Exploring Light and Color in Cuba

I’d been wanting to visit Cuba for decades, but it had somehow evaded my priorities. Then a call came in with an invitation to fly to Cuba and contribute to the documentary project In the Footsteps of Walker Evans. I didn’t need many details. I signed on without hesitation. Since then I return annually and bring photographers like you. But here’s my story… My first visit to Cuba: Our objective was to photograph contemporary Western Cuba … more >>

Tips for Photography at Burning Man

Awakening by Ryan Elmendorf, Nick Geurts

August is when I prepare for another trip back to Burning Man. Despite the complicated logistics, endless details and physical challenges of photographing in the intense heat and alkaline dust, I am drawn to return again.  . When I post my Burning Man photo galleries after each event, many people ask me for details on how I photograph there, and how I protect my gear (and myself) in such conditions. They also ask what gear I use, so … more >>

The Creative Photographer: The Story of ‘The Haunted Tree’

The Haunted Tree

The Haunted Tree is my most published and collected photograph to date. It has evoked various responses from viewers and curators who have described it using adjectives including  ‘dreamy’, ‘mysterious’, ‘foreboding’, ‘cinematic’, ‘poetic’, ‘confrontational’, ‘powerful’, ‘spiritual’…and the list goes on. Haunted Tree is also my most plagiarized and ‘borrowed’ image to date. I enjoy knowing it feeds the thought of others, even though I find it online being used for heavy metal band merchandise, to accompany … more >>

My June photography workshop: “Imagination Vision and Voice”

I love to teach workshops in beautiful locations, and none are finer than the coast of Maine. This summer I return for my seventh year to Maine Media Workshops. I’ll teach a workshop called “Imagination Vision and Voice”. Last year this workshop was very well received, and I was fortunate to have a great group of students at all levels or experience. We have a helluva lot of fun too!  

Next workshop: Santa Fe Workshops in March 2012

“Creative Photography with Any Camera”  MARCH 14 – 17 :  Santa Fe, NM “Join me to capture the beauty, history, and nature in and around Santa Fe!”                   No matter what your photography experience is, this workshop will inspire and give you hands-on instruction to master camera settings, use intuition to capture the best moments, artfully compose shots, edit and organize images and create slide shows, prints and web galleries. You’ll … more >>

Capturing the Living Environment

“Wherever I go, I seek compositions that artfully interpret subjects and the ‘feel’ of the place they inhabit” On a recent road trip down the Oregon coast, I spent a day at infamous Canon Beach. To say that it’s a magical and photogenic place is an understatement. The surrounding public-access coastline draws over 20,000 people a year, yet much of it can easily be seen with hardly a soul upon it.

Reflections on a Foggy Morning

“Nothing gets my poetic creativity flowing like photographing water reflections in morning fog.”                   I love that fog coats everything in moist dew, and love exploring compositions where foregrounds softly fade into backgrounds. It also melds together two of my favorite sounds: seagulls and foghorns.

Get Low For a Unique Perspective

“Photographing a landscape from a low angle perspective helps me illustrate subjects in nature.” When photographing the land, I shoot traditionally and also look for a unique perspective or point of view. Low vantage points are often overlooked, and are often truly rewarding. Before getting close with my camera to capture the details, I use my body position to try various ways I might view the subject. To the causal onlooker, I must look insane with my … more >>