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100 Photos of 2022

January 1, 2023

2022 proved to be an extremely busy yet productive year for me. I created some of my favorite images to date, but we have been photographing so much that I fell behind on my post-processing, WAY behind. I'm talking several years behind. It reached the point where I didn't know how I would ever catch up or where to start. I had tens of thousands of untouched images. I finally decided to do something about it in December, I set a goal to finish 100 images, and they are here to share, finally. Thank you for your patience; I hope to get on track in 2023 to share more often. The blog post below is the TL;DR version, with 16 images and descriptions to give you a taste. To see all 100 images, please download the PDF using the form below.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone Winter

In August and September, we spent a month in Yellowstone National Park, where we led two workshops and had a fair amount of time to explore the park.

After our night workshop, we were incredibly excited to have the opportunity to photograph the Aurora Borealis in the park due to several solar storms that lit up the sky for two nights. On the second night, the northern lights continued for the entire night, and we were able to visit several locations. We ended up in the park's northern portion for the peak display. An incredibly rare experience that I will never forget.

Snake River Overlook, Time, Wyoming, blue, grand landscape, grand teton national park, landscape orientation, pine trees, pink... — Classic Teton Winter

Wyoming, black and white, landscape orientation, monochrome, river, snow, stream, tree, white, winter, yellowstone national park... — Snowy Tranquility

Snow covered river in the winter at Yellowstone National Park — Wonderland

*Prints Available*

Death Valley

We had an incredibly busy year in Death Valley filled with workshops, private tours, the Out of Death Valley Conference, and a lot of socializing. It was a fun but exhausting nearly three-month stint in my favorite place. We found time to explore and discovered many beautiful and fascinating locations.

Death Valley continues to draw me back year after year. The variety of subjects and locations is unreal. You could spend a lifetime exploring the vast landscape and never see it all. This year I fell in love with the canyons. There is no shortage of canyons to explore, and I have only begun to scratch the surface.

blue, california, death valley national park, landscape orientation, pink, sand dunes — Tempestuous Dunes

california, death valley national park, desert, marble canyon, mojave desert — Phoenix Rising

*Prints Available*

Moab

In the spring, we spent some time in Moab, where we hosted a night photography workshop. Our time before the workshop we dedicated to photographing the parks at night for ourselves.

Creating nightscapes is what kick-started my photography career. I led night workshops for many years until I became burnt out from the lack of sleep (I’m not a night owl!) and needed a break. After many years I am excited to get back into night photography with new gear and techniques that make it possible to create stunningly clean images. It’s been a fun and rewarding new challenge.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone Summer

In June, we spent two weeks in Grand Teton National Park teaching and photographing on our own. The weather provided a few excellent opportunities to create dramatic images and enjoy our time in the mountains.

In August and September, we spent a month in Yellowstone National Park, where we led two workshops and had a fair amount of time to explore the park.

After our night workshop, we were incredibly excited to have the opportunity to photograph the Aurora Borealis in the park due to several solar storms that lit up the sky for two nights. On the second night, the northern lights continued for the entire night, and we were able to visit several locations. We ended up in the park's northern portion for the peak display. An incredibly rare experience that I will never forget.

Wyoming, black and white, blacktail butte, clouds, grand teton national park, landscape orientation, monochrome, panorama, storm... — Virga Butte

Wyoming, landscape orientation, rainbow, spray, waterfall, yellowstone national park, ynp — Splash of Color

Wyoming, astrophotography, aurora borealis, calcite springs, green, landscape orientation, nightscape, northern lights, pink... — Calcite Aurora

Colorado Fall

In a typical year we usually spend at least two weeks in the San Juan mountains during fall color. Unfortunately our trip was incredibly short and we only had time to do a little bit of scouting prior to our workshop, then we were off to Oregon to teach at the Out of Oregon Conference.

I was able to create a few decent images in this short time, but we felt short-changed as we didn’t have time to photograph for ourselves in a location we hold so near and dear.

aspen, autumn, blue, colorado, fall, landscape orientation, rainbow, red mountain pass, san juan mountains, storm, tree, yellow... — Pot of Gold

2. Subject, abstract, blue, colorado, reflection, san juan mountains, yellow — Golden Waves

Oregon Coast

Before this trip, it had been many years since I had been to the Oregon coast. My last visit was so long ago that I had an entirely different vision for my photography. I used to be focused only on the grand scenic with epic skies, and visiting now was like seeing it for the first time.

There were many days filled with fog and a marine layer, and I shifted my focus to long-exposure black-and-white photography and fell in love all over again. The quiet stillness that comes with this imagery stirs my soul, and I cannot wait to get back to see more.

I even jumped out of my comfort zone and photographed the local marina. I usually avoid human elements in my photographs, but this was a fun challenge. Seeing beyond the natural landscape will open up more creative opportunities for those times we are not stationed in a fantastic location.

Ocean, Oregon, black and white, coast, landscape orientation, monochrome, waves — Into the Unknown

Ocean, Oregon, Time, coast, long exposure, orange, panorama, river, sunset — What is it all about

Zion National Park

We spent over two weeks leading clients into the Narrows in October and November and photographing for ourselves. The weather turned quite interesting one week into the trip, with unusually potent storms that brought plenty of rain, forcing us to cancel our second Narrows workshop due to the flooding risks.

Later in the trip, we were presented with a rare snowstorm in early November. The peaks were bathed in fresh snow, yet it was warm enough to melt the snow quickly, creating ephemeral waterfalls that were an incredible sight.

We were fortunate to have some freezing nights, which created lovely ice patterns in the still water.

Utah, canyon, orange, portrait orientation, reflection, zion narrows, zion national park — Canyon Angles

Utah, blue, landscape orientation, orange, zion national park — Canyon Warmth

Death Valley

Yes, Death Valley again. We returned in November for another workshop, but things were different now. Over the summer, Death Valley was ravaged by multiple storms that created havoc in the park over several months. Most roads were closed at the time, and many of our go-to locations had been reset by the flooding. We had to think outside the box for our workshop clients, but we know the area so well that it wasn’t much of a challenge.

We found new areas of stunning mud cracks that were created from the massive floods. This is one of the great joys of Death Valley; the landscape is constantly changing. Every year we find something new that keeps us entertained for days or weeks.