Landscapes

Kirkjufell Mountain in Iceland

~ laura lecce ~ 4 Comments
Kirkjufell Mountain in Iceland – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This particular mountain in Iceland has become famous due to it’s use as an impressive back drop in the Game of Thrones television series. Usually it is photographed as a formidable snowy mountain or a luscious grass-green temple with waterfalls in the foreground. Since these two scenarios are hugely overdone, I thought I’d share a spring time photo. A photo that marks the end of the snow melting away but before the grass has had a chance to spring back to life and regain its green complexion. It showcases the orange/brown grass which contrasts the blue of the sky and it’s reflection in the water below. The cute little house that also features in this photo is typical of almost all the houses and buildings you see in Iceland – they are all uniformly white with adorable red roofs. One thing this photo cannot convey to the observer is the extreme wind that is blowing through here in this moment. I took this photo from the car because going outside was almost unbearable.

Northern lights in Iceland

~ laura lecce ~ 12 Comments
Northern lights in Iceland – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This photo was taken on a trip to Iceland in March, the season of the Northern Lights (Sept to Apr). I learned many things while practicing my night photography on this spectacular display.

Firstly, the lights themselves look brighter in a photo than in real life. This is because to take a night photo you will use a long exposure, so the photo is a collective of multiple seconds of light put together.

Due to the long exposure of a night photo there is plenty of time to accumulate blurry movement into your photo. Essentially a tripod is your best friend so that your camera is as still as can be. Not wanting to travel with a tripod, I found a table to rest my camera on.

The lights are in the North. This may seem obvious enough to most people, but the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. So when you see stunning photos of Northern Lights over a mountain or lake, that landscape must also be to the North of you.

They aren’t around every night or all night and to see them best, the sky needs to be mostly clear of clouds. This mysterious light display comes and goes at will, popping up and disappearing whenever it chooses. They are higher than the clouds, so clouds will obstruct your view of them. This means that to take the ultimate Northern Lights pic you needs a bunch of patience to sit up all night and watch the sky in a freezing cold environment.

Conveniently we stayed in a hotel which gives you a wake-up call when the night security person sees the lights appear. Great for us to get some sleep, but this means that the landscape you are photographing the lights in wont be as impressive as camping on the south aspect of a gorgeous mountain or lake.

The colorful landscape of Zion

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The colorful landscape of Zion – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Another epic landscape photo showing the colorful landscape of Zion National Park in Utah. Down below you can see the road that travels in the valley between these giant rocky mountains, which are perfect for hikers to get a scenic view of the area. It was very strange to me to be seeing a landscape that looks like a dessert, but at the same time, also a place where snow was falling. The wonders of mother nature at their best.

Horseshoe Bend – An iconic scene from Arizona

~ laura lecce ~ 8 Comments
Horseshoe Bend in Arizona – Photograph by Laura Lecce

A sharp U-turn of the Colorado River has created this famous rock formation named Horseshoe Bend. So famous, that even I woke up BEFORE sunrise to get there (I almost never do that!) so that I could watch the colors of the landscape change as the morning sun washes over it. As amazing as it was, I would love to go at sunset so that the setting sun could appear in my photograph. It is true what they say – that sunrise and sunset are a photographers dream. It helps to have incredible scenery to capture, with all of its own rich colors, and the landscapes of Arizona are as rich with color as they come.

Tetons with a touch of pink

~ laura lecce ~ 4 Comments
Tetons in pink – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I always find it amazing how much the sky can transform a photograph. Although there is no guesses as to why sunrise and sunset are a photographers dream. It is at these times that the sky paints with the richest of colors. The ocean, lakes and ponds will also mirror the artwork in the sky to transform the landscape before your eyes. Depending on the cloud pattern in the sky, no day and no artwork will ever be the same, and just like this world they are truly one of kind.

For other images of the Teton Range and Grand Teton Nation Park click here.

Beauty in death

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Beauty in Death – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Yellowstone National Park is full of breathtaking scenery. You can drive from wildflower covered hills and grass covered valleys, to snow-scattered mountains such as the ones in this photo. I had to be prepared for significant changes in temperature along this trip, ready for just about anything. I often find myself pointing my camera at a dead tree as the focal point of my photo. There is something hauntingly beautiful about a naked tree, the branches reaching out and forming interesting shapes. No longer a living part of this world but a significant aspect of the current landscape in which it once lived.

Acadia in color

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Acadia in color – Photograph by Laura Lecce 

I certainly didn’t grow up with Autumn colors like this in Sydney, which is why I am in such awe when I get the chance to see them now. Acadia National Park was the perfect destination for a weekend getaway to see peak foliage colors painted across the most stunning scenery. This glorious day was the ideal combination of warm golden sun and chilly air – the best hiking weather. Climbing the steep Beehive Trail to the top of this small mountain provided an incredible vantage point with which to admire Mother Nature’s artwork. As a person who lives for color, even I could not have imagined that this many brilliant and intense colors could exist in a single landscape. Just incredible!

Friday Flower – Balsamroot with a backdrop of Tetons

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Wildflowers with the Tetons – Photograph By Laura Lecce

These beautiful, bright and sunny wildflowers are known commonly as balsamroot, or scientifically called Balsamorhiza. They are a member of the sunflower family and make a stunning foreground for a photo of the Teton mountain range. They are a golden flag for the Spring season and provide food for many grass and plant eating animals such as deer, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep. There were many grassy valleys and hillsides inundated with large tufts of golden flowers, and they appear in so many of my wildlife photos. They wildflowers really brightened up my trip and I hope they brighten up your weekend, have a great one everyone!

Silent stairs with softer water

~ laura lecce ~ 8 Comments
Silent stairs with soft water – Photograph by Laura Lecce

If only photographs could capture sound (although I guess there is always video). This soft, tranquil and serene looking photo is actually of a thundering dam located in the Ken Lockwood Gorge. Along this gorge there is a lovely hiking trail called the Columbia Trail which is located in New Jersey, and an easy day trip to get away from bustling Manhattan. This damn was a great way for me to practice taking photographs with longer exposure times resulting in soft, cascading water. The stairs provided an interesting surface to catch wisps of water which trickled down them. This was indeed a very fun and interesting photographic experience.

The rock waves of Antelope Canyon

~ laura lecce ~ 12 Comments
Antelope Canyon rock formations – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Antelope Canyon is an amazing rock sculpture that has been beautifully designed by Mother Nature herself. These canyons have been formed by many years of flash flooding, which brings fast running water carrying abrasive sand and rocks through the canyon, continually eroding and sculpting the sandstone walls. The narrow, twisting walls of slot canyons create photos with multi-layered depth, different shades of rich color and interesting compositions. Antelope Canyon is located in Arizona, east of Page and has two separate segments called Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon and is well worth a visit.