Become Your Dreams - Olympic National Park, Washington

It's great to be back with a new blog post for you all. With the launch of my How to Photograph the Northern Lights Tutorial & Star Photography Photoshop Actions & Luminosity Channels it's been an insane past 2 months.

My goal as always is to bring you all top notch content from all aspects of landscape, night and star photography! Do you have any comments or suggestions on new tutorials you would like to see on this website? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Over the past few weeks I've been writing some in depth and exclusive content for members of my mailing list. I'm proud of it and think it's some of the best I've ever written!

My latest goal is to simplify life by all means, and this includes photography. You'll see what I mean in these emails, they are simple yet very powerful concepts and tools which you can implement right away!

The responses from readers have been fantastic, I've received hundreds of them! I really want you all to take advantage of this content. Sign Up today and see what they are raving about;) It's free and you can unsubscribe at any time! Click Here & Get Instant Access

Let's Get to It!

For anyone that missed it I made a free tutorial for you all. It will show you how to post process / edit your Northern Lights photos from start to finish in Lightroom & Photoshop.


Fresh out of some amazing hikes in the Pacific Northwest, winter is quickly approaching which means awesome snowshoeing and travels abroad.

Recently we spent some time in the Enchantments of Washington State. This place is unreal! I'd highly suggest it to anyone that wants to escape reality for a week. We spent 5 days out here exploring, hiking and taking photos! 

Paul Weeks Shooting in the Enchantments of Washington State

 

The Shot

This is one of my favorite spots to shoot on the Olympic Peninsula. You can camp here, or even better hike up the beach for days without seeing a soul. The Wild Coast as they call it has is very remote once you get out there a day or two. It also has some really nice easy to access locations for day trippers.

The Wild Coast - Olympic National Park, Washington

I've been spending a massive amount of time on the Olympic Peninsula lately. Last weekend we backpacked a few days into the rain forest to capture the streams and lush greens that spring brings to this part of the country.

Here is a quick video I took with my Nexus 5 this past weekend while hiking in the rain forest. If you listen closely you can hear a bunch of bird noises in the back ground. Click 1080P for best resolution:)


The Behind the Scenes shot shown below was taken from the same location as my Portfolio image ( included at the bottom of this blog post ) after the moon had risen a bit more. This particular weekend the weather was really nice so I threw my hammock in the trees right by the fire. With the waves crashing, and a nice breeze coming off the ocean, it was unbeatable.

Camping on the Pacific Coast / Taken at very high ISO, hand held, just after midnight.

The Shot
I've been scouting this location for a while, trying to get something new and unique as there are a ton of great shots from the beach seen in the foreground. This time of year The Milky Way rises in the South late in the evening. This still wouldn't really give off enough light to illuminate the awesome landscape of the Pacific Coast.

Just the right soft light was necessary to show off all the small details and sea stacks cover the coast in this region of the country. After an attempt early in the year with a crescent moon there still wasn't enough light.

Going back to the same location again with a 96% moon seemed to do the trick. As the moon rose from the East ( just out of the top left corner of this photo ), it lit up most of the landscape and threw some amazing shadows over everything else. The colors were soft, and a light fog / mist from the ocean's surf started to cover the coast line. Multiple exposures were taken to experiment with exposure time, and the effect that these exposure times had on the color and feel / texture of the water.

Finally everything came together... an almost silvery moon glow coming off the ocean in the immediate foreground, a soft haze rising from the coast as it fades into the background, and the over all dreamy feel that the Pacific Coast provides at night, under a nearly full moon. 

Click to purchase a print of this photo

The Night Watch- Ruby Beach, WA

This will be my last day posting to the blog for a week, I am headed off to Italy for a much needed vacation. We are landing in Venice, then traveling Cinque Terre & the last destination is Rome. Hopefully there will be some great weather, lots of new pictures, along with some amazing food & lots of wine. If you want to learn some star photography while I'm gone, here are some useful links to do so.

Free Star Photography Tutorial

In the Field Star Photography Workshops @ Mount Rainier

Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshops

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial

Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets
Star Photography Portfolio

The Shot

During my last Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop we processed this shot. I really like how it turned out. The night it was taken at Ruby Beach Washington was one of the darkest nights I have ever seen. The Milky Way felt so bright that it seemed to hang right over the ocean.

Click to hang this shot on your wall

Break Water - La Push, WA

The weather if finally turning nice in Seattle, well at least for now. As Thursday rolls around it's time to make plans for the usual weekend photography trip & I need some ideas for places to shoot. The last 8 weekends have been spent on the roads of the Pacific Northwest capturing shots and camping, so maybe it's time for a break... Doubt it!

The Shot

Another shot from the Canon 7D which I still think is a great camera, it's just not D800 great...

Buy a print of this shot

Journey to the Heavens - Ruby Beach, WA

There are only a few days left to vote for my picture in the Smithsonian Photography Contest Finals. I have pulled into first place and would love to win this thing! Please help me by clicking HERE and voting for my shot which is number 18. After selecting the picture just scroll to the bottom and click submit. You can vote once every 24 hours. 

As for tonight I am just finishing up a few pictures from NYC and packing a bag for Miami. Tomorrow morning I leave for my vacation and Ultra Music Festival, so I'll be taking a break from posting a picture for the next few days, unless somehow motivation comes through in the wee hours of the morning. If you get bored take a few of my free tutorials provided at :

www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

The Shot

One of my favorite places to shoot star photography is the Olympic Peninsula, there is just something great about the Milky Way combined with water and the beach. I found a small bridge made of logs crossing a stream on Ruby Beach and thought it was cool enough to capture, so here ya go...

The Night Goddess - Ruby Beach, WA

Find some great places to travel by checking out all the links on the right hand side bar in the "Take Me To..." category, just scroll down til you find it. I also provide tags such as "The Night Sky" which will lead you to all of my star shots and learning material, just give it a click and try for yourself.

I also provide a Travel & Adventure Map which shows you on a map exactly where I took every shot in my portfolio. I love maps, so this kind of this is really fun for me!

Here are a few fun star photography links:

Free Star Photography Tutorial

Under the Stars Lightroom Presets

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorials

The Shot

Ruby beach has quickly become one of my favorite places for photography, especially star photography. I've been looking for some other star shots from Ruby, but can't seem to find any. Feel free to share your links to star shots in the comments below!

End Game - The Olympic Peninsula

Driving to the Washington Coast through the Olympics is a road trip I would love to do at least once a month. The winding back road leads through dense forests &  always provides awesome views and amazing hidden lakes and streams.

The Shot

This was one of the last pictures I took with my Canon 7D and was lucky enough to catch a really good sunset on the Olympic Peninsula. After processing hundreds of shots from my D800 and then going back to do this one I could really notice the difference in color and quality, but I think the final result still turned out just fine:)

Sunset on Second Beach

Maui is a blast so far, I have been playing with my camera less than usual and relaxing a bit more. Sunrise and sunset are obviously still a must. Tomorrow is Christmas and we will be driving the Road to Hana on a full blown day of photography. Any suggestions for the best stops?

The Shot

It's been a year since I was out on Second Beach, but I hope to journey back in the near future. This is just one of the great spots to shoot in the area.

La Push Weekend

One of the best places to escape while in the Pacific Northwest is the Olympic Peninsula. I could go out there for days and never run out of awesome and beautiful things to take pictures of.

The Shot

Sometimes I get in the mood to use a lot of HDR post processing techniques, this was one of those times.. To learn more about how I process these shots check out my Post Processing Before & After Page. I took this shot early one cold morning in La Push Washington. The beaches here are beautiful and covered with awesome rocks and driftwood. I like to wander around and look at all the fun stuff the tide watches in.

Sundown on Second Beach

Just went through 2 Tiesto's Club Life sessions and 5 pictures. 2 of them suck but oh well....That's where late night happy hour comes in.

The Shot

Took this at Second Beach way back when I still shot a Canon 7D, well I guess that was only 10 months ago. In photoshop learning years it's a lifetime. Anyone have some fun PS tutorials for me? I need some new skills.

Ruby Beach & Beyond

I just returned from an 8 day road trip to Yosemite meaning tons of new pics to add to my ever growing backlog. Thankfully Seattle winter weather has arrived which gives me the time to catch up on all that picture processing.  Besides the upcoming star photography tutorial for Photoshop, I would love some ideas on other tutorials you guys/gals would find helpful? Leave your thoughts in the comments section or shoot me an email.

The Shot

Besides being a great place to take star photography, Ruby Beach Washington is also great for sunsets and rises as well as relaxing. This shot was taken an hour before sunset which allowed for some great light and amazing colors.

Late Nights on Second Beach

It took me some time to figure out how to set up for a picture like this, after endless attempts an idea dawned on me, and I was able to come up with this as an end result.

For those of you that would like to take some star shots of your own my Star Photography Tutorial is a great place to start.

Want a full in depth tutorial experience that walks you through my step by step star photography post processing techniques? Check this stuff out, guaranteed to light up your nights!

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial

The Shot:

I snapped this one off at Second Beach on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. There are endless photo opportunities out there from beautiful landscapes to stars.   I would suggest at least 4 or 5 days to get a good feel for the place.

The Olympic Peninsula & Beyond

Just got back from a really nice weekend in Victoria BC. Lot's of amazing little shops and streets to explore and some amazing food & beer along the way. I spent a few hours tonight setting up some actions in Photoshop 6 for luminosity masking and post processing of star shots. These actions will be provided along with an in depth tutorial in the coming months. Photoshop is amazingly powerful for processing star shots and I can't wait to share the info with everyone. Brain is running low, time for bed....

Come Join Us

I started taking shots of the night sky a few months ago, and everyone seemed to love it. I was flooded with questions about an array of different thing. In response, over the past weeks I have been working on a "Star Tutorial". Tonight I will post Part 1 of the series. Thanks for all the feedback and support everyone. If you know anyone that likes the night sky or photography in general, please share:)

Rialto Beach Sunrise

Rialto Beach in La Push is an amazing place to catch the sunrise. I took this picture  a few months back on a weekend trip to the coast.

TIP: Leading Lines in Nature and the Golden Ratio

If you are near the ocean and have some waves, you can always use these as "natural" leading lines. In this picture I set my subject up around the right side PHI line the horizontal direction. Then I used the ocean's waves and the shore line to lead the eye back over to the sunset at the right side. The clouds can also be used as a tool to help the eye move around the photo. I will go more in depth with the Golden Ratio in my next post. For now read up on the link provided above to find out more.