more than that. With two feet of snow we’d be stuck for awhile.
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by Michael Frye | Feb 19, 2023 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories
Frosted cottonwood, Mono Lake, California
In winter, Mono Lake sometimes gets socked in with fog. Locally it’s called “poconip” fog, though it’s more widely known in parts of the western U.S. as “pogonip” fog (an English corruption of a Paiute word).
The Mono Basin can get quite cold in winter. But Mono Lake never freezes, due to its high concentrations of salt. So on cold nights relatively warm, moist air rises off the surface of the lake, meets that colder surrounding air, cools, and the moisture (water vapor) condenses into microscopic water droplets, forming a low-level cloud – in other words, fog.
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