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I learned to use a telephoto lens for landscape photography early on in my photography life. I was working at St Mary Lodge at the eastern end of Glacier National Park in Montana during the summer of 1970... yes, I AM that old!! It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college. (I attended Chico State College in California, in case you are curious!) I had my plastic Instamatic camera, the first camera in my young life, and I was walking along the shore of Upper St Mary Lake with some new friends in early June. Everyone working at the lodge (with a couple of exceptions) were college students from various cities and states, mostly the upper Mid-West. There was still a lot of snow on the mountains all around the lake, and it was my first experience in such a gorgeous mountain setting outside of my native northern California.

One of the guys had an East German camera, a totally manual mechanical masterpiece called the Praktica. He had enough knowledge to know how to adjust for the light, and he had a couple of lenses. One was a 200mm metal heavyweight, which he attached to the camera body. After he took a few pictures, he handed the camera to me to take a look through the viewfinder. What I saw changed my life!! It was my first look through an SLR camera, as well as my first look through a telephoto lens. What a revelation!!! He explained how the camera worked in as simple a way as possible for this awe-struck boy!! I was at that moment HOOKED on photography, even though I had no idea at that moment what my next step would be. What was presented to me by my new college buddy was a piece of a mountain range pulled up close by that telephoto lens. To me it was a dream and I was wide awake!!

The rest of this story will be revealed in upcoming posts, so stay tuned :)

Now, most photographers use standard to wide-angle lenses to capture landscape scenes. It's logical because our eyes see what the camera 'sees' at approximately 50-55mm. As we turn our heads to take in magnificent landscapes, we naturally see what a wide-angle lens would 'see'... and as photographers we want to capture that feeling in our images. And there's certainly nothing wrong with that approach -- I've been capturing images that way for many years. BUT, because of my early experience referred to above, I almost always look at any scene with a telephoto lens as well. If you look at the photo entitled "Cold Days Warm Hearts in Southern Oregon" referenced at the top of this blog (and linked to below), you'll see an example of a landscape captured with a telephoto lens; in this case with a full frame equivalent of a 600mm lens. (I say 'equivalent' because I use a Micro 4/3 camera system, which I'll delve into in a subsequent blog post.) In a standard view (50mm) the mountains would be a very small part of the overall image, and nothing special at all. But by attaching a telephoto to the camera, I was able to pull that mountain scene out of the overall view. A little work in the computer to sharpen and bring out certain details finished it for uploading.

Where I was standing, there was the sidewalk I was following flanked on both sides by streets, houses, trees, power poles, cars, and people. Yet by pulling out that mountain scene with the long telephoto, you would never know about any of the distracting elements all around me! Sometimes we as photographers have to create something out of almost nothing. This was one of those occasions.

I'll talk about the lens I used, as well as the system I'm using these days, in a blog to follow shortly.

Thanks for reading! Share this with friends if you're so inclined -- and stay tuned for a lot more personal insights coming this way soon :)

I really fell off the wagon regarding my BLOG!! This year I "PROMISE" to do at least ONE entry per week. I'll be discussing my camera equipment, my style, how I approach different photographic subjects, and reveal 'secrets' from my digital darkroom! So stay tuned for fun stuff!! :)

We're now in late winter, and spring is fast approaching. One of my favorite photo subjects is the SKY! I do a lot of time lapse because my new camera system makes it easy to do 'simple' time lapse sequences. The fun is getting the sequences into the computer and playing with them -- adding music, combining sequences, etc. I'll guide you to my Facebook page to see these as I put them up. Again, stay tuned!

Also, I love finding small vignettes of the season, no matter which season, to capture with my camera, then maximize on the computer. Such is the image accompanying this blog. The last light of dusk was hitting the cumulus cloud above me, so I captured it. A little digital magic enhanced the color and mood of the moment. I'll take you through my process in coming blogs. Maybe it will help you, or maybe you have processes much more evolved than what I'm doing!! If so, I REALLY want to hear from you! I'm a perpetual student of this craft, for sure!

Well, that's all for now, but I'll be back with more 'stuff' in the very near future! Thanks for reading :)

Yeah, it's been WAY too long since I've contributed to my own blog! During December I had a 13-piece exposition of my Grants Pass photography on the walls of the Barnstormer's Theatre here in GP. It was well received -- and Sarine and I just finished putting up those same photos (done in metallic finish without glass in the frames) in our booth downtown. Sure makes for a great looking display!! Now we're just waiting for the doldrums to pass by and the spring influx of tourists and visitors to begin. I'm hoping I have predicted the desires of the public sufficiently to sell a few in the next month or two :)

Since it's now 2013, I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. God Bless us all! Keep in touch... I certainly plan to :)

Yes, November is here, the cold weather is upon us... and the Holidays are approaching fast! Autumn is my favorite time of the year, followed closely by the Christmas season :) The colors, the food, the smells and the jolly attitudes of those I run into make this time of year really special! I just finished putting up a series of photographs called "Autumn Piano" that I hope you will take a look at. Music has always been a big part of my life, and now I'll put up a collection of music-oriented art pieces for your pleasure. Hope you like what's there now and what's to come.

I'm also preparing a group of 10 enlargements on metallic paper for a showing at Barnstormers Theatre here in Grants Pass during the month of December. The play is called "Our Town" and I will have a showing at the theatre during the show's run. My photograph also is on the cover of the program. If you're in town, come to the theatre and see "Our Town" -- I guarantee a good time at the theatre!! :)

Hey everyone! The Holiday Season is fast approaching! We went from high temps near 90 just a couple of weeks ago to our first snowfall on the hills around town last night... and it's doing it again tonight! We're getting a good start on our rainfall for the season :) At CareSource we're having out second art and craft sale later in November -- the planning starts tomorrow at noon. I'm about to put sale prices on my photography at "Special Creations" in downtown GP, and the most fun event to come my way this year will happen during the first couple of weeks in December -- an art show of MY work at Barnstormers Theatre here in Grants Pass!!! That's right, I get to put up 10 of my favorite photos depicting "Our Town" to go along with the play of the same name showing at that time :) My photography is even featured in the poster and program cover for this play -- I am so honored!! It's going to be a wonderful Christmas Season, and I hope you all can share in the fun, no matter where you are in the world!

Peace, my friends!! ~ Mick

I just learned that the Barnstormer's Theatre here in Grants Pass wants to feature my work -- specifically the Old Town -- in an exhibit to be held during the production of the play, "Our Town" later this fall. I am of course humbled and honored to be asked, and have accepted this call. I'll be studying the theatre with the director of the play this coming week to see what I need to do to prepare for this event. The plays generally run about two weeks, so that is how long the display will run as well. This will give me some much-appreciated publicity and perhaps drive a few folks to check out all my work online and in the store display at Special Creations. I sure hope some of YOU can attend the play and see the gallery :) I have more news in the works, so stay tuned!
~ Mick

Lots of new images have been uploaded... in fact, I'm well over the 500 mark now! Most folks who seem to be selling on FAA have at least 500 images to choose from. 1000+ would be better, but I'm not quite there yet! Even so, I have plenty of stock to work with to attain that level, so keep watching! New to my lineup at Custom Creations in downtown Grants Pass is my first photo book! It's an archival collection of photos from the Grants Pass area that is selling for $25, a real low price for a book of its quality. There's only one copy there now because two of the first three sold right away! If you're in the Grants Pass area, stop by the store at 6th and G and take a look! It's free to browse :) The artist side of me is gaining momentum... I'll have new pieces of original art on display in the near future, and photo copies of it online on FAA. Lot's going on, so stay tuned! And thanks for reading :) ~ Mick

Some local guys built rock cairns (balanced stones) in the shallows of the Rogue River just downstream from the Caveman Bridge here in Grants Pass just a few days ago. I ventured down to the river's edge to grab a few photos late Saturday and was rewarded with quite a few really nice images, some of which are now uploaded to FAA for YOU to see! Tell your friends -- these are really unique rock structures and there's a LOT of 'em in the river :) They are temporary -- the river (high water) and people (mostly kids and childish adults) will knock 'em down over the next few weeks until winter water arrives. If you live here (or near here), you ought to come down to the Caveman Bridge and take a look. Or, you can walk down to the river's edge at the south end of 5th Street where a path takes you right to them! A photo enlarged, framed and on your wall will certainly get a lot of comments!! :) [Tell your friends!!]

Stay tuned -- much more to come! Thanks for reading :) ~ Mick

I've just finished (for now) uploading old and unique autos, and am now concentrating on some of the historic buildings in downtown Grants Pass. Thanks to all of you who have visited the galleries on FAA -- keep visiting!! I promise a lot more in variety over the next few weeks :)

Also, I have just updated my selection of photo-art available at Creative Images at 6th and "G" in downtown GP! Stop by and take a look :) Keep coming back because a LOT more is in the works!! Have a great week, y'all! ~ M

Hi Peeps! I continue to add new images to my galleries here at FAA, and my latest offerings are abstract images of cars, trucks and automotive symbols.

Also, I'm adding more prints to my downtown display here in Grants Pass, Oregon. The ones going in now are metallic prints which I hope will spark even more interest in my art. Some really great frames are sitting in my garage waiting to be filled... and I have some nice prints to go in 'em!! A few more days and they will be on display :) [I have a week of vacation next week so I hope to get a lot done!]

Keep watching... you never know what I might bring to the table next!! ;) ~M