John Muir
Today is John Muir’s birthday! He was born April 21, 1838. He had a profound influence on how Americans viewed our wild lands and his influence led to the establishment of many of our National Parks and other protected lands. He was nicknamed “The Father of our National Parks”.
Here are photos from some of my favorite national and state parks along with quotes from John Muir.
Dance Recital, Living Art Studios
At 7:00 pm Saturday evening, April 4, the parking lot was already filling up with cars for the 7:30 pm dance recital. People were arriving early to get a good seat.
Pelicans on Lake LaShane this morning. April 9, 2026.
Last night I was photographing these pelicans under cloudy skies. The images just didn’t “pop”. This morning I had a 30 minute window with sunlight on the pelicans before the clouds again moved in. This is the full uncropped image, resized for the web.
Solar Eclipse sequence.
The second Great American Eclipse was 2 years ago today. The first was August 21, 2017. I traveled to the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse but for this one I stayed home to share it with my children and grandchildren.
Northern Arizona
We were flying east our of California and I was watching the landscape go by. I spotted this interesting bend in the channel carved by the Colorado River in Arizona.
California Poppies, April 3, 2001.
I was in Fremont California when I spotted these poppies growing in a school yard. I got out of my car, walked to the poppies, and lay down on the ground to put the sun partially behind one of the flowers blossoms. I used a small lens aperture like f/16 to turn the sun into a sun star.
California Golden Poppies
California is famous for California Golden Poppies in the spring. I was at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge when I photographed these poppies on April 1, 2017. This particular wildlife refuge is a favorite of mine and I try to spend some time there any time I am in the Bay Area.
Bluebonnets and Paintbrush, Texas.
One of the best places to photograph wildflowers in late March and early April is central Texas and the Texas Hill country. It was March 31, 2001 when I photographed these wildflowers in central Texas. Driving along I-35 there were vast expanses of wildflowers as far as the eye could see.
No Kings Rally, Lamoni Iowa
Saturday, March 28, 2026 there was a “No Kings” rally in Lamoni Iowa, population 2,200. I was out taking pictures for the local newspaper.
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial, Washington D.C.
March 29, 2026 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. I am posting these images in honor of those who served.
Moon Over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah.
Are you planning a spring photography trip to one or more U.S. national parks? Where should you go? Which parks will provide the best photographic opportunities? Which parks are at their best in the spring?
Ice Goblets at Lake LaShane. February 20, 2026.
Back in February our dog Rowdy and I came home from a trip to our favorite lake. My wife asked me about the messy stain on my pants. I told her I found an interesting ice formation at Lake LaShane and the only angle I could use to capture the image was to lay down in some wet, messy glop at the very edge of the lake shore with my camera close to the water.
Ocotillo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Which national parks are at their very best in the spring? If I could go on a fabulous spring photography trip to the national parks of my choice, all expenses paid, which ones would I pick? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
NOAA Solar Calculator – Home Page
You can determine Solar Noon, Apparent Sunrise, and Apparent Sunset for any place in the Unites States and pretty much any other place on the planet. Solar Noon is the exact time the sun is due south of your location and at its highest point in the sky for the day. Solar Noon is not the same as noon on your clock. First go here and you will see the U.S. map above.
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 11-24mm lens.
Long time friends know my routine. At the precise minute spring, summer, fall, and winter begin, weather permitting, I take a picture of the sun with the same camera and lens in the same location. Today it was at 9:46 am CDT, the precise moment when the sun was directly over the equator. Here in Iowa, clouds often mess with my project.
Jan, Receptionist.
I walked into the doctor’s office and signed in with the receptionist, who had a BOTOX shirt on. She had a great smile so I asked her if I could take pictures of her. She said yes. I took about a dozen photos. I almost always have a camera with me because you never know when you might need it.
“The Human Web”, March 16, 2001.
I created this image 25 years ago today for a class I was teaching at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) in Michigan. It was so popular that Jim Riegel, the head of the photography department, asked if he could exhibit it in the KIA faculty exhibit at the annual Kalamazoo Art Fair in Bronson Park in June. Jim was in charge of the faculty exhibit. When June 2 rolled around, he used it as the centerpiece work of art for the KIA exhibit. At the end of the day he told me it was the most talked about work of art in the faculty exhibit. All kinds of people stopped by to ask questions about it.
March 11 has been a good day for photography, starting with the image above created 40 years ago today.
The Orion Nebula in Orion Nebula, Canon 7D camera, 300mm lens, and an iOptron Sky Tracker.
It was 10 years ago tonight, March 10, 2016 at 11:04 pm. I had acquired a simple star tracker and was ready to test it out. I set up in a park west of Lamoni Iowa. I was using a 70-300mm lens on a Canon 5D Mark III. The aperture was f/11 and the shutter was open for 177 seconds. Without the star tracker my shutter speed would have been limited to about 1-2 seconds to prevent the everything from blurring due to earth’s rotation.
Four people going ice fishing on Lake LaShane. iPhone image resized for the web. Click for a larger version.
I was looking at some iPhone photos from a month ago and came across this photo. My dog and I were out walking at one of the local lakes and I took this picture with my iPhone. Hundreds of yards off in the distance (upper left) I saw some people on the lake, so I got out my “toy” camera and lens. (See the 2nd and 3rd links below).
Beth and Aquila, the Ad Building.
On January 27 it was my happy privilege to do the engagements photos for Beth and Aquila. I told them I would not post any photos until they had the opportunity to send out photos with the announcement of their engagement. The indoor photos were created at the “Ad Building” on the Graceland University campus. We also shot outside the Ad Building and near two local lakes. The windchill was 9 degrees so it was one of my coldest outdoor portrait shoots. Beth and I have done violin portraits outside in the cold and snow before (link below), so her name shows up twice on my list of “ten coldest portrait shoots”.
Click to see a larger version.
“Why don’t you post your favorite photos at the end of the year?” Good question. A lot of photographers do that. I have not been one of them, at least until today. This morning I decided to pick my favorite photos for 2025 and post them. The individual photos are below.
Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese near Lake LaShane. February 27, 2026.
Hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Geese have been in the Lamoni Iowa area. These geese are flying in all kinds of directions over a corn field, looking for a place to land.
iPhone photo
I took a photo from the same location with my iPhone and a 400mm lens on my Canon 7D2 DSLR. This is the iPhone photo above.
Bear Lake Road and Hallett Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park February 27, 2008.
In 2008 I went on my first and only winter photography trip to Colorado. I spent 6 glorious days. When the trip was over I posted two photos at this blog, and was quickly involved in other projects. 18 years later I decided it was about time to pull those discs off the shelf, look through the photos and see what I could find. I picked my favorite photos for each date. The result is this series of articles.
Links
Bishop Castle, Rye Colorado. February 29, 2008. The three large windows at the top right are in the Great Room.
Mount Princeton. February 28, 2008.
I began the day by backtracking a bit. From Buena Vista I went north on U.S. 285 just far enough to stop at a picnic area on a hill east of town. This is one of my favorite views of Mt. Princeton and I wanted to capture it with all of the winter snow.
Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.
Today was half Rocky Mountain National Park and half travel. It was a beautiful blue sky with clouds kind of morning.
Moraine Park in Late Evening Light, RMNP, Colorado. Feb 26, 2008.
My favorite picture of the day was at the end of the day. I was near the Moraine Park visitor’s center watching clouds drift across the sky as the stars came out.
Deer, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 25, 2008.
This fine young buck was standing not very far from one of the park roads.