Landscapes of the Western U.S.

Bucks in El Capitan Meadow

Photographing in El Capitan Meadow in early morning, just as the fog began to clear, a herd of deer wandered into our scene and this beautiful buck posed for just a second for an enjoyable, unexpected photo bomb! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Hetch Hetchy Double Rainbow

I’ve long been conflicted about visiting the northwestern section of Yosemite National Park to see Hetch Hetchy, a glacier carved valley partially buried under water since the construction of O’Shaughnessy Dam 100 years ago. I can only imagine how spectacular it was in it’s pristine state when the Tuolumne River snaked across it’s verdant meadow. But when visiting the park at the height of this particularly busy summer season, I was curious to explore this quieter, less traveled section of the park. After a dark afternoon thunderstorm with dense clouds, the light rapidly changed, revealing a double rainbow as the sun dipped below a break in the clouds, casting a warm glow on Kolana Rock, Hetch Hetchy Dome and a peekaboo view of Wapama Falls. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Oxbow Bend Foggy Morning

Surrounded by the sounds of birds and the gentle current of the Snake River, bands of thick fog advanced and receded throughout the early morning and provided dynamic weather conditions and a soft, peaceful mood at iconic Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Golden Glow, Schwabacher Landing

Setting out at dark, we waited patiently for pink sunrise color to arrive on a clear early summer morning, and we got it when wispy clouds built up into something more substantial. But my favorite moments of the morning are actually after that, just that moment when the sun crests the horizon and skims the textures of the landscape in the most beautiful golden glow. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

String Lake Moose

I just returned from an incredible trip to Grand Teton, one of my favorite places on earth for it’s incredible array of biodiversity of flora and fauna. While photographing wide-angle landscapes on the shoreline of String Lake at sunrise, one of our workshop participants noticed a bobbing head moving across the water. At first, I thought it was a beaver until this massive moose emerged from the lake. No time to switch to my telephoto, but I loved this environmental portrait of this big beautiful boy in his natural habitat, surrounded by dancing mist across the water. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Yellow Balsamroot, Grand Teton

Exploring some of the less traveled backroads of Grand Teton National Park revealed some healthy patches of yellow balsamroot to use as a foreground to the dappled morning light dancing across the Teton range in the distance. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Teton Sunrays

The setting sun skimming the peaks of the iconic Teton Range and casting sunbeams on the verdant landscape below. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Last Light on the Badlands

My very last evening in Badlands National Park was rewarded with beautiful skies of incredible contrast; as the sun set behind me, it bathed these peaks in a warm, side lit glow. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Mordor, Badlands National Park

The Badlands delivered such incredibly dramatic weather, and on this particular evening, we were treated to soft, late afternoon sidelight on the park’s colorful bands against increasingly stormy, dark skies. Due to a heavy precipitation year, green grasses were abundant throughout, providing a lovely color contrast to the bands and layers of rock. The incredible quality of light here reminded me of Mordor, the mythical volcanic landscape of Lord of the Rings. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Double Rainbow, Badlands NP

The Badlands delivered such incredibly dramatic skies, and on this particular evening, we were treated to a double rainbow, and soft, late afternoon light on the park’s colorful bands. Due to a heavy precipitation year, green grasses were abundant throughout, providing a lovely color contrast to the bands and layers of rock. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Tom and the Lightning Storm, South Dakota

My first afternoon in the Badlands of South Dakota, I arrived to increasingly dramatic storm clouds. There was little time to set up as the lightning began, so I settled in this field of yellow flowers at my accommodations at the Circle View Guest Ranch to watch the show, and was photobombed by one of the Ranch’s many friendly barn cats. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com/

Frosty Trees in Winter Fog on Three Brothers

Fog and mist swirled around Yosemite's majestic granite peaks the morning after a dusting of fresh snow providing a mood of ethereal drama that is my favorite to photograph. Diffuse sunlight occasionally broke through the clouds to reveal the warm tones of Three Brothers as I attempted to capture a sense of scale with the trees growing out of the rock in a series of long focal length images. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Tiny Trees in Winter Fog, Three Brothers

Yosemite Valley is magical the morning after a dusting of new snow. Fog and mist swirled around her majestic granite peaks providing a mood of ethereal drama that is my favorite to photograph. Diffuse sunlight occasionally broke through the clouds to reveal the warm tones of Three Brothers and just the slightest hint of blue sky as I attempted to capture a sense of scale with the trees growing out of the rock. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Mount Shasta Winter Snowstorm

Mount Shasta put on quite a show at sunrise on the banks of Lake Siskiyou. The cold wind was quite fierce even at the water level, causing massive amounts of snow to be kicked up at the peak of the summit, just as an interesting cloud caught the morning light at the treeline. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Mount Shasta Winter Drama

Fierce winter winds at the summit of Mount Shasta caused massive amounts of snow to be kicked up at her peak at the same time as dark, low lying clouds built up at her base. The drama of the clouds and the morning sunlight that illuminated the textures of her eastern slope was perfect for a long focal length to capture Shasta’s stormy mood this particular morning. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Hazy Sunrise, Glacier NP

Haze from distant wildfires settled atop the peaks in Glacier National Park as the sun rose over a high alpine lake, casting the landscape in a diffuse softness. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Wild Goose Overlook Monochrome

Late afternoon sunbeams breaking through the clouds at the iconic view of Wild Goose Overlook above Saint Mary Lake in Glacier NP processed in monochrome to accentuate the play of light, water and rock. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Wizard Island Misty Morning, Crater Lake NP

I’ve often heard stories from visitors to Crater Lake National Park that they arrive and the lake is completely socked in with dense fog with no view whatsoever of the water or of iconic Wizard Island. It certainly was foggy when my husband and I set out this particular morning for sunrise, and the more popular overlooks were completely socked in with zero visibility. We found a small pullout at a lower elevation and just waited it out for the misty atmosphere to be burned off by the rising sun, for which we were rewarded with a beautiful warm/cool color combination. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Crater Lake Burning Fog

Misty atmosphere being burned off by the rising sun overlooking Crater Lake and Wizard Island on a foggy summer morning. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Cascade Foothills Sunbeams

I arrived to photograph sunset over Crater Lake but found heavy cloud cover and very flat light over the direction of the water. But right across the road, mother nature was putting on quite the light show with sunrays filtering through the clouds and casting beams on the layers of hills that make up the Cascade Range. I hate to admit it, but this truly was a “parking lot” shot! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Lassen Peak Sunrise Mist

June experienced unusually cold and wet weather in Lassen Volcanic National Park which resulted in beautiful clearing mist conditions on the surface of Manzanita Lake as the sun rose and illuminated Lassen Peak’s snowy summit. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Sleeping Giants

During a short stay in Denver, I decided to visit nearby Roxborough State Park at sunrise to see the dramatic red rock formations jutting out of the ground. High altitude clouds built up to the east lending a diffuse, soft light over the landscape that brought out the subtle textures of the rocks, bare oak thickets and ponderosa pines. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

East Bay Sunshine

The morning sun casting a warm glow on the spring green hills of Contra Costa County in the East Bay. I’ve really been loving the shots with the drone, especially to capture the rolling hills of Northern California in the springtime! https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Windows Desktop 2022

I set out early in the morning to photograph my favorite mustard field at the base of the Sutter Buttes at sunrise only to find it plowed under, but taking the drone up at sunrise to capture long shadows and golden morning light saved the day! The green hills in California in March resemble a Windows desktop picture. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com

Bridalveil Falls and Cathedral Rocks Spotlit, Tunnel View

When the weather forecast looked promising for some snow flurries and clearing storm light, I convinced my husband to do a quick one night trip to the Valley, where we even scored a coveted camping spot right in the park. It’s been a mostly dry winter in California, with the exception of an atmospheric river event in December that dumped all our winter snow at once. My schedule didn’t allow me to get out and photograph that, though, and as the dry months dragged on, I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity for any photography of wintery scenes. Even though the snow on the Valley floor was mostly gone when we arrived, Tunnel View put on quite a show of swirling clouds that occasionally allowed the setting sun to peek through and spotlight the Valley’s iconic peaks. https://www.optimalfocusphotography.com