moines

NCAA Basketball in Des Moines!

March 11, 2016 in Places, sports

The NCAA tournament is coming to Des Moines, Iowa this year!

Connor Hilsenbeck Senior Gallery

October 05, 2015 in portraits

Connor's senior portraits turned out absolutely fantastic! Check them out!!!

Featured Articles

The Blog

Top Ten Images of 2019

5 years ago

A lot has happened in 2019, but much of it hasn’t been photography related. I haven’t even purchased any new photography gear in an entire calendar year! In my personal life I have gotten married, moved, and earned a promotion. We got married in Hawaii, which is a great photography location, but the trip was not meant for taking landscape images. So, while I haven’t really done anything major in photography in 2019 it doesn’t mean I wasn’t able to capture some really nice images!

How long will our art be around?

5 years ago

We all have different goals and ideas of what we want our images to be. Many photographers are content allowing their captures to be memories or a simple photograph for themselves and their immediate family to enjoy. I can certainly see how this can be a healthy approach to your photography! However, there are still photographers out there that desire for their art to be upheld on a larger scale, and to perhaps be revered as masters of photography.

Winter Photography Gear Tips

5 years ago

Landscape photography presents many opportunities in the winter months! The second worst choice as a landscape photographer is to stay inside at home. The worst choice is to go out to these beautiful places unprepared for what mother nature is going to throw at you! So, let’s take a look at what it takes to capture images in the winter months without sacrificing your safety, sanity, or serenity.

A Growth Mindset

6 years ago

As I concluded in my article on Neuroaesthetics, our brain can tell us a lot about ourselves. The different sections control unique types of tasks and the whole is important for who we are as a person and how we behave. Reverse engineering our behavior then should make it easier for us to understand how to bring the best out of ourselves.

A Few Bad Apples in Landscape Photography

6 years ago

I like to think the photography community is a positive one. It is filled with great people that are very passionate about art, helping others, and helping to expand it to more and more people. However, no matter how many good photographers there are that are out there, a few bad apples spoil the barrel.

Revisiting Locations... Again!

6 years ago

I have lived in Oregon for a little over two years now and while I enjoy going to new spots I have also found revisiting old ones enjoyable as well! There are plenty of reasons to constantly chase new locations and images, but when I have gone on trips for this purpose many of the images I came home with lacked something in them.

Professional vs Amateur Photography

6 years ago

Photographers love to talk about and dream of the title of being a ‘professional photographer’. It stems from what I believe to be a pipe dream of ambition to break free from a more monotonous life. This ‘professional photographer’ that we all idolize is someone who shoots all the time, has the best images, makes a ton of money, and has all of the gear. This daydream is just as false as it is dangerous to our amateurism in photography. Plainly put, being a professional photographer isn’t all its cracked up to be. Let me explain…

My Best Landscape Photography of 2018!

6 years ago

I wanted to sit down really quick today and post something that sums up my best work of 2018, and go into a little detail of why I like each image. I have become more picky with what I shoot and what I consider a portfolio worthy image, so hopefully this will be a marker of that progression! This should be a bit more “off-the-cusp” than my other articles on here, but there will be a new one of those tomorrow to start out 2019 as well!

The Easy Way Out in Landscape Photography

6 years ago

In a world where there is more and more demand for quality images the challenge of creating enough as one artist becomes increasingly difficult. Posting on Instagram every single day a new composition that works isn’t always possible without cutting some sort of corners! What some have turned to in landscape photography is modifying the landscape to fit their needs. This could be done in many different ways.

Neuroaesthetics - Science Meets Art

7 years ago

Enjoying art is something we all enjoy in one way or another. We assume it is a subjective subject, but there may be an objective angle that we can observe art from. Perhaps art isn’t subjective at all? Neuroaesthetics is a scientific approach to art in the way it is both produced and consumed, and this gives us a basis for figuring out what makes art… Art!

Digital Photography vs. Digital Art

7 years ago

When looking at art, we know it is something that is appreciated for its aesthetic value or emotional impact on an observer. Digital photography has come especially close to blurring the lines recently, so let’s take a look at what makes these two mediums different.

Social Responsibilities of Landscape Artists

7 years ago

We, as landscape photographers, are artists and lovers of nature. It puts us in a very unique situation where we must serve the social responsibilities of both. This includes avoiding doing harm to the environments we enjoy, helping to protect them, and providing value above that in the art we create.

Looks Aren't Everything

7 years ago

Looks aren’t everything. What might be a trendy look today likely will seem gaudy tomorrow. Any relationship built entirely on aesthetics is unhealthy and this includes the art we create.

The Philosophy of Art in Photography

7 years ago

As a photographer, it is easy to get distracted by being just creative and become a visual factory churning out pieces. The issue is that they don’t mean much and it starts to look like I am just another ‘guy with a camera’.

What Art Buyers Gravitate Towards

7 years ago

It isn’t hard to tell from my website that I intend to sell prints of my work. It is my art, and I want to share it in the best way possible through having it be on the wall. While I have sold some prints in the past, I have noticed a trend in what people will pay for…

Hard Work vs Results

7 years ago

There is a lot of work that goes into one of my images. there is a story behind each one of the time on location and getting there as well as what went into producing the image itself. HOWEVER, …

Avoiding Landscape Photography Cliches

7 years ago

There are plenty of examples of cliches in photography. Most of them stem out of portrait photography, and I give my fiancé plenty of schtick for getting High School Senior Portraits on a couch in a field. Aside from couches in fields and railroad tracks which have recently plagued portraits, there are cliches in landscape photography I prefer to avoid.

Why I don't take photos all the time.

7 years ago

It is great to be out in nature with a camera. Unfortunately, most times that I am able to get out the light and the weather isn’t all that compelling.

The 'Need' for a Focal Point in Photography

7 years ago

We are constantly told, as photographers, to have a subject and focal point in an image. This is one of those fundamental rules in composition we all take on and accept during those formative first years of learning the art. It is also one of the rules you can break, if you are careful.

Ethics of Nature Photography

7 years ago

When out on the trail it is easy to get distracted as a photographer. We see something ‘shiny’ and want to go get it! The trouble is that this can often lead to some dangerous choices for ourselves and the environments we exist in.