Summer landscape photography in California can be a real test of a person's patience and fortitude. The harsh light and long, hot days are anything but conducive to capturing the environment in its best light. Forms are presented in stark contrast, and highlight and shadow are pushed to their extremes. Unlike in the winter, when opportunities present themselves throughout the day, the summer usually pushes our image making to first and last light.

Outside of those extremes though, there are less obvious opportunities available to landscape photographers willing to adjust their approach to accommodate the conditions at hand. By shifting scale down to the macro level and using depth of field to control the play of light and shadow, it's possible to turn difficult lighting conditions into an opportunity for creative expression. Working in this manner tells a different story about a landscape—a more intimate story of detail and texture—while perhaps also pushing us out of our comfort zone into a new way of seeing.