11-FEB-2000
Grand Palace, Bangkok,Thailand, 2000
A palace spire reflects the setting sun in a blaze of gold on a field of deep blue. I deliberately underexposed the picture to make the sky darker than it really was. It creates more contrast for the temple spire, which became a burnished stack of golden cubes. Because of the effect of reflected light, this golden spire becomes a glittering abstraction symbolizing not only the Grand Palace itself, but Thai culture as well.
24-NOV-2002
Tuskers at Sunset, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 2002
Of all the elephant photographs I've made over the years in Africa, this one is my favorite. As the sun went down in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, two foraging elephants drew ever closer to us. They moved at a trot, head to head, tusk to tusk, in perfect rhythm. As the warm light turned their grey hides to a reddish gold, they seemed to be smiling as they brushed past me. It was one of those rare opportunities to make a photograph when everything had fallen into place simultaneously -- an endangered subject, a perfect vantage point, and golden light to intensify the meaning of this special moment in time.
10-SEP-2003
Rainbow, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2003
The rain was still falling as the setting sun illuminated the clouds behind this rainbow. The sun's golden light, displayed in many shades of color, offered a breathtaking context for this rainbow, and only a wideangle lens could embrace its huge arch.
24-NOV-2002
After the storm, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, 2002
Backlighting not only abstracts the subject, such as these trees, but it creates a translucent glow as it passes through these cumulus clouds -- all that remains of a powerful thunderstorm that had swept through this vast game park only minutes earlier. I exposed for the sky, and allowed the trees, road and safari vans to become darker as a result. The subjects of this picture are the illuminated clouds. The tiny vehicles provide a scale contrast, indicating the size of these huge clouds.