The Many Glacier region was closed to visitors in Glacier NP Fortunately, a last-minute reservation at Many Glacier Hotel provided an opportunity to photograph along Swiftcurrent Lake. At sunrise, the dense #fog slowly burned away, revealing the dramatic peak of Mount Wilbur bathed in a golden glow.

Colorful Baring Creek in #Glacier National Park which hosts an array of rainbow colored rocks, offering great opportunities to experiment with shutter speeds for unique #abstract effects. Oxidized iron brings out rich red hues of hematite, enhanced by the complementary green color of chlorite

The early morning sun casting soft shadows on a dense grove of old growth autumnal #aspen in Dixie National Forest in Southern #Utah. 🧡🍂

Wishing all my fellow leaf peepin' shutterbugs and nature photographers a very happy first day of #autumn! Who knew you could find scenes like this in #Utah, known for it's desert landscapes, but in the high elevations, dense old growth aspen forests abound in the #Wasatch Range. Happy fall, ya'll🍁

One of my favorite memories spent in the Chicago Botanic Garden was finding and photographing the many critters. For every reasonably sharp image, I have about a hundred blurry ones, but that is OK! Finding my little #garden friends brings me so much joy! 🦋🐛🐝❤️

Sharing my passion for photographing flowers instructing at the Out of Chicago #Botanic conference was an absolute dream come true for me! The water lilies were perfect for demonstrating some multiple exposure techniques in the garden for a painterly #impressionistic effect 🪷🩵

A smoky visit to #Glacier National Park serves as an important reminder of the impact wildfires have on shaping and transforming the area’s #landscape. The view from the Blackfeet Indian Memorial highlights a thick haze and evidence of burned forest resulting from the Red Eagle Fire.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, known for its diverse plant life, attracts many pollinators, including monarch #butterflies. After visiting the #garden, I chose this fitting image for September's free desktop calendar wallpaper.🧡 www.optimalfocusphotography.com/Free-Desktop...

Hot temperatures entice me to spend time in a cool digital darkroom processing some overlooked images from past #autumn seasons. I'm looking forward to taking a much needed sabbatical and visiting SW #Colorado again in our trusty truck camper! Hit me up if you're in the area in late September!

Today is International Honey Bee Day, a day that highlights the importance of #bees for pollination, food production, and biodiversity, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite shots of my favorite little garden friends 🐝💛

Joshua Tree inspired me to photograph #abstract representations of desert plants, employing wide aperture and selective focus techniques to emphasize each plant's distinctive structure. It was a valuable exercise in careful observation, which allowed for the appreciation of subtle #desert features

www.optimalfocusphotography.com/Free-Desktop... August 2025 - 2025 Free Desktop Wallpaper - Optimal Focus Photography

An overcast day in the garden is the perfect opportunity to spend time playing and experimenting with multiple exposure #abstracts of plant leaves. I especially like finding curling leaves as in the first image that create a more dynamic effect.

Exploring some of the less traveled backroads of Grand Teton National Park revealed some healthy patches of yellow balsamroot to use as a foreground to the dappled morning light dancing across the #Teton range in the distance.

A little compilation of soothing images from Northern #Minnesota, captured during my first visit. This area's verdant foliage and striking sunsets provided a wealth of inspiration, a perfect area to capture images appropriate for #healthcare settings

A magical morning of dynamic foggy atmosphere ebbed and flowed throughout the #redwood forest providing ever changing light and small spotlights of warm sunlight on the #forest path lined with blooming rhododendrons.🌸✨

Volatile weather in Yosemite's high country, from ominous storms to bright blue skies provided variable light over the #Sierra crest, including these brief conditions overlooking Tenaya Lake and Mount Conness bathed in late afternoon pink. I am so in love with these massive granite peaks💕

Recent high temperatures at home provided an ideal opportunity to visit #Yosemite's high country during the first weekend that Tioga Pass was open. A vibrant sunset was reflected on Half Dome’s sheer granite cliffs accentuating the pines that grow in these high elevation conditions.

Northern #Minnesota was pure magic during a girls’ Memorial Day weekend getaway to a cabin on the lake. Every afternoon had beautiful sunsets and I was inspired by the diversity of trees that grew in this area, electing to use them as a foreground element to the colorful sunset beyond 💜✨

Joshua Tree is a playground for those that enjoy slow photography and careful observation of the impressive variety of plant species that are well adapted to desert conditions. Just a simple series of #abstracts of these #Mojave Yucca plants that highlight their beautiful colors and unique structure

It's National Hospital Week, a time to celebrate advancements in healthcare. Speaking of advancements, healthcare facilities have undergone a massive transformation in recent decades, evolving away from being cold, sterile environments to more inviting spaces that recognize the arts in health. 🩷

In the Alabama Hills, the sweet fragrance of native #lupine attracted hungry bees. Chasing #bees with my #telephoto is an exercise in patience for sure, but always rewarding when I can nail the focus and capture their detail all the way to the yellow pollen that coats their tiny bodies. 💜🐝

A little pop of color for your Saturday🌸 Before my workday one morning, I couldn't help notice a high elevation cloud cover that ensured some diffuse, warm light and I wandered outside with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens to capture backyard #dogwood blooms at their peak. #naturephotography

One of my favorite ways to spend Easter is enjoying an early morning spent in #nature, photographing soothing, idyllic landscapes close to home that capture the verdant green of #springtime. A pre-dawn alarm to drive the back roads of the Sierra foothills was rewarded with a low lying #fog

Took a drive for a short hike in the Sierra foothills, where I happened upon several butterflies flitting about in a tiny wildflower patch, so I dashed to the car to grab my telephoto and capture a few springtime images;seeing the butterflies play was the nature therapy I sorely needed this morning!

I found this spot close to home that has a beautiful display of native wildflowers in the spring, and for years, I've been waiting for the right conditions that I had envisioned in my mind to capture blooming lupine, spring green oaks and a rushing river from springtime snowmelt from the Sierra

Early in the morning, before the cows wake up and the crowds arrive for Table Mountain’s annual #wildflower display, the Reserve is blissfully quiet, with only sounds of birdsong and gently flowing ephemeral creeks to keep me company in this verdant landscape💐 #naturephotography #spring

The pink #dogwood trees surrounding California's state capitol are blooming beautifully, and every #spring, I take my camera for a quick photoshoot of the flowers in the morning before heading to work for the day. A little #flower therapy before the chaos of the workday sets in!🌸🩷

In honor of California Poppy Day on April 6th, thought I’d share an image taken yesterday when Spring Fever drove me to jump in the car and explore some dirt roads and wildflower spots, where I was specifically looking for compositions that had a mix of wildflowers #spring #photography #poppies

Spring has arrived, and with it, my annual visit to North Table Mountain Ecological Preserve to visit the wildflower display. This was my favorite experience of the day, after I asked my husband to turn the truck around so I could capture this rainbow. Wishing everyone a great weekend 🌈💚

As the last of California's winter storms blow through, thought I'd share the one snowy day where I got to photograph my favorite expressively quirky trees in El Capitan Meadow, here framed by Cathedral Rocks emerging from the fog during a late season snowstorm ❄️

Welcoming the month of April with a colorful display of tulips greeting the spring season for this month’s free desktop calendar wallpaper 🌷

I spent the day with family photographing an astonishing 55 acres of flowers at the Flower Farm Fields in Carlsbad that bloom from early March through May harkening the arrival of #spring in Southern California. Editing #flower photos makes me so happy! 🥰🩷

This morning, I put an "appointment with nature" on my work Outlook calendar to steal a few moments and photograph the variety of beautiful flowers at my local park🌷 #naturephotography #spring #flowers

A VERY different mood from my previous post because I am not ready to let #winter go just yet! The snowfall on black oaks highlights their intricate textures against the backdrop of Sierra granite in #yosemite Valley 🧡

Wishing everyone a very happy first day of #spring with some "flower therapy" taken on warm, sunny March days spent taking #flower portraits 🩷💐🥰

Winter is my favorite season for photography; the stillness and quiet is invigorating. I'd been waiting all season for a snow day in the Valley and finally it arrived! During a break in the clouds, Yosemite Fall briefly appeared to deliver the classic view that Swinging Bridge is known for.

During a #winter storm, #yosemite Valley is shrouded in fog and precipitation, hiding many iconic peaks. This creates an opportunity to focus on smaller scenes, like this grove of sugar pines dusted with snow, which I enjoy photographing in various conditions and seasons.

A tranquil scene of colorful willows in rich gold and red tones and lush conifers along the Big Thompson River in Rocky Mountain National Park. A memorably cold morning spent photographing with the talented ladies of @opaconferences.bsky.social

Aerial panoramas of almond orchards at sunrise in California's Central Valley from over the weekend. I love using the DJI Mini 4 Pro as an extended "tripod" to capture views like this. 🌸 #photography #aerialphotography #suttercounty

Loving this platform so far! Because I’m now in a good mood, sharing some winter light on the Rockies Early morning sunlight breaking through the dense cloud cover and casting a warm glow on Rocky Mountain National Park on a cold February morning. 🩵 #photography #rockies #stunday

Fallen Leaves and Ice Textures, Zion The freezing temperatures in Zion National Park provided endless opportunities of exploring small winter scenes in a frozen Pine Creek Canyon. 🩵🍂 #photography #stunday

Every year, I anxiously await the #almond blossom bloom, the first harbinger of spring in California’s Central Valley, to capture some soft, dreamy portraits of these fragrant little beauties. #lensbaby #photography

Winter Meadow, Rocky Mountain NP My heart is full of gratitude after presenting at the Outdoor Photo Alliance conference and for the opportunity to spend some time in the field with some seriously amazing female nature photographers! We fell in love with the subtle colors here after a fresh snow💙

Almond blossom season is coming! 🌸🩷🥰 #shootlocal #almondblossom #photography

My heart is full of gratitude after presenting at the Outdoor Photo Alliance conference and for the opportunity to spend some free time in the field with some seriously amazing female #nature photographers! Colorful willows grow along the creeks and rivers throughout the Rockies 🩷 #photography

Evaporated water leaving behind a white residue that follows the curves of a dry creek bed in the sandstone canyons of #Zion. I love the warm colors in the canyons 🩷

Today was special. I speak a lot on how important it is for me to place nature art in healthcare facilities because of my lived experience, and today presented some images to Enloe Cancer Center in Chico. As a cancer survivor, art is so important and hoping I’m chosen. Cancer treatment can be hell

I love the warm colors of Navajo Sandstone that warms the soul even in the most frigid temperatures of winter so thought I'd share a little collection of the small scenes of #zion #utah🩷

Shady conditions in the canyons of Zion provided endless opportunities of exploring small winter scenes among the rich red tones of Navajo sandstone.🩷