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

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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

Vermilion cliffs-Epic clouds on the way home from

Vermilion cliffs-Epic clouds on the way home from Brian Head yesterday. This is always one of my favorite stretches of road on the drive up to Utah. We've been taking the road through Page lately instead of the high altitude route through the Vermilion cliffs and Jacobs lake, and although you save a few minutes, the views are worth the 'long way'.
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Swipe over for a cliche 'road into the diatance' shot and the bigger resolution versions of both. I guess there's a reason that taking a photo from the middle of the road is a common one, such a cool shot.
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I've been trying to print more photos of recent and I think at least one of both of these is going to get printed and put on the wall. Maybe even a canvas for these wide format ones. 🤔
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#landscapephotography #nikonz6photography
#nikonlandscapephotography #vermilioncliffs #desertphotography #desertlandscapes #roadlesstraveled #longwayhome #hdrphotography #hdrlandscapes #moodylandscapes

Brian Head with @forty15. . . Another ski area in

Brian Head with @forty15.
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Another ski area in the list of 'so close but I've never been there'. Now I can check it off the list. It was cold and windy with no fresh snow to speak of, but good times were had.
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A leisurely day cruising groomers and exploring new terrain was just the ticket.
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#brianhead #groomerday #spreadtelemark #nikonz6photography #skiutah #skibrianhead #blackandwhitelandscapes #landscapephotography

Red rocks and green cactus. . . B&W or Color? Wha

Red rocks and green cactus.
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B&W or Color? What do you think?
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I love landscape photography, but all too often I seem to end up in the middle of a sunny day somewhere trying to take pictures. A hike with the rugrat and the dog this past Sunday up to the hangover saddle in Sedona repeated that familiar scenario. Timing the light for a landscape photo rarely coincides with the hours of the day that I usually recreate in.
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That being said, I really did enjoy the composition of this photo, and decided to take a stab at doing a black and white edit. I think it came out quite nice, and it made me think about going back to some previous photos that I wasn't crazy about because of the harsh midday light and try that approach.
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Color shot also ended up better than I thought, although I'm not crazy about the harsh shadows on the cactus. Maybe someday I'll remember this composition and try and make it back there during a golden hour to compare.
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#landscapephotography #desertlandscapes #nikonz6photography #blackandwhitelandacapes #redrocks #cactus #nikonlandscapephotography #shredthered #middaysun

Silverton Mountain. . . It's been a few years sin

Silverton Mountain.
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It's been a few years since I've been out to what is likely my favorite ski area. The remote location, the quirky two-person lift, the stunning surroundings deep in the heart of the San Juan mountains, and of course the steep and deep skiing.
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Not much has changed in the 15 years that I've been going there. Somewhere along the way they added a helicopter, but the 'lodge' is still a tent, the 'rental shop' is still a school bus that is buried up to its windows in snow, and the shuttle buses are a school bus and an old airport shuttle....both plastered in stickers.
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The runs were amazing as usual, and even though the post ski atmosphere was much different in this era of Covid, the stoke was high.
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📸 Credit #3: @flagavito
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#silvertonmountain #liftservebackcountry #staysafe #skisteep #skideep #sanjuanmountains #goprophotography #getoutside #spreadtelemark

Purgatory for the long weekend. . . I've lived in

Purgatory for the long weekend.
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I've lived in Flagstaff for 15 years, and for 15 years I've driven past Purgatory to ski at Silverton or Wolf Creek. The little shredders finally provided motivation to make the stop, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a fun mountain and has enough terrain that I feel like I could explore pockets of fun for a good long time.
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That and waffles. Delicious, delicious Belgian-style sweet waffles. Gotta keep those kids fueled on the lift rides up.
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#kidswhoshred #skipurgatory #spreadtelemark #wafflecabin #goprophotography #nikonz6protography #landscapephotography #alpenglow #heavyequipment #snowremoval #greenmachine #startemyoung #belgianwaffles

Selfies. Not usually my thing, but I had the rare

Selfies. Not usually my thing, but I had the rare opportunity to ride the lift up by myself yesterday at snowbowl, and the fisheye combined with skiing in the clouds provided a unique perspective. It was a surreal day up there, with the whole mountain engulfed in the clouds. Skiing was done by feel, and even though it was intermittently raining, the lift rides were hauntingly serene
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In case you need 45 seconds of relaxation in your day, scroll right and turn up the sound. If that doesn't help, I'm not sure what will.
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#goprophotography #arizonaskiing #highdesert #skiingintheclouds #spreadtelemark #skiselfie #hero9black #fisheyephotography @whatvest @sweetprotection @gopro

Yesterday was the kickoff to my backcountry season

Yesterday was the kickoff to my backcountry season. Not a bad view for day 1 in the Arizona backcountry.
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It was quite the sudden awakening to the season as we took the long approach to Fremont. 14.5 miles of distance, 4500 feet of climbing, and over 8 hours in the ski boots with one long run out back to the cars. More details to come, but suffice to say, we did carve up an amazing shot of freshies down the east face of Fremont in between the seemingly endless skinning.
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@outsideallday showing us how it's done.
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#backcountryskiing #backcountry #northernarizona #desertskiing #kachinapeaks #spreadtelemark #nikonz6photography #skiingphotography #skiingarizona #getoutside

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