We’ve run into some vehicular difficulties on our trip. My trusty Toyota is stranded in Moab, Utah until Wednesday night, unfortunately. Chris and I decided to get a rental car so we didn’t end up stuck in Moab for five days, and have somehow ended up in Escalante, Utah, where we’re planning to make the most out of the clear skies by photographing slot canyons. We arrived a bit late tonight, and decided to take a quick late evening/sunset stop in the “Devil’s Garden” area of the monument. Here’s my favorite from tonight. I hope to write again soon of our slot canyon adventures!

Yesterday afternoon, we visited the south rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The views of the canyon are absolutely incredible; easily among the finest I’ve seen. It’s quite the experience to peer down over 2,300 vertigo-inducing feet over the rim down to the Gunnison River. The backlit rocks and greenery in contrast with the beautiful reflected light on the canyon walls made for excellent photography in the early afternoon, a time there would typically not be too much to shoot. Here’s a favorite from yesterday.

Right now we’re around Crested Butte, photographing beautiful aspen stands, scouting out wildflowers, and hoping for the monsoon light to start kickin’ again!

Hey everybody,

I scheduled this post the same time I made the last one, since I figured I’ll be away from computers for a few days. Here’s another from Mt. Evans. Chris and I spent a few hours photographing dozens of adult and baby Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus,) and had a great time doing so. At times, it was pretty nerve-racking trying to keep up with them on the windy, steep, rocky, and muddy slopes of Mt. Evans, but the rewards were well worth the risk and it was such a great time. Here’s one of many that I’m happy with. Take note of the snow flurries in the background! It was freezing up there, proof that anything can happen with the weather at 14,200 feet.

We just took a quick overnight visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park, and are now off in search of wildflowers around Crested Butte!

I’m four days into my summer-long journey through the mountains and desert of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, and I couldn’t really ask for things to go any better than they have so far. I’m currently with my friend, Chris Kayler, for the next three weeks or so. So far, we’ve photographed in and around Rocky Mountain National Park, Mt. Evans, and pursued some wildlife opportunities in North-central Colorado. Yesterday and this morning, we had an excellent time up on Mt. Evans, with some absolutely fantastic light, and extremely cooperative Mountain Goats. Here’s an image of the sunset last night up on Mt. Evans.

In another day or two, we’ll be on our way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, and then off into the mountains of Central Colorado in search of wildflowers.

I’m getting ready for an epic 6-week Colorado and Utah trip, for which I leave in just five days! Here’s a photo taken in April of this year from a short trip I made to Ohio’s Hocking Hills region. I loved the streams and waterfalls there, and Cedar Falls was one of my favorites!

Hey everybody,

I have a feature article/interview in the newest (Spring/Summer 2010) Nature’s Best Photography Magazine… Woo-hoo! It just came out this week.

Here’s another from the hauntingly beautiful and stormy evening a few nights ago along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’m heading home now. It was a very successful trip, and I’ve come away with plenty of images and a few stories that I can’t wait to share, but for now I must drive home!

I am currently in the field but thought I’d take the time to quickly process and post two images from last night. The area has been socked in with thunderstorms, clouds, and fog over the past three days. While this has made for great conditions photographing the forests, streams, waterfalls, and some foggy/misty-looking landscapes, it sure hadn’t afforded me any nice sunrise or sunset conditions until last night! I had been up on the Blue Ridge parkway for a few hours, photographing in the fog and rain, and was basically driving around aimlessly, looking for a spot to photograph the sunset that I figured would probably not happen. I came across a spot near the parkway with some big ~15′ boulders, climbed on top of them, and found a few compositions I liked. So, I decided to wait there for a while and see what would happen. Luckily, about five minutes before sunset, there was a rather large break in the lower level of clouds, and mother nature granted me a fifteen minute window to photograph this beautiful scene.

The clouds and fog teased me plenty of times, looking as if they were about to thin out a bit, but then coming back in full force, seeming to stifle my hopes for a dramatic and colorful sunset. Still, I stuck with it, and my patience rewarded me.

Hey,

Still out on my Blue Ridge trip… Yesterday was relatively uneventful, but today had some nice rainy weather in which I photographed several waterfalls, and had an absolutely fantastic sunset that I’ll share images of soon. Pictured below is one of the waterfalls that I photographed today, Looking Glass Falls. To obtain this perspective, I put my river sandals on and waded into thigh deep water, which was honestly quite pleasant. I’ll be sure to share more soon, and post a new version of this image once I return to my calibrated monitor at home!

Hey everybody,

I’m currently on a photo trip in North Carolina, shooting on and around the Blue Ridge Parkway. Having arrived to the area yesterday in the late afternoon, I figured that I’d be able to make the most out of the remainder of the day by hiking down into the Linville Gorge. Linville Falls is a beautiful 45-foot waterfall located on… you guessed it– the Linville River. There are a multitude of trails in and around the gorge, each providing different views of the waterfall, river, and surrounding mountains, I chose to hike down into the gorge and get a more up close and personal view of the falls. After spending thirty minutes running around below the falls cleaning natural debris and litter (ugh!!!) from the site, I had a little while to shoot before the sun retreated for the evening. Here’s a quickly laptop-processed shot from this past evening.