• Author: Jason Denning
In News

Scotland – New Releases

Last weekend I visited The Isle of Skye in Scotland, it has been on my list to go for years but always got delayed and even the last time I drove right by but for some reason decided driving north would be a better idea. When I arrived I couldn’t believe it has taken me so long to come, I also couldn’t believe a place like this existed so close to where I live, it reminded me of the mountain regions of the USA with it’s epic size  and the hikes were very rewarding, especially the Storr which gave me not  but 2 new releases. In some ways I’m glad I was delayed coming, as the shots would never have lived up to what I got now and the weather was amazing for the 4 days I was there, especially strange when it was raining in the rest of England with floods!

 

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In News

London Olympics – New Releases

The Olympics was a huge event in London and I made sure I got tickets for some events, in retrospect I wished I had applied for a accreditation 2 years ago to get access to all the events but I still managed to make the most of the events I had tickets for with 3 great and unique shots. I think I was probably the only panoramic film photographer there.

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Italy – New Releases

I recently visited Italy for the first time since I was a child and travelled from Rome all the way to Sicily stopping in all the amazing coastal towns, the weather was spectacular as expected along with some of the best food I may ever eat. Pizza in London will never be the same again!

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In Jason Denning - Landscape Photographer, Jason Denning - Photography Travel Stories

The California Coast

After  a fun week in Lake Tahoe it was time for the road trip to begin down the California coast all the way to San Diego. On the way though since it was so close I had to drive through Yosemite and get a shot of the giant sequoias there. Normally at this time of year there would be a lot of snow making accessibility terrible but this year there has hardly been any so it was nice walking around.

Bachelor and Three Graces, Yosemie

 

Starting just north of Santa Cruz I started exploring a beach were all the surfers like to go. They were too far away to get a descent shot of them but a bit of climbing on the rocks to the side led me to find this. I had to be very carefully as the rocks were so slippy it was easy to fall.

It was a long wait for the crashing wave to be big enough to make the shot worthwhile.

 

Santa Cruz reminded me of some of the dull coastal towns in England like blackpool, even though it has such a beautiful name I quickly drive through that city heading south.

Sadly there are lots of parts of the coast fenced off, wither for government purposes or for homes to be built hiding some of the beautiful landscape so I could get access but just peer from a distance.

Private Coast

 

I would stop at anything that looked interesting along the way, which meant most of the state beaches to have a look, which meant finding some little gems that hadn’t been on my list at the beginning of the trip. Pfeiffer beach was one of those with some big rocks jutting out of the beach with tunnels where the waves could come crashing through.

Tunnel Wave, Pfeiffer Beach

The next stop was definitely on my list, although at first I drove right past it only realizing after I needed to turn around to see something I had never seen before.

McWay falls is a waterfall that falls directly onto a beach in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and thankfully there is no access down to the beach so it remains un-touched, even though I would love to get down there myself and get a unique shot.

To get this I needed to wait for just the right moment when the water created the nice pattern on the beach as it washed beck into the sea for a 4 second exposure.

 

McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

 

I had to stop at Sand Dollar beach just because of the name, and as I walked down the south side toward the interesting rocks this view hit me, the angle of the sun shining off the rocks was perfect and almost made it look like another planet. Finally I had been here at the perfect time.

Alien Coast, Sand Dollar Beach

Normally on these trips I have plenty of time to explore and come back to locations for the perfect light but on this trip I’m leaving it more to chance as I only have 2 and a half weeks to get to Vegas for the flight home so sadly no time to wait around for sunset.

 

Big Sur

It seems today is my lucky day, shortly before sunset I passed by this great pier, it seemed like it was placed in a very random place it wasn’t in a town and it was very quiet. It was perfect for a sunset and I wasn’t disappointed.

Sunset Pier, San Simeon

 

Seal Cove, La Jolla, San Diego

 

The next stop was San Diego which would be a great place to live woth it’s nice coast and parks,  I question why I didn’t come here more often when I was living in LA, except I’m sure the summer heat would be a big no for me.

There was a great spot in La Jolla where the Seals would come onto a beach, it was funny because there were other beaches but they seemed to prefer this little cove for some reason.

 

La Jolla Coast, San Diego

My last shot on the California coast was this, sadly 5 mintues before I took it there was a seal on the rock! It would have been a great shot.



		

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In Jason Denning - Landscape Photographer, Jason Denning - Photography Travel Stories
					
Lake Tahoe
									

			

			
	

		
Continuing on my journey from San Francisco was a week in Lake Tahoe, this part of the trip however involved some pleasure as well as photography spending the cloudy days on the slopes snowboarding.


The first sunny day I headed out to a waterfall in the area, Eagles Falls that I thought would involve some hiking in the snow down hill but luckily on arrival I found it not too far, hiking in the snow is no fun. I even had a small tumble to get this.


Falls with a View


 This shot was gone in a couple of minutes as once the sun came from behind the tree glare ruined the shot. It’s also a rare occasion when I find another photographer getting up as early as me but today I met Freddy Oropeza at the same spot, luckily however he wasn’t looking to get the same shot as me.


Once this shot was in the bag at 6.30am(or at least I hoped it was, you never know when shooting film, I’ve messed up enough rolls) I drove around the entire 72mile circumference of the lake looking for other shot opportunities. I stopped at a place nicknamed Bonzai Rock which looked interesting however I didn’t shoot that particular rock, I was more interested in another nearby view. The water was perfectly illuminated but the angle of the sun and the water calm enough to take a long exposure and get the lake perfectly smooth and calm.


 Lake of Serenity


On another day I headed back to the Bonzai rock area at sunset hoping to get shot above with some nice colourful clouds, but this was completely the wrong angle so I switched at the last minute. There is some nice colour but the rocks just aren’t interesting enough.


Bonzai Rock, Lake Tahoe


 


 


 


		

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San Francisco
									

			

			
	

		
In February I began a 1 month road trip starting in San Francisco and ending in Las Vegas with various amazing spots along the way.


As soon as I Landed in San Francisco and arrived at my hotel around the corner I found a huge fire truck parked up and couldn’t resist a shot, it had just been freshly cleaned.


Fire Truck, San Francisco


I decided to try a new style on this trip shooting hand held black & white photos using my 617 camera, almost like snap shots, so any black & white photos you see later in this trip will most likely be taken this way.


San Francisco instantly struck me as a nice charming city as soon as I arrived, a more relaxed version of new york, it almost felt quiet. IT seemed like the best American city I had visited so far and somewhere I would love to live for it’s weather and closeness to so many amazing places like Yosemite National Park yo mention just one.


Downtown San Francisco


A must have shot whilst here was of the whole city to ad to my collection, so I woke at 5am the first morning and headed across the Bay Bridge, after a bit of exploring  I found a great spot and waited for the sun to rise.


San Francisco and the Bay Bridge


I couldn’t miss out on visiting the famous Alcatraz Prison which ended up being a great afternoon with a ferry ride to and from the island.


Alcatraz Island


Walking around the prison you can listen to the many great stories and attempted break outs giving you a great fell for how the prison operated, and also what it would be like to be in prison.


Alcatraz Cells


 


Alcatraz Block


 


The Golden Gate Bridge was another must see, sadly the evening I planned to take a picture was very overcast so I didn’t get a nice sunset this time, fortunately I plan to come back to San Francisco another time so I wasn’t worried about this du könntest das ausprobieren.


The Golden Gate Bridge


		

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In Jason Denning - Landscape Photographer, Jason Denning - Photography Travel Stories
					
The Canary Islands – New Releases
									

			

			
	

		
Hello and Happy New Year!


Over the holidays I took a short trip to Lanzarote, one of the beautiful Canary Islands to explore some Volcanoes and I even hiked into the middle of 2. There was some great scenery and I got these 3 shots along the way, but thankfully not early rises, it was a holiday after all!

It’s funny how it almost feels as though I never left England the amount of english accents I heard.











Volcanic Landscape, The Canary Islands








 











Playa de Famara, The Canary Islands






 











Los Hervideros, The Canary Islands






		

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In Jason Denning - Landscape Photographer, Jason Denning - Photography Travel Stories
					
The best of North America 2011
									

			

			
	

		
3 months after arriving home I have been through all the photos I took on the 7 month trip and have selected my best from the trip.

There are 29 pictures, which at a trip cost of £15000 means each image cost £500. Obviously I took more than 29 shots, but would you want to put those on your wall?


Here they are in date order –













Downtown Vancouver, Canada 















Douglas Fir Trees, Capilano Woods Canada 

















Whistler Coastal Mountains, Canada 

















Whistler Peak, Canada 

















Washington State Field, USA 

















Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, USA 

















Geyser Sunset, Yellowstone National Park, USA 

















Waking the Byson, Yellowstone National Park, USA 

















Doublet pool, Yellowstone National Park 



















The Devils Tower, USA 

















Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA 

















Chicago, USA 

















New York Brooklyn Bridge, USA 















Washington Monument, USA 

















Jefferson memorial, Washington DC, USA 

















A night in Toronto, Canada 















A Day in Toronto, Canada 















Up, Canada 

















Mount  Rundle, Banff Nation Park, Canada 

















Waterfowl Lake, Banff National Park 

















Jasper National Park 

















Athabasca River, Jasper National Park, Canada 

















Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park 

















Sunshine, Olympic National Park 

















Sol Duc Creek, Olympic National Park 

















Ruby beach, Olympic National Park 

















Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park 

















Desolation Sound, British Columbia, Canada 

















Shore Life, Pacific Rim National Park, Canada 






		

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Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park on film
									

			

			
	

		
If you have been following my blog you may (or may not) recall I spent a week in Olympic National Park at the end of July and every evening I went back to my favourite spot on Ruby Beach to attempt at getting the perfect sunset shot. I had explored most of the coast in the park and this was the spot on Ruby Beach that I thought was perfect for a panoramic and worth going back to again and again.
I shot all the sunsets on film so until now I hadn’t seen the outcome and it wasn’t until the 5th and final evening I was there that I got what I was looking for.











Sunset 1, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park






The first evening I thought was a going to be a waste of film, it had been cloudy all day but there where some openings in the clouds that shone a little colour through as the sun set, I had already set up my camera so I thought I may as well take a shot. I knew that if I over-exposed a little and shot for 4 minutes I may get something interesting and moody happening in the clouds passing through the frame. I’m very glad I took this shot, I can’t decide if it’s my favourite or not. The clouds almost perfectly mimic the rocks below them and creates an atmospheric image.











Sunset 2, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park






Day 2 was a very clear day so I knew I wouldn’t get something unique, but again since I was there and ready I took this 4 second exposure with the sun glowing behind the middle rock before it set.


On Day 3 I thought I may have missed the best sunset. I was waiting nearby taking a nap after a long day exploring with my radio on and some batteries charging in the lighter socket, I fell asleep for longer than I intended to with 60 minutes to spare before sunset when I woke to find my car wouldn’t start, I had drained the battery. So I sat and watched as the sunset came and went with some pretty colours. 5 minutes after the colour in the sky had gone a police man puled over and kindly gave me a jump start and I was on my way annoyed with myself I may have missed the only sunset on my visit to the park.











Sunset 4, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park










Day 4 at the time I though for sure was the best one, the sky had a magnificent pink glow, but I didn’t quite get the waves as I wanted to –  in motion as the fell away from me. This was because at this point it was very dark meaning with my ISO 50 Velvia film I had to  expose for 16 seconds giving me very blurry waves. At the time I didn’t really know how it may turn out and thought it may be a winner, but I still found myself back here for my last night, just in case.











Sunset 5, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park






This is my favourite for colour and the waves, but now on the 5th day you can see a big difference in my position from day 1 where I was quite close to the rocks. Sadly the tide had risen higher in the 5 days. Even in this spot I got soaked from the waves which were rising with every minute I waited, thankfully they weren’t strong enough to knock over my camera.
This was a 1 second exposure on Fuji Provia Film. The only thing that would have made this shot better would be the closer position I had on day 1.


		

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The Canadian Rockies on Film
									

			

			
	

		
Here is a selection of the best shot I took on film in the Canadian Rockies for the 2 weeks I was there in July this year.













Athabasca Falls, Jasper National Park, Canada

















Mistaya Canyon, Banff National Park, Canada

















Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park

















Pyramid Mountains, Jasper National Park

















River Stones, Jasper National Park

















Falls, Kootenay National Park

















Avalanche Tunnel, Yoho National Park

















Jasper National Park Sunrise






		

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Back to the UK
									

			

			
	

		
Hello and sorry for the long delay since my last post. I am now back in the UK having finished my trip through Canada and the USA, so I thought I would post some stats from the trip which lasted 7 months in total.


Total Spend – £14’592
Total KM driven 34’489 (thats 2 solid months of 10 hours a day driving!)
Cost of Fuel (I’ve started to call it gas) £3000
Accomadation & hotels £2900
Parking £95 (I love amercia!)


Total Great shots taken 271


It was a great trip but doing that on your own can be lonely at times, but it also mean as a photographer I can be very flexible and do exactly what I want to do, there are few people that would be happy to come along and sleep in a car for 5 nights running so I could stay up late for sunset and get up at 4am for sunrise, but when I look back at my shots it was certainly worth it.


Since I’ve been back I have been scanning all the shots I took on film on my Fotoman 617 camera during the trip so over the next week or so I shall post all the great ones.


To begin where I started my trip on the west coast of Canada, here is a shot I took on the 19th March 2011 when we had the “Super Moon”. That night it was so bright it over powered my headlights and it was an almost perfectly clear night to get this start trails shot of the Tantalus Mountain Range. Due to the moon being so bright the stars are very faint and it also makes it look like daylight.











Tantalus Mountain Range by Moonlight, British Columbia, Canada






		

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Vancouver Island
									

			

			
	

		


There are many places in BC I haven’t visited, but one I must see is Vancouver Island, mainly to visit Pacific Rim National Park as currently I only have one other park on the coast for my planned National Park book. 

My first stop once leaving the ferry was  Cathedral grove, an amazing old growth forest with huge trees everywhere.
The busy trails meant I was waiting most of the time for people to pass but also for the wind to die down so all the leaves and plants wouldn’t be blurry.  






Next I drove straight for the coast looking to find a great sunset spot, which I found but sadly I wasn’t given a great sunset to go with it. 
The weather didn’t look good for my whole time here so I needed another plan which was shore life. I found this the next day on a hike down to Halfmoon bay clambering over the rocks. 
















The best time for these shots is at low tide so I ended spending all day here to get 2 low tides and maximise my time which I needed to get the water flow just right. I would spend almost on hour at each spot. 






The park also had lots of old growth forest around so a hike along some of the trails found these gems. It’s tough to get the scale of these trees to come across, especially in a panoramic. 















On the way back to the ferry to head back to Vancouver I visited Juan de Fuca Park, not much shore life could be found as the tide was high but the bays had some rock and I also finally got a sunset! 














		

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