A very wooley American Bison grazing in Badlands National Park near Spring Creek. He was quite content eating with the birds and paid me no mind. Some other bulls were a little more put out by my presence.The American Bison is an icon of the Great Plains. At Badlands, bison roam the 64,000 acre wilderness area in the western side of the North Unit. Visitors to the park can view them, as I did,in the area containing Sage Creek Rim Road.
Grazing American Bison
A large bull relaxing in the warm sun in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. These enormous animals are amazing up close and I really appreciate the herds that have been set free in the national park.
Bison Bull Lounging in the Grass
On a beautiful fall morning in Bryce Canyon National Park. Taking a short hike up to Inspiration Point, I stopped on the way to capture this view of the Amphitheaters. Bryce Canyon is a mesmerizing location and even with the crowds an artist can find their inspiration. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks.
Viewing Bryce Canyon Amphitheaters
Bighorn Sheep on a steep incline on the east side of Zion National Park in Utah. These sheep are a big draw for park goers and with the beautiful landscape as a background can make a great photograph. Being a Coloradan and seeing these sheep often, this landscape inspires grand visions of what these animals can climb and survive on. I love the Bighorns and am always excited to see them thrive in the wild.
Bighorn Sheep in Zion
An elderly couple traveling the Narrows on the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park. The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon and one of the world's best slot canyon hikes. Here, the majestic walls of the main canyon close in to form a tall and narrow canyon with beautiful dark corners and the Virgin River flowing around you. With beautiful flowing water and barely any direct sunlight reaching the bottom, this is the slot canyon that all other slot canyons are compared to. This gorge, with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide. It is a popular hike in the park and when I did it was just after a few rainstorms and there was significant flow and water in the stream. I could not see the stream bed because of the red muddy nature and stumbled into some deep pools. The walking sticks this couple had is a very good idea.
Women traveling the Narrows on the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park. The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon and one of the world's best slot canyon hikes. Tourist rent wet shoes and walking sticks to travel down the river during heavy flows as it was in this photo. There were heavy rains the night before and the narrows were swollen in the river bed.
Teig and I on our way down Mount Bross on a late August day after doing four 14ers that morning. Mount Bross is a high mountain summit in the Mosquito Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,178-foot fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 4.1 miles northwest of the Town of Alma in Park County, Colorado, United States. Mount Bross is named in honor of William Bross, who owned property in the area. Some of the history from wikipedia of the mining on the mountain is “On March 9, 1869, Daniel Plummer and Joseph Myers, both of Alma, Colorado, filed claim on the first silver mine on Mount Bross. They named their holding "The Dwight". The adjoining Moose Mine, which Plummer and Myers filed in 1871, became the most productive silver mine in Park County. A native of Pennsylvania, Myers later became a town trustee in Fairplay, the county seat of Park County. The Dolly Varden Mine, discovered by George Brunk and Assyria "Cy" Hall in 1872, ranked second in silver production to the Moose Mine but outpaced the Moose in the richness of its ore. At the time the Dolly Varden opened, Hall was the sheriff of Park County” The mountain was closed to hikers in 2005 but many still sneak to the summit on a beautiful day.
A hike up Hunter Creek from Aspen Colorado affords the adventure with numerous small waterfalls to check out near the trail. This small waterfall wasn't far up the trail to the canyon and was quiet and serene in the early morning before the hikers get on the trail. I find these locations and times fulfilling for the soul.
Teig was enjoying this slot canyon in southwest Utah. Willis Creek Slot Canyon is located off Skutumpah Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I enjoyed the shapely walls and delicate colors in the Navajo sandstone as it closed in above me. I also loved peering down rocks that the orange-tinted creek has smoothed over time. The smooth and curvaceous rock walls of the narrows, which have been carved by thousands of years of flash floods. I felt small as the narrow walls tower 100 feet above.
Sunset Point in Utah's Capitol Reef National Park. This location is a great place to sit and meld with nature as the sunsets in the west. The rock faces come alive with the colors of red and orange. The serene scene can transport a person to a relaxed state and peaceful thoughts.
Redrocks Park outside of Denver Colorado after a huge spring snow storm. This is the rim trail to the north of the park. What a wonderful and quiet scene. Morrison Colorado is a quaint town and know for Redrocks amphitheatre. Built in the depression and still a phenomenal place for music and entertainment.
A moose was feeding at Maroon Lake below iconic Maroon Bells outside of Aspen Colorado on a crisp morning. He became a bit agitated and let me know that he did not want me any closer than 50 yards and I respectfully complied. No chance I was going to get into a tussle with this big boy!
In March, we went on a shoot up to Pawnee National Grasslands in Northeastern Colorado. This area is full of farms and open spaces that people can hike, bike and explore. In the winter, the area is very quiet and the vast open prairie is very fulfilling for the solitaire soul. Shooting this landscape was so enjoyable and a change from the mountains to the west. Pawnee Buttes is the highlight of the grasslands with 2 large geologic formations towering above the flat plains. Dry arroyos abound with sand y bottoms that can turn into streams when a good rain comes to the dry land. The large wind farm of cedar creek covers miles north of the buttes and adds an interesting detail to the landscape. We spent a couple of days shooting this area and a wonderful night camping under the stars. If you have never been, I recommend checking it out, especially if you like the quiet vast open landscapes.
A couple of weeks ago I was out at Chatfield Reservoir State Park kayaking in the evening with Teig. The evening was beautiful and I had brought my Kodak 300 along and put it in the kayak with me. I take it along when I am on the water because if I lose or drop it in the water it is not much of a loss. It is a non-interchangable lens camera akin to the point a shoots. There were sailboats all over the lake and I got some pretty good images. I did some very simple and quick retouching on the images and they were not that bad. People ask me all the time what expensive camera you need to take beautiful images? Anyone can take beautiful images no matter what the camera is you use, $3,000 DSLR with a $2000 lens or a $20 disposable camera. What really matters is what is directly behind the camera and the techniques and experience you use to tell the story in the image.
Last week we had a shoot for Terry. He was needing some professional looking headshots for his linkin page, resume, portfolio and other bio materials. Our shoot lasted just over an hour and we shot around 150 images and had so much fun and laughed a ton. Jamie , his wife was there and was having hers done in conjunction, and there was good banter and some crazy fun shots were included. After our shoot, we viewed the images and narrowed them down to 3 different images that he wanted us to touch up for delivery. These were the finished images.
Thanksgiving this year had a plethora of holiday pies. Minced meat, pumpkin and cherry were featured at our celebration. Shawn, Miki and Don Leppert created these wonderful baked goods to celebrate the holiday. They were so beautiful that I had to spend some time photographing these delicious sweet treats. These images hopefully capture how phenomenal they tasted!
I was in Taos, New Mexico last month and created some great images. I really like the different textures of the black and white images that can be created with the scenery of the area. Here are a few images I recently processed.
TrailDog Artisans has just opened it's e-commerce store! It is located in the Prints tab in the header of our web page. In it you can find some select prints for sell. These will be printed by a professional national image printing firm and shipped to your door. All taxes and shipping costs are included in the purchase. Please contact me if you would like a specific image or a different/special printing material and I will put it out in the store for purchase. If you have any questions or comments please contact me.
I wanted to introduce my favorite model/assistant/friend. Teig is a 5 year old labradoodle who lives, works and accompanies me on my adventures. He never complains and is very eager to explore and photographic new places. He also models for me in many of the locations we visit and his wage is just a few treats, which is extremely affordable as models go. Being attractive and very camera friendly makes him so easy to work with and loves to take "Frisbee" breaks in between shots which makes most shoots very enjoyable. Here is Teig in Wild Rivers National Monument on the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico. As you can plainly see, he is a natural with his pose and his facial control is spectacular. I have never worked with a better and more professional model.
Who remembers doing Jigsaw Puzzles. I use to love jumbling the pieces before trying to reconfigure the picture. That was fun but boy it annoyed me when I found a piece missing at the end!
