Last year I was the honored recipient of the Canada Northern Lights Award for Best Travel Photographer.
This year the award went to National Geographic photographer Catherine Karnow. My hat is off to her and the fantastic work that Nat Geo does in upping the game for all of us. The end result? Better, more dynamic photography for readers worldwide.
The Canada Northern Lights Award is judged by one of the world’s top journalism schools, the University of Missouri School of Journalism and their panel of peer reviewers. It was a high …

I’m excited to announce the winners of our First Annual Bird Photography Contest. We instituted this contest for two reasons; first to tip our hats to the dedicated birders of the Annual Christmas Bird Count who help us gauge the health of our natural environment, and second to give credit to bird photographers everywhere. I acknowledge their skills and perseverance precisely because I am so damned bad at it!
There were supposed to be First, Second and Third place awards, but we had a hard time choosing the Second place winner, …

Museo Fine Art papers has just published a comprehensive description of our recent Les Picker Fine Art images at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Maryland. If you are interested in understanding what goes into an installation of more than 60 images- from traditional prints to face-mounted plexiglass and huge wall coverings- check this out.
 
 
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Thought you might be interested in the newest addition to my workflow.

 
After 18 months of treatment for what we thought was simply plantar fasciitis turned out to actually be a fractured heel. It’s hard to be sure when it originally happened, but I’m certain it was hiking down some mountain path with 30 pounds of gear in my pack. As of today I am officially immobilized and in 6 weeks I look forward to hitting the trails again. In the meantime this baby cost me a trip to Africa. Damn!
 
 
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Bob and I are off to the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. PhotoPlus is the largest photo convention in the country, drawing tens of thousands of avid photographers. The convention hall is filled with amateurs and pros checking out the hundreds of exhibitors and brushing up on new products and techniques.

There are demonstrations, lectures, one-on-one consultations and critiques. The atmosphere is fairly electric. Even if you spent every moment of the three days exploring the vendors, you’d be hard pressed to cover them all. Cameras, lenses, printers, gadget bags, lighting products, …

One could make a strong case for my professional schizophrenia. On the one hand I am a professional landscape/nature photographer. But that’s only half of what I do. I’ve also written nonfiction extensively, for dozens of national magazines and newspapers over the years. Yet, one of my lifelong goals has been to write fiction.
So, play the fanfare. I’m excited to tell you all that this past week I published two of the historical fiction novels that I have been working on for the past several years. With the collapse of …

For that one very special person who has time available, one slot has opened for my previously fully-booked photography workshop in Maine. The 4-day event begins on October 18 at 3:00 PM and ends on October 22 at noon. If there is any one place I look forward to being it is in Maine during Mother Nature’s display of Fall foliage. Even better, the workshop takes place in Acadia National Park, right on the coast. Acadia is a jewel, no doubt about that.

We will spend four intense days shooting …

Cameras that can see around walls? Ultra high speed photography measured in TRILLIONS of images a second? What on Earth are those MIT scientists up to? See for yourself and prepare to be amazed!
http://www.ted.com/talks/ramesh_raskar_a_camera_that_takes_one_trillion_frames_per_second.html
 
 
 
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I was driving in Iceland yesterday, when this Klingon ship appeared on the horizon. As we approached, it tried to disguise itself as a cloud, but any Trekkie would instantly recognize this ploy for what it is.
It’s getting downright dangerous out here in Iceland. Beam me up, Scottie!
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I leave tomorrow for a 16-day photo exploration of Iceland. I’ll be accompanied by my good friend and fellow professional photographer, the curmudgeonly Richard Hartmier, of Yukon Territory, Canada. We have a 4-wheel vehicle reserved, but not even one place to lodge. Our plan is to rent some sleeping bags, a propane stove for coffee in the morning, a cooler for some food, and just take off for wherever our cameras point.  If we end up in one place for a few days we’ll book into a hotel or B&B, …