Hillside
(please click to view on black and fit your screen // canon 5d mark ii, canon 85mm 1.8, f/7.1, iso 200, 8 sec // buy print) We had some winter storms blown through the state last night, and there was even lightning strikes south of Phoenix in Casa Grande. Needless to say, it got me impatient for the monsoon season to arrive this summer. So I dug up this shot from last July. For those that have a copy of my stormchasing book, you’ve likely already seen it! It was one of my first experiences shooting lightning down in Tucson and [...]
Horizon
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 70-200 2.8 l, 200mm, f/10, iso 100, 1 sec // buy print) Back in December, we had quite a few winter storms blow through the state which left snow on the outlying desert peaks. On the evening I took this photo, I had met up with a bunch of photographer buddies, like Bryan Snider, Jon Stolarski, Chris Frailey and the awesome duo from Surefire Photos, Sean and Michelle Freeney. We all were hoping for a gorgeous Four Peaks sunset. But the clouds were too low and never broke. [...]
A gaggle of Cholla
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 17-40 f/4 l, 17mm, iso 100, f/22, 0.6sec // buy print) No, a bunch of Cholla cactus grouped together isn’t called a gaggle. But I always liked that word and felt like using it today. Sure, it usually refers to a flock of geese that are actually not flying, but according to Dictionary.com, it can also mean an assortment of related things. Feeling like that was a bunch of useless information and curious why I decided to share that with you? Me too. We’ve had an incredibly busy, [...]
The cotton fields
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, tamron 17-35mm 2.8, 17mm, iso 100, f/16, 1/125 // buy print) If you ordered a copy of my Stormchasing Arizona book, or happened to see my Best of 2011, you may have seen this image already. But it was one of my top five probably from last year’s monsoon season, so I felt like it was owed it’s own blog post. Right? Am I the only one that believes his images have feelings and would feel shunned if they didn’t get their own blog time? I mean, yes, this [...]
The Tree of Life
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 17-40 f/4 l, 20mm, f/4, iso 5000, 30 sec // buy print) It’s funny. We were freezing cold at Joshua Tree National Park when the sun went down, but then the stars came out and none of that mattered. My buddy Heath O’Fee found this tree. Earlier the lot of us had been right under it, shooting upwards at the stars while someone light-painted the rocks. We were all having so much fun taking pictures of things we normally do not. The night sky. It’s fairly new to [...]
A few frames from Joshua Tree
Just over a week ago I drove out to Joshua Tree National Park with Rick Young and Chris Frailey. We met up with Heath O’Fee (down from Canada), Chris DeAngelis (California) and Doug Wise (also California). The plan was to hang out in the park for a sweet sunset, shoot some stars, shoot the sunrise and then mosey on over to the Salton Sea for another sunset. The plan was great except for absolutely zero clouds anywhere that first evening. Photographers hate that. So when the sky is boring, I usually turn my camera on my buddies and start shooting [...]
The Calm
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 17-40 f4 l, b+w ND 10-stop, 19mm, f/22, iso 100, 124sec // buy print) I’m dedicating this photo to my buddy Chris DeAngelis, who let me borrow his 10-stop B+W filter and made all of this possible. He loaned it to me a few times at Bombay Beach, while Rick Young loaned me his over on the west side of the Salton Sea. Thank you guys. Yes, I’m getting my own. Soon. Normally if you are by water and pull out a 10-stop, you are hoping to pull [...]
The Edge of the World
(click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 17-40 f/4 l, 17mm, iso 100, f/16, 0.6 sec // buy print) This past Friday and Saturday I was part of a whirlwind trip that took me through Joshua Tree National Park and ended at the shores of the mysterious and disturbing Salton Sea. My good friend Heath O’Free was visiting Palm Springs from Canada, and had invited me to meet up with him on Friday. Also along for the journey was some other buddies…Rick Young and Chris Frailey from Phoenix, and Chris DeAngelis and Doug Wise from California. [...]
The Three Watchmen
(please click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 35mm 1.4 l, f/22, iso 200, 1/4 sec // buy print) There is something majestic about the Saguaro cactus. When they stand by themselves, or even in a group of three…they make me think of something ancient…guardians of the world. Almost like Ents from Lord of the Rings. Ooops, there’s my nerdy side. I was driving down this road chasing a gorgeous storm coming in over the Bradshaw Mountains when I spotted these guys. I just loved, loved, loved the composition with the storm in the background, so [...]
Streets of New York
. (click to view on black // canon 5d mark ii, canon 35 mm 1.4 l, f/2 iso 100 1/160 // buy print) When we were in New York back in October, my wife and I took a day to wander the city. We started off in the West Village by grabbing a quiet little breakfast and then wandering down random streets, taking pictures of anything we thought was interesting. There is something quite beautiful about an empty road. I loved the slight sprinkling of leaves, the bike, the shadows and the trees. I focused on the manhole cover at [...]
Mike is a Phoenix Wedding Photographer based in Arizona and can be contacted via all the normal methods and then some.