michael j. walters

Most outdoor and nature photographers will tell you the best time to photograph is during the “magic hour.” Great light does in fact occur thirty minutes before and after sunset and sunrise. Landscapes and other subjects tend to be bathed in a warm, russet light that can make for spectacular photographs. During the rest of [...]

Once again I had a landscape image in Afghanistan that lacked any real color at all. The leftover Jeep carcass had some subtle greens but that is about all. However, after converting to black and white the contrasts in the scene begin to stand out much better. Typically the eye will travel first to the [...]

Here is a quick post on an image I took while eating breakfast on the balcony of our hotel. The cool, damp, Mediterranean morning made for some beautiful light and colors. I wish I would have had more time to explore the city and harbor. Maybe next time.

I was looking through some old files this morning and came upon this image of the Kandahar International Airport terminal. I had previously not found the image very exciting because the colors were flat and muted due to the Afghanistan atmosphere. The large amounts of dust in the air tend to filter most colors from [...]

A 45 minute drive to the north followed by a 2 mile hike to the top of a volcanic cinder cone yielded a spectacular view of the Painted Dunes. The dunes were created when the hot cinders from the cone eruption fell onto an existing lava bed that was perhaps only days old. The heat [...]

I spent the evening hiking the trail around Reflection Lake yesterday. The ecosystem at that elevation is spectacular. In a matter of 100 feet the trail moves from wet, marshy willows to sandy soils with Ponderosa pines towering overhead. Along the trail are numerous small lily ponds. I decided to go with minimal equipment on [...]

I wanted to capture an image in honor of Earth Day and found that I couldn’t get access to the area I wanted to photograph. Just beyond this fence is a beautiful mountain meadow and pond with abundant wildlife. If I could only capture “irony” in an image.

As I was uploading the previous post I realized that the day was beautiful and the light would be perfect for some more landscape shooting. So instead of sitting at the computer and thinking about it, I grabbed my gear and headed for Lassen National Park again. This time I hiked the Lily Pond Trail [...]

Spring is here in Northern California. The temperature was in the upper fifties today, and the road to Lassen National Park was open. I managed to get up to the park and hike around Manzanita Lake for a spectacular view of Lassen Peak. I’ll be posting numerous images over the next few weeks. Here is [...]