Another Song, Another Mile... Ramblings on Photography-The Environment-Society-Life

The following post originates from my October 22 newsletter, and ties in as a continuation of a review of my 2021 season, and my focus for the future. To view that newsletter, click HERE.

-I went out a couple days recently to photograph the fall color...

With a busy art show season coming to a close it’s time to turn some of my focus back to writing again, including renewed effort on this long neglected blog. While much of what I post here going forward will be photography or environmental themed, I do like to mix some more general life stuff in from time to time...

I always appreciate the moments in life that present opportunity for reflection, and find that returning to places where significant chapters of our stories have played out can provide great windows to recognize the influences of our past...

One of the biggest motivations in sharing my photography has always been in celebrating wonders found in the great outdoors, and the hope of opening eyes to the beauty that exists all around. I’ve always found deep reverence and connection in the natural world, and my photos are documentation of the special times I spend there...

I held a contest recently in which I matched a number of photos against each other and asked viewers to vote for which they liked best. Throughout the tournament, the most common reason people offered to explain the choice they’d made was “bright” or “unique” colors...

Well I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pulling for my sentimental favorites... especially as we got into the later rounds. So when "After the Storm" made it to the final it felt a bit like poetic justice in a way...

"MORAINE LAKE" vs "AFTER THE STORM"

The people have spoken, results are in and we've made it to the Championship round.

Out of the Canadian Rockies is "Moraine Lake" -the number one seed from the Mountains Division that sailed through the competition thanks to its dramatic sky and turquoise glacial water...

The Division champs have been crowned, and now we move on to see how each fairs against the favorites from other landscapes. Voting in these semi-final match-ups ("Moraine Lake" vs "Mesa Arch" and "After the Storm" vs "Macbride Rainbow") will run through noon central, Sunday, March 28...

Results are in on the Elite 8 round, and we've crowned the Divisional Champions. I was a bit surprised by the final point margins with many of these as I expected much closer contests...

Time to determine the Divisional Champions and see which photos move on to the Final Four. A few of these have sailed through the tournament without too much of a challenge, but we'll see how long that holds true as many crowd favorites are about to clash...

The votes are in and the Sweet 16 round is in the books. There were a couple of very close match-ups this time, but for the most part winner's are advancing after comfortable victories...

Rolling on through the March Madness tournament, and the match-ups are getting tougher. There were a few upsets in Round 2, and it's admittedly hard watching some of my favorites go down (you guys gave me a bit of a gut-punch taking "Make a Wish" out with that little known redwood scene; but that's the sentiment I talked about...

The results are in and Round 2 is officially in the books. There were definitely some close races and a few upsets in this one, with only a few blow outs. It will be interesting to see how these matches tighten and which photo is still standing in the end...

Welcome to Round 2 of the March Madness Photo Showdown. Below you will find the pairings for this round's Desert & Canyons Division match-ups. Click on the image titles listed below each graphic to view any given photo at full size...

Welcome to Round 2 of the March Madness Photo Showdown. Below you will find the pairings for this round's Prairie & Forests Division match-ups. Click on the image titles listed below each graphic to view any given photo at full size...

Welcome to Round 2 of the March Madness Photo Showdown. Below you will find the pairings for this round's Waters Division match-ups. Click on the image titles listed below each graphic to view any given photo at full size...

Welcome to Round 2 of the March Madness Photo Showdown. Below you will find the pairings for this round's Mountain Division match-ups. Click on the image titles listed below each graphic to view any given photo at full size...

Welcome to Round 2 of the March Madness Photo Showdown! Click on the divisions below to see second round pairings. You'll find a link at the bottom of each page if you'd like to submit your picks by email...

The final tally of first round votes for photos from the Desert & Canyon Division are as follows, with total number of votes across platforms determining which photo from each pairing will advance to Round 2...

The final tally of first round votes for photos from the Prairie & Forests Division are as follows, with total number of votes across platforms determining which photo from each pairing will advance to Round 2...

The final tally of first round votes for photos from the Waters Division are as follows, with total number of votes across platforms determining which photo from each pairing will advance to Round 2...

The final tally of first round votes for photos from the Mountain Division are as follows, with total number of votes across platforms determining which photo from each pairing will advance to Round 2...

The results are in and votes all counted from the first round of the 2021 March Madness Photo Showdown. Thank you so much to all who have participated in the contest so far...

Welcome to the opening round of my 2021 March Madness Photo Showdown. You can view each of the first round divisional match-ups by clicking the images below. Voting on this opening round runs through Monday night, March 15...

Welcome to the March Madness Photo Showdown, an elimination style tournament that pairs sixty four of my top nature and landscape photos in head to head competition, with viewers deciding which advance through the rounds...

Welcome to the March Madness Photo Showdown, an elimination style tournament that pairs sixty four of my top nature and landscape photos in head to head competition, with viewers deciding which advance through the rounds...

Welcome to the March Madness Photo Showdown, an elimination style tournament that pairs sixty four of my top nature and landscape photos in head to head competition, with viewers deciding which advance through the rounds...

Welcome to the March Madness Photo Showdown, an elimination style tournament that pairs sixty four of my top nature and landscape photos in head to head competition, with viewers deciding which advance through the rounds...

In editing the videos from my first hike to Amethyst Basin, I came across some clips I’d recorded which further discuss the motivation behind that hike and the direction I hoped my photography career would take...

Back in 2019 when the design process for this website was just underway, one of the features I most eagerly anticipated was having a well-functioning integrated blog. I’d tried to keep up a Wordpress site for years to share my writing and photos, but it was so frustrating to use and the free service I was on became overrun with annoying ads...

Excuse the play on words- us environmental types are experiencing some sudden onset bouts of giddiness right now...

I’m rarely late for a sunrise. Well, okay… photographically speaking. Sunsets are often a different story, when obligations of a day grow long and keep you distracted until suddenly that golden hour light sneaks into your periphery and demands that you drop everything and scramble for the show...

So I woke up this morning and thought, “You know… what this world really needs right now is another random guy sharing his thoughts on the internet…” After all, our country just watched as a sitting president and his cronies tried to usurp a foundational tenet of democracy, and saw our Capitol overrun by a deranged selfie-taking mob of enemies domestic...

Well… here we are. About to close another year, and regardless of how eager we may be to put 2020 behind us, it’s one that won’t soon be forgotten. It’s been a year of unprecedented challenges and lessons, with ample instances of both ugliness and beauty...

Capping off my 2021 Calendar previews with another perennial favorite- the U.S. edition. I've referred to this as my "All Over" calendar in years past, as I'm usually able to work an international scene into the mix...

2021 marks the seventh edition of my Iowa Nature Calendar, which is one of my favorite and most popular projects of the year. Highlighting Iowa's natural beauty has long been a primary goal of my photography, and it is an honor to be able to show my gorgeous home state as I see it and share these places that I know and love...