Few subjects make as dramatic a silhouette as 
a saguaro cactus.  In this situation though, I 
didn't want a silhouette, or at least I didn't 
want everything silhouetted.  I wanted some 
color in the closest cactus, especially its blossoms, 
so I used a flash to illuminate the cactus while 
exposing for the sunset sky.  The flash was set 
at full.  Here I was trying to draw attention to 
the fact that saguaro blossoms bloom at night, 
and these were just opening up at sunset.

When composing images around running water (as well 
as any other subject), it's important to decide what you 
want to include and what you want leave out.  What are 
you trying to say with your photo?  Here the photographer 
was trying to capture a little of the grandeur of fall in Zion 
National Park.  By including the winding river, the line of 
autumn cottonwoods and some of the canyon walls, the 
image hints at the secrets of the world this river has created 
at the bottom of the gorge it carved.  We considered including 
more of the canyon walls by widening the view, but then the 
other picture elements become smaller.  This is a compromise 
that I like.

This tight shot of running water was also taken in 
Zion National Park in the fall.  It was taken on the 
same trip as the previous image.  Here the photographer 
was simply telling the story of water on its way to the sea.  
The reflected color gives a hint of autumn.  It's a much 
more subtle image.  Which photo is stronger?  That's 
entirely up the viewer.  Personally, I prefer the top one, 
but then I've always been a sucker for grand scenics 
and warm colors.  Cathy took both, so there is no bias.

Capturing the seasons is a good way to draw 
attention to your images, especially if it's a 
season not normally associated with the landscape 
you're photographing.  Here we have a snow-covered 
scene in Arches National Park, and the contrast 
between the red rock and snow is dramatic.  A 
couple of things to keep in mind--under heavy, 
overcast skies it's hard to capture the red of the 
rock formations on film.  It can be done with a 
warming filter, probably an 81A, but it is easier 
with digital.  Also, notice how the junipers were 
placed against red rock.  This helps highlight the 
twisted, snowy branches.  If they had been placed 
against the sky, the trees would not have shown 
up well at all. 

Digital capture has opened up a whole new world 
of night photography.  This image was taken in 
Valley of Fire State Park, about 45 minutes east 
of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Some of the reddest rocks 
in the world can be found here.  This is a 20 second 
exposure taken at an ISO 400 at maximum aperture.  
The foreground was illuminated by a waxing moon, 
a few days from full.  Noise has not been a problem 
unless we brighten the image (and they often need to 
be brightened to obtain a good print), and then we 
need to use noise-filtering software to make the sky 
look better.  We've had good luck with Noise Ninja.  
We rarely need to use this software unless we are 
making a print.  It wasn't needed on this image for 
digital showing (computer screen or projected).  
However, when we printed it, we definitely needed 
to filter out the noise.

Reflections are a good way to liven up a scenic image.  Naturally, 
still water is pretty much a necessity in this situation.  Ideally, 
the subject being reflected will be in the sun, and the water will 
be shaded.  This will give a much brighter reflection than it would 
if the water was also in the sun.  This photo was taken high in the 
San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado, and it tells a story 
of summer at high elevations.  Even though it's mid-summer, a 
large snowfield dominates the left side of the frame while marsh 
marigolds in bloom border the right.  Even though they appear 
to be opposites, the snow is the source of the water flowing 
through the frame and therefore the source of the flowers as well.  
Pay attention to where your reflections fall.  If the reflection of 
the peaks had touched the rocks, the image would not be as strong.

Here we have another reflection image taken around the 
same alpine tarn as the previous one.  In this one we've 
only included the reflection of the mountains and left 
the mountains themselves out.  We still know the photo 
was taken in the mountains, for we can see them in the 
reflection.  This is a much simpler image than the 
previous one, and simpler is often better in photography.  
We often cannot tell which photo we'll prefer until after 
we've taken them, and sometimes our opinions change 
over time.  I advocate taking both when you have the 
opportunity.

This photo was taken on Mona Island, a deserted island 
in the Caribbean where we were marooned for a week.  
It wasn't exactly a disaster.  In fact, we worked long and 
hard to maroon ourselves there.  One of the fascinating 
things about this island is the numerous caves.  The caves 
are generally large and airy, and we would enter them 
from the inland side and follow them to the coast where 
they would end on a cliff face above a turquoise sea.  We 
wanted to capture some of the magic of this location, and 
the cave mouth alone just didn't do it for us.  It needed 
something more, something that could help the viewers
put themselves in the same place.  It needed a person's
silhouette.  When using a silhouette like this, place it 
against a bright part of the background so it's obvious.  
Also, keep the silhouette simple and easily recognizable.