we headed down to telluride after wyoming for about ten days.
we were working part of the trip, photographing a wedding, then we relaxed a few days to celebrate our 1st anniversary!
my first time to see a porcupine in the wild…
we were then off to aspen to see elle’s cousin, and then on to boulder to meet with backpacker magazine!
all in all, we put over 4,500 miles on my car…
as always, i shot some panoramics while in wyoming.
and i was happy to get some new mountains and landscapes that i haven’t shot previously.
please feel free to click on any of these images to view them larger… enjoy!
the tetons clouded in are still dynamic to me…
the reservoir outside of cody. completely frozen, and completely beautiful.
again, just a wider view this time…
these cliffs just west of cody, heading toward the east entrance of yellowstone, were my favorite new landscape of the whole three week trip. they were so dynamic contrasted against the flowing golden grass.
along the wind river, toward the northeast edge of the mountain range by the same name.
ah the tetons! the clouds finally broke on the second trip through on our way down to telluride.
the tetons from the jackson lake dam, with a frozen jackson lake foreground.
flaming gorge, utah in winter. not much snow, but even this time of year there are amazing colors.
our new business ranch HAND | photographic is taking off quickly.
what began as a love for wildlife, landscape, and outdoor lifestyle photography has turned into a full-scale service that caters to the high-end guest ranching community.
we’ve already been blessed to do work for the largest guest ranch in the U.S., Vermejo Park Ranch.
so this year, we joined the DRA (dude ranchers’ association) and decided to go to the convention in cody, wyoming to get to know some new folks.
well, we did… we are so thankful to have made a few new clients, and a bunch of new friends!
our newest client, the Goosewing Ranch in jackson, wyoming is a phenomenal guest ranch. they offer a true western experience from late spring through the gorgeous wyoming indian summer. they also happen to be at the doorstep of grand teton national park and yellowstone! not too bad!
we are incredibly excited to visit the Goosewing in june and september of this year!
now, back to our travels…
since we were already heading up to cody, we had to stop by pinedale to see our friends Mike and Ellen, and my favorite mountain town.
elle got to see and walk out on to a frozen fremont lake.
the cracking sounds of the ice create an intensely eerie feeling as you walk out onto the 12 mile long, half a mile wide, 600 foot deep lake (crazy, right?)!!
winter is probably my second favorite season, photographically at least.
elle had fun sledding.
then we made our way up to cody for the convention…
there is quite a bit to see just outside of cody. it’s beautiful country.
after a few days at the convention, we had to make our way down to telluride, co to shoot a wedding.
but first… we decided to spend a few more days in grand teton national park and pinedale again…
elk crossing the barren, frozen elk winter refuge.
big horn sheep high atop the cliffs.
bison trudging through the snow in the park.
the wild beast known as elle… making some weird version of a snow angel?
we walked out onto a frozen jackson lake.
our time was short. we needed to make our way to telluride. so we headed down through flaming gorge in utah.
such fantastic landscapes all the way. and the snow adds contrast and depth that i rarely get to see.
all in all, we put 4500 miles on my subaru on this trip, and very few of those miles were boring.
i’ll look forward to sharing some of the telluride photos next post!
well, it’s that time of year again…
my wife’s birthday week(s) started at the beginning of november with our annual big bend birthday trip.
but this year was different. we invited friends!
we had a little fun with long exposures…
erik waded over in to mexico. illegal alien!!!!
my wife likes to make me nervous.
i thought i’d take the group out to cattail falls, one of my favorite places in the park.
i could have never imagined what we all were soon to experience.
we hiked our way through the desert. soon the trail funnels it’s way into a small, dark canyon.
carol was ahead of all of us. erik and i were hiking together, and the other girls were brining up the rear.
as we entered the lush oasis lining the small stream that carved this canyon, carol came running up to erik, terrified.
“something just growled at me,” she said. “the most guttural sound i’ve ever heard!”
so erik and i went ahead. nothing.
but as we walked around, i started to notice scat everywhere and mangled small trees.
then i heard my wife, who was up on a huge rock, say, “i see a bear,” in a whisper-scream.
we all jumped up on the rock, and sure enough, there was a big, beautiful black bear downstream where we just were…
i didn’t have the right lens on my camera, so you can barely see him (pardon the unintentional pun).
then i made everyone do a bear-spotting portrait. yeah, i’m like a cheesy dad on vacation…
self explanatory. but really, it is VERY rare to see a bear in texas.
i’ve been to big bend dozens of times, and never seen any solid evidence of a bear, much less a bear in the flesh.
it was a real treat.
carol chasing deer. not sure what she would’ve done had she caught them…
happy birthday morning!
birthday cupcake eating, coffee drinking, and dancing!
so someone (carol & elle) had the bright idea to hike the entire south rim in a day.
that’s 16-18 miles round trip with 2000+ ft elevation gain.
so, off we went…
it was definitely worth it. the views are amazing, but the hike is tough, for sure.
we really enjoyed our trip this year. getting to know new friends better, and gasp, sharing a place we love with others!
what is it about this whole “sharing” concept that keeps coming up?? first family, then marriage, now friends?
next it would seem children are on the horizon….
…..hmm……
nah. let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
ah, vermejo park ranch, new mexico…
this place never seems to get old…and this year could have been the best yet.
this fantastic opportunity arose for me more than three years ago, and since then, i decided to start a new side of my business…
ranch HAND | photographic is a photography company that caters to high-end guest ranches, much like vermejo.
we provide stunning and unique imagery to fit the marketing needs of ranches whose income is generated by hunting, fishing, and tourism.
please check out the new website, and enjoy the 2011 vermejo images!
andrew slaton | blog 