New Free Aurora in Glacier ebook and other November Updates π π«
Published about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
Hello Reader,
Greetings from the desert! We recently wrapped up our Death Valley Intimate Scenes Workshop, where the weather was beautiful and everyone captured images that were absolutely stunning! Seeing participants connect deeply with the desert's hidden beauty was a joy.
Now, we're gearing up for our upcoming Death Valley Black and White Workshop. During this brief break, we're taking time to explore, photograph, and recharge under the warm embrace of the Mojave sun.
In the meantime, I'm thrilled to share my latest free ebook, inspired by my night photographing the aurora borealis in Glacier National Park. You can find the download link below! These ebooks have been such a joy to create and share, and I'm already looking forward to releasing more in 2025.
I'm also excited to announce that my long-awaited 365 Project from 2022 will soon be available for those interested, and you can find details just below. It's been a labor of love to revisit that year-long creative journey and finally bring it to life for others to enjoy
As the year winds down, it feels like the perfect time to pause, reflect, and give thanks. I want to thank everyone for supporting this journey, for your kind words, and for your encouragement. Your support fuels my passion and allows me to continue sharing my connection with the natural world. I'm also thankful for my family, friends and colleagues.
I hope this holiday season offers you a chance to reflect on what you're thankful for and that you can find inspiration wherever you are. Take your camera, step outside, and immerse yourself in the season's beauty, whether golden deserts, snowy forests, or anything in between.
New Free ebook!
Beneath the Dancing Sky: A Night Under the Aurora in Glacier National Park
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I'm excited to share the release of my second free aurora ebook, which chronicles another unforgettable night spent photographing in Glacier National Park during a very strong and intense solar storm. If you had told me I would be fortunate to experience another strong solar storm and aurora months after the May storm, I wouldn't have dreamt of it. But, the past October brought that chance. This 42-page ebook is a visual and written journey through that night, featuring the images I captured and my reflections as I navigated the park, chasing the elusive beauty of the auroras.
I'm honored to have an image featured in Yellowstone Forever's 2025 Calendar!
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April's Image: My image of Porcelain Basin
I'm incredibly honored to have one of my images selected for Yellowstone Forever's 2025 Calendar! My image, Porcelain Springs, will represent April alongside eleven other stunning photos that showcase Yellowstone's beauty and diversity. Each image is paired with intriguing facts about the park's geology and ecology, offering a deeper connection to this remarkable landscape. Add a touch of Yellowstone's magic to your office or home while supporting a wonderful organization!
Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park, preserves the park's natural and cultural resources through education and philanthropy. By funding scientific research, conservation projects, and educational initiatives, Yellowstone Forever fosters a community of advocates devoted to ensuring the park's unique ecosystem endures for future generations.
I'm thrilled to finally announce the upcoming release of this long-awaited ebook, 'Captured Moments,' chronicling my photographic journey through every day of 2022. I held off on releasing it for many personal reasons (soon to be shared in an upcoming blog post), but now I'm ready!
Instead of a one-time release, I've decided to offer a unique, immersive experience. Starting January 1st, 2025, you'll receive a month's worth of inspiring images and thoughtful essays directly in your inbox as a PDF on the first day of each month. (Starting on 1/1/25 and emailed out on the first of each month thereafter until 12/1/25)
These ebooks will be completely free, as I want to share my creative journey and hopefully inspire yours. As a subscriber, you can sign up early before the official announcement later this year.
Thank you for your continued support, and I can't wait to share this journey with you!
Where curiosity bridges the gap between observation and the art of photography
The Magical Zodiacal Light π«
The Zodiacal Light shines in the sky above Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, in mid-January.
The zodiacal light is a soft, ethereal glow that appears in the night sky during early spring and through late fall. It is visible as a faint, triangular light extending upward from the horizon just after sunset or before dawn. Once thought to be leftover dust from the Big Bang, it's now been studied that this phenomenon is caused by sunlight scattering off tiny interplanetary dust particles that are concentrated within the solar system's plane, where planets and asteroids orbit the sun. These dust particles, remnants of ancient comet tails and asteroid collisions, form a thin, dispersed disk along the zodiacal plane. The zodiacal light is named after the zodiac, the band of twelve constellations that aligns with the ecliptic, the Sun's path across the sky over the year. This ecliptic also corresponds to Earth's orbital plane and essentially defines the plane of the Solar System, where the planets orbit. The light reflects off dust particles concentrated along this plane, creating a distinctive glow. Seen best in very dark, clear skies without light pollution, the zodiacal light has a mysterious, otherworldly quality, often mistaken for the light of the rising or setting sun (it has also been referred to as "false dawn.") The zodiacal light is best seen after sunset in the spring and before sunrise in the fall. β βTips for Photographing the Zodiacal Light this Time of Year:
π« While it's most visible around the spring and fall equinoxes, you can see it this time of year with the naked eye in a dark sky location, away from city lights, about 90 minutes after sunset in the western sky (in the same vicinity as where the sun sets.)
π« It will have a triangle wedge shape.
π« To photograph it, use your typical night settings using a tripod (roughly f2.8, 6400 ISO, and a fast enough shutter to minimize star trails (will depend on your focal length) β π« Look for exciting foregrounds to pair with it to enhance the "otherworldly" appearance. To minimize long foreground exposure noise and blend with your night shot of the zodiacal light, you can take a blue-hour shot of the foreground.
π« This time of year, you can compose it with the faint portion of the Milky Way to the right of the zodiacal light to add another celestial component to your scene.
The Collective Lens
Other items of interest from my colleagues and the world of Nature Photography
The Great Lakes Basin: A New Free Portfolio ebook from Anna Morgan
Anna Morgan just released a new portfolio ebook featuring captivating imagery from the Great Lakes Basin. Her inspiring photographs transport you through intimate scenes and intricate details, revealing the beauty and diversity of this remarkable landscape.
Firefly Dreams: The Art of Photographing Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountain National Park by Michele Sons
Michele Sons recently released a free eBook on photographing fireflies in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The free guide covers everything from where, when, and how to tips for processing firefly images. It's a wonderful guide for photographing this natural and beautiful phenomenon!
Most of our 2025 workshops are sold out, except for a few spaces on the workshops below.
All sold-out workshops have waitlists, so if you're interested in joining a waitlist, you can do so by visiting hereand choosing what workshop you're interested in.
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