Backstory Videos on PBS

Recently, PBS and its Ohio affiliate WOSU TV created various video segments about my approach to photography and nature in creating six of my well known photographs from America”s National Parks. Click on any of the video photos on the right to watch.

Bryce Canyon National Park, AZ

Bryce Amphitheater is one of the most visually stunning and popular locations at Bryce Canyon National Park. Over millions of years, softer sections in the rock have eroded away while the harder areas remained and been sculpted by wind and water into intriguing shapes. This photo was made just moments after the sun emerged over the horizon and briefly illuminated the inside of the amphitheater.

Death Valley National Park

Horizontal lightning bolts revealing dramatic colors in the sky, distant mountains covered in snow and the first light of day brightening nearby sand dunes produced this spectacular scene at Mesquite Flat Sand Dune in Death Valley National Park. As one of the most popular dunes in the park, Mesquite Flat is normally covered with the footprints from hundreds of daily visitors. This image was made just as the sun crested the horizon at the end of a night-long storm that washed away the footprints.

White Sands National Park, NM

Located in southern New Mexico, White Sands National Park is known worldwide for its unique landscape. Here, wave-like dunes of rare white gypsum sand span 275 square miles of desert. In this photo, an hours long hike several hours before sunris led me to a remote spot deep in the park and just in time to photograph a rising full moon that lit the dunes like a spotlight creating an almost unworldly scene.

Badlands National Park, SD

Badlands National Park was originally a reservation of the Oglala Sioux Indians who now occupy only the southern portion of the park. For this photo I wanted to create an image that conveyed the historical, cultural and spiritual importance of the Ogala Sioux to this land. Illuminated only by the moonlight, this 101-minute exposure photo highlights two teepees and a background of circular shaped star trails caused by the Earth’s rotation. Circle shapes are one of the most sacred symbols to nearly all Native American tribes.

Zion National Park, UT

For 4-weeks during late fall, I lived alone inside Zion National Park hiking and photographing as the artist-in-residence for the National Park Service. Although daily temperatures had averaged 60°F (15°C) a surprise overnight storm covered the nearby mountains in snow. During the next 24-hours that melting snow flowed into the Virgin River that changed the water into a brilliant aquamarine color which almost perfectly mirrored the colors of the sky.

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

A day-long wind and rain storm hid the valley and mountain views in Moraine Park at Rocky Mountain National Park. Late in the afternoon while watching changes begin to appear in the sky, I setup the camera and waited nearly four hours in the rain with hopes for a let up and opening in the sky. Only 15 minutes before sunset sunlight streamed like a spotlight onto the land. I had time to capture this single image before it disappeared again behind the clouds.