music, photography, random thought, travel, writing

¡blind pilot!

on the drive up to telluride from vermejo last week, bd introduced me to the band blind pilot. i was immediately drawn to their almost rain-like delicacy. they are a very talented bunch hailing from one of my favorite cities in the world, portland, oregon.

well, much to our surprise, walking around town our first night in telluride, we noticed a concert poster at wizard stating that blind pilot was in town and playing tuesday night at the sheridan opera house, a fantastically intimate, historical venue.

we did not hesitate. we immediately bought tickets. my ticket number: 001. and i’m quite proud of that.

so tuesday night rolled around, and my heart was immediately melted when blind pilot lit up the stage with their brilliant set.

it’s rare that i get to say this, but they were better live than they are on the album. and that’s not to say the album is somehow sub-par… it’s not.

they have a warmth and sunshine along with their pitter-patter rain dance that truly warmed me to the core. i felt fuzzy inside. but not in a cheap, lame way. wholesome, but edgy. a band of relative contradictions. i highly recommend…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2009

photography, random thought, travel, writing

12k ft. days

i awoke tuesday morning at alta lakes. the sun shone bright in the cloudless sky, silhouetting the mountains in front of me.

i left the lakes in late morning, and headed back to town. wilson peak and lizard head wilderness became distant memories behind me.

on wednesday, travis, bd, and i decided to hike silver lake. just above bridal veil falls, on the east end of telluride, silver lake is another high alpine pool that sits near 12,000 ft elevation. the hike is short but strenuous.

travis and i hiked the surrounding summits while bd fished the lake.

telluride and it’s surrounding wilds is one of the first places that my love of photography, and more specifically, landscape photography, grew. the shot below, looking out from bridal veil toward town, is framed the way i shot it nearly ten years ago.

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2009

photography, random thought, travel, writing

outside telluride

my friend bd and i pulled in to telluride mid-day saturday. sunny and 72 degrees. mountains all around. fantastic.

we got a bite to eat at smugglers, then spent the rest of the day at brown dog drinking full flavored ipa’s and watching the rangers beat the bosox.

i love telluride. i lived and worked here in the summer of 2000 with one of my best friends, john. and since then, i’ve been back more times than i can remember. but what i appreciate most about this part of colorado is the insane beauty.

so, i decided on sunday to take a short trip up to alta lakes to spend a solitary night in the high country of the san juans.

the road up is narrow, but stunning.

i found a perfect campsite, but this wasn’t it. i went ahead and made camp at this spot, which was really nice, but i chose it specifically because of the view.

as the sun dropped behind me, the light played a symphony with colors in ripples on the lake.

all of the afternoon fishermen left, and i was completely alone as darkness came. it reminded me of why i live for solitude in the wilderness:

it’s terrifying. but it’s also soul-washing. experiencing the primal fears that we in modern life have lost touch with, are essential to my sanity.

late at night, i shot a 1 hour exposure of the view from my tent…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2009

photography, random thought, travel, writing

vermejo, nm

this week i was invited to vermejo park ranch in northern new mexico to shoot phenomenal scenery, fly fishing, and wildlife. no complaints here.

ted turner’s private home near the main lodge is quite impressive. but even more awe-inspiring is the sheer size of the property. at just under 600,000 acres, vermejo is the largest privately owned parcel of land in the u.s.