Tag Archives: nature

art, photography, random thought, travel

wyoming: day 3 & 4 (a full-fledged squaretop obsession)

i’ve been admiring this view for quite some time now. if any of you know me, and/ or my work, then you’ve seen countless images of this mountain. i just can’t get enough of it.

i think Elle is under the impression that i might try to name our firstborn son (or daughter for that matter) squaretop slaton. that’s not the case… entirely.

but just as the title of this post suggests, i am a little obsessed with this giant slab of granite. at least photographically.

and for those of you that might be curious to know… yes, every single photo in this post has the distinctive profile of squaretop in it, except one.

so we woke up in my favorite campsite again… this time with some nice, dramatic clouds over the winds.

the green river was running high but glassy.

we decided to do an overnighter into beaver park… wait for it… at the base of… wait for it…. SQUARETOP!!

so we set off, with the handsome mountain (as i often call it) as our prize in the distance.

squaretop from the upper lake with an afternoon shower imminent.

the green was overflowing it’s banks at beaver park.

we set up camp very near the base of the mountain. the whole time, i was looking for just the right spot to shoot a star picture that night… think we find the right place… but i would have to wade out into the frigid overflowed green to get the shot i wanted.

the moon was out and slowly moving it’s way right over the plateau of squaretop.

elle enjoyed a front row seat as the moon jostled into position…

it was a spectacular sunset. couldn’t have asked for a prettier evening to spend with my best friend.

oh yeah, and my wife. haha, just kidding honey!

elle and i sat by the fire, under the light of the moon and talked about everything.

i really am lucky… my wife really is my best friend.

squaretop is only a lagging second.

and then, as elle fell asleep, i trudged out into the barely-above-freezing river, and planted my tripod for this 30 minute exposure.

it’s one of my favorites from the whole trip. that’s a pretty good looking model… i couldn’t have screwed that shot up if i tried!!

we woke up the next day with our quiet friend looming over us…

it’s hard to decide whether i like morning light or evening best on squaretop… or even just moonlight…

i guess i just like it all. like i said, i’ll never get sick of photographing the work of art that is squaretop.

we just had to get one last photo with our friend.

sort of felt like an awkward family photo with a shy uncle that just kind of hangs in the back of the photo not really connecting with anyone, unsure of whether he’s even in the shot or not, deer-in-headlights look on his face, and no one that’s actually in the shot smiling, even realizes he’s back there. you know?

but we knew. and if we had had big enough arms, we would have gladly pulled him in close and included him.

then it got creepy… he just stared at us as we kissed…

farewell old friend! i hope to see you again soon… perhaps october…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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art, family, photography, random thought, travel

wyoming: day 1 (the greatest day of my wife’s life)

so it may sound like an exaggeration, but i promise that’s what she said to me!

no, not our wedding day, not the day we met… not even the day she finished reading the last harry potter.

this day, a few weeks ago in wyoming, was the “greatest day of (her) life”.

let me explain…

we woke early to the sun rising over willow lake at the edge of the wind river mountains.  she loves the outdoors, and more specifically, the mountains.  she also loves waking up in a tent next to me :).  what can i say?

so after yawning a bit, taking a sip of my coffee, she found a nice, soft patch of grass and started a short yoga routine.  she loves yoga.

after breaking down camp, we headed over to our great friend’s home just outside of pinedale.  Mike and Ellen (yes, i know, this may get confusing.  i’ll just call my Ellen, Elle for the remainder of the wyoming posts) took the week off after hearing that we were coming in town… incredibly sweet of them.  and it speaks to their faithfulness and kindness and friendship.  i hope someday to be as considerate as they are.

they invited us over for breakfast… and now back to Elle’s “greatest day”.  Ellen informed Elle that she could go pick out her own egg, straight from the coup.  now, since Elle is a huge fan of eating whole, natural foods, this was very exciting for her.  “a farm-fresh egg, seconds after it was laid (still warm!!!), and i get to pick it out myself!!!!!!???!!!”  i could just feel the intense excitement bubbling over in her mind.

but alas, the chickens hadn’t yet laid an egg this morning… so we played with Ellen’s goats.  another score for Elle.

patiently (sort of) waiting for a chicken to lay a precious egg….

the two Ellens trying to will the chickens into submission…

oooooo!  i think it might have worked!!

oh, false alarm.  let’s pet the goats some more…

alas!!!  one lone egg for Elle!!

lots of excitement and exclamation points!!!!!!!

so to top it all off, Elle cooked it herself, just the way she likes it.  and with breakfast, Ellen served homemade butter (another big plus for Elle) and goat’s milk, straight from the cute goat-friend she just made!

wow, this day couldn’t get much better… or could it?

during breakfast, Ellen mentioned that some friends of hers needed some help tomorrow “riding the drift”.  now, folks from those parts in wyoming know what that phrase means, but many of us don’t.  i was lucky enough to learn when i lived in pinedale in 2005… i actually got the chance to “ride the drift”!

so let me explain…

the green river drift is one of, if not the the longest remaining cattle drive in the country.  it’s an historic event that captures the essence of the old west cowboys.  Elle has always dreamed of riding horses high and free through forests and on mountainsides.  she loves horses, and even though we’re from texas, we never get the chance to be around them or ride (surprisingly enough to some of you, i’m sure).

so when Ellen invited her, i saw a new light in Elle’s eyes i had never seen…

“oh my goodness!” she exclaimed.  “but i haven’t ever really ridden a horse.”  she timidly chirped.

now just to clarify, Elle has been on horses quite a few times, but always in the “trail ride” scenario where she isn’t actually controlling the horse herself.  this is much different than riding alone and trying to herd cattle in the mountains.

silence.

“oh, well, we can just go get you on one of my horses,”  Ellen calmly replied.

and so it was.

so my Elle got to spend a few glorious hours on her favorite horse of Ellen’s, pistol pete.  she got to ride pete breifly last year when Ellen and Mike went on a pack trip with us into the winds (see somewhere in the middle of montana… err… wyoming).  and did i mention she loves horses.

so after that, we left Mike and Ellen’s place, and headed to the upper green to one of my favorite campsites along the river, just before the lower lake.  we spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the sunlight, enjoying our view and the cool, clean  wyoming air.

“let’s go for a hike!” she suggested.  admittedly, i wasn’t really in the mood for a hike.  but i reluctantly agreed.

Elle loves hiking through the forest.  i generally don’t hike for pleasure… i’m usually looking for images to make.  so hiking through the dense trees isn’t always my favorite.  but we did the east side lower lake trail anyway, and i’m so glad we did.

it was hauntingly beautiful.  massive lodgepole pines and peeking through the trees were gorgeous vistas of the lower green river lake.  we had a blast.

wyoming had a record snowfall this year, so all the creeks and rivers are surging.  just beautiful.

after our short hike, we headed back to camp to find our view even prettier than before.  and the sun crept lower on the horizon.

Mike and Ellen made the hour drive out to our site just to sit, drink a little whiskey, and cook us dinner.

what great friends we have.

we chatted and laughed well into the evening.  until the stars came out to greet us.

and this is what i’d been waiting for for a whole, long year.  last year, i camped at this very spot and attempted a star picture.  it did not turn out the way i planned.  so now, a full year later, i had my chance!  and i couldn’t have asked for a better image.

Mike and Ellen left… they had a long drive back to get some shut eye before the early day we had ahead of us tomorrow.

as you can see, it was a very good day.  perhaps the “greatest” day.  she kept saying it was.  but we still had a week to go up here in heaven.  so the days that followed just might provide a bit of competition… and tomorrow would be a big one.  Elle would get to play cowgirl on the last day of the green river drift…

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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art, photography, random thought, travel, writing

the fourth

this year, the fourth of july was really special.

the day started by walking up early, the giant san juan mountains surrounding us.

i was with good friends, my wife was on her way, and a day full of festivities awaited.

we started with fresh washington state oysters and bloody marys at 9 a.m.  thanks to jw…

then we all headed to main street to watch the parade!

we were quite festive…

the f-16s are always a crowd favorite.

and then the vets came… and i assure you that not one eye was dry.  these men sacrificed so much for all of us.

needless to say, they received a standing ovation from the multitudes.

not a bad backdrop to a fantastic day…

unreal.

and you can’t forget the “men without rhythm”.

once the parade ended, we all headed to the patio at rustico, one of our favorite italian restaurants in telluride (or anywhere for that matter).

my big “pouty” lips…  okay, so they’re not that pouty…  just really chapped.

then it was on to town park to throw some horseshoes!

it’s good to take a nap in the grass in between matches…

we all retired for a few hours to get a little rest before the fireworks that night.

and as always, the fireworks display is unbelievable in telluride.  i guess, just like everything else in this idyllic little mountain town.

it’s hard to go back to dallas and work when you’ve spent a dreamlike week in a place like telluride.  it always happens that way.

so, to combat the shock of such a harsh contrast of realities, Elle and i decided to head up to wyoming for another week starting july 5th!

good philosophy, i think.  but i have to admit in hindsight, it didn’t make the transition any easier…

all images and content © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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preview: july 4th, telluride

i can’t think of a better place to be for july 4th.  and of all the time i’ve spent in telluride, i’ve only experienced the 4th once… and it was 11 years ago when my friend john and i lived there.

so john invited us back this year to relive all the glory that is independence day in telluride!

and since i had the opportunity to spend some time in the southern san juan mountains of colorado, i of course had to work a little…

so here are some landscapes i shot during the week leading up to the celebration….

…4th photos to come soon…

all images and content © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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art, photography, random thought, travel, writing

brazos bend

my wife and i haven’t been camping since new years… that’s been weighing heavy on us.

we LOVE camping.  to get outside, cook over an open fire, lay in open fields, etc.  it sets us free and recharges our batteries.

Elle had a few days off work this past weekend, so naturally, we decided to get outdoors.

brazos bend state park has been one of my favorite weekend destinations for the last 7 or 8 years.  it about a half hour southwest of houston, so not too bad of a drive from dallas.  a little over four hours.  well worth the drive though because it’s crawling with gators!

did i mention that i LOVE alligators?

american alligators are one of the most fascinating creatures left on our planet.  and they’ve been on our planet a really, really long time.

they have a primitive sophistication about them that has created in me a thirst for experience with these creatures.  i suspect it will never be quenched.

it’s similar to my love of bears.  i have a very healthy respect for both of these animals.  but that respect has to find a way to waltz around the room gracefully with my curiosity.  they are equal forces.  and i have to reconcile the two.  i want to get close… but not too close.

elle has not yet been to this park with me, so she was excited when we finally got the chance to go.

and there’s a lot more to this park that ranks it in the top ten state parks in the country.

the campsites are spacious and well kept, the facilities are that of a small national park, and the landscape, wildlife, and vegetation are stunningly beautiful.

the swampy landscapes created a great opportunity to get another unique star picture.

i’m just thrilled with the way this 30 minute exposure turned out!

sometimes we get bored in the heat of the day, so we goof off with my camera…

brazos bend also has a ton of great hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.  we didn’t bring bikes or horses, so we just hiked.  though if hunter were a little bigger, i might have tried to hitch a ride on his back…

lots of vines on which to swing and play tarzan.

and lots of little critters for hunter to sniff out and bay at in his cute, harmless little way.

baby dillos!

so, back to the alligator obsession.  this next series of pictures is not meant to be mimicked or tried at home.

believe it or not, i have a decent bit of experience with these creatures, so my comfort level is considerably different than most people’s.  i am fine with getting very close to alligators because i know their capabilities and body language very well.

so disclaimer out of the way, i called this 10 footer in from across the pond.

he slowly crept up the bank through the grass, and i stayed low, allowing him to think i was smaller than i am.

he came right out at a decent pace.  i had my camera on a tripod, extended vertically out in front of me with a cable release attached to i could click the shutter at will and maintain a few feet distance.

he got a little too close for comfort on this one!

when i stood fully erect, he finally realized that i was too big for him.  i thanked him for the good time and great pictures, and left.

the experience was refreshing and invigorating.  i never felt in major danger, but it tapped into that wonderful, scary, primitive survival part of me that runs on adrenaline and instinct.  thoughts race and reactions are sharp and focused.  i needed that.

having an experience with the wild like that is nourishing to my soul.  so i’m thankful i had that opportunity, and that it all went well and safely.

so i went back to camp.  where waited my less than wild, but just as amazing dog, and way more wild AND more beautiful wife.

we had a fantastic weekend.  and i know it’s not the last time we’ll visit brazos bend.  i hope it’s sooner rather than later, but right now i’m satisfied that wyoming is coming up just around the corner…


all images and content © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2011

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