Time Stands Still

The Adventure:

The song “Time Stands Still” written by the band RUSH is one of my favorites. There is one line of the song that seems appropriate for today; it reads “Summers going fast, nights growing colder, children growing up, old friends growing older.” Boy, the summer has gone fast! So fast I have not even shared one experience with you all summer. And, the nights are now definitely colder. Utah is a wonderful place, full of intense changes. But unfortunately, the change from summer to winter is often an extremely quick one. One day it is 80 degrees and the next day I have 3 inches of snow in my backyard. Autumn colors ignite but only last a few days before the snow and wind knocks them to the ground.

I woke this morning to lingering clouds on the tail end of a two-day storm. Every single day of autumn is precious to me. It is my favorite time of year, and for these few days in the Wasatch it is like walking in heaven. I soon found myself in a familiar canyon, shin deep in snow, witnessing the brilliant yellow aspens, surrounding a few dark pine trees, sprinkled with Utah’s famous powdered sugar. I know this beauty is only for today, and in two days there will be no more leaves on the trees. Just like the other autumn days in the Wasatch, I feel lucky to be here, and to be a spectator of this beautiful wilderness. Soon these canyons will be full of cars, buses, and tourists from all walks of the earth coming to ski our white powder. But for this brilliant autumn morning, truly time stands still.

The Photo Lesson:

In my experience I have learned that the best times to photograph are in those fleeting moments of change. Whether it is the change from night to day, or day to night. From clear skies at the front of the storm, or at the tail end as it changes from stormy to clear skies. If you focus your efforts to these moments of rapid change, your photography will become unique and allow you to photograph in the most beautiful light, and moments this world can offer.

You can download this and other desktop wallpaper by going to my “Workshops” page by clicking here. I appreciate any comments you would like to share.

Father's Day Duty

The Adventure:
It starts like any other Sunday morning at our house. Jumping on the tramp with the two kids while the sun finally peaks over the surrounding mountains. This Father's Day morning is no different. I notice a Quail perched on our fence standing at attention, nervously watching the ground just below his feet. After watching him more closely, I notice Mother and babies scurrying through the ground cover. While observing him watch over his family, I thought it appropriate to reflect on the duties of fatherhood. I sat in the grass with my two little kids (twins) and we watched and talked about the Daddy Quail and what he was doing. I couldn’t help but be reminded of my own duties and responsibilities as a father to protect, provide, and love. I have learned that nature provides lessons for us all. I grabbed my camera, and shot a few frames trying to capture this learning lesson.


The Photo Lesson:
Life presents opportunities every day for us to make memories or photographs. Just make sure your equipment is always ready. (i.e. batteries charged, clean, etc.). The best way I found to do this is to always clean and recharge batteries when I return from a trip, not right before I go. That way my gear is always ready to go whenever the opportunity arises.

Searching for Solitude

The Adventure:
I love the Teton’s in May. It is a time of year where the snow is releasing its grip, yet the crowds have not yet come. If you have ever photographed in this park you already know it is very much a ‘morning only’ place. Evenings are usually spent in some random turnout in hopes that the sky turns a very rare red behind the silhouette of the peaks. With no crowds, I sit on a rock wall at the ‘Snake River Overlook’ in solitude listening to the wind blow through the trees. Just here to enjoy the view, breath the fresh air, and perhaps get lucky with a red sky, but I already know that is not going to happen tonight. This is a very famous photography spot, but in May, I can be assured I will sit here alone with plenty of time to reflect and enjoy the view.
Within minutes of one another, four other photographers show up and gather right on top of me. Literally, tripod legs intertwined with tripod legs. One guy starts spouting off about how he is a ‘professional’ and starts jabbering about gear and his 3 different imaging programs he uses to process his digital images. Give me a break! He has every piece of little gear you could think of. From multiple leveling bubbles on his camera to vest and belt pouches jammed with who knows what. I did get a kick watching him spend so much time looking at his leveling bubbles, yet rarely looking through viewfinder. I couldn’t help but notice everyone around me firing shot after shot, bracket after bracket of the same composition, in less than desirable light. The whole experience was just blah!!


The Photo Lesson:
Yes, the Tetons are iconic symbols of the Rocky mountains. Which means everything has been photographed again and yet again. Although finding an original image is rare in these parts, if you search out a little solitude, away from the ‘marked overlooks’ you have a higher likelihood of being able to create images that have a deeper meaning. Otherwise, you may find yourself side-by-side other ‘professionals,’ feeling corralled into getting the same shot as them. Don’t be afraid to break away and find your own inspiration. The above image was taken the next morning (this morning actually) in complete solitude. Creating and now looking at this image reminds me of a long list of great memories I have had here in the Tetons.
You may download this image as wallpaper for your computer by clicking here, or visiting my website.

Rocky Mountain High

The Adventure:

With a quick break between the winter and spring, I always find it refreshing to scale the cliffs, now free from ice, to enjoy a little Wasatch solitude. These cliffs are literally my back yard, and while growing up I scaled them many times. In our youth, my brother and I used to come up here all the time to play on the rock, watch the Mountain Goats, and learn of the beauties in nature. We both have many great memories here. With this quick break before the rain starts, I climbed back up these cliffs to rekindle old memories, and perhaps create some new ones. The day was beautiful and like always, the goats were accepting, like welcoming back an old friend. This image was created as a mother and her new ‘kid’ looks out over the valley below. An hour or so later they walked right up to me with mountain goat curiosity, thus creating another great memory for me to take from my home.

The Photo Lesson:
Wildlife photography is very rewarding, but requires discipline and respect. Download my tips on Photographing Wildlife on my workshops page.

You may download this image as wallpaper for your computer by clicking here, or visiting my website.

Dust in the Wind

The Adventure:
As winter begins to loosen its grip on the Wasatch mountains, their beauty seems to fade from the brilliant whites of winter to the dull of dirty brown. Not feeling excited to run around in the Wasatch this week I made a quick photo trip to ‘Little Sahara,’ a small Utah state park about an hour or so from home. This small out of the way park is home to some spectacular landscape photography, although I have yet to see another landscape photographer here.
I stepped out of my trusty truck right at the dunes edge and immediately knew I was in for a real treat! Atop the first dune I was blasted with a 60mph wind carving up the steep slope and blasting me with dune sand. I soon found an interesting photograph and started to set up. In a matter of minutes, my tripod, all my gear and myself was covered in sand. I quickly retreated out of the direct wind to asses the damage. I quickly realized that this day was going to be a total loss, or was it? Needless to say, I do not give in too easily. I have learned through my years of experience and firmly believe that there is always something beautiful so long as we are willing to open our eyes enough to see it. However, today is a little difficult to see through the blasting sand, but I know it is there.
After walking a few miles over dune after dune, I looked back towards the mountains from where I had come and saw a beautiful display of clouds and mountains as they mingled with the dunes before me. I quickly saw how I wanted to capture the image, but knew my traditional set-up procedure would not be possible. Knowing I could not set up the way I normally did, I simply set all my camera settings while wrapped around my coat and then fell to my knees and captured the image you see here. You can download this image as screen wallpaper by clicking here, or visiting my workshops page. This day was not a total loss, but one of inspiration.

The Photo Lesson:
I think the lesson here is very short. Pre-visualize your images, and know your camera well. By understanding how I wanted to frame this image in my mind (before looking through the viewfinder) I was able to make the correct settings on my camera (depth of field, focal length, etc.) and then quickly frame and shoot. If I were to take my traditional approach in these elements no doubt my gear would be completely destroyed and I would be purchasing a new camera setup right now. However, by pre-visualizing this shot, and making the settings in a protected zone, I was able to capture my vision with no substantial damage to my gear.

The Blending of Seasons

The Adventure:
It seems to happen every autumn here in the Rockies. Just as the season’s colors are at their ultimate peak, a large storm inevitably blows in, and smashes the Wasatch Front with high energy and blankets the mountains in snow. During this short-lived storm, most of the leaves get knocked from their branches, and just like that the autumn color is gone for the year. This year is no different. The storm approaches, and around mid-afternoon the snow is falling, and accumulating quickly. I soon find myself up in the canyons, all by my lonesome, photographing the colors among this contrast of white.

The Photo Lesson:
There are really two lessons here I want to talk about. The first is fear. Do not be afraid to get out there when the weather gets tough. More often than not, it is the tough weather that produces the most rewarding images. The next is protecting your gear while shooting in difficult weather. There are many ways to protect your gear from falling moisture. My favorite set-up is a sturdy tripod and my baseball hat. It fits beautifully over my camera body and the bill protects the lens from water. This set-up also allows me to keep shooting even while the snow is falling. Just remember to embrace tough weather, and to protect your equipment.

Running Next Door

The Adventure:
It was late evening as I was working in my office, reviewing images from a recent trip to Colorado. I leaned back in my chair, looked out the window facing west and saw the bright red sun, sinking like a fireball into the horizon. Three minutes and 28 seconds later I was standing in a field of grasses and scrub oak high above the valley floor. There have been some recent fires across the west, which fills our valley with smoke. This smoke causes the sun to go blood red in the evenings. I was only able to get a few shots before the sun dipped below the horizon, but the rewards for quick action were worth it.

The Photo Lesson:
You rarely need to be in some exotic location to get great photography. Often times, original images are found right next-door, literally. There is a small park close to my home and is always a great spot to go when the light gets interesting. This shot is one of the many original views that have come from simply running next-door. So pick out a few locations very close to home that you can run too when the light begins to dance.