This was one of the most fun images I’ve ever had the opportunity to create. I got the inspiration one day to shoot the moment an angler hooked a nice trout from the split over/ underwater perspective. So I impulsively reached out to one of the best fly fishing guides in all of Broken Bow, OK and told him about my idea. He said, “Let’s do it!” I quickly realized I was in good company. Fishermen and Photographers both get up EARLY. So at 5:00am one morning in September, we headed out and spent the morning getting first a fish on the line…then getting this shot!

This is the first of a series I’m calling “Souvenirs.” I’m shooting some neat little items I find along the way…by the water’s edge, or along the trail. Some of these items I’ll shoot exactly where they sit when I find them. Others, I’ll help find their way into my composition. I keep these little souvenirs and take them back with me. I plan to print ONE single custom sized limited edition print of each of these in the series and the buyer will not only get the print, but also receive a special wall mount with the souvenir to boot!

When God wakes you up early, it may be a good idea to go see why. I encountered one such morning over Labor Day weekend, 2022 and decided to venture out under a blanket of stars and I discovered this composition by the water’s edge. I’m including this print and this little piece of driftwood in my “Souvenirs” collection!

I didn’t even know the sky was brightly colored the morning I took this photo. I was tucked away working in my office with the shades closed. But as I walked out the door to get a refill on my morning coffee, I was stunned to see the sky was on fire! I had no time to get my Nikon and find a composition, so I grabbed my drone and sent it. The colors faded quickly, but I was able to snag this one before the color changed too much.

This is the image God used to rekindle my love for landscape photography…or wake it up for the first time. It’s a special place and this was one special morning. I only wish I could have captured more of the wonder I got to see in person on that fine morning.

25 was the tick count after hiking to this location. You read that right. Between finding them on my arms while driving, to doing a thorough strip-down and search, I had more time de-ticking than I actually did post processing the image from the day! I suppose it was a small price to pay for trekking it out to this stream-side location that was quite off the beaten path. From the Mountain Fork Park and camping area near Broken Bow, OK, Cole Hughes and I hiked south along the stream to find this serene location. The water was up big time, so we had to ditch the knee high boots and wade in to our thighs to get a composition. The water was cold. The sunlight was warm and the scenery that morning—epic.

Once you’ve seen Price’s Falls one time, you’ll never forget it. This is located at the entrance of Falls Creek Conference Center, near Davis, OK…a place that has been the stage for so many changed lives.

If there’s one place you can see God’s power take shape and come to life, it’s Oklahoma. On this particular day, the sky was putting on a show. One of color and light. Scary at times, I was able to set up and shoot this right before the conditions became too dangerous to stay on the ridge. We waited out an absolute downpour and dangerous lightning for several minutes. In other words, if you see this cloud shape, ever…hurry and get your picture then run!

One of the most popular stops in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is undoubtedly the prairie dog town. I yelled out directions for these critters and arranged them this way for this family photo! Not really, but in my mind I hoped they’d do something like this. The Holy Spirit must have been joking around with me, hearing my deepest wishes for this composition because a few seconds after I had that thought, they took this position. Thankfully, I was on my stomach, elbows digging in the ground, stabilizing my 70-200 zoom, ready for this—my wife’s most favorite shot of the day.

An encore visit for my 41st birthday, my whole family hoofed it up Mt. Scott just for me. After the exhausting hike and the drill sergeant routine I put on to get all three kids up to my intended perch, they surprised me with a bag of birthday trail mix, complete with candle! (Does that qualify as lighting a fire on Mt. Scott?) The best present that day was them giving me a few minutes to set up my camera just in time to capture this sunset.

This one pretty much sums up an average morning if you decided to take a stroll through my pasture. It’s not always this foggy, but on this particular morning I had my two favorite things: my camera and my coffee. However as serene and peaceful as this photo is, shortly after capturing this image, I had to grab up my gear, including coffee, camera, tripod and backpack and make a run for my life! My crazy dog decided to chase a young calf and the whole herd of cattle came stampeding over the hill right towards me. That was the end of that shoot. Oh well, the fog was burning off anyway.

I was nearly finished mowing the grass when I looked up and saw the sky exploding with dramatic light on high clouds. The grass could wait. This sunset couldn’t. So I killed the spinning blades of my zero turn and fired up the blades on my drone! I love how technology has made getting shots like this possible. In less than 5 minutes, I had my drone in the air and into position for this composition. I might add that it was shot from about 15’ high—an angle not possible with my normal tripod and camera. Final image is a composite of multiple frames. Not only a panorama left to right, but also top to bottom!

I was on a walk with my daughter, Margo when this sunset came together. From on and off showers throughout the day, small patches of fog lifted from the valleys around the lake nearby my boyhood home. We used to call this “Groundhogs cooking supper.” Flying a drone can be difficult with a toddler, but as long as I let her “push the button” for the shutter release, she seemed to be entertained long enough for me to get this mountain lake pano.

The conditions were almost perfect in early June to get out for this starry scene. There was no wind. The water in the pond was like glass, and the moon was a Waxing Crescent that gave me just enough glow to capture the barn before setting.