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Wawona Photography — One hour. One-half acre.
Wawona, California is a small community located entirely within Yosemite National Park’s boundary. Most tourists drive past it without a second glance. They are usually on their way to or from Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, or the Mariposa Grove. But, Wawona is a very special place, and very near and dear to my heart. A mountain community Most of Wawona’s residents are transient guests, occupying one of the many rental homes while on vacation. But about 200 people are permanent residents. Wawona has a hotel and restaurant, two small grocery stores, a post office, gas station, elementary school, library, and
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A Mountain Girl Goes To Death Valley
“Standing there, gaping at this monstrous and inhumane spectacle of rock and cloud and sky and space, I feel a ridiculous greed and possessiveness come over me. I want to know it all, possess it all, embrace the entire scene intimately, deeply, totally…” ― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire, about his time in Death Valley and Arches national parks. Edward Abbey wrote, “There are mountain men, there are men of the sea, and there are desert rats.” Where is your happy place? For me, it is the mountains that make my soul sing. I grew up in Northern California, playing in
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2021 — A Year of Photography
It’s time again for my annual review of photographs, a year-end tradition now in its tenth year. This scrutiny is an important exercise for any artist — to reflect, examine, and refine one’s vision. Looking back helps us look forward. So, which unique quality stands out in my 2021 portfolio? First of all, I will just come out and say it — twenty twenty-one was a really tough year. Gary and I said our final farewells to five people who were very important to us, including his dear father, whom we lost right before Christmas. I have often talked
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Canon 5DsR — Still a great camera?
“Ask Charlotte” is my landscape photography advice blog. Have a question about photography? Go ahead. Ask me. I’m delighted to hear from people who share my passion. I’ll do my best to answer your question thoroughly, and who knows, maybe we will both learn something new! So, what’s your burning question? Hi Charlotte, I just bought a canon 5DSR (I don’t know if that was very smart with everything going mirrorless, but at $1500.00 for a new one I couldn’t resist). I was going to buy a 24-70 F/4 L, but they quit making them
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Slow Photography and Working a Scene
Landscape photographers often have an approach to working a landscape scene. My own style is a bit like a slow dance, not about rushing around, although at times changing light demands quick action. It’s about observing, being in a flexible state of mind, and slowing down. I recently wrote an article on the slow photography approach for the Out of Chicago blog, which is about the resurgence of the Slow Photography Movement. Now, I want to take you through a morning with me when things didn’t go quite as expected. Taking a visual inventory I spent a few precious days
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My best photographs of 2020
It’s that time of year again — time to take a hard look at the best photographs I created over the last 12 months, and boy, what a year it was! A pandemic claimed nearly two million lives and created global economic hardship. Climate change hit home with historic, record-breaking wildfires. The fight for social justice took to the streets. And finally, we had to endure a presidential election like this country has never witnessed. When I reflect on everything that happened in 2020, it is a wonder I was able to make art at all. The year started
