Outdoor Photography

How to Scout and Shoot Waterfall Compositions During Fall Foliage Season
Video Tutorials

How to Scout and Shoot Waterfall Compositions During Fall Foliage Season

There is a specific kind of frustration that comes from arriving at a waterfall location and realizing you have no plan. You are standing in front of something genuinely beautiful, the light is doing something interesting overhead, and you are fumbling with your tripod trying to figure out where to even point your camera. I have been that person more times than I want to admit. One particularly humbling trip involved a waterfall in Oregon, three days of missed dinner, and a husband who was very patient about it.

How to Shoot Stunning Fall Color Photos (3 Lighting Tricks That Actually Work)
Video Tutorials

How to Shoot Stunning Fall Color Photos (3 Lighting Tricks That Actually Work)

Every October I drag myself out of bed before sunrise for my Sunday photo walk, and every October I’m reminded that fall is both the most forgiving and the most deceptive season to shoot. The colors do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, sure. But point your camera in the wrong direction or stand in the wrong spot, and those gorgeous reds and golds go flat fast. I’ve watched friends come home from leaf-peeping trips with hundreds of photos that look like sad screensavers.

Stop Fighting the Sun: 3 Techniques for Better Portraits in Harsh Midday Light
Video Tutorials

Stop Fighting the Sun: 3 Techniques for Better Portraits in Harsh Midday Light

If you shoot portraits outdoors with any regularity, you already know the specific frustration I’m talking about. It’s noon, the light is brutal, and your subject is squinting into a sky that’s basically one giant flashbang. You twist every dial on your camera trying to salvage the shot, and every single result looks flat, blown out, or just plain unflattering. I’ve been there more times than I can count, including on a trip to Portugal where I spent three days chasing “golden hour” and completely ignored the six hours of perfectly usable harsh light in between.

Why Hiking Will Make You a Better Photographer (And How to Actually Do It Right)
Video Tutorials

Why Hiking Will Make You a Better Photographer (And How to Actually Do It Right)

Every Sunday morning I do a photo walk around my neighborhood in Seattle. Rain, shine, or that particular Pacific Northwest gray that makes everything look like an Instagram filter someone forgot to name. I started this tradition partly for the exercise, partly because I was tired of waiting for “perfect” conditions that never seemed to arrive. What I didn’t expect was that it would quietly become the single most useful thing I do for my photography each week.

Shooting in Terrible Weather: What Iceland's Worst Storm Taught Me About Dramatic Photography
Video Tutorials

Shooting in Terrible Weather: What Iceland's Worst Storm Taught Me About Dramatic Photography

Every photographer I know has a version of the same story: you’ve planned a shoot for weeks, you show up, and the weather is genuinely miserable. Not moody-miserable. Actually miserable. Wind, rain, low visibility, the works. Most people pack up and leave. I used to be one of those people. What changed my thinking wasn’t a book or a course. It was watching how working professionals handle exactly those conditions in real time.

How a Variable ND Filter Finally Fixed My Outdoor Video Problem (And What to Look For in One)
Video Tutorials

How a Variable ND Filter Finally Fixed My Outdoor Video Problem (And What to Look For in One)

Every Sunday morning I take a photo walk around Seattle, and for a long time, outdoor video was my nemesis. I’d set up a beautiful wide-open shot near the water, soft background blur, gorgeous light coming through the trees, and then watch the footage back and cringe. Jittery, overexposed, nothing like what I saw through the viewfinder. I’d bump my shutter speed to compensate for the brightness and ruin the cinematic motion quality entirely.

How to Find and Frame Forest Shots in Unpredictable Weather (Lessons from Fiordland)
Video Tutorials

How to Find and Frame Forest Shots in Unpredictable Weather (Lessons from Fiordland)

I once spent an entire vacation chasing a single waterfall shot. I missed dinner four nights in a row, came back to the hotel soaked every time, and walked away with maybe two frames I actually liked. What I lacked wasn’t gear or patience. I lacked a system for reading a chaotic natural scene quickly and building a composition on the fly, in changing light, in wet conditions that were doing their best to ruin everything.

Why Your Outdoor Videos Still Look Amateurish (And the $30 Fix That Changes Everything)
Video Tutorials

Why Your Outdoor Videos Still Look Amateurish (And the $30 Fix That Changes Everything)

Every Sunday morning I take a photo walk around my neighborhood in Seattle. Rain, shine, the occasional hailstorm — I’m out there. And for years, the footage I shot on those walks had this weird, jittery quality I couldn’t shake. My photos looked fine. My videos looked like I filmed them through a nervous system. I adjusted exposure, I fiddled with ISO, I blamed the camera. Turns out I was fighting the wrong problem entirely.

Stop Overcomplicating Your Landscape Shots: Composition Lessons From a Pro Who's Been There
Video Tutorials

Stop Overcomplicating Your Landscape Shots: Composition Lessons From a Pro Who's Been There

Every Sunday morning I do a photo walk. No agenda, no client brief, just me and whatever light shows up. And for a long time, those walks felt frustrating because my images looked cluttered, busy, like I was trying to say ten things at once. I knew something was off with my compositions but I couldn’t name what. Turns out I was skipping the most fundamental step entirely. That’s exactly what stopped me mid-scroll when I found this tutorial by New Zealand-based landscape photographer and educator William Patino.

How to Photograph a Waterfall: Lessons From Shooting in the Rain With a Wide Angle
Video Tutorials

How to Photograph a Waterfall: Lessons From Shooting in the Rain With a Wide Angle

I once spent four days on a trip to the Oregon coast trying to nail a single waterfall shot. I missed dinner twice, came back to the cabin soaking wet every evening, and still didn’t get the image I had in my head. What I wish I’d had was a more systematic way of working through a scene instead of just wading in and hoping for the best. That’s exactly what makes this tutorial so useful.

When Everything Goes Wrong: What Nigel Danson's Worst Photography Day Teaches Us About Shooting in Bad Conditions
Video Tutorials

When Everything Goes Wrong: What Nigel Danson's Worst Photography Day Teaches Us About Shooting in Bad Conditions

There’s a version of photography that lives on Instagram — golden hour, perfectly packed camera bag, zero wind. Then there’s the version most of us actually live, which involves wet gloves, gear that breaks at the worst possible moment, and at least one decision you’ll spend the drive home regretting. I’ve had those days. One Sunday morning walk in Seattle I dropped my 50mm on a wet dock and spent the rest of the shoot on my phone, refusing to go home empty-handed.

Master Landscape Photography: Essential Techniques for Stunning Outdoor Images
Landscape Photography

Master Landscape Photography: Essential Techniques for Stunning Outdoor Images

Master Landscape Photography: Essential Techniques for Stunning Outdoor Images Landscape photography drew me in because it promised something simple: go outside, point my camera at beautiful scenery, and capture what I see. What I quickly discovered was that translating what my eyes perceive into a compelling photograph requires intentional technique and planning. I’m here to share what I’ve learned so you can skip the frustrating early mistakes and start creating images you’re proud of.