Our 2018 Scouting Mission was the epitome of epic adventure travel. Every day, we said it couldn’t get better. Every day it did. Tears ran down cheeks on the final night, standing on the roof of a thousand-year-old monastery photographing the Milky Way with the rumbling soundtrack of throat-chanting Tibetan monks.

2+ hours of steady pre-dawn uphill hiking by the light of our headlamps. An in-the-dark puma (mountain lion) encounter on the trail that elevated our heartbeats yet another notch. Hunkering down in the boulders against the whipping wind, wearing every stitch we had, fumbling with camera controls and tripods waiting for first light. I'll cherish these memories more than any resulting photographs. 

I love India. Photographically, it’s been a personal goldmine – the source of more ‘portfolio-worthy’ travel images than any other destination – but I also find the culture, the history, Hinduism and all its offshoots endlessly fascinating as well.

But India might not have the same appeal for everyone, as I unexpectedly discovered.

Many more moons ago than either of us care to admit, Randall & I started our first class together at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA. I was a…

Africa's apex predators – Lions, Leopards and Cheetah – up close and personal in two of Africa's most iconic parks: the Masai Mara & Amboseli National Reserves. Photograph some of the last…

My first Africa safari ended some time ago but I’m still struggling to process the experience, not to mention the over 8,000 photos I captured there! But it’s hard. Not because of the mountain of images to plow through, but because…

Craft has its place in the image making process and it’s an important one. Who can deny that Photoshop can add pop to a picture? Or that HDR lets you capture massive dynamic range? Craft is critical… everyone should seek to master it. Craft is fully half of photography…but only half.

Spirit Bears of the Great Bear Rainforest is exactly the type of experience I envisioned creating for other photographers when I started my workshops business. Small group, photography intensive adventures in the world’s most spectacular settings. If this idea excites you, I invite you to join us this Oct 5-10 for a trip you will never forget.

Let's start a movement together! What if people began each day with a dose of creativity and presence? That's what #GoodMorningLA is about. Learn more

My first trip to India yielded an amazing adventure, a handful of photographs I am proud of and some questions. A lot of questions. I'll be back next year, March 2017, with a small group of photographers looking for answers. Or maybe just asking more questions. I invite you to join us. 

Join me for a unique adventure in the Adobe Valley area of the Inyo National Forest for opportunities to photograph the wild mustangs. Learn more here

When watching sunrises and sunsets is part of your job description, it's easy to forget the fact you are witnessing a minor miracle a couple of times a day. You tend to get, well, jaded might be too strong a word but let’s call it a connoisseur's disdain for the unexceptional. 

It happened again. There must be some truth to the saying, "great minds think alike" because so often more than one person submits the best title (in my opinion) for one of my Name This Image contests. 

I'm doing something a little different this month to wrap up the year. This image may be less 'serious' (whatever that means) than some of my other work but you can't deny that it's in keeping with the season! I hope it brings a little smile your face.

Jim Kerr of Steamboat Springs, CO is the winner of November's Name This Image contest. I think Jim's entry, "Water Colors", is the perfect title for this photograph. Simple, elegant, artful...I love it! Congratualtions, Jim - you win a signed limited edition print of Water Colors.

O.K. it's time for another Image Naming Contest. Help me come up with the perfect title for this image and if your entry is chosen, you a win signed limited edition print of this photograph. Contest details and entry form are on my Facebook Page.