Pilot Peak

Okay, so I have another mountain portrait obsession*. Pilot Peak. Well, technically, it started four years ago on my usual Fall trip to Wyoming and Montana. But it really hit me this year.

*Note: See Squaretop & Long’s Peak

I didn’t spend more than a few mid-afternoon hours exploring a few different vantage points this year, but be watching in the future, because I will no doubt return.

Pilot is a very Matterhorn-esque peak with a really dramatic and jagged summit.

For the most part, this visit was a scouting trip. I know, I know… I’ve been to this area 10,000 times. But I’ve had a lot of new vision swirling around my brain lately, so I’m beginning to see things a little differently.

I’m excited to see growth this year. And new mountain obsessions…

— andrew

Take your photography to the next level… check out my NEW workshop dates:

Grand Teton Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2015

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If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

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all images and content © ARS Media, LLC 2014

landscape, travel

A Few Faces of Long’s Peak // 48 Hrs in RMNP

If you’ve been following this blog at all, you’ll know that I love photographing mountains. And if you’ve been following for a long time, you might know that I can get obsessed with particularly handsome mountain faces. *Note: See Squaretop

Well, I have a new one. And it’s a very well-known one: Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, Co.

I know i’m probably a little late to the party with Long’s, but I only first saw this imposing peak last summer. So, it was an opportunity to explore the mountains a bit more when I decided to tack on a quick visit to RMNP this October, after an overnighter in Denver.

And Long’s Peak did not disappoint.

When you only have 2 days in a location, I believe it can be more beneficial to focus on a dominant aspect of that place and explore it from many angles. It’s tough. I would even consider it a discipline. The temptation for me is always to try to pack it all in and see everything. But there is benefit to slowing down and studying… and the next time you have the opportunity to spend a little more time in that locale, you will have abetter understanding of the light, and the many faces of the mountains.

— andrew

Take your photography to the next level… check out my NEW workshop dates:

Grand Teton Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2015

More Destination Photo Tours/ Workshops 2015

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

all images and content © ARS Media, LLC 2014

art, film, landscape, nature, photography, travel

petrified forest + painted desert

A really great spot we happened upon was Petrified Forest National Park.

You probably won’t want to spend a week there, but it’s a fascinating and beautiful day trip at least.

They do have backcountry camping, but I would not advise it in the summer.

Thankfully, we had great clouds and summer storms to add to the already dramatic landscape.

Remnants of ancient trees litter the desert…. now huge, colorful stones that were once a lush forest.

And the painted desert! Probably my favorite section of this park, for the amazing earthen colors and big blue sky.

The historic Painted Desert Inn. Worth a quick stop. Ask a ranger to show you one of the rooms… amazing! Great views too.

a l l images and content © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2013

art, film, landscape, nature, photography, travel

canyon de chelly // a disappearing act

When I was in college, I worked for a man who frequently raved about Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona.

But I’m rarely passing through Arizona unfortunately, so it doesn’t often pop into my periphery.

On this trip, however, because of my planned route, a visit to the little known canyon that Ansel Adams photographed a half century ago began to materialize.

Crossing into Navajo country near Four Corners was a whole new experience.

The vast, open, dry plains and amazing monuments rising out of the desert floor were simply awe-inspiring.

And, at least for a while, the clouds didn’t disappoint.

But then we got to the canyon…

This ancient place was inhabited by the Anasazi first, it is believed, several thousand years ago. Until, they seemingly disappeared. Just like in Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.

Then the Navajo moved in and began cultivating and farming the fertile canyon floor, and are still living off the land there to this day.

Since the Navajo own, and many of their families inhabit this land, it is illegal to venture into the canyon without a Native guide.

The only exception being the White House hiking trail. And since we were just passing through, and didn’t have a tour planned, we decided just to hike down.