American Road Trip

Road Trip Photography - America - Open Road

Winter is such a special time in the West. Especially if you’re lucky enough to be in it when a massive snowstorm hits. Such was the case this past week in Wyoming where the snow never seemed to stop. I drove up there to do some shooting and for a backcountry snowboarding hut trip in the Tetons. Jackson Hole and the surrounding area never disappoint in the snow category. Snowboarding is my “selfish time”, meaning I generally put the camera away and just ride, so there are no images of powder to share. However, the image below made in Afton, Wyoming is a great example of the odd things you see while on the road that are only made possible by the hand of mother nature.

Winter in Afton, Wyoming

Duck Hunting Photography

Waterfowl Hunting - Photography

It’s strange the way timing works in the world. We were working on the Carved in the Chapel documentary with my buddy Zach Benson for a few years and when it was finally set to be released on December 22nd, we happened to be together for a hunt on one of the Finger Lakes near Geneva, New York. Grateful for that.

It has to be about more than the hunt. Same goes for everything I do, but this is a hunting post, so we’ll stick to that. If your only reason for hunting is to kill an animal, then you don’t deserve to be out there. Sure that’s part of it, but there’s so much more than that. You have to like the journey and the effort. The Suffer Fest. I personally love all the other aspects surrounding a hunt just as much as the hunt itself. The anticipation. Getting there. Waking up early and not knowing if you’ll even be lucky enough to see a duck, let alone get one close enough where you have the opportunity to shoot it. If the kill were guaranteed, all the fun would be gone. There are a million things I could add to this list, like camaraderie, but we’ll leave it there for now.

Good times that day. Looking forward to the next one.

Fly Fishing Photography

Alaska Fly Fishing

It’s a shame that I’m not better with words to accurately describe the experience of fly fishing in Alaska. Never done it down in South America, so I can’t compare, but nevertheless Alaska is on a whole different level than most places you’ll ever experience. A lot of the reason for that is the remote locations you go to fish that are only accessible by float plane. The plane rides alone are worth the price of admission, but they also let you know just how isolated you are from the rest of the world. I love Alaska. More to come from this trip soon…

Click here to see more of my fly fishing photography

FINE ART HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Starting new projects is so exciting. It’s also one of my downfalls. I don’t like being behind a computer, always preferring to be out in the field creating images. Which means that I don’t do enough marketing, emailing, social media, cleaning my disaster of an office, etc. I can’t help making images though. It’s addicting. After publishing America Backcourts I had no intention of stopping that series, but also wanted to wanted to start something else. The problem that I’ve learned over the years though is you can’t force a series. It has to find you or it has to come naturally. That’s the only way it sticks. You can’t shoot something because it will get likes or because you think it will do well commercially. You have to love it. As it stands now, Horses appear to be my next thing. Maybe not just horses, but the lifestyle and culture that surround them as well. I grew up in New York close to Saratoga Race Track. “The August Place To Be” as they say. Love the track. Still do and am fortunate enough to now live near Del Mar Race Track. The atmosphere around tracks is great, but the horses are the thing that tie it all together for me. That’s where my affection for horses started, but now I like the “working” aspect of horses even more. The way they are used on ranches and for transportation is especially interesting. As much as love the action though, there is something really special about the still shots. The quiet moments, like this one. If you can’t feel more relaxed by looking at an image like this, then there’s something wrong with you.

Stay tuned for more horses……

Click here to purchase a fine art print of this image

FLY FISHING PHOTOGRAPHER

Winter Fly Fishing - Photography

The only thing greater than fly fishing is fly fishing with two feet of fresh powder. This was a hell of day that was originally supposed to start with backcountry snowboarding. That is until a slide shutdown I70. It happens. What are you gonna do. We tried taking every backroad available, but they were all shutdown. This is why, no matter the season, you keep your fly fishing gear in the truck too.

To see more from this series click HERE.

Click here to purchase one of my fly fishing prints.

Winter

I love winter, which is ironic because one the main reasons for leaving New York was the weather. Not sure you can really say that have a proper winter though? Either way, I love it, but more specifically I love snowboarding. Can’t get enough of it. A few years ago I used to take the camera out with every time I got on the board, then I noticed the more I got into it, the more the camera stayed in the bag. This was a big problem for me, because there was always that feeling of missing out on a lot of incredible shots. Then I started thinking about it and realized it’s ok. I’m totally obsessed with photography, but snowboarding is the one thing that I feel ok about putting the camera down for. It’s my time to just check out and not be totally concentrated on making images. Everyone should have their thing, right? Yes. It’s very important and necessary for everyone to check out of whatever it is that they do for a living, regardless of how much they love it. The below shot was made during a recent drive from Denver to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The camera still comes with me on trips, but it seems like I only end up making images of the in-between times, which is also really fun.

Click here to see more of my adventure images.