PHOTO: Tumbling Falls

"Tumbling Falls." HDR Photo. July 2014

The start of the hike to Glacier Lake has some amazing waterfalls. The water has carved out a course that is exhilarating to behold. All the greens crowding around the white of the water creates a picture that I love to look at again and again.

PHOTO: Dusk at Lake McDonald

"Dusk at Lake McDonald." HDR photo. July 2014

As we headed back to camp late one night, we stopped at Lake McDonald for "one last look." We had just missed (by minutes!) a fabulous sunset. It's difficult to take a shot when rushing down the road and the trees are in the way. I did get this shot though, and the more I look at it, the more I like it. As my friends and I stood on the dock, I truly felt blessed. Friends, feeling loved, and a beautiful scene—what more could you want from life?

PHOTO: Glacier Forest

"Glacier Forest." HDR photo. July 2014.

The hike to Glacier Lake was beautiful. Every few steps my friends and I would marvel at the beauty that surrounded us. The contrast of vibrant color of moss to the rocks and pine needles covering the ground was amazing. If I could live in this forest, I would glory in its beauty every day.

PHOTO: The Mountain Goat

"The Mountain Goat." HDR photography. Glacier National Park. July 2014.

When we stumbled across this mountain goat, I hoped that he would stay still long enough for my shots. He complied. Good mountain goat . . . pretty mountain goaty-goat . . . stay . . .

PHOTO: Glacier Lake

"Clouds over Glacier Lake." HDR photo. Glacier National Park. July 2014.

It took over an hour to hike to this lake, but it was well worth it. The trail itself was beautiful, and my friends and I took our time admiring the beautiful forest. But once we got to the lake, we all went different directions to admire it. It was pretty wet because of some recent rain, but that just made some interesting shots.

A New Hobby

Guys, I found a new hobby! It's high dynamic range (HDR) photography. My friend and neighbor introduced me to this type of photography and I fell in love with it almost instantly. Check out his photos at deepbluecave.com, and you'll see what I mean. Also google "HDR photography" with any awesome place in the world and prepare to be amazed.

I created the above photo! I did that! Can you tell that I'm quite pleased with myself? It's a picture taken in Glacier National Park. Of course, with such beautiful scenery, you really can't take a bad photo. I'm just impressed how good this one turned out.

 I'm still learning all the ins and outs of it, but HDR photography is fairly simple. You just need to take three pictures of the same scene or object at different exposures. Then you merge those three photos together using some software (like Photomatix), touch it up a bit in Lightroom, and, voilà, magical, beautiful photo. 

Sigh. I love it. So content right now.