We interrupt this virtual trip to the Southwest for something a little closer to home, shot last night.

View larger sizes of the panorama photo here.

Visiting the same place multiple times and during different seasons and weather conditions can provide you completely different pictures. I visited Chapel on the Rock at St. Malo’s Retreat Center near Allenspark in July 2010 and then again in September 2011.

Missing the Southwest, I decided to work through some photos I had not processed from my last trip. These are all front the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Mid-morning light on Nymph Lake, RPMNP, Hallett Peak

Along the Glacier Gorge

Late afternoon clouds crown the Indian Peaks at Brainard Lake int he Indian Peaks Wilderness

Soft, pink evening light begins to fall over Brainard Lake

I am excited to be able to offer plaque mounts and metal prints for my images. I first saw plaque mounting when I visited Colorado last year and have been the hunt to find the company that does the work. I recently found they company and couldn’t be happier. Plaque mounting is when images are mounted directly to the surface and feature a beveled edge. A protective coating protects the mounted image. Standard plaque images are mounted directly on an acid-free 3/8” thick surface and finished with a beveled edge. It is hard to put into words the effect of plaque mounting, but you really feel like you “are there” in the photo. The photos feel alive.

I decided on plaque mounting this image of Dream Lake:

Metal prints have been described as “high definition” prints. The image is printed directly onto aluminum. Metal prints interact uniquely with light make them almost appear as though they are back-lit. I recently ordered this photo as a metal print:

I am getting ready to order samples in the near future and will post photos when they arrive. I will say, though, that photo’s don’t do them justice.

Saturday was probably long overdue. As much I as I love landscape and nature photography, I despise snakes. After 2 trips to the Southwest snake-free, I had grown a little bold about setting up for my shot without taking a good look around. I assisted a friend who is a wedding photographer on Saturday and we had planned a series of shots by the pond at the wedding and reception location. As I approached our predetermined location, I saw a big black snake sunning itself. I attempted to to scare it off by banging the ground because I knew that snakes cannot hear but sense people’s presence through vibrations on the ground. This snake was in no hurry to vacate the area but eventually slithered off. I waited a couple of minutes to make sure the snake was really gone and when the coast remained clear, I sat down in the predetermined location and began setting up my slider and camera. I fiddles with the camera a bit to pull it into focus and as I raised my head, there was a snake, I believe a second, bigger snake in the exact spot where the original snakehad been sunning itself. He was just about 2-3′ so I was on feet and away faster than you can say, “Black Rat Snake.” This snake was not as compliant. This snake actually crawled up onto my slider, as if he was checking it out. My friend came along and helped the snake move on with the aid of a stool and eventually it slithered off into the woods. Thankfully, all of this happened in enough time before the wedding party came out for their shots.

I am constantly on the lookout for snakes in the Southwest…I guess I had better keep my eyes open in Southwest PA, as well.

Snagged a couple of shots with my phone camera

A closer view (I zoomed)

One of the things I am trying to do a better job is focusing on smaller details. I wish I would have set up my tripod for these and really concentrated, but I was running out of time before the supermoon. I was drawn to the textures in these two shots.

I took a quick trip to Presue Isle last weekend to shoot the Supermoon with the North Pier light. I tried out the rooftop tent on Friday night.

I also tried my hand at timelapse photography.

Riverlife Pittsburgh  requested to use one of my photos in their most recent newsletter. Riverlife Pittsburgh  is environmental, recreational, cultural and economic vitality in the city. Their endeavors include improving bridges, creating plazas and parks, and my favorite, the Point State Park fountain renovations.

This photo was shot at sunrise in August 2011. After several fruitless sunrise trips to Mt. Washington  I could hardly believe my eyes when the deep pinks and purples bean to penetrate the dark sky as night gave way to dawn. Since we rarely have sunrises this colorful in Pittsburgh, it was a pure delight.

A May 2012 desktop wallpaper is available for you to download at no charge and prints of the photo may be ordered here.

When I think about my top ten shots from 2011, I first think about my landscape work. That is what I enjoy the most and what I devote the most time to learning. However, you really can’t neglect people, so here are my top ten people shots from 2011.

10. I shot my first wedding this year, my nephew’s. Lindsey, the bride,  really only cared about one shot and this was it. I am glad I caught it because it is not an easy shot to get right and we only had a couple of takes. I practiced this once before from across the street of a wedding party at South Park. I realized the whole jumping shot is something everyone gets asked to do at some point in his or her life. It helps to have done it before.

9. This is my oldest brother, Scott, his wife, Nina, and youngest child, Hannah. We spent the afternoon out driving along the Hudson Valley and made a last minute stop at Bear Mountain State Park in NY. The view was spectactular and the company great.

8. It is so rewarding when you capture someone’s personality in a shot. My college friend, Leanne was married in October and this shot was as she and her new husband, Dave, exited the church. It is classic Leanne.

7. Lindsey, with a more relaxed expression.

6. Benjamin posing for me. Sometimes I almost feel like my 50mm f/1.4 is too much lens for me but when it blurs out the background like this I realize it’s a keeper.

5. This is what they call the “money shot”. It’s the shot you have to get at a wedding.

4. Another Benjamin against the backdrop of the Roberto Clemente Bridge on our way to a Pirate game.

3. Good advice from a friend who is a professional photographer helped me plan this shot. thanks, Amy!

2. William seemed enthralled with his new baby sister.

1. This was just one of those happy moments. it is hard to get a pre-schooler to act naturally in front of a camera, but Lily was so overcome with being a big sister she was not even paying attention to me.

It can be deflating to return to the grey skies of Western PA, especially after the leaves fall, after spending two weeks in stunning landscapes. To be honest, it has been a struggle to find anything interesting to photograph and the daylight has grown short. A couple of times I have taken walks with just one lens looking for patterns, textures and colors. I am looking forward to the snow and the way it paints the landscape.