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- Southwest Landscapes
- Mountains
- Winter
- Biking
- People
- Self
Projects
About me

Biking

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Biking

The most efficient form of exploration.

Colorado Trail, Colorado

Biking

Bike Park, Flagstaff, Arizona

White Clay Creek, Delaware

Sedona MTB Festival

Sedona MTB Festival

Count the rings. . . I didn't take the time to act

Count the rings.
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I didn't take the time to actually count, got distracted by the view of Kendrick Peak in the background. This was one of many trees that were cut on the Arizona Trail section that goes along the west side of the San Francisco Peaks. It caught me a bit off guard as I'm used to seeing some of the thinning operations, but this was a whole section of forest, with less than 1 in 30 left standing alone in the middle of a clearing. Seemed like an odd place to cut all of the trees, almost felt like the forest was encroaching on the meadow and had to be pushed back.
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I would be interested in some of my more educated friends in the area of forest management giving some insight on the thought process in this area. It's at the east side of Hart Prairie. Please keep it civil.
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#landscapephotography #bigtrees #forestmanagement #getoutside #pixelphotography #northernarizona #arizonatrail

Friendly faces at the farmers market. . . I know i

Friendly faces at the farmers market.
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I know it's been going on all summer, but it's good to have the Flagstaff Farmers Market running again this summer, last year was rough without it. We don't make it every week, but when we do, it's great to see everyone there.
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1-Hernandez Farms, 2-Lillie Mae's, 3-Proof Bakery, 4-Nana's Lemonade, 5-Roots Microfarm
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#farmersmarket #shoplocal #greenchilies #microgreens #nikonz6photography #nikonphotography #flagstaff

Storm's a brewing. . . Beautiful day paddle boardi

Storm's a brewing.
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Beautiful day paddle boarding out at the narrows this past weekend with @melavito @flagavito . It may be one big mud puddle, but it's a really scenic mud puddle.
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#dronephotography #sanfranciscopeaks #lakemary #arizonalakes #landscapephotography #djiair2s #djiphotography

Night cap. . . Been a long week. Sometimes you jus

Night cap.
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Been a long week. Sometimes you just need a stiff drink and something sweet.......
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#nightcap #nikonz6photography #nikonphotography

First school drop off commute of the year. . I wou

First school drop off commute of the year.
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I would be lying if I said stress levels weren't high with the new school year kicking off in person and case rates continuing to climb. We have had over a year to get used to the mask wearing and not hugging friends, and I hope that we've done what we can to keep him safe. At the end of the day we put our trust in the caretakers and educators to keep their mental and physical health front of mind, and give them the tools to make the right decisions.
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With all that weighing on our minds, at least the ride to and from school is a relaxing backdrop.
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#maskupflagstaff #notoveryet #staysafe #ebike #nikonz6photography #bikecommute #nikonphotography #sunflowers #urbantrail

Grand Falls. . It's been close to 10 years since

Grand Falls.
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It's been close to 10 years since I've paid a visit to this amazing natural wonder, which is a bit embarrassing considering it's only an hour away. With the recent monsoon rains, I pulled myself out of bed before sunrise and made the drive out there to see the cascading wall of muddy water crashing over this geologic feature.
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Although it's a beautiful sight when you look at the big picture, a closer look always reveals a bit of disappointment from the pileup of detritus in the runoff from the surrounding area. Due to the pandemic, it seems as though the trash cans aren't even being cleaned out. I hauled a couple bags back with me, but it barely scratched the surface of the cleanup that is needed.
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Take care of these beautiful hidden gems, and do your part to leave it cleaner than you found it so others can enjoy.
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#grandfalls #waterfallphotography #leavenotrace #nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #desertlandscape

Back to the grind. . . Been back a couple weeks no

Back to the grind.
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Been back a couple weeks now from our travels, and it's nice to be back. The ladies in the back yard are happy and it's nice to see the color green out on the trails, despite the fact that it's surrounding the massive trenches across and through the trails from the recent flooding.
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#backyardchickens #staysafe #nikonz6photography #vintagelens

Harpers Ferry. . It was a hot day out, at least by

Harpers Ferry.
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It was a hot day out, at least by my standards, but we walked over the Potomac River and grabbed some lunch before moving on. So much history in this part of the country.
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#bridgesofinstagram #nikonz6photography #historic #traintunnel #nikonlandscapephotography

Missing Tahoe area already. . . And I've only been

Missing Tahoe area already.
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And I've only been back for a day. I did sneak out for some sunrise shots with the drone the morning before we pulled the long driving day back. Having the beach outside Tahoe City to myself was a wonderful end to the trip out there. Such beautiful scenery and crystal clear water.
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#landscapephotography #dronephotography #dronelandscape #getoutside #keeptahoeblue #laketahoelife #shoreline #sunrisephotography #boatsboatsboats

Lake Tahoe . . It's an amazing place, and every t

Lake Tahoe
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It's an amazing place, and every time we go anywhere near it, it's a mandatory stay over. This time around we decided to check out Tahoe City, and so far it does not disappoint. A bit less commercial than South Lake, and less residential than Incline Village, but with access to the lake out the front door and the trails out the back door, it feels just about perfect.
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It also doesn't hurt that the apartment complex our Airbnb is in has a pool for those late afternoon swim sessions.
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#keeptahoeblue #laketahoelife #lakelife #nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #startemyoung #getoutside #summerroadtrip #californiadreaming

First time seeing the ocean. . . Growing up in a l

First time seeing the ocean.
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Growing up in a land locked state consisting mostly of desert means that the ocean is a bit of a foreign concept. Reading about it in books and seeing pictures on the internet just doesn't convey the vast sense of scale. The continuously crashing waves, the miles of sand, and the endless water fading into the horizon.
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We made it out early and did the quick hike down to Pinnacle Beach and were rewarded with the place almost to ourselves. As the wind picked up and people started arriving down the half mile long trail, we moved to the Bodega sand dunes to experienced the soft warm sand and waving grass before heading back inland.
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#bodegabay #sanddunes #beachlife #nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #beachlandscape #dronephotography #djiphotography #dirtclassroom #startemyoung #roadtrip

The rain cometh. . . Flagstaff has been in nationa

The rain cometh.
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Flagstaff has been in national news lately for the Raphael Fire burning southwest of town. After living here for as long as I have, we are acutely aware that the fires burning as we head towards monsoon season can, at best, be contained by the brave women and men on the fire crews until the sky opens up and ultimately allows a collective sigh of relief.
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The last week has been a constant tease of afternoon clouds building but moisture not materializing. This morning our first glimpse of potential regular rain resulted in about a quarter inch coming down in less than an hour. Although this is not yet the amount needed to truly make a dent in the dry spring, the scent of rain and the river of pine pollen laden water was a welcome sight.
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Keep it coming.
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#monsoonseason #highdesert #thankyoufirefighters #nikonz6photography #pinepollen #bringtherain #forestfires #raphaelfire #ponderosapine #abstractphotography #sendrain

Powell Plateau Part 3: Tenacity. . . A few final s

Powell Plateau Part 3: Tenacity.
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A few final shots from the trip, but likely not the final shots I ever take of this beautiful area of the canyon.
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I've lived in northern Arizona for over 15 years now, and often lament the fact that I don't spend nearly enough time in this otherworldly landscape. I have only ventured below the rim of the Grand Canyon a handful of times in that tenure. Looking out across the various side canyons in this remote area of the park and musing about what lies in their depths may just be the catalyst I need to try and explore further.
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It doesn't hurt that the next generation seems to be willing and very capable of exploring with me.
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#grandcanyon #landscapephotography #landscapesunset #startemyoung #dirttherapy #getoutside #nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #nationalparkphotography #powellplateau #grandcanyonphotography

Powell Plateau, part 2. . This was the first back

Powell Plateau, part 2.
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This was the first backpacking trip for these kids where they weren't riding on somebody's back for most of it. Two miles each way to get to the plateau may not seem like a lot until you realize that there's a thousand feet of descending and a thousand feet of climbing in that two miles.
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They were ups and downs, literally and figuratively, but both of them were troopers and made it out and back no problem. In fact, there were times where I think we should have loaded more into their packs besides some snacks and water.
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Trees were hugged, dehydrated food was experienced for the first time, and we were scrubbing dirt out of every square inch for days after we returned. If that isn't considered a success, I don't know what is.....
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#startemyoung #dirttherapy #dirtclassroom #kidswhohike #nikonz6photography #nikonphotography #grandcanyon #powellplateau #backcountryphotography #nikonlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #getoutside

Powell Plateau. This 8 square mile detached platea

Powell Plateau. This 8 square mile detached plateau on the north rim of the Grand Canyon provided the perfect environment to take the kids on their first backpacking trip. 25 mi of dirt roads leads to a 2-mile hike with 1,000 ft of descending and 1,000 ft of climbing to get to the plateau.
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We shuttled water over the first day we arrived since there are no water sources over there, and then loaded everyone's gear up the next morning for a hike over. Even though it was a bit on the warm side out, the kids did great and we were rewarded with some of the most amazing ponderosa pine forest I've ever seen.
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Do to the difficulty in getting to the plateau, it has never been logged and gives a glimpse of what Flagstaff and the surrounding area likely once looked like. Widely spaced trees that were several feet in diameter with estimated ages of upwards of a thousand years. The description of 'wide enough spacing that you could ride a horse through it' comes into sharp focus in this naturally healthy forest. We explored the plateau over the course of a couple days and then headed back to the main rim and back to reality after that.
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This was one of the most amazing views I've ever had of the Canyon, so there are more pictures to come and possibly a video if I can get all the footage organized and edited. In the meantime, here's a set to get you started.
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#ponderosapine #grandcanyon #nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #dirttherapy #dirtclassroom #treehugger #backpacking #startemyoung

Finally getting back on the bike. . . 6 weeks felt

Finally getting back on the bike.
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6 weeks felt like a bit of an eternity for not being on the mountain bike, but on the other hand, 6 weeks doesn't seem all that bad now that I actually wrote that down. The last two weeks of physical therapy at @physioshopflagstaff have made a world of difference, and combined with riding the trainer at least a couple times a week doing some zwift workouts meant that the first ride back was actually pretty pleasant pace.
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Lots of work still to go as the ankle is definitely not 100%, so I need to restrain myself a bit on anything remotely technical to avoid any chance of reinjury before it's ready for full send. That being said, these first couple rides back are putting some much needed miles on the legs. It's a good kind of soreness.
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#mtbflagstaff #mtblife #recovery #highdesert #getoutside #revelthetrail

McMillan Mesa. . . Experimenting with color theor

McMillan Mesa.
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Experimenting with color theory this evening. What are your thoughts?
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The first was my initial edit, and I like it for a nice all around balanced look, which is kind of my go to style, not too much "push", more "enhance". That being said, I've been trying to convey more mood in my edits lately, but more experimentation is needed. I've never been as much of a fan of the over edited look, but there's something to be said for using the tools at your disposal.
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#flagstaff #colortheory #dronephotography #dronelandscape #djiair2s #acdsee

Saturday night. . . The constant pursuit of learni

Saturday night.
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The constant pursuit of learning and applying a myriad of random skills continues. For whatever reason I've been diving deep into the rabbit hole of electronics, microcontrollers, and home automation lately. More things than I care to mention are now connected and automated.
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The ankle is healing, but not healed, so mountain biking is still on there sideline. As happens from time to time, photography and videography hasn't been inspiring me lately either. Thus, time in the garage with the soldering iron and the woodworking tools is where spare time has been spent of late. The rotation of hobbies continues.
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In the garage
I feel safe
No one cares about my ways
In the garage
Where I belong
No one hears me sing this song
In the garage
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#customelectronics #engineereverything #homeautomation #selfportrait #toomanyhobbies #inthegarage

Somewhere on the Navajo Nation. . I got out of my

Somewhere on the Navajo Nation.
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I got out of my car to take a break from driving back from Colorado and hobbled around to catch a couple pictures of the hauntingly beautiful landscape that I've driven through so many times, but rarely stop to appreciate.
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I've been generally laying low for the last couple weeks, licking my wounds as my final ski trip to Silverton for the season ended abruptly with a badly sprained ankle on the first run on the first day of a 2-day solo trip. It wasn't the way that I was planning on ending the season, nor was it the way I was planning on beginning the summer mountain biking season, but sometimes things don't always go according to plan.
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At least nothing was broken, and although it will likely be about 8 weeks of recovery before I'm even looking at a mountain bike, it could have been far worse. So it goes.
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#nikonz6photography #nikonlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #navajonation #abruptend #walkingbootlife #desertlandscape #silvertonmountain

Flagstaff Ski Team, Giant Slalom, Saturday March 2

Flagstaff Ski Team, Giant Slalom, Saturday March 20th.
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A photography genre that is relatively new to me is sports photography, but now that the little ripper has started ski racing, I've enjoyed playing the camera wielding spectator dad for the two races he has done this season. It's taught me a whole new facet of photography that I've quite enjoyed embracing, and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm getting an eye for it.
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It's also a whole lot of work, never thought I would sit down in front of a thousand photos and whittle them down to 150 for editing. Very satisfying when you see the results though, looking forward to the next opportunity.
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Great job to all the athletes this past Saturday and a huge thanks to the coaches and volunteers who made it happen. Looking forward to the next one.
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#nikonz6photography #sportsphotography #skiracing #skiteam #giantslalom #startemyoung #getoutside #fastflagstaff

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