Paths of Light

Majestic Blessing
©2007, Joe Bridwell, Chopawamsic LC
A slippery race across slick rock to the edge of White Rim Trail Overlook at Canyonlands National Park netted this gorgeous rainbow image.
Sharp edges of White Rim sandstone highlight cliffs formed by the Colorado River.
Nikon D70, 24-120 @ 24, 1/60, f16, ISO 200

Mountain Light, now in 2nd edition, was first published by Galen Rowell in 1986 through Sierra Book Club.
Galen Rowell won the prestigious Ansel Adams Award “For bringing breathtaking images of high and wild places among the world’s mountain ranges to new and growing audiences who thrill at the thought that such unspoiled places still exist and for making them want to help make sure they persist” in 1984.
With his first National Geographic publication about 1972, Rowell would climb the highest mountain in order to get images of breathtaking light in spectacular natural settings.

A quarter of a century later, I became aware of Mountain Light. Beyond the breathtaking images, Galen created a panoply of emotion and technical know-how as he described the history behind each of those hallowed 80 images.
When it was time to summarize my work as a portfolio, although I did not capture them with fore knowledge of Rowell, to my great pleasure, many images were taken in Mountain Light's tradition.

Paths of Light is a portfolio with 19 of nature's images taken between dawn and dusk. Magic Hour, that special time between dawn and dusk, actually provides just the right light for most of these images. We present each image in three parts; conditions of capture (touchy-feely), technical processing (photographers), and the piece de resistance - the image as we remember capturing it (everybody). Many of these images were deemed Worthy of Merit in Single Judge Competitions and State Fair Juried Competitions.

I must say, I've probably read Mountain Light four or five times now. In Paths Of Light, I've tried to incorporate some of the wisdom Galen gained in his many treks. It is my pleasure to provide different ways of seeing light against some of the most majestic landscapes our gorgeous southwest has to offer.

Photographic setting, format, and printing processes are always in debate. The venue: the southwestern United States, the Colorado plateau. The format: raw files and Photoshop development using advanced techniques. The prints: jpegs submitted to blurb.com as 300 dpi images for each appropriate print format size.

We invite you to look at Paths of Light on blurb.com.

Bisti Badlands
©2004, Joe Bridwell, Chopawamsic LC
Lying on my side one mid day in the Bisti, northwestern New Mexico, I captured the sharp overhang of this hoodoo framing red dog hills against an autumn sky.
Imagine my surprise when it received the first award from my photography…
Nikon CoolPix 5700, 12.7 mm, 1/380, f7.6, ISO 100

Front Cover: Majestic Blessing, People’s Choice, Adult Amateur, New Mexico State Fair, 2007
Back Cover: Bisti Badlands, Cover, New Mexico Magazine, Jan., 2006

"Whoever Loved, That Love Not at First Sight?"

"Whoever Loved, That Love Not at First Sight?" Marlowe, 1595~(Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 3, Sc. 5 ~ 1600). Paraphrased centuries later "... at First Light!"

My passion is provocative light on nature's gorgeous landscapes. I love Magic Hour when 'Light, Not Objects, Is the Source of Color.' Naturally, dawn, daytime, and dusk show very different characters; find the right light, pose the right landscape, and Luck will ride your shoulder in beauty.

Lavender Dawn, an award-winning image of White Sands, seems appropriate as the first image to carry our theme and illustrate Newton’s observation about 'light as the source of color.'

Actually, Marlowe wrote:
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?

It's as if Marlowe knew digital cameras were on a rather distant horizon. Today's literal translations might be
"Deliberate - learn your equipment, learn your digital imaging environment (Lightroom and Photoshop), learn how to think Photoshop when you shoot…
"First Light - then go shoot when and where Lady Luck abides."

Our blog, Pathways of Light, is an effort to describe all aspects of Marlowe's famous line ~ just in terms of digital and fine art photography of nature.
We discuss happenings in the digital world.
We show you fine art photography in our book Paths of Light.
We teach you how to use Photoshop in Capturing Nature's Light, we show you presentation styles, and we discuss paths to turning your images into award-winning memories.
Anasazi Adventures is a Magic Hour Four Corners digital tour where we practice what we preach ~ shoot at dawn / dusk then midday discuss how you can turn your images into award-winners. Here, we take Pathways to new heights; we get out in the real wilderness with a camera to capture Pathways of Light!
When not otherwise occupied, we simply discuss other things that also interest us...

Reward yourself! Dance through our Fine Art Galleries. Look at limited examples from our book, workflow, and workshops. Take Pathways with us on tours to ancient Anasazi lands...