Battle Born
Logan Pass has always been a battleground. Over thousands of years, glaciers have carved out some of the most magnificent mountain peaks in North America. With relentless winters that allow for only a small window for life, survival here is tough. And this year even more so—drought conditions, forest fires, a nearly non-existent water flow, even the flowers were, for the most part, long gone all due to the lack of snowfall this past winter. Even in such harsh conditions, life still perseveres. This evening, on our second trip up to Logan Pass, we were rewarded with interesting cloud cover mixed with a smokey haze from the fires—resulting in some interesting light. I’ve always wanted to capture Clements Mountain with it’s unique, castle-like appearance and this was my chance! My daunting search to find a foreground began… I finally came across this lonely patch of flowers that was somehow still in full bloom. My goal was to create depth in the scene by getting extremely close to the flowers, making them appear as large as possible. I positioned the angle of the camera to where the flowers would lead the eye up through the mid-ground to the mountain. So, with a few passers-by wondering what the hell I was doing with my face and camera buried in this cluster, I took a few series of shots of the foreground at 7 different focal points which I was able to blend in photoshop for sharpness throughout. The light was more intense at this point, allowing me to keep the shutter fast enough to freeze any flower movement. Then I waited a little longer for the right sky light to set in. The clouds made for some great patterns coming out from behind the mountain as the hazy glow intensified. The lens distortion at the top of the frame helped lengthen the mountain and cloud lines.

Vortex
Movement set in stone. The incredible textures, patterns and colors emerge when the right light is in play.

Journey
I am thankful to be able to make it out to these remote locations. It’s almost always worth the journey when you get to have moments like this to yourself to reflect. Here at Toroweap, when you're standing on a 3000' ledge overlooking the Colorado River, you can't help but feel the power of nature. At this time of year, the sun aligns with the river at sunrise. An incredible place.

Forged
The other worldly landscapes found in the Badlands of New Mexico under an amazing sunset sky.

Sandstorm
Some landscapes just leave you speechless standing there. Here I was speechless from the amount of sand I was choking on. Nonetheless, when that sun crept closer to the horizon, that sandstorm glow was a shooting experience I’ll never forget. When I saw that weather report with 30+mph winds there was no question where I needed to be. Goggles, facemask, earplugs...check! Some of my favorite times out on the dunes.

Bows and Arrows
Morning light falls on the rock patterns of a unique Utah landscape. The colors and striations here are other worldly. This arrowhead pattern caught my eye, leading to the first light on the triangles of the range. A bow of clouds hangs above while minutes later rainbows faintly formed on the horizon. An incredible morning at an incredible place.

Cosmic Canyon
Standing alone on the edge of the Grand Canyon with the Milky Way moving across the sky is an experience I won't forget. No picture can capture the magnitude of this scene and the scale of the massive rock wall, Cape Royal, extending out into the distance. And at night with billions of stars above, a 2500 foot abyss below, sitting in peaceful silence, I'm in awe of our amazing planet and how good life really is... The lights of the South Rim glow on the horizon.

Candyland
The Badlands of New Mexico are more like The Candylands with chocolate hoodoos and marshmallow rivers all topped with multi colored chocolate chips — the geology here is really interesting. At sunset I climbed up to one of the higher points to scope out my surroundings. Here I positioned myself so the hoodoo foreground would lead up the riverbed to the giant candy corn on the horizon.

Fortress
Love when those storms blow in—dramatic clouds and crazy waves at this unique and remote lake in California. These are natural columnar formations standing about 12 feet high. The winds from the storm created 4 foot waves that afternoon. This is a vertical pano consisting of 4 shots due to my proximity to the wall and wanting to include more of that swirling cloud, I chose a black and white presentation to enhance the drama.

Unity
The incredible Sunwapta Falls in Jasper National Park right after sunset with moonrise.

Lightbender

Milky Wave
Out in the Canadian wilderness, with a new moon, the dark skies lit up with a million stars. With the aurora forecasted at a Kp 6 we were hopeful for a nice display. On the horizon we saw huge vertical green bands and then noticed this faint wave bowing over our heads and for about a half hour the green band moved in below creating a unique and colorful display across the Milky Way. It was astro-overload and I loved every minute of it! It's truly mind-blowing to see the universe in action.

Lava Coast
The powerful ocean waves crash against the amazing lava rock shoreline of Queen's Bath in Northern Kauai, Hawaii

Earth Angel
Do you see her? Her golden profile, center frame with her head tilted down. The walls on both sides lit like her wings? I saw this almost immediately when I walked through this section of the lesser known Canyon X in Page, Arizona. It was all about the timing too with how the lighting fell on this scene. As my first slot canyon experience I immediately fell in love with the colors, light and textures here. Such a unique and surreal place. Got a chance to play around with some light beams and abstract shots here too—and the best part—had the place all to ourselves.

DUNESDAY
I’ve shot in difficult conditions before but this day was a whole different ballgame. Sitting in our car, we were debating on if we should even head out into this monstrous glowing cloud of sand that had completely engulfed the Mesquite dunes of Death Valley. You couldn’t see a thing. Of course, lacking any sort of suitable gear for constant 40+ mph winds, I pulled my buff over my entire face and put my sunglasses on and wrapped my camera in my plastic rain sleeve and went for it. WOW, not only was I mostly blind from my homemade facemask, the blowing sand and deafening wind was absolutely nuts. We must have looked like blind zombies roaming out into the dunes. It was slow going and we couldn’t hear each other at all. A few times we’d walk into dip in the dune that funneled all the wind right through it and we’d have to turn back. I can’t even guess how fast that wind was. I laughed at the thought of trying to set up my tripod so I just turned into the wind and started firing away with my 70-200mm. Interestingly, the wind was so powerful it had carved up the dunes and you can see some of the deep cuts revealing the deeper wet patterns in the sand from the rains weeks before. In no time the sun crept behind the mountains thanks to our speedy arrival. Literally choking on sand at this point, we headed back. It took a week to get the sand out of our eyes and teeth and lungs. It gave me a weird sinus sound to my voice which was a nice touch. Just the experience alone makes it one of the more memorable photo ops I’ve ever had.

Silver Lining
A few hours after sunset on the peaceful Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes of Death Valley. A perfect night under the stars as color of the dunes cool down.

Bandon Bells
A nice patch of calla lilies overlooking the unique seastacks of Bandon Beach. 4-stitch panoramic.

Elowah
One of the more elegant and impressive looking waterfalls in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge—Elowah Falls. The flow was just right to catch some nice water movement in the foreground with a slightly longer exposure.

Dark Seal
The Oregon coastline just after sunset. Seal Rock, where the compositions change by the minute with the rising and falling tide, revealing interesting formations like this one. So many options to choose from. Longer 4 second exposure here and obviously other shots for the birds.

Drawn Together
In my attempt to try and find something unique at this popular location, I decided to go with a twilight shot. I was crouching down and crawling all over this place until I came across this spot, and from about 2 feet off the ground was just able to sneak in that top branch above Hood and with the branches almost reaching for each other, it framed the barn and mountain just right.

King of Sands
Sunset on the Mesquite Dunes of Death Valley.

Rowena
Sunrise at Rowena Crest in Oregon.

Desert Gold
Sunrise at Balanced Rock.

Big Texas
6 stitch panoramic during a jaw-dropping sunset at the top of Lost Mines Trail.

Zabriskie Dawn
Manly Beacon at Zabriskie Point before sunrise with the moon setting over the mountains.

The Battle Between Light and Darkness
The amazing colors of Hawaii. This evening in Hawaii, after walking forever along the shore, I came across some interesting rocks with some brightly colored lichen growing on it. I decided to make my stand here, and glad I did. The tide was just right to get some nice movement in the water as it surged up to my little rock perch. The sky exploded with the most beautiful sunset. I took a few shots to capture various water movements and blended that foreground shot in with my sky exposure taken a few seconds later.

Flow
Another day at Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park. I had some interesting clouds to work with and actually was able to use the marine layer to my advantage (along with the seastack) as it helped block the intensity of the sun and create a nice soft light thoughout the image. I used a 1/3 sec shutter to capture various movements in the water and then made sure I correctly exposed for the sky. My feet were frozen by the end of this one. In post I combined my favorite water pattern with the correct sky. I added a soft graduated filter effect and evened out the tones to enhance the nice soft light look and feel. more info

Cloaked

Born Again
The church that overlooks the small town of Vik in southern Iceland. Lupines bloom in June here.

Fire Watch
Walking back from Hidden Lake in the dark, we were greeted with a huge full moon rising from behind the mountains. To the naked eye, you could see the faint smoke plume over St. Mary’s from the forest fires we had been dealing with all week. After setting up a couple quick test shots, I realized that a full 30-second exposure revealed this incredible red glow from fires illuminating the smoke. I set up to where I could use the nice moonlight reflections that accentuated the flowing stream as my foreground. The smokey haze created a warmer moonlight than usual. This is one, 30-second exposure that I was able to pull a ton of detail out of the darkness and another exposure for the moon detail and another star shot.

Hidden Lake
It was a long week out in Glacier National Park, dodging fires, escaping the smoke and hunting for clouds—tough even finding flowing water and flowers. With apparently just 15% of snowfall this past winter, drought conditions were in full effect—flowers were long gone for the most part and creek beds were nearly dry. This evening though, we were able to get out from most of the smokey haze and catch some nice, interesting light up at Logan Pass. This is Hidden Lake at the foot of Bearhat Mountain. The search for foreground life led me to this spot where I was able to get a slight sideview angle on the mountain and some greater depth out to the horizon. Blended around 6 shots to get sharpness throughout. With Going to the Sun road closed I was worried we weren’t going to be able to make it up here. Was incredible to finally see it—a photographer’s dream.

Winner: World Expeditions Photo Contest “I chose this as the overall winner because in my honest opinion it has all the visual impact a winning shot should possess. The composition is spot on with great fore- ground elements leading the viewers eyes into the scene. The low placement of the camera helps the viewers feel like he/she is on location. Both light and location are absolutely magical and shot at the perfect time of the day. Processing is also very well done. Bravo..well deserved First place.” – Patrick Di Fruscia
“This image just jumped off the screen and made me want to be standing in that very spot at the moment the photo was taken. There is a magic to this shot that inspires me to dream of places too beautiful for words. The editing is beautifully done and there was obvious thought put into the framing and camera placement. This photograph fit in perfectly with the title of the contest. I can’t think of any photographer that wouldn’t want to go on a world expedition to this stunning location. Congrats Ryan, I look forward to seeing what you can do with your new Fujifilm lens!” – Ken Kaminesky
Won Runner Up in Alluring Landscapes Photo Contest
Won Contest Finalist in Image of the Year Photo Contest by Snapfish

Synapse

Fishing For A Dream
North Shore Kauai: Perched on this rock ledge over the ocean was an one of my favorite experiences shooting in Hawaii. It was a show. The waves were crushing the rocks and dousing everything in their path—including me. The water flowing off of the rocks was a long-exposure dream scenario—not to mention the nuclear bomb of a sky. Now I know there is a lot going on here—sun-bomb atmosphere, Bali Hai in the distance, crashing waves, warm and cool tones, water movement overload in the rocks and why not a fisherman. Hey, hopefully it keeps the eye involved in the scene. But I think the overall composition does work, although weighted on the left, the wave to the right helps hold it all together. In post I carefully blended my sky exposure and focus on the distance with my favorite foreground shot of the rocks and water. This was a 1.3 second exposure at f/14, ISO 100.

What Lies Beneath
Hawaii—Land of unbelievable sunrises and sunsets. However, I was consistently finding no interesting light at these times due to the cloud layer on the horizon. It blocked any intense color from coming through. This morning I woke up for a sunrise on the northernmost point of Kauai, Kilauea. I was actually one peninsula over above Rock Quarry beach. Got out there before sunrise and again, it was totally blocked in. I waited and enjoyed the crashing waves. I found a series of tide pools with some nice marine life like this one that were still as glass. After waiting an hour the light started breaking through the clouds creating some really nice atmosphere. I was pretty close to the water here, trying to see if I could catch some of the fish and rock detail in the tide pool. I fired multiple shots to get the right exposure in the sky and freeze some nice wave movement.

Beacon
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Only In Dreams II
The unbelievable lupine bloom in Iceland in June. This was taken in northern Iceland in the small town of Húsavik at around 2:00am. An incredible sight.

Brúará
Perched alone on this edge, in the dark afterglow, standing in the water, with it flowing all around me was a surreal experience I will never forget and a personal highlight for me on my Iceland trip. I guess that’s why I went with the more surreal look. I felt like this composition in combination with the sky light captured some of the magic of amazing place. And I feel the longer you stare at it the more details come out and the tones balance out more. This was taken on Saturday, June 21—summer solstice—when the sun bounces off the horizon, never setting. Was taken after midnight and the glow in the sky was just gorgeous—like I had never seen before. Had been raining all day and I came back at night for some long exposure action. All the moisture and mist in the air allowed for the most interesting, even, saturated glow across the sky right when the sun ducked below the cloud layer for a short time.

Origins
A 20 second exposure and a different angle of the popular Seljalandsfoss in southern Iceland. Used a 10-stop ND filter. Some color cast in this one but along with the long exposure I chose to keep it looking dreamy and different.

Rush
Got some of my best light here at Godafoss (Waterfall of the Gods) in northern Iceland. This was taken at around midnight in June and the water level was higher than expected probably due to the beginning of the summer melt. This made it hard to find any sort of foreground as most rocks were completely covered. I hugged the left side cliff and worked my way up very close. I was soaked but luckily captured this shot with nice water movement and a rock up front.

Midnight Sun Romance
After hours spent on the Stokksnes Peninsula photographing Mt. Vestrahorn, it was tough to wrap it up and call it an evening with the light being some of the best we’d had all trip. But as Natalie and I drove back out on the one gravel road, I couldn’t resist stopping one more time to capture this moment. The cloud cover was to die for—incredibly fierce, vibrant glow everywhere. My two models made the scene that much more beautiful. Throughout our trip around the Ring Road, we’d be accompanied by the unique Icelandic horse—often paired up just like this, rubbing on each other, probably to keep warm and itch. They were always very friendly—running up to us at times—and they really were a staple of Iceland’s landscape and something we will always remember about this country. For this shot I quietly got out of the car, walked up the road and setup my tripod. I was trying to move quickly before this perfect composition changed. Luckily, it seemed the horses were in late night relaxation mode so I was able to take a few shots before they moved. Wish I could’ve got the other horse to lift it’s head though but didn’t have the angle. The difficulty here was the low light, the wind and the horse movement. I knew I’d have to blast up the ISO so my shutter speed would be fast enough to minimalize any blurring. So the first thing I wanted to make sure I got were the horses. Got lucky with this one—the only useable shot—with the wind obviously blowing I turned up the ISO to 800 to get a relatively sharp shot (other than the blowing tail and mane). I then immediately readjusted to a higher f-stop for more depth, lowered the ISO with a slightly longer shutter to get everything else correctly at f/14 1/13s ISO 250. In post, I painted in the sharper exposure of the horses where I needed to and used my usual methods involving luminosity masks and selective sharpening, etc. to complete it. more info

Hypnotize
The elusive Bruarfoss waterfall in Iceland. This place is not exactly easy to find—but I was not going to miss it. It is located in the very small town of Brekkuskogur on a main route from Thingnellir to Gullfoss… After searching for hours and finding the coordinates (64.264305, -20.515338), I was able to look on google satellite maps to pinpoint exactly where to turn, park and hike to the falls (message me if you want the details). I made one stop there in the morning to scout out the place and on my way back from my long day trip, I couldn’t pass up the sunset glow that was now breaking through the cloud cover. This was a 26mm shot from the bridge—enough to fit in the nice swirling pool of water at the bottom and still capture some sky. I took a few 1 second exposures at f/16, ISO100 to make sure I caught a few swirls that I liked. In post, I used multiple luminosity masks to adjust tones and contrasts throughout. Had to avoid doing much to the water, as it is already incredibly blue in person. All in all, this is a shot we’ve all seen before, but I’m glad I captured it in these conditions. more info

VestraLight
Vestrahorn mountain in Southeastern Iceland is an incredible place. I was lucky enough to experience it at around 11:00pm on this perfectly calm night—no wind, nice temperature and not a soul around. The cloud cover was somewhat misty which made for nice, unique lighting conditions. I got one good reflection shot (also on my page) and then booked it farther back just before the sun disappeared behind the range. Thought this compo was a little different using these mounds of grass with the last touches of sunlight to lead the eye into the scene. Contact me for purchase information.

Middle Earth
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon - There were a bunch of places throughout my trip to Iceland where I felt like I was on some fantasy planet. This canyon, in particular, seemed like it’s straight out of a fairytale—blue glacial water, sheer cliffsides, green mosses blanketing the landscape. The incredible spires and archways made it really feel other-worldly. We spent a long evening here hiking along the top of the cliffs and then of course it was time to go down into the canyon where I got a little more than I bargained for. So I brought a flying drone camera on this trip to Iceland shooting some stills but mostly video: ( http://exposurescape.com/aerial-iceland-flight-of-the-drone/ ). After a few previous successful flights in Iceland, I thought it would be a great idea to really test my piloting skills. With no GPS connection inside the canyon, and my confidence high, I took off filming upriver about 700ft. Long story short, the wind quickly took over and panic set in as I saw my drone fly out of sight towards a canyon wall. Then the fun part—a frantic run through multiple river crossings like I was Bear Grylls—completely soaked from the waist down. Luckily ended up crashing 5 feet from the river bank in some bushes. Took 30 minutes but I found it. And there I was wet, defeated and slightly cold, but my animalistic photography hunger set in as the sky was now getting some nice color. I took another half hour to get a few shots—and since I was already wet, I hopped right back into that river to get this shot. I knew I wanted to include these two dramatic cliff points on either side of the river so I went from there. As far as processing, I applied numerous luminosity masks to balance tones and colors throughout. I also selectively sharpened (and blurred) this image to enhance the fairytale atmosphere of this incredible place. Contact me for purchase information.

Flourish
Summer solstice when the sun touches the horizon, changes it's mind and heads back up. This was taken at that time right outside of Husavik in north Iceland in June when the lupine flowers are in full bloom. more info

The Proposal
The one and only Skogafoss. The night I proposed to my wife, Natalie. more info

Reflections of Vestrahorn
The peaceful and majestic mountain of Vestrahorn in southeast Iceland—an incredible location. This composition creates a nice balance between the warm and cool light tones on both sides with the cloud's spectrum of color connecting the two. more info

Streamline
The Pennybacker Bridge on Capital of Texas Highway overlooking Lake Austin in my hometown Austin, Texas. This 30 second exposure allowed for a colorful sunset glow and the lines of light from the moving cars. more info

Edge Of The World
The one and only Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina outside of El Calafate at the southern tip of South America. One of the world's only remaining progressing glaciers moving around 3 feet per day. The massive ice sheet is over 6km wide creating its own weather system with some serious weather fluctuations. The ice is constantly cracking, sounding like rifle shots, as huge pieces break off into a lake that is a color like I’ve never seen before. more info

Allure
The last light hits Lake Tenaya along the Toiga Pass just before this area closes down for the winter. A long exposure allowed for movement in the low, fast-flying clouds and helped calm the lake. more info

Field Of Dreams
During peak flower bloom in early August on the Paradise side of Mount Rainier there are endless fields of color. And when the light was just right, I captured this sunset and was lucky enough to have some great clouds as well. more info

Last Kiss
Mile marker 61 off the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur, California. I hiked to a farther point just in time for sunset and was able to capture the incredibly vibrant vegetation along the cliffs in October—like red lips kissing the sun goodbye. more info

Breaking
After days of rainy weather, I drove to the west side of the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii in search of the sun. The clouds finally broke letting slices of light through as it continued to storm in the distance. With a 1/3 of a second exposure, I was able to capture the movement in the wave. more info

Violet Crown
Peak flower bloom on the Sunrise side of Mount Rainier—and a rare calm sunset created a nice colored glow. more info

Harmony
The remote Isla Saona off the coast of the Dominican Republic. Part of a protected national park, this island is uninhabited and undeveloped making it a true, untouched paradise. One of the nicest beaches I have ever been to. The lines of the surf, wet beach, and beach horizon all draw the eye into the scene towards an incredible sunset focal point. more info