Tag: Jerry Ginsberg

Photographing in North Cascades National Park

by
Park Creek Ridge high up in the Cascade Range in North Cascades National Park, Washington. © Jerry Ginsberg
Park Creek Ridge high up in the Cascade Range in North Cascades National Park, Washington. © Jerry Ginsberg

By Jerry Ginsberg

This remote park is revered by backpackers and climbers, but often overlooked by most other folks, even though it’s just 120 miles from the Seattle metropolitan area. Covering more than 500,000 acres, North Cascades National Park includes its namesake mountains at the northern end of the Cascade chain, virgin forests, countless alpine lakes and meadows, glaciers and more than 360 miles of wilderness hiking trails. There are very few roads within the park, so most visitors travel east and west on State Route 20. Whether folks want to hike in remote wilderness, embark on a family-friendly road trip or camping vacation, North Cascades National Park is a remarkably underrated destination that shouldn’t be missed.

Continue reading →

Photo Travel in the Age of the Coronavirus

by
Clearing Storm over the Teton Range. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Ginsberg
Clearing Storm over the Teton Range. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. © Jerry Ginsberg

By Jerry Ginsberg

The Bucket List

In these days of COVID-19 my bucket list is getting bigger, but my bucket is not. At the risk of being less than completely clear, allow me to explain. As time goes by, always far too quickly, I learn about more and more places on our little globe that I would like to visit, photograph and enjoy.

My list is now measurably longer than it was a year ago. Working against my ability – and that of all of us – to cross names off that list is the virtually worldwide lockdown as nations everywhere take a multitude of steps in an effort to minimize the spread of this scourge. Countries including as Argentina, Chile, Jordan and Switzerland are sitting on my yellowing list now rigidly frozen in gridlock.

Continue reading →

Cruising the Middle East with Camera in Hand

by
The domes and minaret of the El-Jazzar mosque rise above the ancient city of Akko (Acre), Israel. © Jerry Ginsberg
The domes and minaret of the El-Jazzar mosque rise above the ancient city of Akko (Acre), Israel. © Jerry Ginsberg

By Jerry Ginsberg

Because of the pandemic, any attempt at planning photo travel these days is a long way from normal. Still, it is my wish that offering a glimpse into a fascinating photo trip to Israel might spark hope that the proverbial light we now see at the end of the tunnel is not mounted on the front of a freight train.

Continue reading →

Everglades Re-Visited

by
Early morning ground fog in the swamps of Everglades National Park, Florida.
Early morning ground fog in the swamps of Everglades National Park, Florida.

By Jerry Ginsberg

In these days of COVID-19, very little seems normal. Our daily routines have been drastically altered. That certainly includes travel and photography. Had this been a normal year, I would have traveled to both Switzerland and Argentine Patagonia. Under the circumstances neither country was about to allow entry to foreign tourists. After tolerating cabin fever for just so long, I had to at least get in the car and go someplace where I could photograph some natural beauty.

The national park and, by far, greatest nature preserve closest to my home is Everglades at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. Since I hadn’t been there in several years (as a species, we frequently seem to avoid the easiest options), it seemed like the obvious choice. So, in early December I packed up and headed south. Once finding a convenient and presumably sanitized motel in nearby Florida City, I began cruising through this very familiar more than one million-acre wilderness of avian and reptile life, swampy prairie, and slow moving river of grass.

Continue reading →

Dreaming of Argentine Patagonia

by
Evening Light on Mt. FitzRoy and Cerro Torre © Jerry Ginsberg
Evening Light on Mt. FitzRoy and Cerro Torre © Jerry Ginsberg

By Jerry Ginsberg

This month, allow me to describe not a trip that I have already made to a place that I have photographed, but travel that I have carefully planned to a place that I have not yet been with plans first postponed and then canceled – thanks to the coronavirus that has stalled most of the world for the past year: A dream trip to the southernmost part of South America, the Argentine Patagonia. I have never done this type of article before. Never even contemplated going off on such a tangent. But in the very strange age of COVID-19, many once unforeseen things have become real possibilities. With fervent hope that this plague will soon be in our collective rear-view mirror, I expect to make this trip in late 2021 or early 2022. I’ll keep you posted.

Continue reading →

A Photographer’s Guide to “Cruising the Pacific Coast”

by
A dramatic Pacific sunset paints the sky in Garapata State Park, Big Sur, California. © Jerry Ginsberg
A dramatic Pacific sunset paints the sky in Garapata State Park, Big Sur, California. © Jerry Ginsberg

Story and photos by Jerry Ginsberg

Over a span of many years I have driven and photographed the entire Pacific Coast, a varied landscape of beaches, sea stacks, forests, buildings, and lighthouses where the vast Pacific Ocean meets the contiguous US. However, that cruising has been strung out over a long series of disparate, bite-sized, bits and pieces. One of the many items on my bucket list is a single, continuous drive from San Yisidro, California, on the border with Mexico, all the way up to Port Angeles, Washington, right across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Continue reading →

Necessary but not Sufficient: The Great American Outdoors Act

by
Photo of a brilliant sunset from atop Clingman's Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the country with a deferred maintenance backlog of $235 million.
Brilliant sunset from atop Clingman’s Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the country with a deferred maintenance backlog of $235 million.

By Jerry Ginsberg

Back in August the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law. Among its provisions, it provides funding of approximately $1.3 billion per year for five years to address long-delayed maintenance needs of the National Park Service. Clearly, this is a good thing and a reason to rejoice.

That said, it isn’t a perfect bill.

Continue reading →

The Navajo Nation: A Photography Guide

by
The famed Mittens, calling card of Monument Valley Tribal Park, Utah and Arizona. © Jerry Ginsberg
The Famed Mittens, Calling Card of Monument Valley Tribal Park © Jerry Ginsberg

Story and photos by Jerry Ginsberg

These days, whenever I think of the innumerable terrific photo destinations throughout our county, especially the great Southwest, my reaction has become, “Wait until next year.” With travel planning now stuck in limbo waiting out the coronavirus, it doesn’t hurt to catalog some of the places that await us when we are once again free to roam around in search of great places and great images. High on that list are the lands of the Diné Bikéyah or Navajo Nation.

At over 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, this sprawling tract is home to about 180,000 Native Americans. Tragically, they have been hit very hard by the coronavirus. As a result, the reservation has been locked down and prohibiting visitors for some time with an end not yet in sight.

Looking forward to brighter days, let’s take stock of some of the region’s visual highlights.

Continue reading →

3 – 2 – 1 Backup: Protecting Your Photos

by
Photo of three external disk drives. Backing up your photos to multiple drives is one way to play it safe.
Backing up your photos to multiple drives is one way to play it safe.

By Frank Gallagher, NANPA Blog Coordinator

September is Save Your Photos Month, with the last Saturday designated Save Your Photos Day. Each year during this month you’ll find photo retailers, websites, data storage companies and others reminding you to safeguard your photos. Whether you’re a professional photographer, photo enthusiast or just take family snapshots, it’s a good time to revisit how you’re organizing, describing, storing, and protecting those precious images.

Continue reading →

Spectacular Florida

by
Glorious sunset in the Florida swamps.
Glorious sunset in the Florida swamps.

By Jerry Ginsberg

Even though we have been uncharacteristically and, in many cases, uncomfortably cloistered in our homes for several months now, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. With the optimistic expectation that we will be unleashed to once again be out in nature creating beautiful images sooner rather than later, the following is a portrait of yet another great photo destination.

Continue reading →