I photograph a lot of trees. That makes me sort of a tree connoisseur. So, when asked, “John, what is your favorite tree?” I usually have to answer in parts because no, one tree has it all. For example: The best forest tree? The giant redwood. The best fall color tree? Easy, any maple. The best abstract tree? California oaks. The best desert tree? Ever been to Joshua Tree National Park? Best leaf? Ginko. And so on. But none of those are my favorite tree. My favorite tree to p

It’s Christmas time so I guess we’ll go with the ghosts of Christmas past. I drove by this grassy knoll, and I have to admit that the first thing that caught my eye was the electric green of the grass. But as I played Frogger  crossing the road, I noticed the gnarled oak trunks, and they reminded me of spirits rising from the grave. The Scooby Doo  fog helped too. Did they speak to me? I can’t honestly say I heard anything there, but when I got home and took a look at the scr

The sign said, “Private Road. No Trespassing.” It seemed strange to me as I walked by completely ignoring it. Was trespassing really a problem along an old country road? I likened the sign to many that I had seen in the past, attributed to hillbillies believing that the land they owned belonged to them. Still, I moved with haste as I’ve also had summits with real hillbillies with real shotguns. It’s a common picture, but not commonly found. And in fact, I have driven past thi

If you have followed me at all the past few years, you would concur that my photography has been about fog. Trees in fog. Meadows in fog. Mountains in fog. Dogs in fog. Etc. etc. I think it gives my pictures a calming feel that technicolor skies and dramatic wide angle shots just don’t do. I mean, they are nice and certainly get more “likes” on social media, but you don’t see people hanging those pictures on walls in their homes. So, you would think that I’d be happier than a

Would you buy your own park, build 51 miles of roads to tour it complete with 16 unique hand carved stone bridges, and then donate it to the National Park Service so that it could be enjoyed by everyone in the world? I couldn’t possibly fathom having that kind of wealth nor the mental illness that it would require to attain it. So, no. My winning lottery ticket dreams are more like hiring a crack team of special forces operatives to hunt down those computer hacker nerds and s

As I said before, “…Timing is everything..” And some would have said that my timing was bad for the vast amounts of white birch within Acadia. However, when I rolled up onto the edge of this bog and found the naked white birch providing a dramatic back drop for the explosion of maple color, I think that my timing couldn’t have been any better. My photographic style as such has really taken a turn for the modern/minimalist. You can certainly see Mr. Pollock’s influence here, o

I rolled into Kennebunkport around noon to a massive amount of people and even more shops. Am I the only one that yearns for something made by somebody from the area or at least with something found in the area? We were told by the algorithms that we must have a lobster roll at Alisson’s so we sought out parking in the back of the crowded streets. I popped out of the car and there they were. 3 dinghies lined up perfectly. I took out my newly minted trusty iphone and snapped a

I reached into the top pocket of my camera bag. The pocket where I always keep my head lamp. Guys like me are always waiting for the last drop of light and it generally leaves you in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a few stars to guide you on your way back home. Alas, I also have a 12 year old son who for some reason or another is always, “borrowing” a head lamp. Therefore, you can conclude that I was on a cliff, in pitch black, with the sun rising in 35 minutes (give

People say that timing is everything. I prefer to point out the caveat that there is no amount of timing that can overcome a bad place, and worse company. Acadia National Park is certainly a place, and I always enjoy having those closest to me with me, but the timing here, made for an experience not easily matched. The great almanac said we would be a week late, but Acadia is really known for its coast, and it is exceptional, probably one of the prettiest in the world (more o

The fascination with trees continues. On my way to pointlessly blast retarded (literally) birds out of the sky, I had to drive for a few...