I made these images on a trip to Alaska in May 2013. Everywhere I pointed the camera, it seemed there was something beautiful (mostly nature-made) to record. The mountains were absolutely incredible to behold—no camera can accurately translate the sheer majesty of them.

I'm looking forward to returning there someday—camera in tow, of course.

There was no real planning for these images. My wife and I were already planning on the vacation, and I knew I should take my camera. Once there, I couldn't stop snapping pictures! Nature is quite an artist itself and didn't need my camera's help to be magnificent. My conscious choices were few, and my rewards so many.

These were shot on a relatively inexpensive Canon EOS Rebel XS with an EF 75-300 zoom lens. I then imported each image into Adobe Lightroom for cropping, minimal sharpening, and tonal balancing. What you see here was directly exported from Lightroom.

If Behance users are an indicator, this is my "most-appreciated" set so far. This tells me that pictures made with a simple inexpensive camera can turn people's heads as much as ones made from a high-end model and fancy gear. In this case, the subject matter is breathtaking enough, no matter what one shoots it with.