Category: Travel Photography

Stories and the best tips and tricks for getting great travel photography with limited gear.

Photography Spotlight: A Green and Winding Path

Photography Spotlight: A Green and Winding Path

Where would you guess the best Japanese Garden outside of the world is? Would you guess San Francisco? New York? Vancouver?

I have a thing for Japanese Gardens (and Japanese culture, honestly, since I’ve been speaking the language for ten years or so now) and I always swing by them in my travels. I’ve been to ones as far as Monaco and San Francisco, as far North as Boston and as far South as Florida, and by far my favorite of all is this one in:

The Best Japanese Garden in North America
A little canopy of stars at the Japanese Garden of Portland, Oregon

Portland Oregon.

Are you surprised? Portland is known for its food culture scene, but not for its gardens which is a shame because right next to this perfect zen garden is my second favorite garden in the world: the International Rose Test Garden. You wouldn’t believe in June and July the size, the breadth, the varietals this place has to offer!

Seriously, though, The International Rose Test Garden is the place to be
Look at the ruffled edges on these!

The Portland Japanese Garden is one of the best places on the planet for a quiet, meditative wander. The place is perfect to get slightly lost in. Not only does it feature endless bamboo walks and stone pathways, dappled pools and tinkling brooks, but it also offers classes on Japanese flower arrangements, mediation, and other Japanese cultural activities.

Perfect sunny roses at the International Rose Test Garden
Perfect sunny roses at the International Rose Test Garden

So any time of year, go to the Japanese Garden. And if you’re in the area in the Summer, you must go to the rose garden next door. Pre-purchased tickets to the Japanese garden are $14.95 for adults, $12.95 for seniors, $11.95 for students, and $10.45 for ages 10-17. The International Rose Test Garden is free and open 7am to 9pm in the Summer, but does get quite busy evenings and weekends!

The perfect roses at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon
One last picture because I just can’t help it!

What do you think? Do you visit a lot of gardens when you travel? Have you liked any in particular? Tell me in the comments.

Photography Spotlight: Mount Evan’s Wildlife

Photography Spotlight: Mount Evan’s Wildlife

How did I get this beautiful shot? More interestingly- How did I almost NOT get this beautiful shot? Read on, oh photographic warriors, and see how I almost had my ass handed to me in my giddy enthusiasm!

So this was smack dab in the middle of our massive 9700-mile road trip around the United States of America. Myself, my soon-to-be husband, his blue-haired friend, and her two-year-old daughter were tooling around national parks, Seattle-bound or bust. It was awesome.

When we hit Denver, I knew it was my kind of town. For one thing, there were pianos outside to play. Most were in terrible shape, but as a pianist, I always appreciate a few spares here and there. For another, it’s a very outdoor-centric town. Like the west coast, people are always outside doing exciting things like whitewater rafting or hiking canyons or jumping rattlesnakes.

I made up that last one, but I was a little nervous in the rocky areas, so I’d believe it. As musicians, we paid tribute to the hallowed ground of Red Rocks and as a stage technician, I would say my job would not be improved with more rattlesnakes. No thank you very much.

Unfortunately, although I loved Denver, Denver did not love me- It’s 8,000 feet above sea level. I was walking along the street, minding my own business, when I was hit with altitude sickness so strong I had to sit down. But we still decided to drive up Mount Evans, the “highest paved road in North America”. What could go wrong, right?

At 14,000 feet above sea level, the alpine flowers were blooming and wild goats and sheep were plentiful. Of course I hopped out of the car to get a better shot of the lambs. The wildlife were unfazed and I was delighted as I got closer and closer to the lambs.

Until I got too close.

Which was when a big ram took a good look and started walking towards me. Which was when I realized just how far away from the car I had wandered. Which was when I remembered that I couldn’t run even if I wanted to without fainting because of the altitude.

Oh boy.

Jumping lambs
But seriously look at these guys- wouldn’t you get closer?

Lucky for me and the photos you have today, I took this risk, and much luckier, the ram allowed me to back away slowly without incident. But this is a great example of how quickly and easily you can get yourself into trouble in a foreign environment!

This photo was shot on a Nikon D5000 camera and kit lens. It was edited in photoshop with the help of the Nik filter collection, which I adore.

What else do you want to know about travel photography or this shot in particular- gear? Location? Accessories? Post-processing? Workflow? Ask me in the comments and I’ll fill you in. 

Rocky alpine field
The weary photographer and husband returning to the car- victorious.

 

 

 

 

Photography Spotlight: Redwood Sunbeams

Photography Spotlight: Redwood Sunbeams

 

Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul

-John Muir

Redwood Sunbeams, Great American Road Trip, Nikon D5000.

Best American Roadtrip Photographs

Best American Roadtrip Photographs

9,600 scenic miles across the United States and back in a little Mazda 3. That’s far enough to drive across the country East to West, then East, then back West again. We hit 27 states and 7 national parks- And we did it with three adults and one two year-old so never think that having kids will keep you from adventuring!

Photography has added a whole new joy (and sometimes frustration) to travel. I love creating works of art from the awesome things I get to see. I feel so lucky to be there, to be able to bring those images to others who are not. On the other hand, I hate it when I can’t seem to capture something beautiful, when my focus is off, when I forget to charge my camera, or leave some important accessory home.

I don’t have super high-end gear- my DSLR is only worth around $500 and has a kit lens. But because it’s not crazy expensive, I don’t mind shoving it into a backpack for three months or bringing it through rough areas. Even so, I’m happy with the quality of my images, and I know that by the time I upgrade I will really appreciate the higher quality and know enough to understand it better. I hope through my images to inspire people to love this world, like the images of others did before I started taking them myself.

This trip was actually the first time I got to know my DSLR and using it every day of the trip not only gave me great images and helped me remember what I saw, but it also taught me so much. You can only get better at photographs once you start taking some!

What do you think? Do you like any of these? Do you want to know more about my workflow or process? Are you thinking about taking a long American road trip? Do you wonder how we managed traveling with a toddler? Let me know what interests you so I can write about it!

Photography Spotlight: Morning Glory Pool, Yellowstone

Photography Spotlight: Morning Glory Pool, Yellowstone

This is one of my favorite shots from Yellowstone. Very little tweaking of color was needed as the sulfur and microbial mats radiate yellow and orange while the water is a surreal and bewitching shade of turquoise. This was with my Nikon D5000 (Nikon AF-S DX Zoom- Nikkor 18-55mm.) Although this was just my kit lens, I can still get a ton done when I travel without worrying too much about damaging expensive gear.