Sep 2024 (One Month - One Picture)
Explore Landscapes #62: Stormy weather in Joshua Tree with a downpour of rain makes for some lovely lighting for shooting landscapes in the park.
If you‘re new here, welcome. I’m a professional landscape photographer and hiking/backpacking guide specializing in Joshua Tree National Park. My weekly Monday newsletter is typically a long-form ‘teaching’ article for paid subscribers and workshop attendees. My free Thursday newsletter should interest a wider audience and is typically about my hiking, volunteering, or workshop adventures.
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September 2024 | Sequoia National Park | Joshua Tree National Park
I had a lovely three-day weekend in Joshua Tree National Park with my photographer friend John, who was visiting from the East Coast. We were treated to a stormy and rainy day for our first shoot, followed by two days with a bluebird sky, conditional normal in JT.
The stormy rainclouds created a giant ‘soft lightbox’ that provided even lighting over the entire landscape, no matter where we looked. We had some light intermittent rain at our first two locations and then decided to visit Hidden Valley and hike the trail there.
The sky grew ever more menacing, and shortly after this photo was taken, the heavens opened, and we were soaked. But that’s why you get a weather-sealed camera and go out in all weather.
September 2019 | Joshua Tree National Park | London | Fishguard
It's mid-September, and I’m back at JT for another solo photography weekend. Some time ago, I booked a JT campsite once a month as soon as it became available (typically six months in advance). That way, my photography trips become firm fixtures in my calendar, eliminating any excuses for not going.
I stopped at the Cottonwood Visitor Center during my last trip to JT. I picked up a copy of Joshua Tree National Park, The Insider’s Guide, written by Robert Miramontes, a local photographer, explorer, and rock climber with intimate knowledge of the park. I was looking for inspiration and info on new places to hike within JT.
One of the places that grabbed my attention was the Iron Door and the fact that it wasn’t easy to find made it all the more appealing. There’s a popular bouldering area near the Hidden Valley parking area, and beyond that, amongst and below one of the larger boulders, is the Iron Door.
No one knows why this heavy iron door was installed to make a small, secure area in the middle of nowhere, but there it is.
Let me be your landscape photography guide to Joshua Tree National Park
My workshops cater to all levels of photographers and include classic viewpoints and hidden gems. I'll ensure you're in the best place to take advantage of the light and weather conditions.
You can choose a one-to-one workshop (and personalize it to what you'd like to photograph, specific techniques, or how far you want to hike) or join a small group workshop (limited to 3 photographers).
My landscape photography retreats are like multiple workshops rolled into one, but they also focus more on your path as a creative photographer. Retreats offer focused, hands-on field classes on landscape photographic techniques, workflow, assignments for the day, daily critique sessions, and lessons on processing your images.
Here are a few of my posts that you might be interested in reading:
Interesting musings, images, and art from others:
The Weekly Edit #06 (Pixelmator Pro) by Cornelius Muller
The black spiny-tailed iguana by Amaranta Chavez
The anatomy of a beach walk by Perfect Light
My Visual Journal #31 by Susanne Helmert
Melancholy to mindfulness: reframing summer’s end by Michela Griffith
Fire resources strained by Claudia Elliott
The Everywhere Border: Trying to Understand the 9/11 Legacy by Todd Miller
City Light by Andrew Eberlin
An experiment in photojournalism by Neil Scott
Scribbles from a rain forest by Shital Morjaria
thank you for the shoutout!
Jon, thanks so much for the mention! I love your posts and look forward to them as always.