'Tis the season for winter visits to national parks, when the face of the landscape may have markedly changed, and visitation is lower. In addition to all the neat activities you can do in a national park, such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, dog sledding and ice fishing, photographer Rebecca Latson wants to remind you to add photography to those activities. This month's article provides tips and techniques for capturing awesome images as well as prepping yourself and your camera for the elements.

Big Bend National Park officials have closed, until further notice, the popular Lost Mine Trail area due to increased bear activity.

How many of you have looked at national park images of the sun and viewed a golden-yellow or golden-orange orb with the shape and brilliance of a star? That’s called a sunburst. Some people think this photographic treatment is pretty cool, while others give it a thumbs-down. Whether you like the result of this technique or not, creating a sunburst with your camera is great for learning more about your camera’s manual settings. Contributing photographer Rebecca Latson shows you how this is done.

It might be cold and wet over a large portion of the nation, but at Big Bend National Park in Texas conditions are so dry that a smoking ban has been put in place at the Chisos Basin Campground.