Franka M. Gabler Photography

Last month Alan Ross shared the info about 2021 Pines & Palms Photography Contest and Virtual Show hosted by Master Photographers Alan Ross, Dan Burkholder, and... Elizabeth Opalenik. I don’t submit my work too often to photography contests, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have my work reviewed by such distinguished group of photographers. My photograph Granite and Water, Yosemite was awarded 2nd place in Landscape/Architecture category. A virtual show of all the photos opened on April 26 (https://pinesandpalms.org/2021-photography-show/) and prize winners are posted on the site. The closing date of the show is June 26.

Dogwood branches... It's dogwood season in Yosemite! ;-)

My photograph confused a ladybug! I have 16 pieces exhibited at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport "Downstairs Gallery" as part of collaboration with Sp...ectrum Art Gallery. During the installation, a ladybug that was inside the airport building found a patch of green (my photo) that she was attracted to! Poor thing must had been disappointed. See more

Reminiscing of the wonderful backcountry experience in John Muir Wilderness, with a group of fellow photographers and friends In recent days, I’ve been findin...g myself longing for these remote rugged places, soaking up the experience of a grand vista, then venturing into discovering smaller scenes, trying to capture the essence This is one of the few grand vistas I captured from that trip. The time to photograph such scenes was rather brief - maybe 10 minutes or so, before the light became too harsh. I don’t know why it took me 2 years to notice this image. Maybe because I had an attitude, because we were blessed with blue skies for 5 of the 6 days, and I thought that made the image less interesting? Well, I changed my mind. I wish I was there right now, experiencing the first light gliding down the mountain peak. First Light and Alpine Stream, John Muir Wilderness.

If you are a photographer and don’t have plans for this coming weekend, April 9-11, I would highly recommend registering for Out of Chicago Live 2021 online ph...otography conference. I had the opportunity to review last year’s conference recordings and was truly impressed by the breadth of knowledge that is shared by the instructors. Apart from being a photographer, I am a scientist by calling, and I realized long time ago the importance of learning and improvement. We learn all our life; there is always something to learn, regardless of how advanced we think we are. There are always new techniques to explore and fresh perspectives to hear - you’d be amazed how this can spark your creativity! No matter which genre of photography topic you are interested in, it is likely that it will be covered. My conference presentation will be analyzing how different elements such as light, color, contrast, weather, and shutter speed help to convey mood and capture the essence in landscapes. These elements often help strengthening compositions by capturing and conveying something special such as the feel of the place. You can see an example in my pre-conference photo challenge of what will be included in my conference talk covering the effect of shutter speed in expressing a mood: https://www.outofchicago.com//photo-challenge-express-a-m/. In addition, I will also be leading a session on landscape and nature image review. The program is packed: https://www.outofchicago.com/live-schedule/ - Friday through Sunday, and it will be hard to absorb all at once so recordings of the presentations, panel discussions, tutorials, etc. will be available for watching for entire year. There will also be social hours and zoom parties where attendees and instructors can meet and learn more about each other. #outofchicagolive #outofchicago

I got inspired by Suzanne Mathia's blog "FUN WITH PHOTOELASTICITY" (http://blog.suzannemathiaphotography.com/) and decided I'd experiment with the technique, ...and share it with the Yosemite Sierra Artists Photo Group - the assignment for this month was "Glass." I put some clear plastic foil in a glass, and photographed it against my laptop white screen, using a circular polarizing filter on my lens. I had so much fun - the possibilities were infinite! Here are a few compositions I've made. See more

From this past Sunday... Egrets in Fog, San Joaquin Valley Wetlands

How to take advantage of insomnia? Get out and greet the new day! Yesterday I didn't sleep well - waking up every 30 min, checking the clock. Finally, around 4:...30am I decided to get up and go visit the nearby wildlife refuge. It was a perfect morning - with just a thin layer of fog, allowing to see the warm glow of the rising sun. This is the first photo I took, just before sunrise. #sanjoaquinvalley See more

Merging with Mist #2, Bridalveil, Yosemite Another rescue from my archives...

A Stream of Aspens #5, Eastern Sierra... I photographed this scene back in 2014. I made a print of a similar composition (A Stream of Aspens #1); however, after... recently reviewing my archives, I decided I like this composition better - the way how a spot of light illuminated bare aspens in the middle. I'd encourage everyone to go through their old photo files more often - one never knows which gem is waiting to be discovered.

Sentinel Rock in Clouds, Yosemite

I've finally updated my website photography galleries to include the new work. It's been almost a year... https://www.frankagabler.com/ Enjoy, and please share if you like!

My first image of 2021 is rather a simple one: Winter Sun and Tule Fog, San Joaquin Valley. I wanted to include the sun in my composition. It gives me hope.

From a few weeks go... Rostrum and Around, Yosemite

A few of the photos I took yesterday in Yosemite of charred forest in mist.