What feels like ages ago already, I set out on a photographic expedition with a great friend and stellar photographer, Dan Ballard, scheduled to last for several weeks starting in Patagonia and ending in Machu Picchu. I can't say this trip has been without its hiccups up to this point as I don't truly believe any trip goes as smoothly as planned. Our departure from Denver was nearly postponed by a couple of days due to formalities imposed by the Argentine government and we barely got through security the morning of our flight. Thankfully the nice ladies working American helped us out and got us back on track in time for our departure. 

Last year one of my trips took me to majestic Alaska on a back-country photo-expedition with a couple of great friends. One of our excursions was a heli-tour that took us to the Columbia Glacier area about an hour into Alaska's nothingness. This image (7' x 12')  is of me photographing the Columbia Glacier outside of Valdez and is the image BlackRapid is running for their current ad-campaign. I love their straps and am stoked to have this image up with such an amazing company!

Photo: Dan Ballard

The reason I keep coming back to this topic is because it is a fundamental concept that I feel cannot be stressed enough. So many times I see images that are cluttered and “messy” and distract the viewer from what is important within the frame. We are the storytellers here and we must remember this when putting our work out there to be seen. Our images are our voice and represent who we are, what we enjoy and ultimately how we see the world. Whenever we post an image online be it Facebook, Flickr, 500px, G+, etc. these images are seen, critiqued and ultimately, the photographer is judged before he or she has a chance. Make this judgement a good one and leave the viewer wanting more.

Before jumping into the images critique below I would like to elaborate a bit more on emptying the frame. We see the world in real time and 3D. Our eyes act as a wide-angle lens allowing us to take in so much and process it instantly. What we don’t realize without practice is how this scene would look when we freeze time and hit ‘pause’. This is what we must learn as photographers: stop and think about everything going on when taking your picture and choose what you are trying to say with your image. Remember your initial vision and if the main element to your frame is the human element, photograph the scene in a way that emphasizes that person. If you are photographing a mountain peak, look for only the elements that will draw the eye to your intended focal point. You have complete control to include and exclude what you want.

In the images below I am wanting to showcase their strengths and weakness’. Both photos were taken in Rocky Mountain National Park during a winter workshop I was working. Myself and the lead instructor were asking the participants to work with leading lines on the frozen lake to lead the eye toward the magnificent peaks in the distance. The first image is a horizontal that shows so much natural beauty we might jump to this image to be our “one”. What do you think? Is this image strong enough to make it into our main gallery? Sure, it’s a good image: strong elements, beautiful location and  great light. The main issue here is that it is showing too much. There is too much going on to make this image as strong as we would like it. It is not simple enough.

Now take a minute and think, “how would this image look as a vertical?” While shooting this scene I was going back and forth between horizontal and verticals knowing I wanted to have as many options once I returned home as possible. After working both in Lightroom the winning image for me was clear. I knew I wanted to keep things tight with the focus in the center of the frame and that the most interesting element within the frame was not the trees or mountains to the left and right of the main peaks. It was also not the ‘ocean’ of ice in the foreground. The strongest element in this photo was the amazing peaks bathed in gorgeous light shrouded in dramatic clouds. The means of drawing the eye here was to utilize the cracks in the ice to their fullest potential. 

Ultimately, when choosing what to include within the frame try to keep in mind what it is you are truly wanting to show. Work from the inside out and evaluate each element within the frame one at a time. Determine how each piece of the puzzle will ultimately fit together to produce the end result that reflects your initial vision. Keep pushing and working and make each image count.

I have been invited to present at the Thunder Mountain Camera Club in Grand Junction Colorado Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm. Topics of my speech will be Inspiration and Passion in the Craft of Photography. If you are in the area and interested in learning more, please come by - visitors welcome: 

River Of Alliance Church, 24 1/2 and G Road 7:oo pm. 

Learn more about TMCC here:

http://thundermountaincameraclub.org/special-program-on-february-26/

I am proud to announce that my images will now be represented at Great Big Canvas! Great Big Canvas is one of America's leading art distribution companies that sells fine wall art for your home, office, etc. Last year at Imaging USA I met one of the women working their booth and after a couple of minutes speaking with her found out she heads up more than I'd originally thought behind the curtain. After respectfully introducing myself I asked if/how their company works with photographers. The answer I received was one that I dreaded yet was prepared for: "We don't typically work with individual photographers. Generally we stick with larger companies/publications such as Nat Geo and Lonely Planet, as example." Dang! I knew that if I could just begin working with a company like this, my work would get in front of a larger audience which is something I really wanted as an artist. Well, after a year in the works beginning with sending image samples for review, emails and more emails and finally my first bulk upload, my work is up and looks awesome! A BIG thank you to Heather for believing in me.

Join professional photographers, Joseph Roybal and Dan Ballard, for an unforgettable photography workshop set in one of America's top destinations! Please read more here along with Northern Arizona FAQ's! !

I spent a week cruising through the Arizona desert about a month ago with a good friend, Chad Neufeld, chasing sunrises and sunsets that were pretty elusive. I was down there to specifically research the area for an upcoming workshop that I am going to be offering this upcoming summer with Dan Ballard in the Page and White Pocket areas. We will be co-instructing camera techniques, how to read light, find simplicity within all of the chaos we see in front of us and how to use our camera meters to expose properly in difficult lighting situations.

To find dramatic clouds and light (which I LOVE!) in this part of the country can be pretty challenging and we had limited time. After spending a couple of days in the Monument Valley area thwarted with zero clouds we made our way towards Page where we met our Native American guide, Lionel Bigthumb, who I had been in contact with to get us into the canyons. The difficulty with the Page area is you must have Native American guides to get you onto their land and in doing so you are ideally looking for a guide that is going to be knowledgeable about the area, professional and hopefully a great photographer to understand light and what you want as a photographer. Fortunately Lionel was just this and we spent the day in a private tour going in and out of different canyons, some which are exclusive to his company as his mother has land rights. This really offers an incredible opportunity for some pretty unique images in an area that is saturated with imagery.

One concept and key idea I was keeping in mind was simplicity within a cluttered zone. The Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons are absolutely gorgeous and when standing and taking them in with the eye they look completely different than what you want to convey in your image. One thing I see consistently when viewing photographs is clutter and distracting elements that detract from the strength of the image. One way to achieve this is to isolate your subject and to do this you must start off by asking yourself, “What do I want to show/achieve with this image?” If you cannot do this immediately, sit back, take a breath and come back to it.

I chose to shoot this image with my telephoto lens and spot meter specifically for the brightest part of the image to add drama and also not over-expose or blow-out my highlights. In using the longer lens I was able to focus the eye within the frame to what I wanted to show the viewer – lines, texture, light, color and depth. When you’re in the caves and looking around all of this is apparent and inspiring – you smell the earth, hear the wind blow past you, sink in the sand as you walk; however, as a viewer  at a computer screen or in a gallery, you must remember that the impact must come immediately and visually is your only asset.

I am proud to announce my invitation to work with Zenfolio at this upcoming 2013 Imaging USA in Atlanta! Zenfolio has been such a huge contributing factor to my photography business success since I joined with them. Their ease of use, streamlined user interface, insanely awesome technical support, cool team, outrageously talented Pro Team lineup... and the list goes on. They are awesome and I am humbled that I will be working alongside several photographers that I look up to and admire in just a few short weeks. If you are attending Imaging, please stop by booth #1737 to see all Zenfolio has to offer. 

This image started off with a 4 o'clock alarm going off in my ear. I had to wrestle myself out of the cozy warmth of my bed in the Ridgway, Colorado area and double check my gear making sure I had everything I needed: camera, lenses, batteries, tripod and warm clothing. I had also just arrived the evening earlier after sunset so finding this location in the dark was going to be a challenge not to mention this is a unique and different vantage point to most seen. Before bed I used all of my resources to do a "virtual scouting" to prepare myself. 

As my shooting partner and I headed out we loaded the car, triple checked our gear and set out into the unknown. We entered the dark and empty road making our way to the dirt road found during our online searches the evening before that was to take us up into the forest allowing for an up-close and intimate view of the peaks that we were looking for. I had also checked the weather the evening before and it had called for a potentially cloudy morning. My fingers were crossed! We drove along the road and headed deep into the woods in the dark driving over cattle guards, rounding corners and honestly thinking this was going to be a bad idea. We were thinking there was too much cloud cover to offer any color let alone see the peaks. 

Just as our hopes were beginning to wane, the sun began to rise in the east and the clouds began to break just enough over the Dallas Divide peaks to allow light in. This is what we set out for as photographers and this is ultimately what we want to come home with. 

Please, download this November calendar version and enjoy! Prints are also available.

I am in the process of getting workshops on the calendar in 2013. Contact me with ideas or interest - I would love to hear from you!

Best,

Joseph Roybal

This event will be hosted by Professional Photographers, Dan Ballard and Joseph Roybal, aiming to instruct and offer insight into Nik Software Silver Efex Pro and clean website design. This will also be a great time for us to get to better know the group and have a great time sharing stories over eats/drinks. This will be a free instructional seminar on Silver Efex Pro and the importance of clean website design. Dan will work through an image or two of his out of his award winning portfolio showing how he selects the strongest image and edits them in Silver Efex Pro all the way to the final and finished image ready for print and web.

Joseph will follow up Dan's discussion by going over the importance of a clean and de-cluttered website and how to achieve this by focusing the viewer on only your best work and eliminating distracting elements on the page. Developing a critical eye is crucial when you are displaying your images to the world and having a non-distracting website will help you achieve this.

Dan Ballard is an internationally known travel and landscape photographer based in the Denver Metro area. His work has appeared on the Smithsonian Channel and has sold work to numerous publications including National Geographic. Dan is also partnered with the most trusted names in the photographic industry such as Zenfolio, SanDisk, Black Rapid, Think Tank, among others. Dan's passion for photography shines through in his work and seminars.

Joseph Roybal is a professional travel, landscape and documentary photographer based in the Denver Metro area and regularly assists Dan in his workshops and seminars. Joseph has been published in AFAR Travel Magazine and has clients ranging from the Four Seasons to small non-profits in the Denver area. Joseph's powerful  images tell stories and allow the viewer to insert themselves into the scene. Joseph is proud to be partnered with Zenfolio.

This entirely free event is sponsored by Zenfolio and Black Rapid and we will be raffling off some awesome swag from these companies that Dan and Joseph are partnered with.

Please come in relaxed attire and there is no need to bring your camera gear unless you have specific questions regarding functions/settings and we will do our best to answer. We will not be shooting at this event.

This fun and instructional event is free of charge and will be a great time getting to know fellow photographers in the area and building relationships to help us get outside and shoot more!

Photography is funny in that locations that are photographed well once get put on every photographer’s bucket list. Look at what Galen Rowell did for Yosemite: due to his early work bringing groundbreaking images Yosemite is one of the most photographed parks in the U.S. and all thanks to a visionary in the field. Not only did Galen bring the world into our living rooms on our walls and in our hearts, he did this through dedicated and deliberate practice and with a clear vision that he wanted to convey.

Today every time we think of Yosemite, his images are likely to be those most readily conjured by our memories. This is the drive behind my philosophy as a photographer: Explore the world around us and that we live in; Learn as much as I can in the field about the habitat and environment I am working in be it extreme temperatures and remote locations; and Share this with the viewer. It is in this order I feel the image takes its form and is understood. Now before you go thinking I am comparing myself to the Man himself, I am not. I only want to point out and pay homage to his work and the work we as photographers do and what drives this passion forward.

This Alaska trip was spurred by a conversation Dan (Ballard), Andrew Vernon and I were having one afternoon here in Denver over lunch. We had been talking of a remote location we could photograph that had all of the elements we sought: rarely photographed landscape, dramatic terrain and above all - insane light. We were giving ourselves two weeks to accomplish this and we did. Peru and Alaska somehow came to be the two locations that made the cut and after careful deliberation, Alaska won as it was approaching summer solstice meaning hours and hours of sunlight each day. After all, photography is all about light and we needed to capture the environment with that element. We also were looking for a location that had not been photographed to its last breath. Sure, Alaska is probably one of the most photographed locations on the globe; however, not in the manner in which we envisioned. 

Our trip originated in Anchorage where we landed in an ocean of mountains, snow and amazing light and ended in Denali where the peak is typically hidden from sight due to weather patterns it creates. For anyone that has visited Alaska knows this is truly the last frontier. As you fly over this vast and empty landscape thoughts of individuals that call this territory home are never distant from your mind and a deeper appreciation is formed. Mountains that spring from out of nowhere up towards the heavens with insanely jagged peaks, water that runs incessantly from the glaciers that surround you, roads that wind along the coast and follow the tree lined highway system taking you further and further from civilization into Alaska's backcountry. This is the backcountry where one of our heli-guides told us, “This is Alaska boys, and there is no joking out here. People die.” I knew this was going to be a great trip.

We landed at nearly 11pm and after a long night of shooting and sleeping in our car; we decided to call this location quits and find a place to rest and prepare for the next shoot. After a couple of days and with zero photos in the bag we decided to head out after dinner on a hike we had heard rumored to be a great sunrise location. To reach the summit we headed out on the trail at 12:30 AM and hiked for nearly five hours following the trail and hollering “Hey, Bear” hoping this would save us should one be hungry. Man, nothing again! No photos and nothing to show for our efforts save a severe lack of sleep and a broken hiking pole. At this point we weren’t giving up or losing faith, but we were beginning to think the locals may have been right about Alaska not having much great light this time of year; most said hardly ever. We kept the faith and pressed on heading to Homer and Seward where perseverance and dedication paid off.

 This is something that I have learned over my time shooting landscapes: patience and perseverance are paramount above all else and a clear vision of what you are seeking to capture. Photography requires a clear vision and knowing what you want to convey to your viewer before you even head out on your shoot. To know this even in its most primitive form will help out immensely. You must go in to every situation prepared for the conditions and willing to endure what many may not. In doing this you will position yourself for success that you will both be proud of and will resonate with your viewer.

Homer and Seward were great locations to visit with Resurrection Bay being one of my favorites. We drove overnight; nearly 10 hours winding our way through the dark landscape, playing music at deafening levels and consuming several cans of energy drinks, stopping along the way several times to shoot, and finally ending up in Homer to an amazing sunrise. This image is the opening photo to this post. We were welcomed with an incredible sunrise with clouds and light and snow capped mountains with insanely blue water.

What I wanted to capture and embrace in the images was a sense of warmth and drama, but that also was believable. So much of what I aim for in my photography is to drive the viewer to visit the locations I capture through my lens. I also aim to inspire the viewer to enjoy and appreciate the world around us. I would be ashamed if a viewer ever wrote to me and stated they visited a location and in no way did my images represent it accurately. My photographs are honest in every form. It is the light I seek and the locations I visit that give them their feeling.

After spending several days in the Seward/Homer area hiking the countryside and driving back and forth following weather patterns we decided to move on. We broke down camp, loaded the car and headed north to Denali. I cannot explain with enough emphasis how large of a surface area Alaska has. This landscape truly goes and goes.

Denali is without words one of the largest and most remote places I think I have ever visited. As you head north out of civilization cars and people become fewer save the fellow tourist and Subway you greet along the hundreds of miles of empty highway. We worked the Denali area over the next few days again staying up late and getting up early – we were averaging at most 3 to 4 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period for the entire trip. I have never been so sleep deprived in my life and yet it is amazing how the body begins to cope when it must. The last two days were a push and personal levels of comfort challenged. I will say; however, this push led to a greater sense of personal understanding and what I could put my body through when needed.

Denali was an incredible end to an incredible trip and one that I will never forget. Great friendships were made, personal growth realized and strong images to come home with. It almost seemed that the immensity of Denali’s peak that stretches up towards the sky says to all who visit to keep dreaming and reaching for what inspires us. In photography this has never been more apparent with the numbers of photographers growing each day. The goal though is not to become as prominent as Denali within one’s landscape, yet to strive to be the best you can be at your craft. Keep pushing yourself and your limits and you will be amazed at what you can achieve and accomplish. 

Joseph Roybal Photography is featured on Zenfolio's Blog sharing tips and advice to help secure, and insure, your summer travel. Click here to read on...