Yellowstone National Park

Canon 5D mark ii + Canon 17-40mm f4L

You’ve traveled halfway around the world, woke up three hours before dawn and fought off cardiac arrest during your 6000 foot assent. What’s more, you broke the bank to take this trip and used all your vacation time just to capture an elusive target. Unfortunately, Murphy waved his ugly hand and the light is crap. Either the sun is too bright or you’re surrounded by a pervasive mist that will not go away.

Lake Agnes - Banff National Park

Canon 5D mark ii + Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

We’ve all been there and it’s these moments that test your patience and reward creativity. I have day job, so when I’m out on a shoot or traveling to photograph an ecosystem, I have to come back with something. It’s a cliche thing to say, but restrictions and limits feed my creative spirit. When faced with less than ideal shooting conditions, I put on my black and white goggles, study the landscape and look to play with tones and angles. During these less than ideal conditions, I work harder to define my story and be sure to pre-think the impact of every technical decision. Selecting the correct aperture, emphasizing shadows that define and choosing the right lens will be the difference between the images you cherish and those you can’t wait to forget.

Icefields Parkway

Canon 40D + Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS

Poison Dart (Dendrobates auratus) - Selva Verde, Costa Rica

Canon 40D + Canon 100 f2.8 Macro USM

It’s your mountain of homework, bills that need to be paid or taxes you’ve neglected to file. Your frog is the ugly task you avoid each day, week, month and year. It is your anchor; a weight that drags you into the abyss. Your frog saps your creativity. It sits on your desk and croaks in your general direction. That frog needs to be eaten!

First Snow - Stillwater, MN

Canon 5D Mark ii + Canon 40mm f2.8 STM

Based on a book by

Brian Tracy

and introduced to me via a podcast by

Martin Bailey

, the analogy really resonated with me. We all need to eat that frog now, because there will be two tomorrow and three the next day. It is important to recognize that we do the things we need to do so that we can do the things we want to do. If you eat that frog today, you’ll have more time for your craft tomorrow.

Before First Snow - William Obrien State Park, MN

Canon 5D Mark ii + Canon 40mm f2.8 STM

Want to learn more about Brian Tracy’s book? Check out the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W7GB5Fh2XM

Cope's Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) - In the Garden, MN

Canon 5D Mark ii + Canon 100mm f2.8L IS Macro

Tip #101: Fog, Smog and Overcast Light

Tip #100: Eat that Frog