My trip to California ended on the coast and having the opportunity to once again visit Pfeiffer Beach in the Big Sur area and the arched rock formation that stands just offshore. Waiting for the sun to lower on the horizon, a wonderful orange glow was cast on the rocks along the beach.

My trip ended with a first time visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which turned out to be an exceptional photographic experience. The jellyfish exhibit is truly extraordinary and quite beautiful.

On my recent visit to California, I returned to Yosemite National Park, a place I had not seen in over 10 years. My visit this time occurred during the recent Rim Fire which threatened the park and was contained by the heroic efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The smoke from the fire drifted into the Yosemite valley and provided some very different photographic opportunities. The image above shows the early morning sunlight cutting through the hanging smoke above the valley floor.

The smoke filtered the afternoon sun and cast a very warm light on the trees for several hours. The photograph of the tress below was taken during these “magic hours”.

Near the end of my visit to Yosemite, most of the smoke had cleared out and I had the chance to photograph the famous Cathedral Rocks reflecting off of the Merced River.

In September, I spent 10 days in California, going from the eastern part of the state (Tahoe Lake, Mono Lake, Yosemite) then moving south (Kings Canyon, Sequoia) and finally heading to the west and the coast of the Pacific (Monterrey, Big Sur). It was my first visit to Mono Lake and the chance to photograph the unusual tufa formations along the edge of the water. The image above was taken on the northwestern side of the lake just after sunset.

Nearby to Mono Lake is the ghost town of Bodie. A town created out of the California gold rush and at one time, home to over 10,000 residents, but now abandoned and preserved as a state park. The photo below shows one the remaining buildings that offer wonderful photographic compositions.

Near Bishop, CA, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest holds some of the oldest living organisms in the world. The twisted trunks and branches of these oldsters are both fascinating and beautiful.

Another fantastic workshop in Mount Rainier National Park where the light, mountains, flowers and water combined for beautiful scenery. The image above was taken as the sun set on the Tatoosh Range. The warm light was fantastic.

The next morning, Mount Rainier looked magnificent in the photograph below reflecting in a small stream that feeds a nearby lake.

The flowers were abundant all over the park and I found this nice grouping along a mountain stream flowing with water from a glacier on the mountain.

The last morning of the workshop provided a nice layer of fog along the range and once again, great light on the mountains and the flower covered meadows.

More images from my recent visit to Mount Rainier NP can be seen by clicking here.

I attended a JKPW workshop in Grand Teton National Park. The weather was hot but the morning and sunset shoots were spectacular. The iconic Teton range behind the Moulton barn on Mormon Row is a classic shot in this park. The morning sky provided great light on this scene.

The daytime temperatures were in the 90s and wildlife sightings were fewer than normal but herds of bisons were still seen in the park’s meadows.

There were nice displays of yellow, white and blue flowers around the park. The image below was taken along Oxbow Bend with Mt. Moran in the distance.

To see more images from my Tetons trip click here.

For a nature photographer, it is hard to beat the incredible scenery of Iceland with its majestic mountains, wonderful waterfalls, geo-thermal features and glacial ice dotted coastlines. My first visit there in late May gave me a taste of the landscape and left me wanting to return in the near future. The long days of late spring, where it never really got dark, provided many hours of photography (as long as you remembered to sleep at some point during the day!).

The picture above was taken along the southeastern coast of Iceland near the Jokulsarion Lagoon, just after sunset, with the waters of the Atlantic rushing up among the pieces of ice on the black sand beach.

The landscape of southern Iceland has many mountain vistas, and an almost endless number of waterfalls everywhere you look.

At daybreak, a beautiful pastel colored scene occurred within the lagoon, filled with amazing shapes of ice that had calved off the nearby glacier. It certainly makes a strong argument for returning to this incredible place and experiencing more that Iceland has to offer. My thanks to Jennifer King Photography Workshops for guiding this trip. An album of additional images can be found at this link.

Spring is one of the best times to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The new green leaves on the trees, the flowers blooming everywhere and the full streams from the winter snow and spring rains make for some wonderful photography. I probably spent the majority of my recent visit photographing the streams and waterfalls (a personal favorite of mine). The image above was taken at an often photographed location in the Tremont area of the park.

Of course, when you are in the Smokies, you will have plenty of opportunity to capture the “smoke” this park is famous for.

What I enjoy most about the spring is the the fantastic green color that appears everywhere. It is a welcome sight that follows the grays of winter! More photos from GSMNP are here and for information on other Smoky mountains photography workshops, click here.