Photo Blog Featuring:

Outdoor Travel, Adventure & Landscape Photography
www.michaelmalandra.com

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Elements of Nature - Hawaii & Beyond

Well, I finally put my Hawaii work together and am ready to open it to the public!  This new collection, along with some new black & white work will join my Elements of Nature series of new and old.  Both Maui and Kauai, in my opinion, have some of the most amazing beaches and terrain in the world.  I think I was able to capture this beauty at both sunrise and sunset on my last trip back in January.  After months of photo selection, editing and cropping I sent the photos over to my friend Keith at Glen Rock Digital Photo in Glen Rock, NJ last week.  He called me yesterday to let me know he had the large format prints ready.  Keith does some amazing work and when I got down to his shop I was totally taken back when he showed me my new prints.  I just dropped them off to Connie over at the Village Frame shop in Suffern, NY.  I can't wait to see the final product after Connie works her magic.  I'll have more than 15 new prints on display as well as many others in all sizes in print bins at the upcoming show.  

You're probably saying "alright, alright so when is the show!?"  The answer is...  Ready??  Saturday, November 26, of Thanksgiving weekend from 5 - 9pm at my Martial Arts School/Gallery in Suffern (see the post card below).  As always there will be plenty of wine, snacks and live music. 

My goal through my work is to continue to inspire people to jump out of their chair and travel our beautiful planet to experience the natural and adventurous world around them.  Whether that journey is to a far away distant place or right in your own backyard, natural beauty is all around us. All we have to do is just become aware of it.  Next time you drive to and from work take a moment look at the sky, look at the sunrise or sunset, look at how the clouds dance around and form all kinds of incredible shapes, look at the colors in the landscape around you.  I promise you'll be amazed if you keep your mind open and try to experience the moment without letting the crazy world distract you.  Doing this will give you a sense of calmness and help you to not "sweat" the small stuff in life.

Sue and I hope to see everyone in November.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.  Thank you again for all your support

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Adirondack Vistas, Running Water & Athletes


Headed up to Lake Placid, NY last week for some hiking and photography. The weather wasn't the greatest for photography but I was able to squeeze out a couple of good shots.  I'm really liking the way some of the black and white shots turned out and just might have to dedicate a section of my print gallery to black and white prints.  I also included a shot of the athletes from Ridgewood Triathlete, they had a training camp going on while we were up there.  What a great group of coaches and athletes!!!  If you're into or want to start training for endurance sports their the people to hook up with in NY/NJ.  The photo In this blog was taken after their ride to the top of Whiteface Mountain.  Hope you enjoy the photos. 











Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Some new shots from here & there

Some shots from the summer, some are landscape and others are from clients I've worked for.  Still have August, hoping to get some new portfolio stuff as well as some new prints for my Elements of Nature Gallery.  Happy shooting everyone, enjoy the photos but most of all get outside and enjoy the rest of the summer.


















Thursday, June 9, 2011

Wanderlust Yoga Festival NYC 2011





Saturday, May 7, 2011

My office for the afternoon


Went up to Harriman this afternoon to do some recon for a future sunrise shoot. I'm hoping to get back to this spot on a misty foggy morning just as the sun is coming up. I'm thinking if all the pieces fall into place this location could make for some killer shots.































Monday, April 25, 2011

Monday, April 18, 2011

HDR & Black & White

Went yesterday morning to HarrimanRingwood State Parks to shoot but the conditions weren't the greatest. I decided this would be a good opportunity to play around with some HDR & black & white photography. I'm not a big fan of the HDR process but feel it's a great tool when used to enhance the natural look of a photo.







Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Man Made Eco System

Shot these at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. I really loved seeing all of the school field trips there and listening to the teachers explaining to the kids about the eco systems that each hot house contained to made the perfect environment for all the plants.  What concerns me is if the kids are grasping that what they are experiencing and do they understand that this is what really happens in nature when it's not disrupted by pollution and over population. Without these eco systems in place we, quite frankly, will die. I just hope our younger generations understand how important it is to respect and not exploit the place we call home.