In the heart of the Namib-Naukluft National Park lies an area remarkable for its starkness and simplicity, with towering red sand dunes, large salt and clay pans and fossilized trees. The images shown here are taken in Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, and include both aerial and ground shots.

Kolmanskop is a deserted diamond mining town in the southwest corner of Namibia, just inland from Luderitz. Once a thriving Germany colony, over 1,000 kg of diamonds were mined from the local area. After only a few years, the diamonds dried up and the town soon became a ghost town. In the ensuing years, the ever-shifting sands of the Namib desert have slowly taken over the once stately buildings, creating stunning visual effects.

The South Coast of Iceland is an extremely special and beautiful place. It has it all – waterfalls, glaciers, beaches, glacier lagoons, mountains, volcanoes, nature reserves, and small villages. These images were shot during a winter photo excursion across the south coast of Iceland.

The beautiful Tuscan landscapes in Italy are as glorious as their reputation suggests. I participated in a photography workshop in Tuscany in the Fall, a time when the weather can be dramatic, the fields are freshly ploughed, and the pastel colours are abundant. The soft rolling fields are imposing in their simplicity, and are emphasized in many different shapes and forms, when the light creates shadows and colours during the day. Tuscany is well known as a wonderland for photography (as much as it is for its food and wine).

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. Built alongside the Nervion River, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists.

One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, this building has been on my bucket list for many years. With our one son living in Barcelona, Spain, we are fortunate to take periodic trips to that amazing country, and on one of these trips we ventured north to Bilbao, and to neighbouring San Sebastian, a culinary mecca. The images here are exclusively those of the Museum itself, and they speak to the architectural genius of the building.

In 2012 I was fortunate to do a one-week New York City street photography workshop with the famed photographer Jay Maisel. Jay has run these intensive workshops for many years, and they are both sought after and widely known to be powerful learning experiences from one of the living masters of this genre. Provided one is open to the withering criticism Jay gives participants, the opportunity for growth is enormous - and I certainly got mine from the week with Jay.

California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range has been called “the Range of Light” for the endless dance that light performs on the range’s peaks. The Sierra Nevada is characterized by massive granite mountains, picturesque glacially-fed alpine lakes and rivers, fascinating rock formations, the otherworldly Mono Lake tufa towers and rich forests. I participated in a workshop in this area with Sea to Summit photography workshops (whose description of the area helped inform this narrative).

Death Valley, CA, is a photographer’s dream. It is the lowest, driest, and hottest place in North America. Its extreme geology provides otherworldly photography opportunities that are unique unto themselves. Its salt pans, sand dunes, and cracked earth textures are a feast for the eyes and the camera. I spent a few incredible days there with Sea to Summit photography workshop. At the end of the workshop, I even endured an episode of being stranded in the desert with our vehicle sinking in soft sand. A satellite phone, a rescue call and many hundreds of dollars and several hours later, we were safely back on terra ferma. This story has been widely told as part of my photography journeys!

Scattered across the U.S. Southwest are an incredible array of desert landscapes, canyons, rock formations and national parks that are truly a sight to behold. I have only covered a tiny fraction of this amazing terrain, and it beckons continually. Shown here are a few images from Antelope Canyon, AZ, Horseshoe Bend, UT, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, UT. This is not even scratching the surface of the vistas to be experienced in this part of the world.