This is a very long focal length shot of the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park. During a workshop Erin Babnik and I led this past March to the Eastern Sierra, we always made it a point to get out on the dunes during high winds. This place just comes alive in late afternoon with the blowing sands which catch the light in a beautiful way. While this was one of the more calm moments of the day, the light sheets of sand blowing off the tops of the dunes make all the difference for highlighting and accentuating the subtle shapes and forms the dunes make, and it’s one of my most favorite places to be and shoot. I loved the presence of a few people perched on the summits of the distant grand dunes, showing the scale of how vast and grand this place is. This is a single shot that just has some color tweaking and dodge/burning.

My friend TJ Thorne stands in observance of the powerful Spirit Falls on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. The waters here flow swift and cold with a blue color that looks amazing against the back drop of lush green forest and warm light from above. If only each individuals spirit on this planet could be as beautiful.

The late morning light just begins to creep into the canyon in which Elowah Falls plummets. 

The weeping walls of what many refer to as the 'Blue Hole' in Kauai. 

Winter time is the most impressive time to experience the Eastern Sierra corridor. Tapestries of colorful winter foliage carpet the valleys, and when lit by soft morning light, they really shine. 

A perfectly shaped sand bar meanders through the reflective waters of Mono Lake on a late afternoon in March. 

Light from depths of Oneonta Gorge reflects off of a close up view of the streams surface. The flow of the water over rocks just below the surface cause it to bend and snake, offering a unique view of something that is otherwise unseen.

PonyTail falls in the Columbia River Gorge during a green, springy, day in May. 

Dappled light illuminates a valley and Waipo'o falls, plummeting into what many call the Grand Canyon of the Pacific in Kauai.

An impressive cloud formation passes over the Mesquite sand dunes in Death Valley National Park. I've been lucky to get some pretty interesting conditions the few times I've been to this area. One of my favorite things I've done in the wilderness, is to be comfortably settled into the nice soft sand, watching weather move through the valley. Such a cool place.

Frigid water cascades this 4-tier waterfall on Panther Creek on the Washington state side of the Columbia Gorge. The warm morning light, and an interesting pattern of rippling water made for an easy target for my camera. 

The morning sun bursts through the coastal fog and redwood trees of northern California.

Eureka dunes, Death Valley

Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley. 

A crescent moon and the summer constellations rise above the Alabama hills in the Eastern Sierra. 

Aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra rendered in a creative way using quick upward movements of my camera while exposing the image. 

Multi colored badlands of Twenty Mule Team Canyon. This area was heavily mined in the past for Borax. If you look closely, you can see a mine entrance. 

Flora long dead and dried stands it's ground in cracked mud on the Eureka Valley floor.

Mono Lake, California and north end of the milky way. The light on the horizon comes from light pollution of some neighboring communities

High winds in the Mesquite Sand dunes blow sand off the tips of the sand dunes as a lone hiker, braving the elements, admires the scene. 

Like a volcanic eruption, the north end of the milky way shoots out of remote Ibex Dunes in Death Valley. 

With my camera inches off the ground, and me laying in the water so I could see through the view finder I captured this close up view of a very small foreground scene as the morning light poured into the gorge.

A shot I almost walked right by. Mist lingers on the surface of Sparks lake in central oregon. 

Late morning light filters into Oneonta Gorge, Oregon. 

Big island of Hawaii, hamakua coast. 

Akaka falls, probably the most well known waterfall on the big island as it is highly accessible by the public. It measures in at 422 feet high.

Halema'uma'u Crater is an active vent of Kīlauea, one of the volcanoes on Hawaii. The stars shine bright above a firey pit glowing in the passing clouds above.

Palm trees seem to grow on top of each other, completely vertical, on this steep wall of a canyon along the Hamakua coast of the big island.