Fiery Badlands - Prints available

 

Our big vacation this summer wasn't our usual backpack into the Rockies, but a family trip to visit Nathan and Kameryn and the cousins in Pine Haven.  We just hung out the first couple days and the kids got to play their Playstation VR, then we went for some fun in Rapid City to a water park and Reptile Gardens.  We did do a couple photography outings a couple of evenings.  KD and I spent an evening at Devil's Tower to shoot the sunset and some night sky photos.  She was super patient waiting for dark to come that night waiting for the milky way to show.  Another night we were able to get out to Badlands National Park, which I didn't even know exhisted until we were up there in the hotel and looking at some pamphlets.  I'm glad we checked that one out.  It was such a hidden gem out in the middle of nowhere!

Devil's Tower Milky Way - Prints available

Fall Colors Trip 2021

 

This fall we took a quick trip to Lake City and Crested Butte to catch some golden aspens.  This area has been on my list for a few years and finally the smoke cleared from all the summer wildfires.  We had some stunning scenes.  Even the kids brought their Ipads with them to take some shots too!

Painting - Teton Milky Way

Teton Milky Way - Prints available

There's something about starry skies that can bring about a sense of awe and inspiration for me.  The same goes for mountains.  The infinite space and giant rock forms make us seem small...or make God seem big.

This acrylic painting was taken from multiple images of midnight photo shoots of the Milky Way and predawn images of the Grand Teton Mountain Range from northwestern Wyoming.  In my opinion, the Tetons from near Jackson Hole are the most majestic and jagged peaks in the lower 48 states.  I've wanted to paint them for a while, but have been focusing on summer trips and photography.  A couple of rainy days in the mountains have kept us home giving me the opportunity to paint.


This time-lapse video is approximately 6 hours of painting time condensed into about 4 minutes:

Fern and Odessa Lakes - RMNP

Thanks to Grandma for watching the kids so Cami and I could take a hike into Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was a perfect weather day and a treat to spend a day in a beautiful place with my beautiful wife!

Typical vagrants in Estes Park

Big Thompson River and Moraine Park at dawn - Prints available

The hike to Fern Lake (9,500ish ft.) was snow free on an easy trail.  At Fern Falls, we walked right up to a backpacker who was taking pictures of the waterfall.  The falls were so loud that he didn't hear our voices or footsteps.  It startled him and he jumped and accidentally dropped his smartphone in the water!  Just kidding.  He didn't drop his phone, but we did give him a good scare.  We wouldn't see another soul for the rest of the morning, which is rare for this part of the park. 

Fern Falls was violent from the spring snow melt

Fern Lake - Prints available

Fern Lake Panorama

The trail past Fern Lake was completely covered in snow.  The nice thing about spring hiking in the National Park is that all the snow on the trails has been packed down by the many visitors walking on them.  This makes for easy hiking on top without the dreaded postholing.  All we needed were microspikes on our boots. 

We had the lake all to ourselves for lunch.

Odessa Lake with Notchtop Mountain - Prints available

Odessa Lake vertical

Fall Colors Trip 2016

It was 90 degrees when I left my house on Friday afternoon.  Two hours later, I was driving through a blizzard at the Eisenhower Tunnel.  That's a Colorado Fall for you. 

Many people may not realize, but there is a ton of research, planning, preparation and patience involved in these multi-day photography trips.  This year's trip was centered around the peaks of the stunning, but not very popular Eagle's Nest Wilderness a.k.a. the Gore Range.  I took almost 1500 pictures over the course of 4 days.  If I could describe the experience in one word, it would be "cold"... and "beautiful"...and "lonely".  I don't have time to write the story behind each image, so I'll just post some of the best ones from the trip:

Acorn Creek

Eagles Nest Peak Sunrise

Sunburst and Cataract Lake

Cataract Lake

Aspen Forest

Peak K, Peak L, Gore Thumb, Guyselman Mountain, Peak N and Peak O (I think)

Grand Traverse Peak from Vail

Piney Lake

Peak C (center) and Mt. Powell (Left) from Piney River

One night I stayed out late to get some milky way shots as the sky was so clear at Piney Lake.  After shooting, Molly and I were heading back to the truck in the dark.  All of the sudden, Molly stops in the middle of the trail.  She must notice something.  Right in front of us we hear this loud grunting sound.  We both freeze.  A couple seconds later the same grunting sound.  All I can think is, "Man I hope that's not a bear".  Then I see another headlight in front of us.  No... it's not another headlamp.  It's the reflection of my own headlight in the eye of a large animal.  It grunts at us again.  This time Molly barks at it very loudly.  The creature starts moving toward us, then turns to its right and starts walking down the hill.  As it passes, I can see two HUGE antlers of a bull moose.  It walks past us toward Piney Lake.  I later found out that this moose is well known at the Piney Ranch.  Apparently, they call him Monty.  All I have to say is I'm thankful for my canine hiking partner!

Milky Way

Moose in Piney Lake