Journal (Journeys)

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Floating the Grand Canyon - 2025 River Trip Portfolio
Floating the Grand Canyon - 2025 River Trip Portfolio
July 2, 2025  |  Grand Canyon National Park

We had a great trip this year rafting 226 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. We spent 10 days shooting rapids, hiking into the numerous side canyons, and making photos. We were blessed with great weather for photography, plenty of good food, and we got every camp and photo location we had hoped for...

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Exploring Parashant
Exploring Parashant
June 30, 2025  |  Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to spend nearly two weeks exploring Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. Parashant is located in what is known as the ‘Arizona Strip’, the area north of the Colorado River...

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You're Always Above Lava
You're Always Above Lava
October 5, 2024  |  Tequila Beach in the Grand Canyon

Here's a flashback to fiver years ago today, October 5th, 2019. Sally and I are sitting in my boat after I rowed Lava Falls Rapid.

Lava Falls is a major rapid located at river mile 180 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon...

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Grand Canyon & Beyond ~ The Magic of Light and Atmosphere: Video
Grand Canyon & Beyond ~ The Magic of Light and Atmosphere: Video
August 27, 2024  |  Grand Canyon National Park

My favorite time of year to capture the majesty of the Grand Canyon is the summer monsoon, also known as the Southwest or North American monsoon. Why is the monsoon my favorite time of year to photograph the Grand Canyon? Simple, because magic happens during the monsoon...

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Photographing The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
Photographing The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
August 9, 2024  |  The Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

I'm lucky to have spent some time over the past ten years rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. During that time, I've hiked hundreds of miles exploring the side canyons along the river corridor and had some incredible experiences...

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Winter Light at the Grand Canyon
Winter Light at the Grand Canyon
April 7, 2024  |  Grand Canyon National Park

After a slow start to the 2023-2024 winter season, the weather finally changed and became more winter-like in January. My annual winter workshop at the Grand Canyon was held in January of this year, and we were blessed with a great display of light and color on the last evening of the workshop...

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Photos from the 2023 Rafting the Grand Canyon Photography Expedition
Photos from the 2023 Rafting the Grand Canyon Photography Expedition
December 31, 2023

After 18 days and 225 miles rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, I have a lot of new photographs to share with you including photos of waterfalls in slot canyons, cliffs glowing with reflected light, and grand views of the river meandering through the canyon.

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Behind-the-Scenes of the 2023 Grand Canyon River Trip & Photography Expedition
Behind-the-Scenes of the 2023 Grand Canyon River Trip & Photography Expedition
December 21, 2023

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at my most recent river trip. We spent 18 days rafting 225 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

We photographed many great locations, including spending two nights at Nankoweap so we could hike to the granaries multiple times...

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Photographing Monsoon Storms & Light at the Grand Canyon - 2023
Photographing Monsoon Storms & Light at the Grand Canyon - 2023
September 17, 2023

It has been another great year photographing monsoon storms, rainbows, and light at the Grand Canyon.

Since late July, I have led several photography workshops on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and I've made numerous personal trips to both the South Rim and the North Rim of the park...

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Images from this Winter at the Grand Canyon
Images from this Winter at the Grand Canyon
March 14, 2023

This winter has been the kind that photographers dream of. Since December of 2022, much of northern Arizona has been impacted by what seemed like a non-stop wave of winter storms. At my home near Flagstaff, as of March 1st, we have received over 150 inches of snow...

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Light & Layers at the Grand Canyon
Light & Layers at the Grand Canyon
November 2, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

As 2022 begins to wind down, I have come to realize that I am way behind on developing the photographs I have made over the past year. I've been very productive and have lots of new photos to share including these from the Grand Canyon...

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Exploring the Forest on the North Rim
Exploring the Forest on the North Rim
October 30, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

When we think of Arizona, our mind wanders to visions of flat deserts populated by the Saguaro cactus and the occasional roadrunner. What may not come to mind is rolling terrain and dense forests with numerous types of trees, but the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is just such a place...

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Sacred Datura Flowers in Bloom at Tuweep
Sacred Daturas at the Grand Canyon
October 28, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

This past August, I spent some time in the Tuweep District of Grand Canyon National Park. My primary goal was to photograph from Toroweap overlook which has a commanding view of the Colorado River. I couldn't help but be a bit distracted as, thanks to a very rainy monsoon season, the surrounding desert was full of Sacred Datura flowers...

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Photographing Monsoon Storms and Lightning at the Grand Canyon - 2022
Photographing Monsoon Storms and Lightning at the Grand Canyon - 2022
September 30, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

What a year 2022 has been for photographing the monsoon season at the Grand Canyon. After several years of weak monsoonal showers, or what some had come to refer to as the “non-soon” the rain has returned and with it came the lightning, rainbows, and dramatic skies...

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Rainbow and Lightning at Toroweap
Rainbow and Lightning at Toroweap
September 2, 2022  |  Toroweap Overlook at the Grand Canyon


I recently returned from a camping trip during which I visited several remote locations in Grand Canyon National Park. One of those locations was the Toroweap overlook which is only accessible by driving a 55-mile-long dirt road in the middle of nowhere in the Tuweep district of the park...

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Nature Photography Day 2022
Nature Photography Day 2022
June 15, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

Did you know that June 15th is Nature Photography Day? The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA, @nanpapix) created the day in 2006 to "promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images are used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes both locally and globally...

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Rafting the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon - The 2022 Portfolio
Rafting the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon - The 2022 Portfolio
May 24, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

On this date in 1869, the explorer John Wesley Powell and his team set out on an epic journey into "The Great Unknown," a large blank space on the maps of the day, including the Grand Canyon and much of the American Southwest...

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Photographing Cardiac Canyon
Photographing Cardiac Canyon
April 11, 2022  |  Page, Arizona

The American Southwest is home to some amazing landscapes, from wide-open desert vistas to the more intimate vignettes found across the canyon-country of the Colorado Plateau of the Four Corners region...

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Winter Light at the Grand Canyon
Winter Light at the Grand Canyon
January 6, 2022  |  Grand Canyon National Park

It's my personal opinion that one of the most memorable times to see and experience the Grand Canyon is during the winter. The sun is lower in the sky, and the golden light lasts long. There are fewer visitors, and if you're up for taking some short walks, it's possible to feel like you almost have the park to yourself...

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Panoramic Photos from 2021
Panoramic Photos from 2021
December 20, 2021  |  The American West

I've been spending a lot of time lately going through the photographs I made this year, and I have discovered that I made many more panoramic compositions than I have in years past. For whatever reason, the panoramic format was top-of-mind nearly every time I found myself in the field...

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Monsoon Season at the Grand Canyon - 2021
Monsoon Season at the Grand Canyon - 2021
December 4, 2021  |  Grand Canyon National Park

After two years in a row of experiencing very dry monsoons, also known as a "nonsoon" in which there was little to no storm activity, we finally had a decent season this year in northern Arizona.

I made several trips to both the South Rim and North Rim of the Grand Canyon to lead photography workshops and personal trips to create new photographs for my portfolio...

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Alive Below Crystal - Reflecting on Flipping a Raft in the Colorado River
Alive Below Crystal - Reflecting on Flipping a Raft in the Colorado River
September 29, 2021  |  Grand Canyon National Park


Two years ago today, I was on day 9 of an 18-day expedition rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon when the raft I was riding in flipped in a major rapid. The flip resulted in me spending time trapped below the raft when a strap or line wrapped around one of my legs...

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2021 Grand Canyon River Trip Portfolio
2021 Grand Canyon River Trip Portfolio
November 15, 2021  |  Grand Canyon National Park

Earlier this year I was the photography guide & instructor on a photography expedition rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Our group was composed of 12 photographers, plus myself and Sally, along with 4 river guides...

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Photographing the Wave in Winter Light
Photographing the Wave in Winter Light
February 1, 2021  |  Coyote Buttes North ~ The Wave

In the far reaches of northern Arizona is one of the most scenic and visually stunning landscapes in the world. It's a landscape of sandstone cliffs and sweeping lines with brilliant colors in a multitude of red, orange, and yellow hues...

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Falling for Autumn in Colorado - Part II
Falling for Autumn in Colorado - Part II
November 30, 2020  |  San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Fall color in Colorado's mountains must be seen in person to appreciate what a treat it is for your senses truly. The air is crisp, and the aroma of autumn in the forest is everywhere. As the wind blows, the leaves dance on the branches until they finally let go, falling gently to the forest floor...

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Falling for Autumn in Colorado - Part I
Falling for Autumn in Colorado - Part I
November 15, 2020  |  Crested Butte, Colorado

In late September of this year, I returned to Colorado to spend time amongst the mountains and the aspen trees. For me, it's a return to home, as I had lived in the small town of Gothic, on the bank of the East River, during the summers of 1991 and '92 when I worked at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory...

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Grand Canyon Monsoon Magic
Grand Canyon Monsoon Magic
July 27, 2020  |  Grand Canyon National Park

Late last week I was at home, in my office, preparing for upcoming photography workshops at the Grand Canyon when I heard (and felt) the rumble of distant thunder. Storms aren't unusual during the summer months here in Arizona as it is our monsoon season, but what was a bit unusual was how early the storms were starting on this day...

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Grand Canyon Reopening
Grand Canyon Reopening
June 5, 2020  |  Grand Canyon National Park

Over the past couple of weeks, Sally and I have received many emails, instant messages, and phone calls asking, "is the Grand Canyon going to be open, and are you planning to run your monsoon workshops?" We want to take a few minutes to address these questions and provide some additional information on how I will be running my monsoon workshops and what is being done to provide a safe and healthy workshop environment...

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Return to the Rim World
Return to the Rim World
October 28, 2019

Howdy folks, it's been some time since I've been able to write anything for my website. I've been on the go non-stop since mid-July running workshops, giving presentations, working on several photography projects, and I spent 18 days below the rim of Grand Canyon rafting 225 miles of the Colorado River on a photography expedition...

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Moonlight at Cape Royal
Moonlight at Cape Royal
August 18, 2019  |  North Rim of Grand Canyon

The view from Cape Royal on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring vistas in the park. Under the moonlight, it takes on a mystical and other-worldly feeling, especially as the first light of the dawn breaks over the horizon behind you painting Wotans Throne in subtle light...

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Luck & Lightning at the Grand Canyon
Luck & Lightning at the Grand Canyon
July 31, 2019  |  South Rim of Grand Canyon

Someone once said to me “you sure get lucky with your photography” in reference to some of the spectacular moments I have been “lucky” to have witnessed and photographed. I believe in making your own luck by being prepared, knowing your craft, and by being in the right place when luck presents itself by anticipating what is going to happen...

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On the Road to Lees Ferry
On the Road to Lees Ferry
July 30, 2019  |  Lees Ferry, Arizona

I visit the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park several times every year, and when I make the 4-hour return trip home to Flagstaff, I almost always make a side-trip to Lees Ferry to spend time near the Vermilion Cliffs and Colorado River...

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