2017 calendars

it's been a while since i posted on here - and my hope is i will be more inspired to write about my experiences, as it hasn't been for a lack of trips. Speaking of trips, i take off to the Big Island of Hawai'i on Tuesday for 8 days. The lava is flowing right now, as it started back up into the ocean for the first time in 3 years back in July.

anyways, i am getting ready to put together my 2017 calendars, and once again i am using http://www.printingcenterusa.com for the 4th year in a row.  I know this may sound like an "ad", but they really do phenomenal work! I had used a place called "never late printing" or something for my first calendar, as my buddy had used them several times previously; but when i got them, the quality wasn't that great. Even the staples they used on the calendars came out easily.

The next year I was searching online, and by chance i found these guys. I was designing a calendar for my buddy, and their prices were CHEAPER than the other place i used before (this was in 2012 or 2013). I talked to them, and they were great - but i was blown away by the quality! The paper grade they use is fantastic and thick, but not too thick. The saddle stitching they use is superb as well, and have not had one come apart yet!

I have no plans to change printing places. They also do a TON of other projects/products, and they run specials from time to time.  If interested in making your own calendars, here is a link to the calendar info http://www.printingcenterusa.com/cheap-calendar-printing. First time users i think get 15% off. Again, i don't easily recommend companies, but this place is superb!!

In any case, my 2017 calendars should be available in late November for $20 shipped, if interested.

tetons in winter

this past weekend, my wife and i went xc-skiing up in grand teton national park. we had never been there before, and it did not disappoint! plus i had never been skiing before, so now i will have to get a pair since we live in salt lake city.

having never been there before, i had really no clue where anything was. especially in winter, where a lot of the roads are closed. most of the view points are of the same vantage, albeit a few miles apart. i didn't visit the barns, or didn't get down to oxbow bend or on the banks of the snake river. it was a birthday getaway, not a photo trip after all. just all the reason to head back up there. 

on the last morning, i stopped at snake river overlook. not really my favorite vantage point - but still i wanted to check it out. if i had more time, i would've skipped this altogether and skied or snow shoed into somewhere. 

after being here for the "blue hour", and right when the alpenglow was starting to show, a car pulled up and they sat in the car for maybe 10 minutes; maybe having second thoughts? well, it ended up being a workshop of 3. at least it wasn't an instructor with 5+ people - which in my opinion is strictly a money grab at that point. 

so the sunrise was uneventful in terms of photography, but i still enjoyed just sitting there and breathing it all in. as i was doing nothing, i saw these sweet patterns in the snow. the wind had created these patterns the night before, and it was pristine! as the workshop was so lost in the viewfinder of their cameras, i was capturing the small scenes. 

it seems that more and more nowadays, people are getting lost behind the camera that they actually miss out on the big picture; being out in nature and slowing down to enjoy it. most sunrises, i just sit there and enjoy it. i mean what is the whole point of being out there when you can't appreciate it? 

First trip since the move to Utah

Tomorrow I embark on a trip that a buddy and I planned ironically months before my wife and I decided to move here. As many may know, there are 5 National Parks in Utah, and many more that are located within a 6 hour drive from where we live in Salt Lake City.

Due to work and life, I haven't been able to get out much at all since we moved here in August. Other than shooting my cousins' wedding earlier this month, I hadn't been out on a trip since July at Mt. Rainier.

So tomorrow is finally the day I get to explore. I have never been to Zion, and secured permits to the Subway - although the weather might interfere with these said plans. A storm is once again moving in through southern Utah, and with it snow might fall, although at the higher elevations. But still; snow!

I finally get to use a bunch of new gear! My Marmot Force 2P tent, my Exped sleeping pad, my Mountain Hardwear Hyper Lamino 0 degree bag (bought it last winter - never used), a Goal Zero Yeti and a Garmin Rino 655t all will get put to the test! When I get back, i will disclose how they performed.

Also get to use my Nikon F65 I bought for my last trip down south, but was too rushed to really use it. Not this time. I have 2 rolls of my very cherished and discontinued Fuji Reala RVP 100 film to use.

In December I am heading back to REI headquarters to sell my 2016 calendars, greeting cards and prints; which I am excited for that. I partook in that last year and it was really fun, and I know what to expect (for the most part) this year.

Until sometime in November, here is an image I processed recently, which I took in May of this year.

settled in..kind of

13 days ago, we left Oregon for an new adventure. Up to then, everything had gone better than expected. Both my wife and i got transfers pretty quickly, found an apartment (harder than one thinks sight unseen), found movers and got a good deal on a moving truck.

I had only driven through Salt Lake City twice, and hadn't technically ever stepped foot on solid ground here. I did fly into Salt lake City last October for an hour layover. Don't think that counts though. My wife hadn't ever been to Utah, so I was more excited for her to see Utah - which we still haven't had time to do that. In due time though.

It has now been almost two weeks since we moved in, and the apartment is really nice (albeit quite a bit smaller than from our last apartment, which was twice as big), as is the area. We got lucky and found a Subaru Outback at the second dealership we tried. We were after a specific year/model, and found a 2006 Outback with 94K miles (with a 2 year warranty) for a good price - and it is in great shape!

In anycase, I am heading out on a trip next week. I unexpectedly found out I have 5 days off in a row, so I won't argue with that - unless it is a recurring thing..and even then, maybe :). Life is faaaar to short to work the grind 40 hours a week. But that rant is for another time.

So until I decide where to go, and there is FAR more places to get to within 3-5 hours of driving than I could have ever dreamed of, I decided to edit a photo. It is of the ocean, one place I cannot get to within the aforementioned time frame. Ruby Beach, along the Olympic National Park to be more specific.

I should have some stories to tell in the next two weeks, as adventure always finds me.

prepping to move

A week ago, I put in my transfer at work. It was a bittersweet moment, but won't feel "real" until i get confirmation that the transfer went through and is official. This could take several weeks, but hopefully not as we need to put in notice to our apartments and start looking at ones in Salt lake City.

I have made a list of places I wanted to go visit, and in many cases, revisit before we hit the road for SLC. Naturally that list is much longer than what is realistic, however there are places here that i never got to visit in my 20 years here (technically 20 years last week).

In my planning of hitting these places in the next 4-7 weeks, I started to look towards the future and what beautiful, exciting and stunning places Utah holds for us! I started to go through my images, and immediately this place is high on my list for Utah, once we get settled in and the cold weather also settles in. You see, the "high season" for southern Utah (Southwest in general) is Spring and Fall. Winter and Summer are the off season with low crowds. So I will most likely be here when the temps are low :)

So while I will be moving from the PNW and not being able to get to most places on a whim (3 day random weekends), I will still visit here several times a year. It is only an 11 hour drive from SLC to PDX.

come back story

so yeah, i haven't been keeping up on this. it hasn't been for lack of shooting, just life gets in the way sometimes. speaking of life, my wife and i will be relocating to Utah in the near future. this will be bittersweet, as i have lived here for almost 20 years, but am super excited to be moving. life is too short to be stuck in one spot for ever. also i am not really a people person, and this place is getting too crowded for my liking. seems like everyone is moving up here.

in any case, last weekend i made a trip to some spots I have been meaning to get to; and since we will be moving soon, i wanted to visit them one last time. of course the weather was warm and cloudless, so i had some obstacles to overcome as most i was focusing on waterfalls.

the first photo is from panther creek falls. when i first got here, i was in awe of how destroyed this place has gotten over the last 2 years. all the beautiful and lush moss that draped this place is now mostly gone. even on the logs. people just don't realize how delicate it is. i don't think it will ever recover. that is too bad for those that never got to experience before.

so the next time you are out in nature, please be careful. it is the most minute details that make the biggest impact.

40 x 20

Time flies. Cannot believe it has been almost a year since I posted anything on here. The good news was that I hadn't taken a single picture since my last post, so you really didn't miss out on anything. More good news is that I bought a D600 and 14-24 in February of this year; although I didn't use it until mid April when I went on a rowdy southwest trip with two good buddies. Pictures from there will be posted soon on here. 

Usually I don't copy and paste my words from one media site to the others, but I had a slight accident yesterday (that will be posted here as well soon!), and the meds are kicking in right now. Writer's block I guess :). 

For those that have been following my work, or that know me personally, know that I don't indulge on my adventures. Also, I don't really have a lot of dialog that goes with my photos. 99% of the time I am ho-hum about it. 

Well my friends, this falls deserves the deets. I know the word "remote" gets thrown around for street cred, but this place is no fuckin joke. Wassen Creek is the most remote place on the Oregon Coast, and possibly Oregon (that has a destination like this worthwhile visiting). For years, it was endangered of getting logged, much like Opal Creek was. In November of 2013, it passed protection from voters. It will remain wild! There has been no wildfire in here for I bet 150 years. Undergrowth is ridiculous. 

The "main" route to this place calls for a minimum of 8 hours. However, my good buddy 
Brian and I tried another way. Wrong idea. We planned on camping one night. We left the dip in point at 2:45pm and by 8:30pm, we had only gotten half way to the falls - maybe 1.5 miles in. The next day we broke down camp and left at 8am and didn't reach the falls until a little after 10am. The lighting wasn't the best, and the water was maybe 2 feet higher than any of the photos I had seen of this place, but was still magical nonetheless. Visiting a place that maybe less than 15 people a year see is really an experience.

We left the falls a little after noon and a few bad calls later, we were camping again on a creek. It is disheartening to go 3 hours and gain 700 feet of elevation in trail less forest to reach acres and acres of huckleberries, rotten trees, and a ton of rhodys out of the blue - to the point we were crawling on all fours for 100 yards. With a 40lb Gregory Baltoro 75 litre bag. Yes I need to re-evaluate my gear :) We made a decision at 7pm to head back down the 700 hard ass feet in elevation we had worked for hours to gain, to get water (which we were super low on), and to try to get sleep. 

We reached the creek in which it took us 2.5 hours to reach the first day. We actually were super lucky to find the location we camped at, as flat ground is non existent in this area, literally. I had to use my emergency blanket, and I had a Marmot down vest, pants and a 30 degree down bag. It was 39 degrees, but I was set up on the only level ground, 6 inches from the creek. We both were. Photos will be posted on my blog. 

Now before I left, we were smart and let people know where we were going. We left on a Sunday and I worked on Tuesday at 8am. I have to say that REI is the BEST place to work - not just saying that because of the discounts. They were in contact with the sherifs office all day, and a special thanks to my wonderful wife, who started the whole "chain reaction". I told her if I wasn't back by midnight on Monday, to call it in. Same thing I told several people at work. 

So when we left camp at 8am, I knew it was bad. The problem with this place is that the GPS only works maybe 50% of the time. Creek level, you are better off finding a money tree than getting a satellite feed. When we reached an "opening" in the tree line, it would "update" our track. So while we were checking where we needed to go, it would suddenly move our position. Yes, I had a topo map as well. 

After 5 hours of super hard conditions, we came up maybe 10 feet from the truck! We were both super exhausted, low on water but high on spirits! We did hear a heli fly over maybe 40 minutes before we reached the summit. 

Would I visit this falls again? I actually would. This area is super amazing, and I would love to visit in fall. In total, it took us 21 hours of action to reach this spot, and I would guess 2900 feet of brutal elevation gain to reach this place - all with 30-40 lbs on gear on our backs each. 

I present to you the Devil's Staircase.