David’s Blog
Wedding Photographer?
Every so often I volunteer to photograph a neighbors wedding- happens about once every 5 years. I know every photographer hates to photograph weddings but I find it a mildly amusing puzzle- how am I going to get good shots under these typically dreadful conditions? So yesterday I went down the road and photographed my friend John's daughter's wedding....
Out for a Walk
I went for a short hike in the high country of Colorado the other day. It has been a magnificent week of blue, blue skies and ever more golden forests as the aspens continue to turn yellow, gold and even orange. For this walk I brought just one camera and one lens- a 35mm f1.8 (the equivalent of a 52mm with the 1.5 crop factor on my Nikon D300s)- and...
Fall Aspens
Just finished a photo workshop in Colorado with my great friends Jeff Wendorff and Scott Rouse. The day after Scott and I and my niece Lexi climbed 14,007' Mount of the Holy Cross- a 12 mile hike with a 5660 feet of vertical ascent. We did it in 10 hours. I'm feeling pretty happy about it all, actually, 14 months after my heart attack. Take that you...
Photographing Fall Color
Here are some hints on how to get your best pictures this fall. 1. Go out on rainy, misty days- don't go inside. Fall color will appear the richest, most saturated on rainy days. And yes, your camera gear will be okay. Don't go out in a downpour but when it is lightly raining your gear will be as comfortable and as tolerant as you are. Also rocks,...
Tiny
I am often asked where my ideas come from for the articles and books that I do. Sometimes they are the end result of a much thinking and analysis. Other times they just spring fully formed into my small but perfectly formed brain. And still other times they are given to me as a gift, I just have to keep my eyes and my ears open. This was one of those...
The Cobacus
“We’ve gotta have a system” Ike says with unusual vigor and exasperation. It is the middle of winter and we are in the middle of the barn in the middle of morning chores doing a middling of work. Time to meddle. “A system for what I ask suspiciously, not being familiar with this sort of energy out of Ike this early in the morning. “A system for keeping...
Stepping Through the Seasons
“One of us is tired this morning, but one of us is really tired,” I say to Roger as I walk into the milk barn at dawn. I find him standing in the manger leaning on a hayfork, oddly stationary for this time of the day when there is so much to do. “I know which one I am,” Roger replies. “When did you get back home?” I ask. “Trish and I didn’t get back until...
Farmer
Roger Bromley is a dairy farmer, been so all his life. Roger’s father, Hugh, is a dairy farmer, been so all his life. They farm together, done so all of Roger’s life. Roger’s grandfather, Delos, was a dairy farmer, was so all his life. Roger’s great-grandfather, Martin, was a dairy farmer, was so all his life. Delos farmed with Martin; Hugh farmed with...
Driving the Bus
A true story: For many years I lead polar bear photography tours in Churchill, Manitoba, on the coast of Hudson Bay. Churchill is an odd little frontier town that, before they realized they could make money off the autumnal polar bear migration, was the end of the rail line for grain shipments from Canada’s Prairie Provinces. When I was in Churchill the...
Giants in the Forest
The directions to drive to Crabtree Lake are to just follow Crabtree Creek upstream until it stops flowing. The problem is that the approach is via a snarl of logging roads that pay no heed to topography or logic. I remember the route as straight-left-straight-left-straight but its been a few years since I have been there and all that might be left, might...
Bernard General Store
The Hub – Kim Furlong, Storekeeper Kim Furlong has a single string tied around her left wrist. The string symbolically connects close friends in a circle of support and promise for a friend about to give birth. “When the child is born we will all cut the string together. It’s a way of celebrating a new beginning. I should’ve put one around this store years...