wyoming | winter wanderland

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!

all images © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2012

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

art, photography, random thought, travel, writing

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…

photography, random thought, travel

tELL(E)uride

well, it’s that time of year again; heading to telluride for my best friend’s birthday… no complaints here.

and this year, it gets even better. i was able to share telluride with Elle for the first time!

wilson peak is beautiful, even socked in with snow.

the wine started flowing as the birthday celebrations kicked off…

we took the gondola from the mountain village back to town for some late night fun in telluride.

blurry telluride from high up on the mountain…

the next day i got to spend some quality time with one of my old friends, kona, a gorgeous chocolate lab.

it was a great time as always, and a refreshing quick trip up to the mountains for both Elle and me. it feels like it’s been too long. i’m really looking forward to the mountain trips planned for the summer and fall…