Revitalized

Fresh start after an incredible vacation to Jackson Hole. I submitted to the forces drawing me there, and it was for good reason as I came back with more than just incredible photos.

I'm working on a "roadtrip" post which will be up in a few (several) days. Lots of photos to go through!

Winter Reflection

There is always a point during the Winter where I begin seriously reflecting on the state of my life. Kind of a "state of the union" for myself, that lasts for a month or so. I really listen to my mind and what it's saying I should do with myself. Usually it involves a sea change from what I'm doing currently, and this Winter is no exception. I feel a great deal of pull towards Northwest Wyoming and feel that I need to be there capturing the amazing beauty that exists there. There are many hurdles to overcome but these are the challenges which make life worth living.

Trial and Error

I'm hoping that by summer I'll be able to take a route like this.

I stuck to my commitment to start climbing -- got some shoes and hit the gym with my buddy Lucas to dive right in. I felt right at home for the most part, I climbed when I was younger and the muscle memory came right back. Unfortunately I've gained a lot of weight since then and lifting myself up required a lot more strength than I have to give. So an important factor for me moving forward is to develop much more strength in my upper torso and arms. That coupled with hopefully 2 climbing sessions a week will give me a good start towards my goal of getting some excellent climbing shots this summer.

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

My dreams have been incredibly vivid lately, and a majority of them are taking place in the most beautiful places in the world -- Patagonia, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, etc. I am hoping that these dreams are pushing me towards a new career path in nature photography. I spend a lot of time daydreaming at my day job (as a coffee roastmaster) about working with companies like Teton Gravity Research and National Geographic. So it is to dream!

Mammoth Hot Springs is an incredibly unique place on this planet. Like many places in YNP it is thermally very active, and a constantly shifting landscape. The colors here are incredible, especially on this day where the sun was very bright but with very dense, puffy clouds (I wish I could identify them). The effect created a very dramatic contrast between the colors of the bacteria and the white, chalky dust surrounding the active areas.

This image, along with several others, will be printed soon and on display at my first photo show. I'm shooting for a mid-march hanging.

The Road

One of my favorite drives ever. I took this photo late in the Fall season but I expected the road to still be open due to the very mild weather we had up to that point. I was wrong, and was faced with a huge pile of snow at the closure gate. Despite a balmy Fall in the valley the mountains were still getting tons of snow.

Driving back home from a disappointing attempt to shoot sunrises, I was greeted with this scene as I came back down the mountain. It was not such a wasted trip after all.

I will be trekking back up this road in a few weeks for a little winter backpacking trip. I need a few new pieces of winter gear first! Winter backpacking is serious business.

Yellowstone National Park

I had an incredibly visual dream last night about a very visceral experience in Yellowstone National Park. I was with a large group of family and friends, sitting in a white van when both grizzly bears AND elk were attacking the side of the van. Suddenly the bear noticed an elk next to him and started attacking the elk, but the elk was so transfixed on us that it didn't move. We drove away slowly, the elk following our pace, and the bear hot on the elk's hooves.

Bears. Beets...

Once we realized the brevity of the situation we gunned the van down the road, my father at the wheel (and the very last person to drive with haste and disregard for safety). We reached a turn and dad whips the van around and guns it straight into the middle of a lake. He then does one more 180 degree turn, lodging us into some kind of sandbar or similar, and that is our camp site for the night. We climb out -- the lake is surprisingly shallow -- and witness a stampede of animals of all species running down the road we were just on. It was an amazing sight, and incredible confusing. We would soon know, however, the reason for the wildlife's quick retreat.

 
Some nice flora in YNP.

We would camp there that night, right in the middle of the lake, seemingly invincible to the obvious perils of sleeping in a few feet of water. The next morning we woke to the sound of thunder and fury, as dozens -- nay, hundreds of college students from a nearby state college descended upon Yellowstone National Park with all the fervor of a winning football game. I feel like they brought panes of glass with them so they could break them upon every surface they could find. One particularly meaty student lumbered right up to me with a look of disapproval (yes, the look of disapproval) because I was not wearing school colors. Before he could decide what to do with me I introduced myself with a smile and he lumbered off. Everywhere these students were destroying the flora which I was so deeply in love with. It was a terrifying sight.


Can you imagine this guy being scared of some crazy college students?

Not much happened later that I can recall, I know I was at the ranger station looking for a flashlight, but that's about it. A harrowing experience is what I woke up with this morning. Since its on my mind I decided to put some pictures up from YNP for today's post. Dreams can be harbingers for incredible change and through all the turmoil of last night's dream I hope there were some seeds of change being planted.


Grand Prismatic Spring, and just another reason this is one of the most naturally beautiful places on Earth.

After the Storm

20090608-4299_CRS2009-buttes, originally uploaded by cultr.sun.

June 8, 2009

A fierce hailstorm descended upon me as I was setting up to shoot these sandstone monuments. I took shelter under an outcrop, wondering where all the Pronghorn I saw on my way in were taking their shelter. As soon as I could finish pondering the storm stopped and gave me these amazing clouds to work with.

Unfortunately I was still a little too smitten with HDRi to produce realistic results, but the impact is still about the same. The most amazing scene unfolded with the sky turning a dark shade of purple as they hastened away from me.

This viewpoint is about the same as one of the very first photographs from the area. Check it out on wikipedia. The rock in the foreground is known as Dial Rock.