In November 2015 the American Association of Gerontology engaged me to document their 48th International conference at the Alice Springs Convention Center.

I really enjoyed covering this event. Something about the laid back attitude everyone (including the conference delegates) seems to have in Central America just makes everything seem easy and effortless. After losing my Grandfather only a few weeks before the event, and with my Grandmother suffering dementia and in full-time care, I found much of the conference’s content on aging, end of life care and dementia directly relatable.

It was a great experience for me. The people were really cooperative as well as excited to get their best candid moments turned into reel ones.

Perhaps subconsciously inspired by Claude Monet’s series of impressionist water lily paintings, I caught the sunset sky reflected in a beaver pond along Duck Brook Pond in Acadia National Park in Maine. I liked the combination of abstract qualities with a touch of the literal found in the lily pads and reeds. Getting the right amount of balance and spacing of literal elements within the image frame was key. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 100-400mm @ 400mm, 1/125 second @ f/16, ISO 500.

I spent much of December at home with a thought-provoking read titled The Artist’s Journey by author and screenwriter, Steven Pressfield. And while I don’t completely agree with everything he espouses, I do recommend the book for artists, writers, musicians, or anyone with a career in a creative field. Among the many views the author posts (you can read some of the more profound excerpts on Tim Ferriss’ blog, How To Undertake the Artist’s Journey) is that the artist’s intent should not necessarily be one of self-expression, as you might have heard and believed most of your creative life, but rather a journey of self-discovery.

I caught the sunset sky reflected in a beaver pond along Duck Brook Pond in Acadia National Park in Maine. I liked the combination of abstract qualities with a touch of the literal found in the lily pads and reeds. Getting the right amount of balance and spacing of literal elements within the image frame was key. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 100-400mm @ 400mm, 1/125 second @ f/16, ISO 500.

Classic landscape layout; sweeping, wide-angle perspective, compelling foreground with patterns creating perspective progression, diagonal shoreline leading the eye to the mountains in the background. This was captured in some of the worst weather you can imagine with the temperature near freezing, rain, sleet, and wind but within the hour, the skies opened up and a rainbow appeared over the mountains. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 16-35mm @ 17mm, 4 seconds @ f/14, ISO 100.

This is my personal favorite from 2018 and the most difficult image for me to describe with mere words. For one thing, I never remember taking the photo; it’s like a dream. I discovered the photo later that evening while reviewing images in my cabin. No animal is displayed in its entirety; the photo is all legs and trunks.

The light is exquisite. The combination of backlighting and dust kicked up by the herd of elephants produces some curious visual effects such as the double edges where the light bleeds into the shadows and vice-versa. The composition uses layers to frame the young elephant farthest away from us, which is where our eye comfortably rests. Maybe it was just the light. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 200-400mm @ 280mm, 1/1600 second @ f/9, ISO 640.

By default, almost every camera arrives from the factory with two important functions assigned to one big conspicuous button: the shutter release. It’s conveniently located where the right index finger would rest when holding the camera comfortably in your hands. This button will engage autofocus when pressed halfway and fire the camera when fully depressed.

At first glance, it might seem like a more complicated way of doing things, but it’s not. After a minor adjustment period, it will soon feel as natural as the default set up, maybe more so. It’s just so easy; thumb focus, finger capture. There are many things we do in everyday life which involves using the thumb and index finger simultaneously. And some of these things are actually good.

As I said, I find this way of focusing most valuable when I’m doing wildlife photography but I use it for any scene where I’m using autofocus. Focusing with my thumb is now a grooved habit that has taken quite a bit of time of set in. The middle of an expensive Africa safari is not a good time to experiment with back button focus if you’ve never used it before. Under stressful situations (a lion stalking your safari vehicle with a setting sun over it’s left shoulder, as an example) you will defer to the familiar without even thinking and this shot of a lifetime will be out-of-focus because you assumed it was focusing with the shutter release button.

As a photographer, chances are you’ve thought about doing some traveling if you haven’t done so already. The journey might start out as a simple weekend getaway after a few rough days at the office.

It might be an extended road trip through several states and time zones, car packed with camera and lenses, the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, nothing but freedom and the open road stretching out to the horizon.

I do find it ironic that the most heavenly photogenic destinations in the world require you to first travel through Hell on Earth to get there: over-crowded airports, canceled and delayed flights, missed connections, lost luggage, fees for checked bags, lines at the check-in counter, security, passport control, and customs, are just some of the indignities to be endured in order to reach our desired destination. And I’ve not even mentioned the repulsive edifices themselves. The English writer and humorist, Douglas Adams mused that there is no language that has ever produced the phrase as pretty as an airport.