Happy 125th Anniversary Yosemite. In 1890 Yosemite was designated the 3rd U.S. National Park thanks to legislation signed by President Benjamin Harrison. Since that time it has been a source of endless inspiration to outdoor enthusiasts, conservationists and artists. Personally Yosemite plays a special part in my life being one of my favorite places to connect with nature and find creative inspiration. Learn more abo
As someone who has been interested in astrophotography for over two decades the term “Super Moon” is not only B.S., but it’s increasingly over used. “Super Moon” has become the layman term for a full moon at perigee, the closest point of the moon in its elliptical orbit to Earth. The culprit behind the overuse of this arbitrary term is the press, but even though I think it’s B.S. I
It’s almost that time of year again when Fall Color reappear. Here in California that happens on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains causing a modern day gold rush, except this time the gold is the golden hue of Aspen leafs and the prospectors are photographers. I have to admit I never got into this early in my photography career, but as time wore on I started to appreciate it more. The funny thing
Even at the end of a long day of shooting in the wee hours of the morning it’s important to never let your ‘visual awareness’ down. After spending 8 hours running various time-lapse sequences at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park I was mid drive back to Yosemite Valley around 2am with my sunroof open and noticed that the Milky Way was directly overhead. Even though I was exhausted I decided cap
The ultra-wide lens is a pivotal tool of nature and landscape photographers. Over the past few years I’ve rounded out my personal favorites that I own to include the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens (discontinued), EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, and the new EF 11-24mm f/4L USM. Note I’ve excluded the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye which I do not own and the Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm f/2.8 ZE Lens that I do own and
A couple of years ago I had an amazing time atop the White Mountains in Eastern California taking time-lapses and star trail photos. One of my favorite shoots was capturing the Milky Way above the weathered and worn Bristlecone Pine trees. This was one of my favorite sequences. Note this was posted on Instagram. For additional sneak peeks at my time-lapse and landscape work be sure to follow me there @jimgoldstein. B
In the event you’re planning your fall color photo trips SmokyMountains.com has an interactive map predicting this stages of fall color nationwide over the course of late August to mid November. The map has 37,000+ data points generated by an algorithm that takes into account NOAA precipitation forecasts, daylight and temperature forecasts and historical precipitation. Predictions are incredibly difficult for f
I’m happy to share photography and travel tips for my favorite location to take landscape photographs, Yosemite National Park. In the September 2015 issue of Outdoor Photographer I have an article titled “3 Days in Yosemite” that is a guide to getting the most out of a long weekend in Yosemite. In this piece I share tips on how to avoid paralysis by analysis in deciding what to photograph, how to ad
What happens when you move? In my case you rediscover old tech that was put away and forgotten in the deep dark recesses of my home. The past couple of months I’ve been focused on moving my family for the first time in 15 years from San Francisco. While my nuclear family isn’t even 15 years old, I’ve been married 10 years and my oldest child is 5, I did surface some very old tech dating back nearly