I have six great images by six superb photographers today. I hope you enjoy viewing this inspiring imagery as much as I enjoy sharing it. When I selected these images, I did not even realize that they were made in six different countries. Six photographers, six images and six countries. The “World Wide Web”, has certainly shrunk this mighty planet. Today we are all world travelers.

Among my favorite images are those that show a splash of color or contrast, in an otherwise dark world. One of the best ways to photographically/artistically illustrate that, is with a dash of autumn color. Add a reflection, and you have a wonderful image. The photographer is Colby Brown, and the location is Alberta, Canada. I have been to Alberta and it is a natural masterpiece. I in fact, spent a weak on horseback in the mountains.

I find myself returning to pro shooter Ian Plant over and over again for unique, artistic compositions of special places. He created this one in Argentina. I like seeing (and using) time honored photographic tools like framing, when they are applied creatively and uniquely.

Nila Sweeney made this powerful and inviting landscape in New Zealand. New Zealand was always a “bucket list” destination for me. Oh well.

Jeff Sauer of jeffsetter photography created this image from Neuschwanstein Castle somewhere in Europe (obviously). I love the toning in this photo and the way the castle leans a bit from the use of a wide angle lens and the perspective from which it was used.

I like to include some modern architecture every so often, and I enjoyed this Antonio Blanco monochromatic rendition of criss crossing lines, spotted clouds, and once again “a leaner”. As a commercial photographer, most clients would never accept the use of leaning buildings and other creative views, but I surely did enjoy those who did. This image was made in Madrid, Spain.

I have been to this location many, many times in my life. This is Garden of The Gods, Colorado, not to be confused with Valley of The Gods in Utah, a location I have shared with you many times. Garden of The Gods is not in the Rocky Mt. wilderness, but actually just outside of Colorado Springs, which like Denver, is in the front range of the mountains, not in the middle of them. This is the best overview of this location that I have seen, and it was created by Marsha Kay.

I myself have made many pictures here way back in the 1970s. They were made on both color negative film and of course, transparency film. To the best of my knowledge, none of those images exist anymore. There is a horseback riding stable here and I can remember one day when I stayed behind, while my wife and sister went horse back riding.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I did.

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Recently I have been saying that today, everybody in the world is a photographer. That is only a slight exaggeration. While everyone who takes photos may be a photographer by definition, there are photographers and then there are photographers. A “real” photographer should not only be able to recognize wonderful scenes and subjects when they present themselves, they should be able to find the wonder in the ordinary. Among all those people who are busy making pictures, those dedicated to photography should be the ones that see the beauty..….or the horror, that others miss. It’s not always about composing an iconic location in a national park to perfection, it’s about “seeing” the beauty in the vacant lot behind the junk yard. It’s not always about realizing that Snowy Owls are spectacular, and then making good pictures to share, it’s about seeing the beauty in a House Sparrow or a pigeon, and making equally good pictures of them. In a world full of photographers, everyone with a cell phone camera may see and photograph that weird guy on the corner and think he’s a hoot, but “real” photographers see the pain that’s inside, and wonder how it got here, and share the findings through an image.

All photographers make pictures, real photographers see what the others miss.

Wayne