I am very pleased to announce that I won both Bronze and Gold awards in the Society of American Travel Writers annual Bill Muster Photo Competition. The Muster Awards honor the very best in travel photography, and I’m happy to be a winner again this year. Laceleaf Maple tree in Autumn This photo of a Laceleaf Maple tree in brilliant fall color won the Gold Award in the Natural Scenic category of the Muster contest. The photograph was taken in [read more ...]
The fantastic rock formations of the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, have been favorite subject matter for photographers for many years. The combination of jumbled and roundly eroded rock rising up from the Owens Valley with a backdrop of the dramatic eastern face of the Sierra Nevada mountains is hard to beat. Scattered throughout the Alabama Hills are a number of interesting rock arches. At one time, some photographers and concerned conservationists tried to keep the location of the [read more ...]
Alau Island at sunrise, Hana Coast, Maui. After negotiating 600 curves and 54 bridges on the narrow, winding 52 miles of Hana Highway, a lot of visitors to Maui just spend a couple of hours in Hana town, make the obligatory stop at Hasegawa General Store, then turn around and head back to the resorts on the south side of the island. That’s a shame, because some the best parts of the Hana Coast, and some of the most scenic [read more ...]
Spirit Falls, Umpqua Natonal Forest, Cascade Mountains, Oregon. A very scenic drive on Forest Service roads in the Umpqua National Forest will take you to a trio of waterfalls between Cottage Grove and Oakridge, Oregon. I found conditions for photography just about perfect the other day for waterfall photography, with soft light overcast light and good water flow in the creeks thanks to recent rains. To add to the attraction, there is still a bit of fall color left in [read more ...]
Saturday, June 4, is National Trails Day, an annual event that celebrates trails of all types for non-motorized adventure and recreation in the U.S.A. The American Hiking Society has been organizing this event for 19 years, with the cooperation of the U.S. Forest Service, National Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. This year’s sponsors and partners include Backpacker Magazine, Columbia, Eastern Mountain Sports, Fetzer, Merrell, The North Face, American Park Network and REI. If you [read more ...]
I’ve been inspired by the blogs of a number of photographers who’ve recently posted their top photos for 2010, so decided to add my own to the mix. Most of the photographers post either landscape and scenic photos or travel photography. I do a mixture of both – something to do with being a Gemini perhaps? – so my selection of favorites is a combination of nature images and snaps from my travels this past year. Early in [read more ...]
On a beautiful early October morning I stood with a 40-pound pack on my back at the bottom of Aasgard Pass and exclaimed “O.M.G.!” Twice. Once for the incredible beauty of milky blue Colchuck Lake and the towering mountains above, and once for the daunting climb ahead of me – a 2,200 elevation gain in less than a mile of “trail”. Trail is in quotes because the route is basically follow-the-cairns over loose scree and chunks of granite rock after [read more ...]
September is National Wilderness Month, so proclaimed by President Obama. I’ve had the good fortune to hike and backpack in several wilderness areas recently, and firmly believe that our federally designated Wilderness areas rank right up there with our National Parks as some of the best things about the U.S.A. There are a number of new and proposed wilderness areas in the Pacific Northwest, places that are now protected, or worthy of protection, for future generations. Nationally, The Wilderness Society [read more ...]
Saturday, June 5, is National Trails Day, so let’s get out there and take a hike! This annual celebration of hiking and walking trails was started in 1993 by the American Hiking Society to help raise awareness of the benefits of, and needs for, getting outside and enjoying nature. If you want to hike with a group or participate in a trail maintenance project, many events are planned nationwide. Click on the map on this page to find what’s happening [read more ...]
It’s rhododendron season in the Pacific Northwest. Depending on location and elevation, these beautiful evergreen shrubs bloom from April through June in the western regions of northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. There are several species and many varieties of rhodies grown as garden ornamentals, but only the Pacific Rhododendron (R. macrophyllum) grows in the wild. One of the best known places to see and photograph these wonderful flowers is in the California Redwoods, but they’re also prolific in [read more ...]