I’m excited to have a couple photos in the new issue of Digital Photographer magazine. “South Crazies” is featured for an article describing how to use colored filters for black and white photography and “The Wave” is showing how colorful scenes look great in monochrome. The new issue also features some great tips for getting the most out of your black and white photography. Grab a copy today.
It’s time to get out an hit the backroads. I often find myself exploring dirt roads leading to the middle of nowhere and getting some great shots. I recently took this photo near the town of Ringling, MT, then proceeded to get lost on more country roads.
The clouds are big in the Big Sky Country. I often find a range of Altocumulus clouds and most of the time these things look like spaceships, or volcano steam. I zoom around the dirt roads to line up the ground and sky. The “big clouds” are a delight to photograph while they continuously evolve and morph into pleasing shapes.
The aesthetic curves of water cutting through the landscape are always an interesting subject. Water is constantly changing the Montana landscape. Each year the high water cuts out new paths, rearranging trees, rocks, and nature in general. I look forward to visiting these scenes each year. Below is a shot I will visit many times a year. I hiked up the side of a hill to get this shot. The high angle really emphasizes the line of the creek.
My recent photography theme pays tribute to my home Montana, the “Big Sky Country”. Montana’s landscape will often produce a formidable visual balance. Thoughtful pre-visualization of this powerful scenery has led me to apply minimalistic techniques, making the “big sky” dark, thus setting focus on the landscape and creating a dramatic mood. Composing a scene will take many passes, often reoccurring on weather changes. Most of these scenes will have clouds which nicely separate the “big sky” from the minimal landscape. The current collection of photographs from the “Big Sky Country” can be viewed in the gallery.