Cedar Breaks NM day 2

This is on the Ramparts Overlook trail. The only trails in the park are along the rim and you can't actually enter the amphitheater. Don't fear. The light available along the trail was spectacular.

Cedar Breaks NM day 1

This monument was a surprise to me. I had been there a couple of times. Went to the overlooks then drove on to somewhere else. This year gave me the opportunity to set aside time to explore this park specifically. There were so many hidden gems visually once I left the postcard viewpoints behind. This one found on the lower alpine pond trail.

Arches NP day 7

This image was also one where the atmosphere and the light is what drew me to the scene. Photography is the art of light and all the technological innovations in the world can't replace the need and ability to recognize and utilize intriguing light.

Arches NP day 6

In the visitors center there are these large windows looking out over the trademark sandstone. Inside the windows are found a large fake arch for interpretive purposes. It is one of the quandaries of protecting nature from human activity because then the other side of the coin is where we make it accessible to people and therefore it is no longer natural. I thought it was an interesting to see the parallel between the two in such an obvious way.

Arches NP day 5

Balanced Rock, one of those must stop at places as you drive through the park. Also one that I struggle photographing because it has been so over photographed. I still challenge myself to try anyways.

Arches NP day 4

This was taken right after entering the park looking back into Moab. I feel like weather is the most transformative element in landscape photography. It can make any location interesting if you are looking. Instead of a traditional drive by spot it can create a slam on the breaks pull over now spot.

Arches NP day 3

In all the years I have been making trips to arches I was unaware of a pictograph panel found outside the main entrance. I was also disheartened to discover that in 1980 vandals severely damaged the panel and the vibrancy of the images are now forever lost. Please don't damage these amazing places!!!

Arches NP day 2

Delicate Arch, easily the most famous landmark in Utah. Which means I have a love/hate relationship with it. I like nature because I can get away from the crowds. Other than that it truly is a remarkable location. Hence my interpretation.

Arches NP Day 1

My New Years resolution: update my blog, website, and instagram accounts...by posting regularly. To start I think I will share images from the national park project I worked on all of last year. One park a week, alphabetically. Arches to Zion. (I missed two parks which I am a little bummed about.) starting at North Window in the windows section.

Power of Two

 Sometimes symmetry is enough for me. Taken on a beach somewhere near Nadi, Fiji.

Fale Sunset

This is on the island of Savai'i not far from our hotel. I didn't have much time to go out and photograph for myself but was able to sneak out one night because one of the directors wanted a little photo lesson. This is where we went.

Erskine Falls

I was in Australia with Rheumatic Rescue to attend the World Congress of Cardiology. For an off day we decided to drive the Great Ocean Road. One of our stops was at Erskine Falls. Very steep drop on the hike which off course means that not only do I have to lug myself back out but the big camera has to be carried back out as well. Worth it though. Very beautiful waterfall. ...on a side note, this is also the inaugural picture for both my new Canham large format camera as well as a new 90mm lens. I think we will get along together just fine.

The Savaiian

I spent around 4 weeks in Samoa last summer photographing. I worked with 3 different groups from Utah Valley University. The main one was a group called Rheumatic Rescue that seeks to educate, screen and find a cure for Rheumatic Heart Disease. It is a preventable disease that affects children and can result in death due to heart failure. Many pictures will be shared from my time there. This diptych was taken at the hotel were our group stayed while on the island of Savai'i. I was wowed by this tree every time I walked past it. As we were packing up to leave the island I decided I couldn't leave without creating a picture of it.

House on Fire Ruins

One of the projects I have been working on was called Hidden Voices - Native Voices. We spent a year working with the Native American tribes officially recognized by the state of Utah. It was a multifaceted project that allowed the faculty and students of Utah Valley University to teach photography to Native American youth as well as learn more about their history, traditions, fears and hopes. I have many photographs to post from this project. This one was taken at the House on Fire Ruins in Southern Utah. There are many of these ruins throughout the southwest. Please treat them with the utmost respect. Please visit but remember they have lasted for thousands of years. Don't do anything that would change their present state or harm their future.

Pyramids

I looked at my blog. It had been 11 months since I had posted anything. Yet it has been a very busy photographic year. I have decided it is about time to start doing something about that. I will do my best to start regularly posting some of my work over the past year. This image was made on the west coast of the South Island in New Zealand.

Looking Down on Capitol Reef

This is a picture I took last summer as part of a two week class that I teach at the Capitol Reef Field Station which is located within the national park. We take a day excursion down to Calf Creek Falls and we stopped at the Larb Hollow Overlook while going over Boulder Mountain. Late summer is my favorite time to be in the Utah desert due to the thunderstorms that are frequent that time of the year.

Somewhere

I honestly can't remember exactly where this was taken. Driving back from Yosemite a little over a year ago, we pulled over on the side of the road somewhere in Nevada to sleep. No city lights, or any signs of civilization of any kind for miles. We had brilliant starry skies and only had to deal with the occasional car driving by. This was what I found when I woke up in the morning.

Dock to the West

This is an older image that I apparently never got to. I drove by this location at Utah Lake last week and noticed that the dock had been removed. Noticing its absence reminded me that I had photographed it in the past. ( I even remember falling flat on my back due to ice while photographing it) I went back through my archive and found the image and decided it was time to give it some life…now that it has passed on.

Winter Clouds

It has been a couple years since I have taken my 4x5 out to Utah Lake. It has been too long. I was able to make it out almost every night for a week. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum. Needless to say I hope I have a few more pictures worth sharing in the next little while.

U.S.S. Arizona

These are detail shots I took while we visited Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona monument. I do find the monument quite beautiful and tranquil. If only it could be appreciated alone and without the obnoxious distraction of tourists. (I am aware I qualify as being part of the tourist demographic here, don't focus on that pesky little detail)