Philadelphia

Going back to Philadelphia was an adventure to see some old friends but also photograph the city with a new eye and my drone. Attending school there and then transferring was not something I expected but something that was needed for my photography career. Being back in this city brought new light to me starting to like Philly more, but not as comforting as my network back  in Pittsburgh. Below are some of the images I captured while here! Hope you enjoy!

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Aruba

Welcome to Aruba, I small little Island about 19mi long and 8mi wide with winds that average 18mph everyday. I was here February 10-18 of 2018 exploring and experiencing the Aruban culture and climate. One thing that stuck out most to me was the windy days combined with the heat created a great temperature to enjoy during the day. Aruba being a touristy destination has a lot to offer. You can quad around the Island, jet ski, sunset cruises, parasailing, snorkeling, you name it they probably have it. From the most northern part of the island to the most southern part of the island it is lined with hotel after hotel on the left side, and on the right it's lined with beautiful rocky scenery and a National Park. This small little island only being 6mi from Venezuela is apart of South America. Being this close to South America made me want to have an impromptu trip to Peru, but that would've been a little hard to do considering the time of year. The activities I was able to experience were the Quads, a couch type tubing in the sea, a sunset cruise, and then I watched wild Pelican's hunt for food off the beaches by the resort. This trip was filled with drama, I almost lost my drone to 25mph winds and the sea, I was thankfully able to bring it back; the wind also played a game of knocking over my camera and tripod every once and awhile. The landscape and the people were great and fun. Here are images I took from this trip!

The famous Divi Tree. This was a must have shot, I went during sunrise. Did not regret it, except this is when the wind knocked my camera and tripod over 3 times!

The rocky coast drew my eye when I saw the waves crashing and leaking through the cracks. 

This image from my drone is a product of 25MPH winds carrying my drone to the sea and me fighting to bring it back. 

Pelican hunting at 4pm for dinner

Golden Hour wings

The beautiful California Lighthouse during Sunset. With some Cacti in the foreground.

Beautiful rainbow during one morning

What is left of the Natural Bridge. Was fortunate enough to come go here for sunrise.

Beautiful sunrise shooting through stacked rocks.

Waves were shooting into this wall and jumping out taller than me standing on top of this. About a 10ft drop into the first level of this wave pool.

Thank you for reading this post about my trip to Aruba. If you would like to see more blog posts like this please check this trip out I'll be going on in May. Please do not feel pressured to donate, but it would be a great help and you get a free print!

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Drone!

Recently I got the DJI Mavic Pro drone. This thing is a beast for what it's been through so far. I flew it in the snow storm, sunny days, snowy days, and in decently fast winds. I try to not really test my equipment, but it's become a habit recently; you'd be surprised as to what this gear can do.  I've been able to fly it in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Aruba so far. I will definitely bring it with me wherever I go to continuously look in different perspectives. This drone will be a great tool to have on this upcoming summer road-trip!

Here are some photos I've been able to photograph already.

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National Park Exploration

Coming up this year in May - June of 2018 a few friends and I will be making way across the country to experience all the beautiful sights and wildlife. Along side this experience, I will be photographing and sharing the experience through social media. We are accepting donations to help us with this trip, but if you donate enough you can receive a Free Print of your Choice from the trip!! The remainder of the donations we receive will be donated to SeaLegacy to help improve the healthiness of our oceans. 

Here is the link to the fundraising page! All donations are appreciated and a lot of help! 
https://gogetfunding.com/cross-country-exploration/

Here is the map and the names of every place we'll be visiting. 
If you have any questions please contact me at anytime! 

We will be starting in Pittsburgh, PA > Chicago, IL > Maquoketa, IA > Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refugee, NE > Badlands National Park, SD > Custer State Park, SD > Black Hills National Forest, SD > Thunder Basin National Grassland, WY > Yellowstone National Park, WY > Grand Teton National Park, WY > Glacier National Park, MT > Banff National Park, Canada > Yoho National Park, Canada > North Cascades National Park, WA > Seattle, WA > Olympic National Park, WA > Mount Rainier National Park, WA > Portland, OR > Siuslaw National Forest, OR > Brookings, Oregon > Travertine Hot Springs, CA > Yosemite National Park, CA > San Francisco, CA > National Bridges State Beach, CA > Big Sur, CA > El Matador Beach Road, CA >  Death Valley National Park, CA > Joshua Tree National Park, CA > Las Vegas, NV > Grand Canyon National Park, AZ > Zion National Park, UT > Bryce Canyon, UT > Antelope Canyon, AZ > Monument Valley, UT > Canyonlands National Park, UT > White River National Forest, CO > Garden of the Gods, CO > Rocky Mountains, CO.

We are hoping this trip can change our life, conserve these beautiful parks, and help make the oceans cleaner.

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Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park is located on Mount Desert Island, Maine. This park is normally frequented in the spring/summer, but winter was more appealing to me. To start the trip we arrived at 5a.m. to then hike up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise. Sunrise was so beautiful from the top of Cadillac Mountain, but the wind chill had the temperature down to -27 Fahrenheit. It was a bit chilly, but we made it up the 2.2mi hike to the peak. Here are a few shots from Cadillac Mountain. 

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After Cadillac Mountain we went to breakfast and then made our way to the AirBnB. It was about 10-15min from Bar Harbor. For sunset we made way to the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse on the coastline of Mount Desert Island. 

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After I was able to capture a few images in the cold with stars it was time to go and relax. 
The next day it was decided to go to Boulder Beach, Otter Cliff, and Thunder Hole!

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Then it was onto Schoodic Point for sunset. We didn't stay there long because it was freezing and the wind was overpowering. Here is the one shot I was able to get upon some of the icy rocks. 

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Acadia National Park was such a beautiful park and can't wait to experience it in the different seasons. 

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Story Behind the Image: 4

This is my NEW series I am going to do on my blog about the images I have taken. I'll be able to give a perspective and description of everything going on in the one moment that I clicked the shutter. If you have any other images you'd like to hear the story behind make sure to email me at nkoehlerphotography@gmail.com

Image: Covered Bridge Water Spill
Where: McConnell's Mill State Park
Year: 2017
Camera: Nikon D750, 24-79 f2.8

McConnell's Mill State Park is a park close to home. This state park is well traveled but often overlooked for photography. For me it's one of my favorite places because of that. I can go and search and discover new angles that haven't been captured before. Along with that nature has this aura of calmness, even in the most catastrophic events; nature and landscapes give me the calmness I look forward to when shooting. 

This image in particular I was hiking down the trail past the Covered Bridge looking for a spot to shoot. While scaling some rocks looking around, I found this spot. A beautiful view of the Red Covered bridge, some green moss and water flowing in and out between the rocks. I was surprised by this view because it set up the perfect landscape scenario for foreground to background. As taking this shoot I was able to observe and relax; I had a long exposure set up to bring out of the crispness in the light and the smoothness of the water. The visual of smooth water makes the viewing of this image so much smoother. It is definitely one of my favorites from this State Park. If you ever have the need to go out and do light hiking around some beautiful nature near Pittsburgh, McConnell's Mill State Park is the place to go!

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Nick Koehler Photography

Sunrise in Pittsburgh

Sunrises in Pittsburgh have always amazed me. I don't know if it's because I go at the right times or if it's all the time. But the images I tend to capture during sunrise always excite me. This past Thursday morning was a morning I thought was a bust. Showing up to the Duquesne Incline everything was foggy and you could only see about 50ft in front of you. This gave me the hope that maybe the fog would clear up as the sun rose. That happened to be the case and it gave me one of the most beautiful images I have ever taken of Pittsburgh. This had been my first sunrise shoot in probably 1 month and it excites me and motivates me more to go out in the early hours of the morning!

This image is surely one of my favorites and I'll probably get a print of it for myself!

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Story Behind the Image: 3

This is my NEW series I am going to do on my blog about the images I have taken. I'll be able to give a perspective and description of everything going on in the one moment that I clicked the shutter. If you have any other images you'd like to hear the story behind make sure to email me at nkoehlerphotography@gmail.com

Image: Barge Sunrise
Where: Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 2017
Camera: Nikon D750, 24-70 2.8

This image happened on an early June morning. I was driving down to the West End Overlook while scouting out the low clouds. I felt that it would be a good sunrise. Upon arriving to the Overlook I grabbed my camera equipment and moved to my favorite viewpoint there. This viewpoint gives me the opportunity to look through some plants along the hill into the downtown region of Pittsburgh. My main expectation for this image was just a sunrise with the sun blasting through the image. But the sight was much different, Pittsburgh was covered in clouds and it was a very quiet morning. So waiting till the sun was rising I started shooting. Around the time I was going to leave the sun reached this spot in the sky and I saw the Barge to start moving off the dock. I was over-excited to see some action happening while the sunrise was this beautiful and the fog had cleared off Pittsburgh. Very happy with this image and is one of my top images on Instagram. @nkoehlerphotography

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Story Behind the Image: 2

This is my NEW series I am going to do on my blog about the images I have taken. I'll be able to give a perspective and description of everything going on in the one moment that I clicked the shutter. If you have any other images you'd like to hear the story behind make sure to email me at nkoehlerphotography@gmail.com

Image: Duquesne Incline Sunrise
Where: Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 2017
Camera: Nikon D750, 24-70 2.8

This image is from the Duquesne Incline from Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, PA. I had been wanting to take this image for awhile before I finally went to capture it. I figured sunrise would be the best time to go. Watching the sun rise behind the city is one of the most beautiful things. The sun had just had a dramatic rise before this morning clear white sky sprung into action. This light brought the leaves a glow and a highlight on the side of the Cable Car moving up and down the hill. When noticing this light began to show I quickly changed my settings to accommodate the possibility of a sun flare shooting across the frame. What I like most about this image is the simplicity of how the city looks and the light casting across the sky hitting the summer leaves. I could not have asked for better conditions, and will be for sure back up here when the fall leaves settle in. 
 

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Story Behind the Image 1:

This is my NEW series I am going to do on my blog about the images I have taken. I'll be able to give a perspective and description of everything going on in the one moment that I clicked the shutter. If you have any other images you'd like to hear the story behind make sure to email me at nkoehlerphotography@gmail.com

Image: One Man Band
Where: Venice, Italy
Year: 2017
Camera: D750, 24-70 f2.8

This image sticks out a lot to me when I look back on my trip to Italy. I was walking through the alley ways of Venice looking for street photography and anything to capture. I stepped away into an alley to relax for a minute and just look around. When, all of a sudden this man the "One Man Band" came strolling through the street in the middle of the day playing his heart out. The difference about this man than past street performers was that he was traveling around rather than staying in one spot. While pushing and pulling the accordion, his heels jingling, his back holding a drum that would keep a beat and cymbals also. And to top his performance off he was wearing a funnel-hat with bells and a strap. When hearing this character come down the street I knew exactly what I needed to do. I analyzed the situation and when he would make it down the street to where I was waiting. A few other photographers presences seemed to make the "One Man Band" shy away but he kept playing. Waiting a few moments till he was directly in a path with no one in his way I walked over and stood right in front of him and snapped a few quick pictures before giving some euros into his box. Normally I don't get in front of people and obstruct the natural happenings of the situation. This image however brought that out of me and I got the shot I envisioned in my head upon arrival of this "One Man Band".

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