Channeling My Inner Art Wolfe

Brainard Lake, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado. Photo copyright Jim Doty Jr,
Brainard Lake, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado, August 30, 2007.

My brother-in-law, who is also my photo buddy, were at Brainard Lake in Colorado. It was a cloudy day so we were photographing wildflowers. I was hopeful the clouds would part for a nice sunset but that did not happen.

I checked The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) on my phone for Brainard Lake and sunset was happening, but we couldn’t see it thanks to the clouds. And it started to drizzle and then rain. We got in the car and ate our sack lunches (yes, lunch was really, really late) and watched the rain drops in the windshield. Long after sunset the rain stopped and the clouds started to part. A second sunset was beginning to develop. That is when sunlight bounces off clouds below the horizon which you can’t see and then bounces again off of clouds you can see. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it is a special gift. We were out of the car and taking pictures in the beautiful light.

St. Elias Mountains, Alsek Lake, Alaska. Early morning light illuminates fog and floating icebergs, which combined with the jagged mountains creates a surrealistic view.

Art Wolfe is a world class photographer. I have been a fan for a long time. I bought my first two books by Art Wolfe over 20 years ago, and more of his books since then. He is an ongoing source of inspiration. If I could pick any five photographers in the world and tag along for a few days and shoot with them, Art would be one of the five. Via his books he is one of my mentors. The images in Earth Is My Witness are truly stunning.

Among the many things he does so well, he has created some beautiful sunrise and sunset reflection images. I like to think I was channeling a bit of Art Wolfe when I created my image at Brainard Lake.

Links

Art Wolfe – official web site

Art Wolfe Showcase

Art Wolfe Fine Art Prints

Several beautiful “coffee table” books by Art Wolfe are on this page of my Amazon powered photography store, along with his Travels to the Edge DVDs.

Two of Art Wolfe’s “how to” instructional photography books are on this page of my photography store.

Nature Photography Books: The Three Essentials. If you only read three nature photography books, put these on your “must read” list.

My Two Favorite Introductions to Landscape Photography. If you only get two books on landscape photography, these are the books to get.

The Best “How To” Nature Photography Books

Indian Peaks Wilderness – USDA site

Brainard Lake Recreation Area – USDA site