Hi everyone, we are pleased to announce the top ten photos from our Magic Hour Photo Challenge. With so many great images to choose from, we had a tough time picking our top ten. Watch the video below to see the winning images, and to hear our thoughts about why we thought each was special. Magic Hour Photo Challenge Image Review.mp4 Special thanks to our sponsors Hunt's Photo and Slickpic for providing prizes to the winners. Thanks so much to everyone for submitting their photos. We can't wait to see what you have for us for our current photo challenge!

Welcome to our second Photo Masters Photo Challenge! May’s Theme: Moody Deadline: May 30th  Definition: Often characterized by atmospheric effects, creative exposure, and an abstract quality, moody photos aim to tell a story and create an emotional response in the viewer. (BTW, we often keep these challenge themes somewhat vague so that you have more flexibility for creative interpretation of the theme.)  For this theme, our sponsors – Delkin and Hunt’s – have agreed to provide prizes for the winners: • Hunt’s $25 Gift Card for each of the top 10 entries (description) • The overall winner of this challenge will also receive a Delkin Black 128GB Rugged SD Memory Card. If you have any questions about how to submit photos and our Photo Challenge rules, read this post: https://www.photomasters.com/forum/general/photo-challenges-info-guidelines The winners will be announced in an image review video when the challenge ends. Best of luck!  Additional Resources and Inspiration:  Fog is a great way to add mood to your photos. Learn more about photographing fog here: https://www.photomasters.com/post/how-to-photograph-fog-30-inspiring-examples Alex Benetel is known for making moody, conceptual photos. Check out our interview with her for inspiration: https://www.photomasters.com/post/interview-with-alex-benetel

Hi everyone, and welcome to our first Photo Challenge! Each of our challenges will give you a chance to share your best work, and win some prizes as well as photo glory. This month, our challenge theme is "The Magic Hours." These are the hours of sunrise, sunset, and twilight, when the light is at its most colorful. We'd love to see your best magic hour photos! First Prize: Our favorite photo will receive a Slickpic Pro Plan (valued at $240). SlickPic is a photo portfolio website builder that displays your photos in high resolution glory. Top Ten: In addition to the first prize winner, we will select 9 honorable mentions. Each of these ten best photos will receive a Hunt’s Photo $25 Gift Card. Hunt’s Photo is an online photo retailer that puts customer service first. They can help you find the perfect gear for your next photography adventure! For some tips for taking amazing photos during this time, check out my article on sunrise and sunset photography: https://www.photomasters.com/post/5-tips-for-shooting-stunning-sunrise-and-sunset-photos To take a deeper dive and learn advanced techniques, register for my upcoming Magic Hours Webinar (which is free for PRO members). And PRO members can learn more by watching my field and digital darkroom tutorials from Badlands National Park. The deadline for submissions is April 26th. We're looking forward to seeing your amazing images!

Hi everyone, here is the replay of the Zoom image critique session we did on March 1st. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos. Enjoy!

I'm not a big fan of photographing famous photo icons, as it can be very difficult to find original work when shooting something that has been shot a million times before. And when I am surrounded by dozens of other photographers (or more), I personally find it challenging to extract any meaningful signal when engulfed by so much noise. Instead, I prefer to photograph the spaces in between, those places that don't get a lot of attention from other photographers. There are vast stretches of wild desert in south-central Utah where silence reigns supreme, where I can concentrate on making unique and intensely personal photographs. These wild places in between Utah's famous national parks are perfect for drone photography, which enhances my flexibility to find compelling angles and to work creatively with composition and light. I made the photo above at first light, when the sun was just above the eastern horizon and the fiery light of dawn was beginning to brush the sandstone features of the desert. I framed my composition so that the sun was just outside the image frame, and I used the resulting lens flare creatively. I also explored a vast area of bentonite clay badlands. The soft clay erodes easily, and contains swirling layers of color and texture. I spent days flying my drone over the badlands, looking for the most compelling abstract combinations of shape and color. I made the photo above over a swirling pattern that reminds me of a painter's palette. This dynamic zigzag shape immediately caught my eye. I love to use bold shapes when making compositions. The bright blue of the zigzag enhances its energy, reminding me of a lightning bolt. I'm always looking for energetic shapes for my photographs. Whenever I find shapes and lines moving in multiple, diverging directions, I know that there is the potential to create a dynamic composition. This final photo was made as a late afternoon storm passed in the distance. I find that the best landscape photos emerge when composition, light, and weather converge. Here, the angled sunset light revealed texture and bold leading lines in the foreground. I waited for the bright storm cloud to pass behind the background butte to complete the composition. Being able to find your own compositions is an essential skill for every photographer. If you fall into the trap of just shooting the famous photo icons, you will limit your growth as an artist. Instead, try the in between places, and look for creative abstract collisions of shape, light, and color. If you keep an open mind and freely experiment, you will rise to the challenge and make photos that are truly your very own.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for submitting your best of 2023. I critiqued a bunch of your photos during the live webinar on January 22, and the replay video is now available: https://www.photomasters.com/post/photo-masters-live-2023-year-in-review(https://www.photomasters.com/post/photo-masters-live-2023-year-in-review) Here's hoping we'll all make amazing photos in 2024!

Please share your best (or favorite) photo from 2023. Okay, maybe share a few of your favorites if you wish. We'll be reviewing a selection of member photos during the next episode of Photo Masters LIVE (https://www.photomasters.com/event-details/photo-masters-live)on January 22, we hope to see you there!

Hi everyone, I just got back from a 2-week trip to the Seventh Continent. What an amazing place! Snow and ice dominates the landscape, and the wildlife is stunning. It was a challenging photo shoot for me, as it was very different from the wide-angle, in-your-face style of shooting I typically prefer. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip. The landscapes were jaw-dropping, and I got lucky with some interesting weather and light. Penguins are comically engaging subjects. I captured this chinstrap penguin as it marched purposefully through the snow. I used my Tamron 150-500mm for most of my wildlife photos. At times, the ship I was on was surrounded by icebergs. One day there was strong sunlight on the ice and stormy skies above. I went wide with my Tamron 35-150mm to capture this image. Gentoo penguins are probably my favorite. I captured this photo of a gentoo resting while walking up a steep, snowy slope. I like the diagonal lines that result. I made this wide-angle photo dangling over the edge of a Zodiac boat. This was a small iceberg, and I went wide to capture the underwater parts as well as the dramatic clouds above. One day, we were surrounded by dozens of humpback whales bubble-net feeding. It was an amazing experience! I made sure to zoom in tight to capture the amazing colors and textures of the many icebergs. This one in particular caught my eye, shaped and sculpted by the frigid waters. This final photos is maybe my favorite from the trip. I like to create images with a certain amount of artistic abstraction, and I prefer photos that tell a story. I carefully pinned this gentoo penguin against the sunlit glacier in the background, and then waited for it to do something interesting. The shape of the glacier frames the penguin, giving it more emphasis in the composition. Let me know what you think, thanks!

There is a certain negative connotation to the phrase “tunnel vision,” which is defined as a “narrowness of viewpoint resulting from concentration on a single idea, opinion, etc., to the exclusion of others.” Tunnel vision is typically associated with those who are relentless and single-minded in the pursuit of too narrowly defined goals and interests. Those afflicted with tunnel vision are viewed as missing the big picture, getting mired instead in the weeds of their obsession. Sometimes, however, tunnel vision is needed to bring a concept to fruition, and to fully realize one’s creative vision. Nature photographers in particular are at the mercy of wild elements that cannot be controlled, and persistence is often required to wait for the right convergence of elements that bring an idea to life. A single-minded fixation on a particular scene or composition can be a good thing—although you may end up missing many other opportunities in the process. When you find something truly special, however, it can be worth sacrificing other prospects in order to get the shot. There's a spot just ten miles outside of Badlands National Park that I have photographed many times over the years. It has an incredible set of badlands formations, and because it isn't in the national park, drone flying is allowed. There's a particular composition at this place that has captivated me, and everytime I fly here, I end up shooting it again. It's a really wonderful scene, and each time I photograph it, I feel like I've almost gotten it right, but not quite. After dozens of attempts, I've been tempted to just give up on getting it perfect. Perhaps there isn't any way to make it perfect; maybe there is no optimal solution to this particular visual puzzle. But each time I tell myself that, I find myself returning yet again and giving it another try. Yep, I'm deep in the tunnel. Below you can see a progression of photos that I've taken here, all compositional variations of the same landform. You can see the evolution of this idea, and how with each iteration, the concept gets (hopefully) stronger. At first, I was attracted to the complex, feathery canyons. I quickly noticed that at sunrise, golden light illumates the cliffs facing east (which are at the bottom of these compositions), while the feathery canyons are still in shadow, rendering them blue, creating a natural split tone effect. One particular feature immediately stood out to me: a set of converging, curving canyons that catch the first light at dawn. They look like a lotus blossom to me, and soon I was using this feature as the visual anchor for all of my compositions. I really like how the "lotus blossom" leads to the feathery canyons, so I kept experimenting with compositions that featured both. I also kept trying slightly different angles to create more dynamic compositions. I had a raging internal debate: whether or not to include the curving arm of cliffs on the right side of this next composition. I also tried different light. Although I typically prefer clear light at sunrise to get the split tone effect, I also like this photo taken during the early twilight glow when the scene and the clouds in the background were bathed in pink light. For my final composition, I went vertical, trying to emphasize the visual relationship between the lotus blossom and the feathery canyons. Here, the canyons become the middle-ground of the composition, creating a visual bridge between the lotus blossom in the foreground and the distant sunlit formations in the background. I feel like maybe, just maybe, I have finally been getting it right on my last few visits. Maybe. Okay, maybe I'm still not fully satisfied. Maybe I have to go back. Tunnel vision is a blessing and a curse!

When taking photos, research and planning are important, but to quote the poet Robert Burns, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.” In other words, things don't always go as planned. When that happens, you need to throw all of your preconceived notions out the window, and instead go with the flow. Here are three strategies for successful photography even when your best-laid plans get derailed. Focus on the things that come closest to your vision. You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you can get something that comes pretty close. During a recent trip to Badlands National Park, wildfire smoke meant hazy skies, and I wasn't getting the storm clouds I am always chasing while photographing this area. This meant empty, boring skies for the wide-angle compositions that I prefer. So, I opened my mind, exploring the area looking for something that would fit my preferred approach. When I found this deer skull, suddenly I had a solution to my empty skies. Getting low and close to the skull, I let the horns fill the sky and frame the distant landscape feature. Not quite what I was originally hoping to get, but close enough, and surprisingly effective! Let go of your preconceptions, and instead focus on what is offered. If what you came for just isn't there, it's best to cast off your disappointment as quickly as possible. Instead of wallowing in what could have been, focus on what you actually have. Basically, pivot, and emrbace what is offered. During a photo trip to Madagascar, the landscape and wildlife photo opportunities weren't really lining up with my creative vision as well as I had hoped. Part of the reason why was that many of the most interesting species in Madagascar are nocturnal. Night walks were offered at almost every location I visited, so I took what was offerered. Although night photography isn't typically my favorite, I embraced the opportunity nonetheless. This led to one of my favorite photos from the trip of a pair of mouse lemurs emerging from their daytime hiding place at twilight. Change your approach to optimize what is offered. On a trip to photograph autumn color on the Big Cypress Bayou of Texas, I arrived to find out that most of the color had been torn off the trees by a freak late-season tornado. All I had to photograph were colorless trees clad in ghostly pale Spanish moss. So, I changed my approach to optimize what was offered to me. In this case, it was as simple as shifting my white balance and cooling my photos. This is probably my favorite photo from that trip to the bayou. It doesn't feature much at all of the colorful fall foliage I was hoping to photograph. I didn't expect at all that blue would be the primary color in my autumn bayou photos. But, things didn't go as planned, so I dispensed with my expectations, and embraced instead what was offered by the landscape. Conclusion Flexibility is the key to successful photography. Unique among art forms, it relies on spontaneity and the magic of the moment. Although scouting and planning can be useful, you would be wise to avoid getting locked into a preconception so rigidly that you can’t dispense with it if the need arises.

The Fagradalsfjall Volcano in Iceland has just started erupting again! I'm not able to get there right away, hopefully it will still be active in 2 weeks when I have some free time to visit. In the meantime, here is a favorite photo from a previous eruption of the volcano. To learn more about visiting and photographing this amazing spectacle of nature, visit: https://www.photomasters.com/post/fagradalsfjall-volcano

First light strikes cliffs emerging from the South Dakota plains. This photo was taken about 10 miles outside of Badlands National Park, where the badlands formations extend into public grasslands (so, drones are permitted). When making photos at sunrise, the light and color progresses, starting first in the clouds before making its way down to the landscape. When the clouds light up, that light can be reflected onto the landscape below, painting it with a soft, colorful glow.

Sunrise from Belitung Island in Indonesia. I took a boat early in the morning out to this tiny little sandbar with a bunch of boulders sticking out of the sand. I used the two boulders in the water as foreground elements leading the viewer into the background of the scene.

Hi everyone, for those of you who missed our latest monthly PRO webinar, I have posted the replay video. In this latest webinar, I give a presentation on using color creatively, and I offer critiques of member photos. I'm looking forward to critiquing many more photos for our July webinar, so I am encouraging everyone to share some images over the next few weeks.

Aerial photo of a small island in the Komodo Islands of Indonesia. I often look for simple shapes in my photo compositions, and was attracted to the contrast between the circle shape of the reef surrounding the island, and the triangle shape of the island itself.

Polar bear and her two cubs passing in front of the rising sun. I love incorporating leading lines into my photos, and here the shadows create diagonal lines that lead the eye from the foreground and converge on the bears. If you haven't already done so, check out my Ultimate Photography Composition Course, which is part of your PRO membership, to learn more about using lines and shapes creatively in your photography!

Inside an "ice cave" in winter along the south shore of Lake Superior. These ice formations form inside small sandstone caves and cliffs, the result of water seeping through the sandstone. I asked someone with a bright orange jacket to stand in the space framed by the ice, to create a dynamic complementary color scheme for the photo.

Sumatran orangutan, Indonesia. Eye contact with your wildlife subjects forges an immediate connection with your viewers.

Baobab trees at twilight, Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana. I love making landscape photos during the twilight glow, the colors are soft yet remarkable, giving the landscape an unearthly look.