Photo Journal & Trip Reports (Articles & stories)

Please enjoy these photo journals and trip reports from some of my outdoor photography adventures, starting with the most recent. You can subscribe to follow my latest blog posts (and any other blogs as well) by using a feed reader such as Inoreader, Feedly, or a Mac app like NetNewsWire.

Categories:

My Backpacking Gear — My Backpacking Gear

June 2023

UPDATED JUNE 2023! A comprehensive and continuously updated backpacking gear list with extensive recommendations, reviews, and backcountry tips, including premium and budget gear picks for tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, and much more...

Read more ...

Originality in the Grand Landscape — Originality in the Grand Landscape

August 2021

This article was originally published at Photography Life in October 2012, but I still consider it to be the most comprehensive article I've written about my photographic methodology in the grand landscape genre...

Read more ...

Monsoon Explorations in the Weminuche — Monsoon Explorations in the Weminuche

June/July 2021 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado

In late June a record-breaking heat wave settled in over the southwestern United States. With a week of 95º heat in Ridgway and smoky skies from a huge wildfire in the nearby La Sal Mountains in southeast Utah, it was shaping up to be another dry and smoky summer here in the San Juan Mountains...

Read more ...

61mp Digital vs 4x5 Large Format Film Resolution Comparison — 61mp Digital vs 4x5 Large Format Film Resolution Comparison

April 2021

For photographers producing large prints like I do, resolution is easily the single most important factor of a camera system. The higher a camera's resolution, the larger prints can be made while still retaining sharp details...

Read more ...

At Home in the San Juans — At Home in the San Juans

September 2020 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado

In mid-September just a few days after getting back home to Ridgway, Colorado after my big trek around Glacier Peak in the Washington Cascades, I packed my backpack once more and headed up into the Sneffels Range for a quick overnight backpack trip...

Read more ...

A Hair-Raising New Years in Ouray — A Hair-Raising New Years in Ouray

January 1, 2020 | Ouray, Colorado

My last hours of 2019 ended with quite a hair-raising experience, and I have a crazy story to tell you from my outings last night to photograph the New Years fireworks.

I had an idea last night to snowshoe up to a cliff overlooking town to gain a unique perspective of the fireworks over the valley, so at 10:30pm I bundled up, strapped on my snowshoes and headlamp, and started trudging up through knee deep powder towards my destination...

Read more ...

El Chaltén Dream — El Chaltén Dream

December 2011 | Patagonia, Argentina

We’ve just returned to civilization after 8 days camped out in the mighty Fitz Roy range near El Chaltén in Argentine Patagonia. One of my main goals of this return trip to El Chaltén was to capture a photo that I have been dreaming about since my last trip to Patagonia four years ago...

Read more ...

Shaken in the Julian Alps — Shaken in the Julian Alps

July 2004 | Slovenia

Based out of the village of Kranjska Gora, in mid-July of 2004 I did a couple treks in the rugged Julian Alps in Slovenia. For the first hike I ventured up to the Triglavski dom hut below the summit of Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia...

Read more ...