Earlier this year I was named the winner of the Canada Northern Lights Award for my travel photography. More than 300 entries were considered from photojournalists all over the world. The Missouri School of Journalism picked the final winners for best travel writing and best photography. Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), I was honored.
 
I was told that the award itself would arrive later. I waited and waited, but nothing arrived. In a follow-up e-mail I was told that the award was an original sculpture and would take …

2011 was a pretty good year… photographically, that is. I was able to fulfill a decades-old desire and delve deep into large format photography, only to find that it does not suit my travel style. Bummer. But I had fun finally tackling that beast and putting it to rest.
It was also the year that I added medium format to my repertoire, and I am enjoying my Hasselblad H4D-50 very, very much. With its 50-megapixel files and extraordinary sensor, I get luscious, film-like images that exceed my expectations.
I was also able …

One man’s sorrow is another man’s joy, or so the saying goes (I assume it applies equally to women). And so it is in the Yukon Territory, where oil, gas and precious metal interests have discovered that the Canadian province may hold vast, untapped resources. That’s good news for the economy and perhaps bad news for the environment. We’ll soon see.
In winter I usually review some of my past year’s work and, lo and behold!, I found some images that I had forgotten about. Without taking a stand on Yukon’s …

I’ve been visiting global cold weather spots for many years and there is no question in my mind that climate change is occurring. From melting permafrost to retreating glaciers, I see this every time I venture north.
I am not taking sides on how much is human-induced and how much is naturally occurring. From the data I have seen so far, I am convinced that human activity has accelerated this process. But I also believe that more research is needed on this vital issue that will affect humanity and our natural …

The time is upon us; the quintessential season when photographers of every stripe dust off their lenses, check their camera batteries and hit the road to capture those radiant fall colors.
Shooting Tips
Here is a small sampling of my favorite tips for capturing fall colors, borrowed from my upcoming e-Book on fall photography and condensed for this blog.
Look for Yucky Days
Contrary to popular opinion, you can capture some of the best fall images on overcast days, particularly after a rainy spell. You just have to leave out the gray sky and …

Today my 5th visit to the Yukon is over. After 24 days in this majestic land, I’m heading home on Air Canada on a route that has by now become familiar to me. I’ll process some photos, write a bit, read a good novel (right now I’m reading Eventide, the sequel to the acclaimed Plainsong by Kent Haruf)), and begin thinking about my next visit.
Take Our Workshop!
Which brings up an interesting point. Richard Hartmier (www.hartmier.com)  and I are planning a photo tour of the Yukon next summer, stretching over the …

Klondike Gold Rush fever spread through the world in 1898, bringing tens of thousands of dreamers, mostly Americans, into the harsh and frigid reality of the Yukon. Dawson City was its epicenter, but to get there those Klondikers had to endure a months-long journey against Mother Nature that was brutal beyond imagination. During its peak year, almost 90,000 people lived in and around Dawson City, where before there had been a tiny outpost and First Nations dwellers.
When the gold rush ended, gold mining by larger corporations continued until the early …

We left Whitehorse, Yukon this morning under bright, sunny skies and were granted a glorious day driving the 8 hours to Dawson City, Yukon, the Gateway to the North. Of course, we stopped several times along the way for photographs. Fall is in full swing up north.
You can trace our route and stopping points on my SPOT interactive mapping site. For those of you who are curious, here is my SPOT GPS device standing on the dashboard. It sends out a signal about every 10 minutes to a satellite which, …

Richard Hartmier and I traveled from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada to Haines, Alaska today, in a car ride punctuated by frequent photo stops. The landscapes were enhanced by low-lying fog, so look for future blogs showcasing some of those images or visit my gallery website to see the final cuts.
Driving through the mountain passes, we descended toward the ocean in Haines and set our clocks back an hour. I found the ride a bit difficult due to a cracked rib injury I sustained during my drive up the Dempster Highway …

Well, the first part of my Yukon adventure is over, after spending 10 days with five of my closest men friends to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our first meeting. You may have noticed that my GPS is turned off. That’s because the past 48 hours we have been in and around Whitehorse. I will turn it back on tomorrow, as you’ll see below.
Highlights
There were too many highlights of the RV-ing adventure for me to mention all of them. Of course there were the grizzly and caribou sightings, and the …