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         Just a grey chunk of rock, or an intriguing mountain with mysterious stories of history and hauntings? This is Superstition Mountain with a host of interesting history and hist-stories of its own. Its shape is curious, but from a photography perspective, unless you wait for just the right time of day to shoot it, position, and contort your body for the perfect angle-as I did here, it shoots as just another huge grey chunk of rock sitting alone in Arizona. For me, the west presented a whole different mindset for great photos because- as most of my friends know, I'm more of a purist. We did a wonderful exercise at cnn using software to enhance our photos, but since they're "news" they would only post things raw; completely unaltered in any way. For that reason, I guess I prefer to show reality in our natural world vs a computer generated work that's not really relevant to anything is my view. That said, the challenge of using what nature offers us with li...

© Pamela Hartle Little did I know at the time that this tree would never be the same.  The Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, California has and always will be a symbol of grit and tenacity, firmly entrenched in its curious base which is surprisingly impenetrable granite. Not only is this Monterey Cypress native to only one other place in the world, but this one has maintained its rocky rooting for about 250 years. It's been dubbed the most photographed tree in the world" but there will never again be a shot of it in later years that looks like this.  I took this photo January 2, 2013 at sunset to capture it at its best. The best way to do that was to partner with Mother Nature to show the sun enhanced fluctuating wave pattern of Carmel Bay and this unique trees rugged base to portray why it’s earned its name and reputation. Especially after the pandemic that touched all our lives, many of us are still reeling and are feeling the same as this precarious, rudely exposed and alone ...

 One of the surprising things they never taught me in college regarding my journalism and photojournalism career, is that the story you pursue is not always the story you will ultimately write. I learned to be open minded, never give up, and what surprises you, will end up surprising your readers. That actually happened several times to me, and it was a wake-up call. There's a couple that stick out as the ones that were a total surprise, and received a healthy number of hits, creating a win win for all.  Since it's mid November, it seems the perfect time to blog about my pursuing a Thanksgiving story about Native Americans. Those of you who know me a little better, know I am always interested in something unusual and out of the box, so putting the pilgrims and puritans aside for something different, sounded fun and intriguing for both my readers and myself.  For this particular story, I wanted to photograph Pueblo ruins and talk about Native Americans for a Thanksgiving p...

I chose this photo to post at my profile because -like so many of my friends and followers, and hopefully me, there's so much more to it than meets the eye.  Literally. This annual migration means tens of thousands of birds fly thousands of miles to stop over every year like clockwork to refuel at this very spot.  The mountain ranges seen in the distance to the East and the West will drain melted snow - or not, and thereby dictate the success or failing of the many species that rely on this stopover every year.  I deliberately didn't edit, tweak, or photoshop this photo so read on why it's so important.   You'll see Snow Geese and Ross's Geese, species of ducks, and sandhill cranes to name a few, enjoying their layover, swimming side by side while they rest and refuel with much needed water and nutrition. Each season brings in new and different species of waterfowl and land animals to this unique section of the Rio Grande, all dependent upon our fragile climate ...

There's no way to describe the amount of talent displayed at the annual Sea Coast Artist Guild’s "Art in Common" event September 11 - 12 2021 at Valor Park in Market Commons.  It was obvious we all needed a break from the confines and angst the Pandemic has caused us all and it didn’t hurt that the hurricanes far away from us brought us some breezy, cooler, but sunny weather.  It was also obvious how relaxed everyone was and clearly enjoying being out with their friends and cohorts again. As I wandered the grounds, I was impressed not only with all the creativity but with the diversity of this talented group.  Art ranged from the sublime and soothing to the wacky and whimsical.  And don't we all need that, depending on the day so I'm already looking forward to their next Spring show scheduled for April 2022.  Check the Sea Coast website (below) for the exact dates and times.  Kristen, in her Golden Zen Boutique booth was a delight and added her obvious cre...