Theme and Variation
Repetition and Juxtaposition
Theme and variation involves the reiteration or reinvention of a main motif. Here you will find photos that vary their themes through repetition of patterns, inversions, sinuous lines, and juxtapositions, sometimes leading to abstraction.
Blue Rock Cliffs and Alpine Lake, Jasper National Park, Canada
by MIchael Piraino
I stopped to enjoy the artwork of this small lake in Jasper National Park. The rock formations that line the shore were endlessly entertaining, and the still air allowed for mesmerizing reflections on the surface. I had the place all to myself for two hours, and took a few photographs but spent most of the time just watching and exploring the shore.
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Beaver Pond and Aspen in Fall Color, Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, 2013
by Michael Piraino
God’s First Cathedral. The beavers seem to love this area and have made several dams here on Mill Creek. Although the aspen had lost their peak color, I loved the way their trunks reflected in the partially frozen beaver pond. And there’s that one tree still holding its leaves up high. We have visited this spot several times in different seasons, but this was the most evocative.
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Slot Canyon (Tse’bighanilini, “Place Where Water Runs Through Rocks”), Navajo Nation, 2016
By Michael Piraino
Lying on the canyon floor looking up, the walls of the slot canyon made me think of an Escher print. Water shapes these narrow slot canyons, and rushing water is the greatest risk in entering them. Utah has the greatest density of slot canyons in the world. This one is sacred to the Navajo, so it feels like a great honor to be allowed to view and photograph here.
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Beach Still Life with Kelp, Whidbey Island, Washington, 2021
By Michael Piraino
The shoreline along the Northwest Scenic Trail is full of magnificent natural still life scenes. The shore was an art gallery full of still life paintings and the wind and waves were the artist. I found these kelp formations particular interesting with graceful curves. And they were practically glowing in the early morning light. Infrared monochrome
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Kelp and Sand Still Life, Whidbey Island, Washington, 2021
By Michael Piraino
The shoreline along the Northwest Scenic Trail is full of magnificent natural still life scenes. The shore was an art gallery full of still life paintings and the wind and waves were the artist. I found these kelp formations particular interesting with graceful curves. And they were practically glowing in the early morning light. Infrared monochrome
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Fallen Tree and Rising Cloud, Kings Canyon National Park, 2013
By Michael Piraino
Hiking along a ridge in Kings Canyon National Park, I came across this scene with a fallen tree mimicking the shape of the clouds. I found the S curves enchanting, and imagined a mythical creature in those clouds. Infrared black and white.
The park began in 1890 as General Grant National Park, created to protect a small grove of giant sequoia. Although people of the Paiute Nation had already been present here for thousands of years, only a few of their descendants now live in the San Joaquin Valley. A Spanish explorer found the Kings River (which I’ve hiked along) on January 6, 1807, and called it the River of the Holy Kings—and that’s why the park name has no apostrophe. John Muir visited here in 1873, and over the years, he often sat in meadows and talked with visitors to the area. I’ve sat in the very meadow.
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Merced River Reflections, Yosemite Valley, 2019
By Michael Piraino
The Grace of Nature’s Geometry. I almost skipped stopping at this iconic location. It was mid afternoon and the lighting was boring in full color. But I noticed the clouds and stopped for a look. My mind was focused on geometries as I approached. The infrared camera brought out the lines, curves and shapes that made the scene so pleasing. The view from Gates of the Valley in Yosemite.
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Sunrise with Reflections, Canadian Rocky Mountains, 2018
By Michael Piraino
I had explored all along the eastern shore of the lake, and found this setting, with the grasses creating a nice triangle in the foreground. It was a long lasting scene of great peace and harmony.
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Sunrise, Enchantment Lakes, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, North Cascade Mountains, 2015
By Michael Piraino
Although the larch were somewhat past their peak color, the Enchantments were still gloriously vibrant. Sunrise and sunset were spectacular, with reflections of gold and blue along with undulating granite shorelines.
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Mountain and Fog Reflections, Canadian Rocky Mountains, 2019
By Michael Piraino
A moody Mount Rundle looms over the Vermillion Lakes in Banff National Park. The multiple triangles of images like this are enchanting, and the pleasant song of the redwing blackbirds added to the atmosphere of serenity.
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Slot Canyon Abstract, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, 2018
By Michael Piraino
This remote slot canyon is short but beautiful, and because it is so remote, it is quite peaceful. A small creek was running along the bottom of the canyon, leading to a small waterfall. I slightly abstracted this image by using intentional camera shake.
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Creek and Rock Formations, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Nature’s path to peace is often right at our feet. Spring Creek is in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, near several more iconic spots that attract far more attention, yet I spent hours enjoying this little gem. This park and Ohio in general have been inhabited by Indigenous people for 13,000 years. There is a misconception that “Cuyahoga” is and Iroquois word meaning “crooked river,” but it is more likely a misheard version of an Indigenous name not necessarily Iroquoian.
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Badlands, Death Valley, 2023
By Michael Piraino
Another scene that speaks to me of melodies and intertwining voices. The pleasant repetition of triangles fades into the light blue background, which could be the basso continuo of a baroque musical piece
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Maple Leaf Reflections, Eastern Shore, Maryland, 2003
By Michel Piraino
I came across these reflections while meandering around a pond at the edge of a forest. The early sunlight lit up the leaves perfectly. This whole area in eastern Maryland was covered with tidal wetlands and scenic ponds.
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Ice formations, Tenaya Creek, Yosemite Valley, 2020
By Michael Piraino
It is easy to become so engrossed in the large, majestic and iconic aspects of a scene; Half Dome looming over Yosemite Valley is a good example. But looking down at our feet, we often discover amazing intimate scenes like this. Mirror Lake this winter morning was filled with patches of ice reflecting the brilliant blue of the sky and the gold of the early morning sun. A profusion of fantastic shapes and colors. The ice would melt and refreeze overnight, renewing the scene with new patterns.
This is an extreme closeup shot.
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Mountain Reflections in Alpine Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, 2016
By Michael Piraino
A beautiful late afternoon on the shore of Snow Lake, nestled in its cirque at Mount Rainier National Park. The colors of the lake are spectacular and camping here is peaceful.
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Meadow Grasses, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, 2018
By Michael Piraino
On my way to a beautiful and peaceful waterfall, in the very early morning, I passed by a meadow of grasses. The early sunlight reflected in a little pond, while the different colors of the grasses made stripes of color across the scene, as if some artist had come along and painted a canvas.
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Branch, Kelp and Shore Grass Tryptych
By Michael Piraino
Compelled to stop and look closely at rocky shores.
Shores of intensity;
Hard stone, rough water, raging wind.
Yet in the lee of the rocks, on these most wild of shores,
Sea-life gifts us a still-life.
Art of radiant colors and gentle curves;
Nature’s sculpture galleries.
Beauty we may never see,
Unless we pause and pay attention.
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Ice, Sunset and River Tryptych, Sierra Nevada Mountain
By Michael Piraino
Consonance of color and design
Flowing water, glowing clouds
Graceful oak to grace the end of day
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John Day Painted Hills, Oregon, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Undulations of color. These sandstone and clay badlands are colored by deeply embedded volcanic ash. They only cover about nine square miles, and it’s a long drive to get there. But we enjoyed the silence of the morning as the hills showed off shades of orange, red and yellow.
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Reflections in Baker Lake, North Cascade Mountains,
By Michael Piraino
Baker Lake is a peaceful location with views of both Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan, which is the mountain off in the distance in this image. The wonderful clouds and their reflections kept entrancing me, and I used the infrared camera to bring out their form.
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Maligne Lake Reflections, Canadian Rockies, Jasper National Park, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Not so “maligne.” Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park is beautifully nestled among multiple peaks and at least three glaciers. First Nations people knew this lake as Chaba Imne, or Beaver Lake. Henry Mcleod, a surveyor helping identify routes for the transcontinental route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, made his way up the valley in 1875 and named the lake “Sore Foot Lake” because of the difficult trip up the valley. But it remained mostly a mythical place until explorer Mary Schäffer reached the lake in the early 1900s, and called it by its present name.
I think the place still has a mythical feel, especially when seen in infrared like this, with almost no one else around.
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Southern Alps Mountains Reflected in a Puddle, New Zealand
By Michael Piraino
This panorama is composed of 72 overlapping vertical exposures, with a field of view of 185 degrees. Beginning at the far left (easterly direction), it encompasses a series of peaks with evocative names like The Acolyte, The Nun’s Veil, Botanical Ridge, The Armchair, Monastery Peak, plus The Abbess and The Abbott. Mounts Blackburn and Caitriana dominate the left center, while the view continues all the way to the Sealy Range on the west.
There was no large body of water here. The foreground reflection comes from a puddle approximately two meters wide and only about 5cm deep. The reflection only became evident when i placed the camera almost in the water.
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Black Swans and Mountain Reflections, Glenorchy Lagoon, New Zealand, 2017
By Michael Piraino
Sunrise at Glenorchy Lagoon in New Zealand is a time of great enchantment. The lagoon is also known as Mirror Lake because the water is usually so calm it makes perfect reflections. Those reflections are real; no gimmicks applied. The group of black swans had been floating around for some time while I waited for them to drift into this spot in the foreground. The mountains in the background showed varying moods during our visit, but always lived up to their Lord of the Rings name of “Misty Mountains.”
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Glowing Rock Formations, Bryce Canyon National Park,
By Michael Piraino
A Greeting From The Sun. Those hoodoos in the foreground are amazing, glowing in the reflected light of this early April sunrise. This is really an amphitheater rather than a canyon, but who cares? The colors were vibrant and the air clear and crisp.
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Bentonitic Hills in Utah Badlands, 2022
By Michael Piraino
The word “badlands” originated with trappers trying to cross landforms like these in the 19th century. The badland landscape is a treasure trove of both small photogenic features (such as eroded rocks, hoodoos, arches and fins), along with wide open vistas of lines, curves, buttes, and color variations. Blue Gate shale forms the bluish dissected badlands below the buttes of more erosion-resistant and warmer-colored sandstone.
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Abstract Rock Formations, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument,
By Michael Piraino
The Elegance and Grace of the Natural World. Look closely and the world will show you something amazing, something unexpected, something that will lift you up. It can be grand or small, near or far, but it is there and it is waiting just for you.
If you walked up to this rock formation you would not have seen this natural design work. To see it, you have to lie on your back and slide under the overhanging rock. When I did, this little bit of glorious rock reached out and grabbed my imagination. Carved by the erosional forces of flowing water, colored by natural elements and the blue light of shadows; it’s an entirely natural art gallery.
But your place of grace could be just outside your door. Go look now and have yourself a moment of transcendence.
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Passing Storm (Minihapa, Mountain Where the Water Falls), Canadian Rockies, 2019
By Michael Piraino
We stopped to watch the clouds grow and swirl around the mountains of Banff National Park. The line of sunlight and the mountain shadow on the clouds creating an interesting symmetry off to the east of us.
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Sunrise Reflections, South Sister Mountain, Cascade Mountains, Oregon, 2018
By Michael Piraino
The newly risen sun paints glory on the landscape in the central Cascades of Oregon. The mountain is South Sister, casting her reflection in the calm waters of Sparks Lake. Actually, the lake was alternately rippled and flat on this very cold morning. Patience and a warm jacket helped make the shot. If you give yourself up to time, rather than rushing around, you might just see the world transformed and you along with it.
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Rock Formations, Slot Canyon Cliffs, Arizona, 2016
By Michael Piraino
Carin and I had a great time when we visited this slot canyon. I played around with black and white photos, including this one where the canyon walls reminded me of an Escher print. You could be entering some grand cathedral when you step into this scene.
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Rock Cliffs in Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, 2018
By Michael Piraino
This short slot canyon is a place of great tranquility because it is well off the beaten path. I loved its very narrow walls and the little creek sang a song of its own. This national monument only yields up some of its glories to those who are willing to put in some extra effort.
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Little Lakes Valley, John Muir Wilderness, Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains
By Michael Piraino
Far From The Common Ways Of Life. Located above 10,000 feet, the glacier-carved lakes in this valley are fed by snow melt, and form beautiful reflecting pools for the high Eastern Sierra peaks of Bear Creek Spire, Mt. Dade, Mt. Abbot and Mt. Mills. The area gets busy with hikers in the summer, but I had the valley all to myself on this chilly October morning. We had scouted out the area the day before, and it was worth getting up at 3:30am to catch the light. I appreciated the cold stillness of the dawn
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Glacier and Snow Fields, Canadian Rocky Mountains, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Sunlight spotlighted the snowfields high above me in the Canadian Rockies. I was attracted to the gracious curves in this scene, emphasized by the deep shadows.
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Moonlit Waterfall, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Sinuous Night. The small waterfall in Willis Creek Narrows sings glory to the night while the Milky Way, just out of sight, illuminates the flow and rocks above. One of the places of harmony and grace in Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument.
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Rae Lakes, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Kings Canyon National Park,
By Michael Piraino
It takes a pretty enthusiastic hike to reach this place. The Rae Lakes sit in a remote cirque below high granite peaks in Kings Canyon National Park. What first attracted me to this place was the role Ansel Adams played in making it into a national park In there 1930s. My son Ethan and I camped at some of the places Adams photographed — photos that helped convince congress to create the park. This “blue hour” photo is from our campsite on one of the lakes, with reflections of Painted Lady mountain.
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Cottonwood Trees and Red Cliffs, Zion National Park,
By Michael Piraino
The cottonwoods that line the Virgin River were already sporting their new leaves in early April. The light green color is nicely set off by the red canyon walls. On this cold morning, the park was peaceful and glorious.
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Icebergs and Glacier Reflections, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand, 2016
By Michael Piraino
Rhythms of Ice, Water and Stone, Hooker Lake, New Zealand. In the hours just before and after sunset, the lake turned into a gallery of abstract artwork. The face of the glacier is near the center, while the lake itself reflected the surrounding hills.
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Ice Patterns, Merced River, Yosemite Valley, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Ice patterns in the Merced River in January held our attention for hours. An extreme closeup view.
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Buttes and Bays, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Silent Wonder: Beyond the ford of an unpredictable river, past the moonscape of Smokey Mountain, up a road that is not much more than slickrock, to a point between two deep canyons. The view looks down 1,000 feet to Lake Powell and out to the east over Gunsight Butte and in the direction of Navajo Mountain. The infrared camera turned the blue sky black, emphasizing these puffy white clouds, which appeared for only a few minutes. While the colors are spectacular here at sunset, black and white brings out the intricate design of the shoreline and the mesas and buttes of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
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Pacific Ocean Tidepools, Oregon Coast, 2021
By Michael Piraino
The tidepools on the Oregon shore took our attention away from the iconic haystack rocks. Infared monochrome.
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Braided Snake River, Grand Teton Mountains, 2022
By Michael Piraino
The extreme low lake level revealed these sinuous curves of the Snake River as it enters Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. I used infrared to bring out the clouds. I wider panorama from this spot shows pretty much the entire 40 mile long range of the Tetons.
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Enchantment Lakes Reflections, North Cascade Mountains, 2015
By Michael Piraino
A moody lake introduced us to the Enchantments as we completed our two day climb. Although the arch were in their autumn colors, a black and white photo seemed to best capture the mood of the moment.
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Cradle Mountain, Tasmania (lutruwita), 2015
By Michael Piraino
Cradle Mountain with Dove Lake in the foreground. It’s an iconic location in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The rocks in the lake and the clouds in the sky seemed to direct attention to the mountain. There is abundant wildlife, waterfalls, huge King Billy and pencil pines, and fagus (beech) that turned glorious color in the autumn.
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Cloudburst, Duck Bay, Tasmania, 2015
By Michael Piraino
We headed here looking for braided river reflections, and came across this scene of the brilliantly lit Duck River as it enters this bay on the Bass Strait in northeastern Tasmania. The distant rainstorm was a bit of good fortune.
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Rock Formation Abstract, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, 2018
By Michael Piraino
Perceive Differently. This is an area of dramatic and colorful rock formations at the southern end of a 40 mile long escarpment called the Cockscomb Ridge. The Navajo sandstone formations were created by an ancient sea, sand dunes, and millions of years of erosion. This particular spot, in the Paria Canyon – Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness hosts fewer visitors than the famous Wave, and so lends itself to mindful meditation. Intricate patterns and curving lines create perhaps the most sensuous rock formations anywhere.
You could never see the scene like this. The pastel colors of the rock would attract all the attention, and you would need to lie down to see this pattern. Shooting in infrared black and white focuses on the design.
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Blue Rock Cliffs, Merced River Canyon, Yosemite National Park, 2019
By Michael Piraino
Blue hour is the twilight time when blue light dominates. The light is blue because the upper atmosphere filters out the warmer wavelengths when the sun is well below the horizon. It’s a rewarding time to photograph rock cliffs like these, although the blue light doesn’t last long. I enjoy photographing rock formations in most any light, and can spend hours with climbing around capturing tiny scenes that are easily overlooked.
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Olympic Mountains and Foothills,
By Michael Piraino
A distant view of the foothills leading up to the peaks of the Olympic Mountains. The overlapping hills and increasing haziness in the distance is referred to as atmospheric perspective.
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Butte Abstract, Utah Badlands, 2022
By Michael Piraino
The lower portion of this butte is full of interesting lines, shadows, and highlights in the early morning sun. While the hills often appear very blue before sunrise, the rising sun created a warm glow, not quite eliminating the blue.
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Rocks and Rapids, Sauk River, North Cascades, Washington, 2021
By Michael Piraino
This melodious and vibrant spot along the South Fork of the Sauk River in the North Cascades is always calling to me. Sixty years ago, my grandparents took us on a drive up a rough dirt road into Washington state’s North Cascades. We stopped near the gold mining ghost town of Monte Cristo, which I only remember as a misty place tucked into the hills. We then fished along the South Fork Sauk River. I remember that spot as beautifully wild with remarkable colors in the flowing river, and I was glad to find it again and camp right on the shore. This is in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest close to the Glacier Peak, Henry M. Jackson and Boulder River Wilderness areas. The river is known for its salmon and steelhead. But I don’t remember the fish; only the sounds, smell and colors of a wilderness experience of the kind my mother grew up with.
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Rock Formations, Weston Beach, California, 2022
By Michael Piraino
Intertidal zones of the Pacific shore, where the extreme environment presents erosion designs and the amazing creatures that live in this crazy place. Always a rewarding place to visit between high tides.
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Mount Shuksan Reflections in Picture Lake, North Cascade Mountains, 2014
By Michael Piraino
Mount Shuksan (Shéqsan meaning ‘high foot’, or Ch’ésqen meaning ‘golden eagle’ from Picture Lake. This is a popular spot for a photo, but I am amazed at how many people don’t wait for the best light. Every sundown I’ve been here, most other folks have long since disappeared. I want to tell them to let their attention spans expand. There’s a reward at the end.
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Matukituki River, Mount Aspiring National Park, New Zealand, 2017
By Michael Piraino
An autumn pool reflects the hillsides of the wild and ancient Matukituki Valley in New Zealand’s Mt. Aspiring National Park (Māori name Tititea “steep peak of gleaming white.” The park is part of the Te Wähipounamu World Heritage Area, a label that means its preservation is important to the interests of all humanity. Serenity should be the name of the drive up the valley; there is no development in the upper part of the valley, other than a few sheep farms, and you drive along the crystal waters of the river as you head toward the mountain.
Music: “Serenity,” Armik
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Sunrise, Rae Lakes, Kings Canyon National Park, 2016
By Michael Piraino
The spectacular Rae Lakes. This trip had everything the Sierra offers; beautiful and colorful flowing rivers, peaceful valleys, sparkling meadows sprinkled with aspen, deep canyons shining in the sun, lakes of the most intense emerald color, singing creeks, and of course those mountains. Here you see the most northerly of the lakes, where we camped with no one else around.
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Badland at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, 2006
By Michael Piraino
Smooth Undulation. Black and white brings out the folds of the water-carved mudstone rock in the badlands as seen from this iconic location. This rock was formed from sediments in a lake that covered the area nine million years ago. The early morning sun does a good job of accentuating the form of the hills.
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Dawn at Factory Butte, Utah, 2022
By Michael Piraino
Factory butte in the Blue Hills of Utah’s Caineville badlands. Settlers gave this name to the butte because they thought it looked like a woolen mill in Provo.
When I first looked through the viewfinder at this place one early morning, I just yelled “wow!” Land of endless patterns and surprising colors. bentonite hills marching up to carved buttes. Cathedrals built over 160 million years out of red sandstone monoliths. A giant fold in the earth’s crust, with pockets for holding water. Tafoni (otherwise known as Swiss cheese rocks) decorating a slot canyon. Desert varnish creating art galleries on the cliffs. Brilliant yellow cottonwoods lighting up the river valleys. Even some pre-dinosaurian tracks. It all puts you in your place.
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Rock Formations, Weston Beach, California, 2022
By Michael Piraino
Ansel Adams draws you to Yosemite. Georgia O’Keefe entices you to New Mexico. And Edward Weston can introduce you to this place—Weston Beach at Point Lobos State Nature Reserve. The beach is famous as the location of many of Edward Weston’s landscape photographs. But when you arrive at any of these places, what you find is what is on your own mind. Looking close and far away, I saw pattern, colors, tones of light, and the play of rock, water and sky.
Weston was part of the Group f/64, which also included Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham. The group, in Weston’s words, believed that “The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself.”
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Frederick W. Panhorst Bridge at Russian Gulch California black and white
By Michael Piraino
This historic concrete arch bridge is on California coast at Russian Gulch. It was completed in 1939. The bridge is similar to the famous Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur coast. The gulch was probably named for Russian fur trappers who came here in the early 1800s, but the native Pomo people had lived in this area for 3,000 years.
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