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

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I guess when you turn 40, you're supposed to have

I guess when you turn 40, you're supposed to have some sort of mid-life crises or something. Maybe even buy a fancy car.
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I decided instead that I would start learning some of the 'useless skills' that I never learned as a younger person. Last year's 360 on skis after a session at @woodwardcopper kicked off the quest to expand my 'bag of tricks' on two skis and two wheels.
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The progression continued when I picked up a Tweedy dirt jump frame from @revelbikes (thanks @dirty_biker!) and handed it to the guys at @thundermountainbikes to build me up a bike that is orders of magnitude more capable than I am in the air. The slow progression through the bike park features at Fort Tuthill has given me confidence and control that has been noticeable on the trail, even after 35 years of riding a bike (and is a whole lot of fun as well.)
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Today, I once again stepped outside my comfort zone and made my first visit to 'The Basin' BMX park here in Flag with the Tweedy DJ. I flailed, I fell, I got up and tried again. By the end of my 1.5 hours of 'figuring it out', I was hooked. I found myself giggling uncontrollably as I started to approach the lip on some of the mid-size features and feel the flow through the transitions in the bowls.
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It's cheaper than a Porsche, and a lot more satisfying, although I'm probably going to be a bit sore tomorrow.
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#revelthetrail #dirtjump #skatepark #bmxpark #blackandwhite #ageisrelative #nikonphotography #selfportrait #concretejungle

Fall Break, Part 2 - Slot Canyons. . Escalante is

Fall Break, Part 2 - Slot Canyons.
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Escalante is known for its slot canyons, and though I've been there several times now over the years, we had yet to actually hike one of them. Spooky canyon and Peekaboo canyon make a nice easy loop with some really fun and unique acrobatics through their stunning geologic features. The downside is that they can be crowded due to the relatively easy access and notoriety.
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Despite this potential shopping mall-esque experience, we got up early and made it down before the parking lot filled up and the canyon excursion became a continuous line of people through the canyons.
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As expected, the kids had a great time, and there are now discussions of canyons requiring rappelling, swimming, and more complicated logistics. I'm not complaining.
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#nikonphotography #getoutside #startemyoung #landscapephotography #slotcanyon #escalante #utah #filmphotography #backcountry

Fall break, part 1 - Kodachrome State Park . . Red

Fall break, part 1 - Kodachrome State Park
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Red cliffs, campfires, scorpion hunts, phallic rocks. Commence vacation mode.
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#nikonphotography #landscapephotography #kodachromebasin #utahscenery #fallbreak #getoutside #filmphotography

Ireland Part 3. . A final amalgamation of some of

Ireland Part 3.
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A final amalgamation of some of my favorite other random shots from the trip including an interesting mural, some amazing architecture, a couple more fun street shots, and the obligatory moody, grainy Trinity College shot to close it out.
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So long Ireland, and thanks for all the Stout.
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#travelphotography #nikonphotography #landscapephotography #nikonlandscape #streetphotography #travel #filmphotography #getoutside #ireland #emeraldisle

Ireland Part 2 - Throwback Film Edition. . A month

Ireland Part 2 - Throwback Film Edition.
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A month or so ago, I decided to pick up a film camera and try my hand at shooting some film again. The last time I shot film was probably the late 90s. After running a few rolls through the camera to get the hang of it again, I took it with me to Ireland for the recent work trip. 3 rolls went through the camera, and I was really happy with how many of the shots came out.
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Gritty, Grainy, Pastel, Contrasty. Use whatever adjectives you want, I had a good time with another tool on my daily walkabouts.
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For those interested, the camera is a Nikon FA, and I shot Lomo 800, Ilford HP4 (+1 stop), and Ilford Delta 3200 (at 1600 ISO). Developed and scanned locally at @hiddenlightllc @flagstaffcamera.
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#travelphotography #nikonphotography #filmphotography
#35mm #filmisnotdead #landscapephotography #nikonlandscape #getoutside #ireland #emeraldisle

Ireland, Part 1. . International travel for work h

Ireland, Part 1.
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International travel for work had pretty much ceased for the last few years, but a confluence of meetings with a few of our partners in Ireland catalyzed a trip to the Emerald Isle a couple weeks ago.
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Although I had work meetings throughout most of the days, I did bring a couple cameras and used the mornings and evenings to explore Cork, Galway, and Dublin. Cork and Galway were both amazing, and we lucked out with nice weather for a good portion of the trip, making my walking excursions the perfect complement to jetlag and work meetings.
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More pictures to come, including some from 3 rolls of 35mm film that I shot while I was there. This set of horizontal aspect ratio shots from Cork, Galway, and a few hours in Dublin seemed like a good place to start.
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#travelphotography #nikonphotography #nikonz6 #landscapephotography #nikonlandscape #getoutside #ireland #emeraldisle

Blackberries. . We ventured down to oak creek cany

Blackberries.
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We ventured down to oak creek canyon last weekend to go on a mission to find some blackberries and were not disappointed. Happened to be 4 cars behind @sungoldfinch as we waited for the traffic to filter through the 1-lane road down the switchbacks, and it turned out we were on a similar mission.
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I won't lie and tell you we brought many back, as most were consumed on site. This is the way.
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Picking berries should be a part of every childhood.
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#berrypicking #getoutside #nikonphotography #outdoorphotography #oakcreekcanyon

Cousins. . Nephews . Family. . #photography #nikon

Cousins.
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Nephews
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Family.
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#photography #nikonphotography #family #colorado #startemyoung #kidswhorip #getoutside

The Wasatch Crest trail. . A classic by any measur

The Wasatch Crest trail.
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A classic by any measure with amazing views in both directions over multiple classic Utah ski areas. Even though I've biked a couple times in the past in Park City, for some reason this was the first time I had made it up to the Crest trail. 3000 feet of climbing on smooth, steady, machine built trails give away to a ridgeline trail that induces non stop smiles as it winds along a beautiful divide between Park City and Salt Lake City.
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@forty15 provided the guidance at the few turns needed and the good conversation for the 2 hours of ascent. Couldn't have asked for better weather, as the overcast day made for a nice temperature and the rain held off for our ramble through the Wasatch.
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#getoutside #parkcitymtb #nikonphotography

Kaibab Overlook Bikepacking Tour. . About a year a

Kaibab Overlook Bikepacking Tour.
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About a year ago I hatched a plan to make a big bikepacking loop on the North Kaibab Plateau. The goal was to ride to as many of the diverse overlooks around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as possible over 3-4 days. The route ended up looking like about 150 miles, and I thought that it could be done in 3 days with a couple pre-planned water drops.
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With my new bike in hand, and a couple possible dates in July in mind, I made an off-hand comment to @forty15 that I was thinking of pulling the trigger on it. The logistics lined up, and he signed on for a last minute adventure.
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We met up at the north end of the Rainbow Rim trail, and proceeded to spend the next 3 days rambling through a mix of singletrack and forest roads. The views were spectacular, the company was great, and the days were long, but enjoyable.
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We covered 155 miles over those 3 days and saw the canyon from numerous perspectives. We saw less than 10 cars the entire trip with the exception of the North Rim Village, and spent both nights overlooking the canyon. We even made it to the North Rim Lodge in time for the breakfast buffet on day 2.
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Over the 3 days, I achieved the goal of hitting the proverbial 'reset' button through a mix of dehydrated food, spectacular views, intermittent bouts of suffering and exhaustion, and some good conversation.
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I'm already thinking about the next one.
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#bikepacking #grandcanyonnationalpark #getoutside #type2fun #kaibabplateau #arizonatrail #rainbowrimtrail

The patchwork of forest closures and my continuing

The patchwork of forest closures and my continuing quest to put more and more miles in the saddle have resulted in revisiting some trails that I haven't ridden in recent memory. From piecing together urban trails to get across town to seeking out singletrack that used to be a staple of my long rides, it has been a somewhat refreshing change of pace (even if it means more pavement miles on the bike than I'm used to).
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The Arizona Trail east of town with bonus loops around Picture Canyon Preserve and Campbell Mesa were just the ticket for some much needed singletrack as the monsoons started rolling in yesterday.
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I have been eyeing up a bikepacking route on the Kaibab Plateau, and have some tentative plans to venture up there in the next month or so. As such, I've been slowly piecing together a setup for the new @binarybicycles Molotok, hence the somewhat overkill bag setup for a few hours on the bike. Even with the extra bags, rack, gps, and light it still rides like a dream. Just need to get my new @roguepandadesigns bags in so it doesn't look so mismatched in the frame bag department. 😂
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#arizonatrail #singletrack #monsoonseason #differentperspective #bikepacking #getoutside

The cleanest this bike will ever be. . Some glamou

New bike day! . Finally received the frame I had w

New bike day!
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Finally received the frame I had won during a raffle to benefit @aztassociation last fall. This beauty is a custom frame courtesy of @binarybicycles. It's the first titanium frame I've had in over a decade and the first ever custom built frame I've ever had. 29+ compatible, sliding dropouts so I can run it SingleSpeed, full braze-on kit for bikepacking, and a beautiful Arizona Trail head badge (of course!).
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It was so beautiful that I couldn't resist pulling out the camera studio flash setup and taking some really nice shots of it. Headed down to @thundermountainbikes today to build it up and take it for a ride. Plenty more pics to come!
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Thanks again to Matt at the Arizona Trail Association and Jalene and George at Binary Bicycles for hooking me up with this beautiful frame, can't wait to get it built up and out for a ride !
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#aztrail #newbikeday #titaniumbikes #getoutside #studiophotography #productphotography #nikonphotography #shredthered #supportlocaltrails

Blood moon. . Pretty cool to have a lunar eclipse

Blood moon.
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Pretty cool to have a lunar eclipse come across Arizona this evening. The clouds stayed at bay just long enough for me to catch a couple shots of it at full eclipse. They didn't hold off long though, and the third shot was the last thing I saw before it went totally dark.
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#lunareclipse #nightphotography #astrophotography #eclipse #nikonphotography #nikonz6photography #darkskycity #flagstaffarizona

The Utah-Arizona border. . . @sungoldfinch propose

The Utah-Arizona border.
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@sungoldfinch proposed a trip to the Vermilion Cliffs national monument this past weekend for her birthday, so we packed up the camping gear and set out to explore an area that I've driven by a hundred times on my way to other adventures. White Pocket and the surrounding area is filled with unreal landscapes, and the weekend was filled with rock tower climbs, dirt roads, and a healthy dose of relaxing with friends.
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#getoutside #arizonalandscapes #nikonphotography #nikonlandscape #whitepocket

Annual Boze Bump Bash! . Party time at Arizona Sn

Annual Boze Bump Bash!
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Party time at Arizona Snowbowl for the annual memorial fundraiser for the Flagstaff Area Ski and Snowboard Team. Costumes, bumps, carnage, and more than a few beverages were involved on this spring bluebird day.
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#skiing #skiparty #getoutside #fastskiteam #bozebumpbash #goprovideo #desertskiing

Great sand dunes NP. . . Finally going through som

Great sand dunes NP.
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Finally going through some spring break photos. These photos do not begin to describe how incredibly vast.....and windy, this place is. It was both amazing and painful to walk around and try and see these huge dunes while getting sandblasted by 30 to 40 mph winds laden with sand.
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In hindsight, we shouldn't have been surprised considering that's how they formed.....
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#landscapephotography #sanddunes #nationalparks #greatsanddunesnationalpark #nikonphotography #nikonlandscape

Little man shredding his first double black diamon

Little man shredding his first double black diamond runs this spring break @coppermtn. Can't believe he's only 6, not going to be long before he's towing me into the gnar.
#kidswhoshred #skiseason #gopro #getoutside #steepskiing

The evening ski ascent at Snowbowl. Enjoying the s

The evening ski ascent at Snowbowl. Enjoying the sunset and getting in some well earned turns. The snow wasn't all that soft, but the corduroy was fresh, so I'll take it.
#skiarizona #skimoisneither #earnyourturns #getuptogetdown #spreadtelemark #getoutside

The evening hike. . I've been skinning up snowbowl

The evening hike.
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I've been skinning up snowbowl every winter that I've lived in Flagstaff (as long as there is enough snow). It's always hard work, but sometimes you're rewarded with a beautiful sunset as your heartbeat settles back into a more reasonable rate before the descent.
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The hikes this year have landed to the far end of the recreation vs workout sliding scale, with bigger crowds, a lack of fresh snow, and the rigid and generally boring course up. I plug in my headphones, push play on the mix of 90s punk and ska and put my head down with the similar mindset of going to the gym.
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With the Katoola uphill happening this past weekend, the crowds had retreated and the parking lot was generally empty. I had decided to load up my full backcountry pack in preparation for a trip to Canada next week, so I happened to have the full camera gear in tow as well.
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I crested the last slope to the catwalk turnaround alone. For the first time this year, took in the sunset, snapped some pictures, day down and unplugged for a few extra minutes before ripping the skins off and heading down.
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#skimoisneither #getoutside #skiarizona #eveningworkout #spreadtelemark #uphill

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