It is October 21, 2011.  I have just scrambled up a steep slope for an hour

to arrive at the scene before me.   I am looking down at the Neuschwanstein

Castle in Germany.  The Austrian Alps lie to the south, coated with fresh snow.

There is a sea of fog below the castle, above the Alpsee, changing by the minute.

I wait for an hour for the sun to hit the castle and the fall colors.  I shoot two sheets

of 4 x 5 film, and a minute later, the castle is obscured in fog.  I had been here 10

times since 1988, and finally all the conditions materialized.  Trying to achieve conditions

like this is a constant challenge, and despite having traveled almost continuously

in my free time every year since 1987, memorable moments like this happen very infrequently.

     In early February, 2005, I was traveling in a remote area along the Arizona-Mexico

border, and noticed some purple in the distance.  I hiked for three miles and discovered

the most incredible bloom of wildflowers I had ever seen, over three miles wide.  I stayed

there and photographed for three days.

     In April of 1991, I was fortunate enough to witness another unforgettable event

on the Big Island of Hawaii - lava flowing off a cliff and exploding in the ocean in front of me.

     While these events are some of my most memorable, whenever I am out in nature, waiting

for light at the magic hour (near sunrise and sunset), I am in my element.  Sometimes I

have to hike for several miles to get to a location, or drive for days.

     Great photos are a result of being in the right place at the right time, and if all the

conditions are not met at first, I return again and again.  Photography has taken me to places

I would otherwise never have seen.  My photographs are a way of sharing  my experiences from

some of the world's most incredible places.