Category Archives: Travel

New Zealand South Island

Wanaka, New Zealand (Kyle Jones)

Wanaka Sunset, New Zealand (Kyle Jones)

I recently took a vacation with my wife to New Zealand and Australia, including 6 days based in Wanaka (rhymes with “Monica”) on New Zealand’s South Island. I figured I’d share my experience here, where it can hopefully be useful for anyone else planning to travel to that beautiful country. This wasn’t a “photo trip”, so while I did make sure to place myself in a couple of good locations at sunrise/sunset, it wasn’t the focus of my trip. With that in mind, this isn’t really a photo guide and some of the shots included are more for documentary purposes than artistic. I have included some thoughts about conditions that might be good for some of these locations and am including the equipment and settings I used for reference. I’m splitting this guide into three parts, the first covering some general thoughts, gear, and the area around Wanaka. Next is the Haast Highway and Lake Matheson and then the area South of Wanaka including Queenstown and Milford Sound.Continue reading→

Shooting the Stars

Yosemite National Park, California (Kyle Jones)

Tunnel View Stars – Yosemite National Park, California (Kyle Jones)

I truly enjoy making photographs at night. If I’m willing to give up some sleep and risk some cold, I have the opportunity to photograph some beautiful locations in relative solitude. It always amazes me how much detail modern cameras can pull out of a night sky. So with that in mind, here are some of my favorite night images from the last year.Continue reading→

Snæfellsnes Iceland

Grundarfjorour, Iceland (Kyle Jones)

Kirkjufellsfoss Sunset – Grundarfjorour, Iceland (Kyle Jones)

I had the opportunity to spend a little over a week in Iceland back in May with two friends (Alejandro Velarde and Matt Olivar) to explore the country and hopefully take some nice pictures. One area that was on our agenda was the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in the Northwest of the country, and its most famous landmark: Kirkjufell Mountain (pictured above). I typically try to share what I consider my best pictures from the locations I visit, but I felt this would be a nice opportunity to show a little bit more of Iceland, including some of the less iconic countryside.Continue reading→

2016 Favorites

I definitely enjoy looking back through my pictures each year. My goal when I start is to pick out my 10 favorites so I can share them here. What ends up happening is I remember trips I’ve made, time spent with family and friends, and beautiful sights I’ve seen. This year is no exception and I’ve had a chance to capture some scenes I had been wanting to visit for a long time.

This year I made a photographic trip to Oregon to shoot waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge and I also made a family trip to Europe. Both trips are well represented here. As I do every year, I made a couple of short trips to Yosemite and Big Sur as well as other areas closer to home. So in no particular order, here are my favorites from 2016:Continue reading→

Oregon Day 3 – Multnomah, Wahclella, and Abiqua

Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon (Kyle Jones)

Wahclella Falls – Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon (Kyle Jones)

Sunday was the last day of our waterfall hunting trip and we had three falls on the agenda. Our plan was to get up early, stop by Multnomah Falls before the crowds arrived, and then hike out to Wahclella Falls. After that we would take Matt to the airport and Alejandro and I would drive to Abiqua Falls for one last adventure before we went home.Continue reading→

Oregon Day 2 – Washington

Cook, Washington (Kyle Jones)

Spirit Falls – Cook, Washington (Kyle Jones)

Day 2 of our Oregon trip brought us across the Columbia River into Washington. My goal was Spirit Falls. I had never visited this one before but I had been captivated by its turquoise waters in pictures I had seen online. Access to Spirit Falls is somewhat sketchy. As I understand it (because the internet says so) the falls themselves are public. However, access to the falls may be across private property and the owner has been known at times to make that clear (as is his right). So we decided to leave early in the morning to minimize the likelihood of running into anyone and arrived at the “trailhead” just after sunrise. The trail is mostly just a scramble down some loose rocks, eventually reaching a wet, wooded area and the Salmon River.Continue reading→