You win some and you lose some with landscape photography. It was shaping up to be a boring sunset until the very last second when the sun trumphantly burst through the clouds as I bathed in the salt water of the Pacific Ocean :-)

In stark contrast to my normal landscape shooting, there’s no shortage of water on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

I turned back around for one last shot in the blue hour after calling it a night at Ruby Beach.

Never one to keep it simple, leave it to me to combine both use of a circular polarizer and a ten stop neutral density filter. This is a very delicate, gingerly process of exposure, polarization, focus, and composition.

After a half hour, slippery walk through wave battered rocks I finally found the composition that spoke to me. The moody, ethereal feel is not just a result of black and white processing but the 8 second exposure that blurs the ever battering waves on the rocks.

A three second exposure of the mighty Virgin River. I had to dangle my not-so-inexpensive camera about whilst deploying my tripod on the slippery rocks and counter balancing the swift waters. A textbook example why good photography seldomly comes cheap.

Patches of dry land welcome hikers through The Narrows of Zion Canyon as reflected light in the canyon assumes changes 'temperatures' as it reflects down the walls.

Water presses out of solid rock to form hanging gardens in The Narrows. The culmination of a thousand year journey from rainfall to joining the Virgin River's flowing waters of The Narrows in Zion Canyon.

The morning sun beams through The Mittens in beautiful Monument Valley.

A cowboy pauses on the bluff in the waning afternoon warmth.

A fleeting ray of sunlight beams through a lucky opening and warms the timeless waves of rock in one spot for a few brief moment once a year.

Saguaro cactus silhouettes the Sonoran desert sunset as a bird landed just in time for my capture. Thank you!  :-)

A two dozen image panorama utilizing the ultra fast speed of a fantastic Canon prime lens.

A combination of starlight, city lights, and lightning in a summer monsoon swirls a beautiful combination of warm and cool colors in a warm Arizona evening.

A special photo from my memory as I shot it with my wife on our 10 year anniversary. I made three trips to breathtaking Acadia National Park that day.

The sunrise first hits the United States every day on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine.

A high contrast view of the rising sun over Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.

The Racetrack. This playa of ancient times is dotted with rocks that have eroded of the distant mountains and await their next turn to literally make their mark.

A rare, precious gift of life in the otherwise barren desert of Death Valley National Park

I’ll never forget that morning. A beautiful moonset greeting the warmest of sunrises, and a wind storm that was just in time to add a dimension of character to my morning shoot. On this morning I learned to be careful where I step before evaluating new compositions. Though the wind was quick to fill in my footsteps, it wasn’t quite as fast as my imagination, which I relied on heavily to ask “What would it look like if I stood over there?”

A fierce dust storm sweeps over the sand dunes of Death Valley. I never knew the human ear could hold so much sand.

I’m reminded of the villian at the end of Season Two!

A first for me: this exposure was 5.0 seconds in the middle of the day, and no neutral density filter was in front of my lens. Its just that dark in the forest that fetches 14 feet of rainfall a year!

Yes: this is the desert. Yes: it really looked like that. A mountain burnt by wildfire roars back to live with summer monsoons springing up green life in the ashes. A touch of vibrance added to the trees to bring out the yellow and orange colors scorched by the flames.

The few deciduous leaves at the highest peaks of the Sky Islands begin their progression from green to red to falling in their usual October tradition.

A beautiful walk through Bear Wallow reveals yet another hidden gem in the Sky Islands amidst an often lifeless red desert.

Soft, diffuse light spans the scene of Bear Wallow on Mount Lemmon on a cloudy, fall day.

Early evening light filters through the trees as a just fallen leaf begins its final journey down stream.

The diverse peaks of the Santa Catalina Mountains reveal themselves in low contrast after yet another breathtaking Arizona sunset.

Hoodoos silhouettes in the Sky Islands add a creative texture to the horizon to Arizona's ever colorful sunsets.

A careful chosen composition of petrified wood admidst a chaotic sea of possibilities.

Magnese, cobalt, chromium, and other minerals of petrified wood glint their texture from the directional, afternoon side light in the Jasper Forest.

Texas Canyon shows off its best in the so-called blue hour that immediately follows the golden hour of sunset.

Streaking sunbeams complement the kalidescope of cactus and thorn laden bushes of the Sonoran desert.

While chasing bighorn sheep in the rugged Silverbell Mountains I faced my most feared dilemma as an artist: Continue to chase the wildlife with the telephoto lens or swap to the ultra wide for a landscape shot?

Warm colors illuminate the Grand Canyon in a view from Mather Point.

Why we get out of bed at 03:30 on a working vacation.

These photos aren't usually permitted at the Grand Canyon. You're supposed to use wide lengths, not telephoto, and why shoot black and white with all the colors?

Mule deer proudly displaying their new antler for the year in all its velvety goodness.

A bighorn ewe leads her young lamb through the neighborhood for their daily errands.

That's where they live! And yes, its just as steep on the other side  you can't see. Imagine learning to walk here. In the dark. Chased by predators.

Cat and mouse with the bighorns finally paid off for me when a careful skirting of the rugged cliffs of the Waterman Mountains put me ahead of this growing family for a quick opportunity. A moment after this shutter and they were on the other side of the mountain.

Perhaps my best, favorite wildlife photo I've ever shot.

A young ram is about to learn his place from the leader of the pecking order.

There's nothing quite like the sound of a bugling bull elk piercing the high mountain air of a September evening. If you've never had the chance to camp in the woods this time of year, you're letting the best in life pass you by.

Our rutting friend continues his strut in search for lovestruck females.

Mountain goats in the beautiful Enchantment Lakes of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in north central Washington state.

A billy and her kid rest in the afternoon sun.