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Yosemite National Park might be my favorite place on planet Earth. Both for taking landscape photos, and for standing in awe of nature, traveling through the expansive wilderness of Yosemite is simply incredible. Living within close proximity to this natural wonder has made me very fortunate, and I have been able to travel here to take photographs on average around two times a year. I have been to Yosemite in every season, and have explored the major accessible attractions, as well as the deeper wilderness that you can only get to via multi-day hike.

The view of Half-Dome and the surrounding Yosemite Valley from the Glacier Point lookout is one that many visitors will be familiar with. Very few people however, have experienced it in the dramatic setting that I was fortunate enough to be in when I took this VAST photo. As sundown approached, most travelers have left and a thunderstorm was quickly approaching. I climbed down below the path to find the optimal place where no trees were in the way, and I waited for the moment when the clouds had perfectly crept into half of the frame. With the occasional lightning in the distance, and a slow increase of rain began to fall on my position, I quickly captured the 85 individual photographs that would make up this VAST photo.

Putting in the work to create such an ultra high resolution VAST photo of this stormy Yosemite sunset compared with an ordinary photo was very worth it. When viewed very large, you can see in incredible detail many of the famous Yosemite Valley attractions, such as Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, Half Dome, the valley floor and the Merced river running through it.

Located in Portland, Oregon, this one-of-a-kind Japanese Maple tree transforms into a masterpiece of nature come fall.

At first glance, the tree looks huge, however, I had to crouch to find the right angle to shoot this. This also presented a technical challenge as the tree was very close to the camera while capturing a multi-row panoramic image.

The biggest challenge of course is being there just at the right time, as the brilliant colours only last for 2-3 days. When peak colour occurs - it can vary from year to year depending on when fall arrives, and some years, a wind storm would blow all the leaves off before it is perfect.

Very glad to get this at high resolution despite the challenges!

As 2016 was drawing to a close, I reflected on how to pay tribute to a year that, for many Americans, was more somber than most. Something just didn't feel right about creating a VAST photo culminating 2016 in the heart of the Times Square New Years Eve celebration as many New York photographers are wont to do. Furthermore, the Times Square festivities have become commercialized to the point of being repulsive in recent years. So, I decided to do something different.

After days of researching and scouting for a location that would provide a pensive, quiet, and reflective atmosphere, I found a rooftop in Long Island City, Queens. This elevated location provided a narrow view across the East River into the heart of midtown Manhattan and the Times Square ball drop. However, its distance from the commotion allowed for the majority of the photo's composition to be filled with the peaceful windows of ordinary New Yorkers commemorating the close of 2016 in their own unique ways.

A few hours before midnight on New Years Eve, my assistant and I ascended to the empty roof and began exposing the 189 individual photos that would eventually comprise this VAST photo. The quietness of the scene was only broken by the swirling wind and the gentle sounds of the distant city that were carried by it.

As midnight approached, the low-hanging cloud bank above Times Square glowed brightly from the festivities' pyrotechnics. A chorus of revelers counting down the last remaining seconds of the year could be heard in the distance. We kept shooting the long exposures used for this photo as the new years moment passed, the window lights began to turn off, and a light sprinkle of rain began to fall.

The world fell into an unusually still silence as we completed our shoot and the clock passed 2am. Most of the city had now gone to bed, putting to rest 2016 and awaiting the hopeful 2017 that would greet them in the morning.

As the title suggests, "Take A Walk On The Colorful Side". This is the scene you will find when you first enter the Japanese Garden. The day I made this image it was absolutely calm, no wind, no rain and some of the most amazing color I have ever seen in the garden. Color for me is very difficult to see. I am red/green color blind. What that means is I have difficulty seeing red and green when they are in close proximity to each other and in this scene it was a huge challenge.
I had been waiting to make this image for 4+ years and finally got a chance to make it in 2019. The previous years I had always been out of town traveling and was unable to make it to the garden for "color season". Now I have and am very grateful to the staff at the garden for the incredible job they do.

The Chamonix Needles in the "blue hour" just after sunset . With frosted rocks and gentle clouds .
The typical winter alpen glow light.

It's done with 300 mm F2.8 - 3 seconds exposure each

Campsites in Yosemite in the summer are hard to come by. The experience is often compared to scoring concert tickets. Wake up before 7AM, refresh like mad, and hope for the best. The site WILL go down, you WILL use every curse word you've ever learned... but things usually work out in the end.

That's exactly what happened back in March, when I was able to book a campsite for mid-August in the high country. It's impossible to plan around weather that far out (even as a meteorologist!), so I had just planned to hike around.

When the week of our trip finally came, the planning waters started to get murky. California was on fire again, as seems to be happening every summer. Skies were smoky, air was unhealthy. We waited it out til the last minute, suitcases packed but losing hope. The smoke models and forecasts weren't really showing things getting much better.

There were also clouds in the forecast, and even afternoon storms. Any mountain photography veteran is drawn to this kind of weather like a magnet. Of course, if it was too smoky, we wouldn't see anything.

We waited til the afternoon... then decided to just screw it and go. If conditions were terrible, we could do some sightseeing from the car and come home early.

That turned out to be one of the best decisions we've made. There was a little haze, but it didn't ruin the trip -- if anything, it added some nice atmosphere to the photos. The sunsets were fantastic, the hiking was excellent, the nights were clear and full of stars.

After doing a couple wild hikes the day before, this time we took it easy and strolled around the meadow. I was immediately drawn to this calm spot along the riverbank, reflecting a peak we had stood atop just the night before. I opened the lens all the way up to f/2.8 to intentionally blur the foreground for artistic effect.

When in doubt... just go!

Grand Prize Winner: Harry Williams Astrophotography Competition

Artistic Prize Winner: Harry Williams Astrophotography Competition

Comments from the judging body:

"Such a wonderful evocative scene,"

"Without doubt one of the finest nightscape images I have ever seen,"

"Paul has succeeded here on many levels - composition, processing, colour and tonal range. A deserving winner!"

On this particular morning, I didn't need an alarm to wake me up at 3:30 AM. I was already awake with excitement for the wilderness that lay before me.

I left my camper and was in my kayak by 4:00 AM on the most still water I have ever experienced. I paddled in complete darkness for over an hour before I saw a sliver of golden light on the horizon. The sky began glowing a faint shade of orange so I picked up the pace, determined to finish my nine-mile journey before the sun crested the top of the mountains.

I was alone, absolutely and completely alone, on this mountainous lake in the Canadian Rockies. The only sounds were from my paddle dipping into the water, and the only ripples on the water were from my boat.

At last, three hours later, I arrived at the sacred Spirit Island. I pulled my kayak onto the shore and unloaded my camera gear. In a hurry, I found the location for the best composition and set up my tripod and camera. There was a slight mist over the water and not one single sound but for the occasional call of a loon.

I felt like the only person alive on earth as the sun peaked over the horizon and began lighting the mountainsides. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. As the sun continued to rise, I created this VAST photo to capture the essence of this magical moment in the Rocky Mountains, a moment I will never forget.

Dan Piech's Concrete Canvas series captures the accidental beauty that serendipitously occurs when the concrete beneath New Yorkers' feet is inadvertently graced by spilled paint, fallen debris, expanding cracks, chemical stains, and other delightful visual elements. An avid runner, Piech has spent over three years traversing every single Manhattan street in search of these overlooked "artworks" that have become part of the fabric of the city.

As the founder of the VAST artist collective, Piech uses advanced imaging techniques and equipment to create unprecedented gigapixel-quality photographs that capture every intricate detail of these ephemeral designs. The exceptionally high resolution photographs are then printed in large formats, resulting in impeccably precise physical replicas of the walkways.

Each Concrete Canvas piece embodies the unique soul of New York and challenges us to find beauty in the overlooked, the accidental, the minuscule, and the transient.

This vantage of McWay Falls in Big Sur places the viewer in very close proximity to the beautiful cove and waterfall in a way that most images of this iconic location do not. The exquisite aqua-colored water that crests in a beautiful foam lined wave upon the shore is intensified by the abundant late-morning sunlight.

Every year, usually fall or winter, several photographer friends and I get together and go camping in the Mt. Katahdin region of Maine. I live nearby and know the area well, but we still find new roads to explore and new streams or ponds to canoe that we’ve never seen before. This particular morning, as we were exploring some backwoods roads in the rain looking for moose and autumn colors, we found this small valley with a winding turn headed to destinations unknown and it made a compelling panorama. I titled it “Sinuous” because it means moving in a curving or indirect way, but also graceful and meandering. Life is full of twists and turns, and you never know what is around the bend.

At night, New York City is a sublimely magical place, illuminated with a fervor of melodic activity. Conveying the uniquely captivating atmosphere of the world's greatest city via the written word is a daunting challenge. Consequently, for the better part of two centuries, photographers have attempted to portray the city's magic in ways that words cannot. This exceptionally high resolution VAST photo is my humble attempt to capture a tiny fraction of that magic.

Heavy clouds, thick with snow, blanketed the sky on an early-January morning in 2017, the type of idyllic winter morning that reminds New Yorkers why they tolerate the cold months. After reviewing the forecast for many inches of snow followed by a sudden clearing of the sky at night, I decided to prepare for a photoshoot of the city from the top of one of the tallest buildings between downtown Manhattan and the iconic Midtown Manhattan skyline.

As the day turned to night, the snow continued falling, coating the usually-dark rooftops of the city with a sheen of white powder. Then, in a matter of minutes, the snow ceased and the clouds whisked away to the east, leaving a perfectly clear sky. The moonlight sparkled off of the snow-covered buildings and the clear atmosphere provided amazing views for miles in every direction. The city stretched before me, filled with glowing windows, energetic arterial avenues, and Saturday-evening festivities.

Giddy with excitement and reveling in the scene, I began exposing the 85 long-exposure images that make up this VAST photo. The fervor of cars racing up 6th avenue into the heart of the city continued uninterrupted during the two hours it took to meticulously record every last high resolution detail of this urban winter wonderland. In the weeks that followed, I spent over one hundred hours polishing and assembling the individual photos into this final VAST photo.

The clarity of this VAST photo cannot be overstated. Buildings nearly a dozen miles away are clearly visible. Tiny details such as footprint patterns in snow-covered parks are easily discernible. Fascinating rooftop structures covered in snow drifts are revealed in striking resolution. Groups of friends out for a night on the town fill the sidewalks. The diverse characters of famous New York neighborhoods like the West Village, Chelsea, SoHo, and Gramercy can be palpably felt. And facades of numerous architectural masterpieces such as the Empire State Building are exquisitely rendered.

Details like these fill every nook of this VAST photo, nestled among the melodic rhythm of the city's iconic skyline, a wonderland of New York City magic waiting to be explored.

A beautiful sunset on Lido Beach, Sarasota, one of the best beaches in all of Florida. Although the sky and sunset look beautifully clear, an intense thunderstorm was right behind me which contributed to the surreal lighting this image displays.

There is just something about a solitary tree or a lonely tree if you will. Such trees have been a common subject for artists of all types over time, be they a painter or a photographer. Some people see the sadness in the singular tree, standing all alone and isolated. Others see the symbolization as strength, independence, resilience, and the ability to stand firm and survive. I join the latter group in my views of the singular tree.

In this case, I pass this tree about once a month as I journey into the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. But as interesting as it is during all seasons, my vision for a photograph of the tree involved snow and not just any snow. Alberta has low humidity, and although we can get lots of snow, it is usually “dry”, easily blown around, and not the kind that “sticks” upon arrival. Only in the spring do we ever get the heavier wet snow but it is easily melted as the day warms up, usually not still clinging to tree branches by mid-morning. For the photo I had in mind, I needed fresh brilliantly white snow to be resting on the branches. And so, the wait began.

Then early in March of 2022, the perfect storm arrived. A nice snowfall of the moist sticky kind. Just enough to cover everything and stay in place but still make the roads easily drivable. As soon as I realized what had fallen overnight, I was out the door. There was no guarantee that the snow that had fallen at my home had also fallen at the lonely tree, about an hour’s drive away, but I had to give it a try. Upon arrival, I was pleased to see that the same snow had fallen at the location and was still sitting on the tree’s branches. In some places, the snow even sat on the thin barbed wire. Perfect! I got to work on capturing the scene as an ultra-high-resolution VAST image. I worked as quickly as I could, as I knew the snow would not remain in place for long. In the end, I was able to get all the shots I needed, and once assembled, the resultant image was just as I had imagined. Mission accomplished!

Of all the places I’ve photographed this was perhaps the most straightforward location to get to and yet one of my most difficult images to capture.

Glade Creek Grist Mill is located with easy access within Babcock State Park, West Virginia. Simply park in the huge lot, walk a few feet, and you’re there. It’s frequented by everyone from seniors to young school children. Effortless image to capture right? Well, not exactly.

I was planning on spending three or four days in the New River Gorge area with photographing The Grist Mill my priority. I arrived the first day at about 3pm. It was not as busy as I expected for prime fall season. But that would change. I made the mistake of deciding to not attempt any photography then and instead spent that first half day walking the site, relaxing, and figuring out my composition for the Ultra High-Resolution Image. My reconnaissance revealed that either an early morning sunrise or evening sunset photo would work. This was going to be easy. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there.

The next four days brought some equipment failure, and then some more equipment failure, a five-car accident shutting down the freeway to The Mill for an entire day with tragically 3 people perishing in that accident, more equipment failure, three hundred elementary school children swarming The Grist Mill like bees with at least a dozen of them kerplunking into the river, and a rude fellow photographer (Yes, they actually exist!) but on the morning of the fourth day, as I was leaving, I successfully captured the image.

The lesson I learned from all this; elementary school teachers don’t get paid enough!

Title Origin: All things considered; it was a gorgeous time spent at the Glade Creek Grist Mill. The Mill, and the surrounding landscape, was in all its fall splendor. If it could sing, it would sing a glorious autumn anthem of light, color, and beauty. Actually, I think I did hear it sing, and fortunately you can too by hanging this piece in your home or workplace. Enjoy.

Thanks ... and thanks again,

David David

Life Is An Adventure!

Step into the ethereal beauty of Antelope Canyon, where time has sculpted a mesmerizing masterpiece. In "The Shape of the Wind II," I aimed to capture with this high resolution photo, a scene that embodies the essence of this natural wonder. The wavy lines and undulating curves, etched by the persistent caress of the wind, tell a tale of time's delicate yet powerful presence.

Vibrant hues dance across the frame, as if whispering secrets of ancient geological processes. The textured stone, shaped by centuries reveals a tapestry of colors that shifts with each ray of light. I sought to encapsulate the ever-changing palette, inviting you to explore the nuances of this geological symphony.

As you immerse yourself in the image, a sense of tranquility and serenity will wash over you. I feel the weight of the ages and a calmness that accompanies the knowledge that life is but a fleeting dance. Let the lines and curves I've captured guide your gaze, leading you on a contemplative journey through the layers of Earth's history.

Capturing this extraordinary scene was no easy feat. Antelope Canyon holds deep significance to the Navajo people, and I approached it with utmost respect and reverence. Navigating the commercial photography process required special guidance and permission, ensuring that every step was taken in harmony with the land and its custodians. This image stands as a testament to the profound connection between myself as a photographer and this sacred place, a harmonious collaboration that breathes life into the photograph.

With its high-resolution detail and composition, this VAST photo invites you to bring the spirit of Antelope Canyon into your own space. Let the gentle sway of the wind and the timeless beauty of nature envelop your walls, infusing your surroundings with tranquility and awe-inspiring allure.

All of my artwork is primarily influenced by nature and environmentalism. Through my work, my main goal is to create elaborate, photorealistic images that carry a message of conservation and sustainability. I want to give viewers a space of contemplation by depicting beautifully idealized scenes of the natural world.

This piece was created as a diptych featuring a highly stylized and patterned vision of the jungle canopy, with tropical plants, hibiscus flowers, and red macaws. I wanted to create a beautiful and captivating image that would also draw attention to these quickly vanishing natural habitats.

To create this image I photographed all of the imagery at a few botanical gardens, horticultural centers, public parks, and aviaries. Then I use a complex process of digital imaging in Adobe Photoshop to composite the imagery together. The final image is actually made up of more than 50 photographs meticulously pieced together. This process required a lot of effort building up the final seamless image, figuring out the lighting, shadows, color, and other effects to make it look realistic. Each image is carefully planned out and created as an intricately layered construction, which gives it such a hyper-real, illustrative quality.

"Canopy" has been featured in Vogue, Create Magazine, AIGA, and was a winner in the 'collage' category for the International Photography Awards.

Convict Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains has become a favorite photography location of mine. My friend Noah, a hiker who knows the area quite well, thankfully brought it to my attention a few years ago when I was on my way up to Mammoth Lakes, California.

The lake is somewhat tucked away just west of Highway 395. A much-needed snowstorm had just blanketed much of the area for the first time in a few seasons. After giving it a day to clear, I drove up to get the shot. I was more than thrilled at the first sight of Laurel Mountain framing the lake beautifully as always, and this time completely covered in snow.

Convict Lake, though aptly named based on its history, could be considered somewhat of a harsh moniker considering the innate beauty of the location. The tranquil essence of winter at the lake is certainly on full display in this magnificent VAST photo.

At 5:11pm on July 25, 2016, New York City witnessed one of the most impressive lightning strikes ever photographed. An enormous bolt rocked Downtown Manhattan and Jersey City, completely spanning the Hudson River - and I had my camera set up to capture it.

It was a sweltering day at the height of summer and a thunderstorm was quickly approaching from the west, spreading an oil-slick of darkness in front of it. I've photographed countless storms, but as this particular one roared in from a distance, I knew it was going to be special. A beautiful wall cloud was quickly advancing in front of the rain curtain, electrifying the sky with cloud-to-ground lightning.

Brimming with excitement, I perched myself high up on a building in downtown Manhattan. The air, still thick with the smell of a sunny summer afternoon, was eerily calm as I set up my gear and began exposing images, hoping to capture one of these strikes branching out in front of the rain. Being exposed and elevated hundreds of feet outside with my camera wasn't the safest idea, but it was a risk I was willing to take.

Suddenly, an enormous bolt pierced the sky with a sound so deafening that my ears were ringing despite the hearing protection I had on. An incredible number of stepped leaders raced toward the ground, one of them connecting with a large metasequoia tree in Battery Park City, instantly exploding all 80 feet of it into thousands of pieces. Another one of the leaders crossed to the New Jersey side of the river and connected with a luxury high-rise not too dissimilar to the one that I was on.

For an instant, New York and New Jersey were joined by one of the most powerful forces in nature. It was a beautiful and humbling moment of sheer power.

I’ve spent over a decade chasing thunderstorms, exposing tens of thousands of images along the way, and coming closer than I’d like to being struck more times than I’d like to admit. Almost always, these occasions fail to yield any photographs worthy enough to show for the effort. The public is never privy to these empty harvests and the toll they take. However, as an obsessive photographer, I've continued to head out into storms time after time, undeterred, all in the hope of eventually having the good fortune to be granted an awe-inspiring moment like this.

You may be wondering how I created this exceptionally high resolution VAST photo. I spent hundreds of hours over the course of a year meticulously transforming the original 40-megapixel single-exposure photo into this 5,449-megapixel VAST photo that identically mimics the original.

Learn how I did it  

View the original single-exposure image  

The United States Capitol Building, home of the United States Congress and legislative branch of the federal government. With its distinctive neoclassical style architecture, it was originally completed in 1800. It has been expanded over time with the Capitol Dome, and completed in 1863 after being adorned by the Statue of Freedom that sits atop the dome. Arguably the most recognizable building in the United States, the Capitol Building attracts millions of visitors per year.

I've truly taken for granted growing up in Arlington, Virginia, a mere bridge crossing away from Washington, D.C. As my passion for travel has grown over the years, so has my appreciation for what I have at home, especially since moving into D.C. proper in 2015. Being local, I have the luxury to be picky about when and what I shoot in this tourist-friendly city.

After spending a day sightseeing with the kids downtown, I made a strategic stop by the U.S. Capitol Building to both enjoy the inspiring and architecturally impressive building with my children and to get a feel for the U.S. Capitol Police on duty. I could sense it would be a good sunset that cold winter day. Being Super Bowl Sunday, I thought it wouldn't be too crowded so I returned that evening with fingers crossed that the U.S. Capitol Police would allow me to use my tripod. I was fortunate that day with both the officers on duty and the sky, and I was able to capture a tighter shot of the building with a vibrant sunset.

Standing in front of the Capitol of the United States of America brings a mix of emotions, among those national pride as well as awe of the structure itself. I wanted to mix two elements to make this dynamic image. While winter can oftentimes bring overcast and gloomy days, it also can bring some of the most beautiful skies with bold red, pink, and orange colors. The opportunity to photograph the vibrant winter sunset along with the splendor of one of the most iconic buildings in the United States was the icing on the cake of a great day in Washington, D.C.

An extravagant display of natural beauty takes place for a few moments in early November every year in New York City. At the peak of Autumn foliage colors, just after the sun rises, a famous tree-lined pathway in Central Park is transformed into something truly breathtaking.

The "Mall" is a quadruple row of American Elm trees towards the southern end of Central Park. It is the most important horticultural feature in one of the most famous parks in the world. Carefully maintained for over a century and a half, the Mall is one of the largest and last remaining stands of American Elm trees in North America, protected by the surrounding city from the 20th-century outbreak of the Dutch Elm Disease. Beneath the trees lies the a quarter-mile promenade, the only deliberately-straight line in the park.

It is to this promenade that I've come every year in early November to catch the first rays of the morning sun casting into the grove of golden-orange leaves. The low-hanging sun is able to illuminate the underside of the cathedral-like canopy of autumn foliage usually obscured by shadow. This brightens and saturates the already-beautiful colors on display.

Over the course of 4 hours spanning two mornings, I worked to capture this scene using the VAST technique, exposing 137 extremely high-quality photos that have now been merged together to produce one of the highest resolution images ever created. A scientific assessment estimates that there are more than 2 million individually distinct leaves visible in the full-resolution version of this photo. Some people have asked me why it's necessary to have a photo with this much resolution and my response has been that it is only fitting to document a scene this breathtaking in a manner that is equally stunning.

10% of the profit from sales of this photo will go to the Central Park Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that ensures the Park remains an oasis of natural beauty for current and future generations.

Note: an even larger version of this photo exists with a wider field-of-view. You can find it here.

A 180-degree panorama from Peak Hill, New Zealand.
I believe this could be the first Astro taken from up here!
The Carina Nebula can be seen at the top of the sky, Large Magellanic Cloud to the right, and some awesome airglow from atomic oxygen excitation near the horizon.

I haven’t put this much work into a shot before!

I had a crazy idea, hike up Peak Hill with most of my photography equipment for panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. I was 10 minutes into the extremely steep hike when I realised my 26.5kg bag was too heavy, but I had to keep going, I had to complete my plan. It was a slow grind over 2.5 hours with quite a few stops, the start of the track just goes straight up, with marble-like rocks on hard clay, making the track very slippery (coming down was a lot worse and I took a couple of spills but was fine)

I finally made it to the top, only to have the wind pick right up, there needs to be virtually zero wind when shooting long exposures, tracked panoramas are no exception.
This shot was my third attempt, I started the image sequence and the wind suddenly dropped! It stayed that way for 40 minutes, just as I completed the last frame of the panorama the wind hit hard, I was so lucky to be able to pull it off.

Then it was time to leave, the sky was getting brighter and I began my descent.
This one-shot took 4 hours of driving, 5 hours hiking, 7 hours standing on the hill, and 8 hours putting it all together, painfully stitching and blending the shots.

Few people ever notice the unblemished perfection found in a newborn leaf. Every spring, if the conditions are just right, a new crop of leaves bursts forth and, for a few fleeting days, remains untainted by the elements.

It has been a goal of mine to capture this delicate purity for many years. However, each year, the possibility of finding this state of affairs in the natural world is incredibly slim. A number of factors have to come together for a perfect leaf to naturally form, beginning with an early-spring that is free from harsh frosts or driving rainstorms. Additionally, the leaves need to be in an area that is protected from adverse conditions such as falling debris, high insect activity, poor soil, or any other of a number of issues which could damage the developing foliage.

After spending years neurotically keeping an eye out for the perfect patch of newborn leaves, I finally found them one late-April day in 2017.

A light morning rain had just fallen and I was at the New York Botanical Garden with the aim of capturing a particular "Snowdrift" Crabapple tree. After a few hours spent creating that photo, I was walking through the Luce Herb Garden when I spotted a low-lying patch of hosta whose fresh leaves were still in the process of unfurling.

A few droplets of rain remained scattered across the foliage and the thinly overcast sky created a beautiful soft light that highlighted the leaves without casting them in too harsh an aesthetic. Furthermore, these lighting conditions enabled the white-rimmed leaves to "pop" out of the image, representing their upward climbing journey that had just begun.

Creating this VAST photo was particularly challenging because it needed to be shot directly downward. This required setting up the support structure in a unique fashion that enabled it to remain outside the field of view. Additionally, I had to shoot most of the frames used in the final photo blind, because I was unable to perch myself above the 6-feet-tall equipment to look through the viewfinder. I happily accepted these challenges because, after years hunting for the perfect patch of newborn leaves, I was going to do whatever it took to capture this VAST photo of nature in its most flawless state.

The first of a series of waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge in Portland, Oregon. Accessible from the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway it spans two tiers and is the largest waterfall in Oregon at 620 feet. The bridge was built by Italian stonemasons and was financed by a Portland local, Simon Benson.

Over 160 hours in the making, "A New York Dream" is the culmination of a monumental undertaking that took more than a year to complete.

I wanted to create an extremely high resolution photographic artwork that captured the vibrant energy our city continually bursts forth with - a seemingly chaotic energy that nevertheless has structure, order, and rhythm.

To do this, I first needed to find a location from which to gather source material for the skyline. After hours researching and scouting locations, I found a perfect place on a rooftop in Queens. This elevated vantage point provided an unobstructed view of the entire undulating Midtown Manhattan skyline.

A few weeks later on New Years Eve, my assistant and I ascended to the empty rooftop. A thick blanket of low-hanging clouds, aglow with the city lights, hugged the skyline. It was beautifully tranquil. We began exposing the 189 individual images that would eventually comprise this VAST photo. Each image was only a small section of the overall scene, but together the ensemble represented a full visual catalog of the scene that lay before us. We wrapped up shooting around 2am and disassembled our equipment amid a light sprinkling of rain.

Upon returning home, I carefully color-graded each individual exposure and began creating a unified visual construct around which to build the final creation. Over the course of 2017, I slowly and painstakingly warped, stitched, and masked layer after layer of city skyline to build on top of one another in the composite image. My goal was to try to retain the natural feel of the skyline (with relative geographic locations of buildings as intact as possible) while simultaneously creating a visual aesthetic that was balanced and pleasingly rhythmic.

A stunning 9,563 megapixels of image data were used to create the final 602-megapixel VAST photo. This unprecedented volume of image data (9.6 billion pixels!) has resulted in an incredibly sharp image that can be enlarged to dozens of square feet and still remain perfectly sharp to the naked eye. Hidden treasures fill the details of the scene: American flags proudly waving in the breeze, New Years Eve parties lighting up windows, architectural flourishes adorning impressive buildings, and more. Crowning the top of the VAST photo is the Empire State Building, keeping watch over the city beneath her.

One year after the origination of my idea for this VAST photo, I'm finally proud to share it with you. I hope it elicits some of the captivating New York energy I worked so hard to capture in it.

"A New York Dream" has been featured in My Modern Met. Read more about it in the article here.

Often a photographer must return again and again to a place to eventually capture the image in his mind's eye. I have photographed this lake in summer, fall, with snow, without, during high winds (usually the case!), and finally with still conditions. Reflections alway interest me and on this cold morning I was finally rewarded for my persistence with a mirror surface to the lake. The red mountains and golden aspen under a blue sky all reflected perfectly was pure joy to experience!

Knowing where to be and when to be there is very different then actually being there. I've tried to get to this spot for the peak of Fall color the past 4 years and haven't been able to. This year was different and had I waited another day this scene would have been very different. The weather changed drastically later in the day with wind and rain pulling the leaves off the trees, I would have had to wait another year....again.
I think the Japanese Garden in Portland is photographically the best on the west coast and is often crowded. This scene doesn't show it but there are dozens of people that have either just stepped out of the scene of are about to enter it and when photographing a scene like this with so many frames avoiding people is a serious challenge. I feel lucky to have been there on this day and to have had all the pieces come together.
I want to thank the gardeners at the garden for all they do to make this such a great place to visit.

When I first laid eyes upon this mountain, I thought it was so beautiful that it was created by an artist.

Standing on the edge of the lake I sought to find a spot where the shoreline formed a curved frame around the bottom of the mountain's reflection. When I found this specific spot, I knew I had found something unique and beautiful beyond words.

I waited all afternoon at this location to get the perfect picture. The lake's surface was rippled by the wind, and there was no reflection. It was looking like the picture I had in my mind was not going to become a reality.

But just before sunset the wind died down and the surface of the water became still which created an incredible reflection of Sunburst Peak. The sun's light became a warm glow that bathed the mountain in warmth. The only sound was the click of my camera's shutter.

I have never seen another image of this mountain that is quite like this one. It speaks to me of the vastness of the mountains, of grandeur, and of the beauty and symmetry that can be found in nature.

This print looks incredible on the wall in homes and workplaces. It has a wow factor that makes people stop and stare at it. I have no doubt it will look incredible on the wall wherever you are imagining it should be placed.

Inspired by Hanami the Japanese celebration of the transient beauty of flowers. Anja portrays a Kanzan Cherry in full bloom, a double-flowered cultivar developed in the Edo period. It has 20 to 50 petals in a flower. And the fresh leaves are copper brown. This artwork - is a permanent and poetic reminder of gratitude and enjoying life in the here and now.

Imbued with the captivating energy that artists Steph Mantis and Dan Piech bring to their work, the Awaken series of VAST photos represents a collaboration of creative and technical mastery. The series explores the artistic beauty of microscopic selenite crystals photographed at extraordinarily high resolutions using specialty equipment and innovative techniques.

Selenite (Latin for "moonstone") has unique molecular properties that produce elegant crystalline structures and brilliant refractive properties. When combined with Mantis and Piech's meticulously constructed setup of lights, colored filters, microscopes, and cameras, these properties produce stunning imagery that elevates the mood and captures the imagination.

Designed to be showcased as sets, the rich colors and powerful compositional language used throughout the series usher viewers to discover tranquility from chaos, beauty from the unseen, and meaning from the abstract.

This image was several years in the making or should I say several years in the waiting. I had come across this wonderful series of tree lines a few years back and thought it would make a wonderful image with the fields covered in snow and the trees covered in hoar frost. Photographing it with snow-covered fields would have been easy in the years since but being there during a heavy hoar frost event was another matter.

The term “hoar” comes from Old English meaning “to show signs of old age” and within the context of frost, refers to trees looking like they are covered in white hair. When cold winter conditions are just right, hoar frost creates layers of feather-like white crystals on tree branches. At times, its formation can be very localized, appearing in one area but not in other areas just kilometers apart. And that became the challenge. I needed a major hoar frost event so that when I was seeing it at my home, I knew there would be a good chance of it also occurring 80 kilometers away where these trees stand.

That event finally happened in the last days of 2020 and I was thrilled to see these trees completely covered in hoar frost after driving to the location. It was very cold and the time it took to capture this VAST image took its toll on my fingers and toes, but I finally got the image that had been in my mind’s eye for all those years.

Located about 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Yellowknife is the only city in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Although it is not the northernmost city in the world, it boasts being the best place in the world to view the aurora borealis due to its latitude and the high number of clear night skies each winter.

In the span of one year, I visited Yellowknife on four occasions with the sole purpose of photographing night skies with dancing aurora. One of those visits was in September but the other three were during times when there was still ice and snow all around. The interesting thing about the Yellowknife area is that there are many more roads open in the winter than in the summer and as a result, many areas are only accessible in winter months. This is because roads are created each winter on frozen lakes and run hundreds of miles in all directions.

In early April (officially spring but certainly winter-like in Yellowknife) I made my second trip up north and had the good fortune of being there with clear skies. On the day I arrived, I drove out of town on several ice roads in search of suitable locations for the nights that would follow. Then for several nights in a row I headed out just after midnight to locations that were truly out in the middle of nowhere - or, more accurately, out in the middle of frozen lakes.

Common on these lakes are tents set up by snowmobilers as a base to warm up between runs. I had seen them glowing with gas-lantern lights on my first trip and had been searching for one to anchor an aurora photo ever since. On this night, everything came together. I was in position with a glowing tent in front of me, the special equipment I need to create a VAST photo set up, and a magnificent geomagnetic storm raging overhead.

Photographing aurora can be a complicated business. Too long of an exposure and the structure in the aurora, commonly called the “curtains,” is lost and all that is captured is something that looks like a large green cloud. Short exposures can freeze the curtains but they limit the amount of light that can be captured. It is a balancing act and on this night, it was further complicated by my need to capture many photos of these fast-moving curtains for the high-resolution VAST photo assembly. Fortunately, the aurora storm was strong and provided lots of time to photograph and admire this wonderful aurora ribbon stretching across the sky above the glowing orange tent. It was pure magic.

Althought the light and the point of view are quite common, I like the sense of scale here . The mightiness of the mountains , of rock and ice.
We can see some people on the moraine ( bottom right ) to imagine the scale. They are hiking to "Laguna de los tres".

This is Poincenot and Fitz Roy Mountain.