Cobblestone Path

Another shot from the Ute Trail off of Trail Ridge Road. The summit of Longs Peak can be seen in the distance, left of center. Look closely and you can see the snow in the Trough.

Rocky Mountain Rise

This shot was taken on the Longs hike, shortly after emerging above timberline -- at the Chasm Lake / summit junction.

14,255

From the summit of Longs Peak, at 14,255 feet! The medallion at the bottom is embedded in the highest rock on the relatively flat summit, and was placed there by the U.S. Geological Survey. This view faces East.

Snowy Ridge

Another shot from along Trail Ridge Road in Rockey Mountain National Park. And also another example of why I love my new superwide lens. It allowed me to get the cool pattern of the wooden fence against the snow at the bottom of the frame, while also capturing the dramatic cloud patterns toward the top. The resulting effect captures the incredible vastness of the mountain range.

Longs at Dawn

A few hours after starting our ascent of Longs Peak (elevation 14,255 ft.) and not long after popping above timberline, we enjoyed a great sunrise and really fantastic views of the summit, with a reddish glow cast across the East Face. To get a sense of scale, that's Tyler and Aslon in the bottom right corner of the frame.

Trouble On the Horizon

Get ready for a Black & White onslaught. Just got back from an incredible trip to Boulder, Colorado, where my sister Laura and her boyfriend Tyler reside. I wasn't thrilled with the color composition in some of my photos, but found that the deep contrast was perfect for B&W. I took this shot on my first day there, having driven through Estes Park and up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. I parked the car on the road's shoulder and hiked about 2 miles along the Ute Trail. On my way back to the car, some extremely dark storm clouds rolled in from the West, making the sky on the horizon much darker than the sunlit path in front of me. My superwide lens allowed me to get the caran, path, and mountain range into the frame.

More to come soon. Longs Peak is next!

Steel Co.

Pretty much sums up the Allentown-Bethlehem area. The remnants of the steel industry remain, though not in their former glory. The full sign reads "Lehigh Structural Steel Co."

2nd post of the week! After weeks in Allentown, I finally decided to take my camera out there, as there were a few things I wanted to shoot that I drove by to and from the hospital each day. Glad that I did, as I caught some stuff that I was pretty happy with.

The shot above was taken with my 70-300mm zoom -- this is an old sign for a spa that no longer exists. Instead, an ugly concrete cylindrical structure serves as the backdrop (maybe a water treatment facility?). The low sun made for really strong contrast and dramatic shadows, along with the soft yellow light on the concrete background. More to come soon!

Road to Nowhere

So I'm pretty sure no one actually checks this site for updates any more (of the 5 or so that were checking), with the possible exception of my extremely loyal and ever-hopeful sister Laura -- although she has a job now, so she's probably not looking either.

That said, my project in gorgeous Allentown, PA is almost over and I really do plan to get out and take some shots this Fall. More updates are coming!

This shot was taken in New Buffalo, Michigan in late July at Jeff Nelson's bachelor party. Nelly, Mike Nelson, Shrage, Flo and Shumaker are seen laboring up the hill away from the beach after a long day of boozin and sunbathing...

Bean Bender

Millennium Park in Chicago, with the famous Cloudgate sculpture in the foreground (or, The Bean, as we call it here). The slight distortion on the buildings at left is a bit bothersome to me, but I like the concept.

Untitled

A train passes waiting passengers in the NYC subway.

Wormhole

A little architectural photography: A skylight in the atrium of the U of Chicago Graduate School of Business.