Sierra Night

High up in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, Yosemite is hours away from any significant source of light pollution. I knew that during the night I would see a show of stars like no other I had ever seen before. I made my half-hour long drive up Glacier Point Road long before sunset to ensure I could claim the spot I wanted before other star gazers got there. As the sun dipped behind the granite mountains in the west, the stars began to shine. The longer I waited the more brilliant the small dots in the sky became. Looking east toward Half Dome there were so many stars that it was difficult to even focus on a single point, the all seemed to blend together in a bright mixture of the Milky Way. As I made my exposures of the sheer face of Half Dome, I started to notice small lights making their way up it. The head lamps of rock climbers had gone un-noticed to me while I was focusing on the stars. Even in the freezing cold temperatures, the climbers continued up the mountain at midnight. They were just a couple more lights among the millions of others above them.

By: Kaz Canning
 

The Manhattan Window, Brooklyn New York

Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of going to the city of New York. When I eventually got the chance I took the opportunity and made the best I could with the short time I had there. I only had five hours to travel to each of the locations I needed to see in the city and I was determined to go to each location. This was my final location in Brooklyn on Washington street, looking towards Midtown Manhattan. It wasn't my initial intention to capture this image, but when the weather started making a turn for the worse, and poured rain, I knew that this might be my only chance for this shot. I sped across the Manhattan Bridge and found the first parking spot I could in Brooklyn. After running several blocks I turned the corner and saw this site. I had seen it many times before in books and magazines, but I was now the one standing in that iconic spot. I set my tripod down and readied my camera as quick as I could while trying to avoid the pouring rain. I was able to snap a few shots before my gear started getting too wet, and I couldn't have asked for a better shot. Although this picture has been taken many times before, I felt like it was my opportunity to capture this scene how I saw it.

 
By: Kaz Canning
 

Moonset, White Sands National Monument

During a quick road trip through the American Southwest, I was able to make a quick stop at White Sands National Monument, a small stretch of sand dunes outside of Alamogordo. The pure white Gypsum sand was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The dunes went on for miles, looking like piles of snow in the middle of the desert. It was a unique photographic experience for me because I naively assumed that if you've seen one dune you've seen them all, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Each dune has a unique blend of textured ripples, steep faces and winding curves along the spines of the dunes. 

This photo was taken just days after last years "Super Moon", so the moon was on my mind as I was out in the desert. As I started to trek up the side of a 60' tall dune, I saw the moon about to set on the western side of the dune field. I knew this was going to be an abstract photo as I pressed the shutter release, and it stands to be one of my favorites from the road trip.

By: Kaz Canning
 

Turtle Pond, Stony Brook Reservation

I recently had the chance to take a quick day trip to Boston during the peak of the fall colors. It was my first time in Boston, and I was only there for a short 24 hour stay so I had to make the best of my time there. In the peak of the fall colors, this was the perfect time to be in the northeast. I knew that I wanted to find a nature preserve that would have un-touched nature.

I found a small park a few miles from where I was staying, and set my alarm for 3am to make it there before sunrise. The next morning, the temperatures were near freezing and it was pitch black. I parked in an empty church parking lot, pulled out my small flashlight and started stumbling through thick brush and fallen leaves in the general direction of the nature preserve not knowing what I would encounter. As sunrise neared, I was able to navigate a little bit more efficiently and found a trail to follow. I came across this small pond, the air was so still the water gave a perfectly rendered reflection of the tree line across from me. As the sunrise came nearer, the brief window of time of absolutely perfect light lit the autumn trees and I took the picture I knew I needed. After I returned to my hotel I noticed I had brought some ticks along with me, just one more memory to add the this memorable preserve.

By: Kaz Canning