We're experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by... while I smash my equipment into smithereens.

"Where in the heck have you been?!?!"

I'm sure that's the question that you -- my billions and billions of adoring fans -- have been frantically asking every hour of every day since my last post over two months ago. You've no doubt been unable to sleep and are probably feeling near suicidal by now. Well, you can climb down off that ledge because I'm back!

Oh, who am I kidding. Let me rephrase: for all seven of you that noticed I was gone for a long while, I have an explanation. You see, my equipment hates me and decided to mutiny. Apparently I haven't been giving it enough rum.

A few days after I got back from my big road trip out west, my camera -- a tried and true Canon 5D -- started acting up. Upon taking it to the local pro camera shop, I was given the news most dreaded by any photographer: it would have to be sent to Canon in Japan for repairs. This meant a four-week turnaround time at a minimum. The "good" news, however, was that the repair appeared to be fairly minor and should only cost a few hundred bucks. So, I bit the bullet and sent it in.

You can probably guess where this is going. A few weeks later, I got a call from Canon informing me that the problems were much worse than expected, and the cost of the repair was going to be in the four-figure range. Luckily, I had had the foresight to insure the camera, so I gave Canon the go ahead to perform the repair. By the time the camera was fixed and ready to be returned to me, I was already on my yearly visit to the Caribbean. Of course, Canon would not send it there, so I had to have it sent to a friend in the states, who then sent it to me. By the time I finally had it in my hands it had been gone for nearly TWO MONTHS. Ugh!

However, all that was behind me. I had my camera back and was free to get shooting! And, I did. I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico and got some nice photos, one of which is posted below. But before we get to that, I have to finish my story. Yep, there's (unfortunately) more.

Right about the time I got my camera back, my computer decided that I hadn't had enough grief and started crashing repeatedly. Fast forward to today and my computer has pretty much passed on to the great cyberspace in the sky. (RIP, lil' buddy.) I have another one on order, but it will be a month or so before it gets here. Right now, I'm writing this on a friend's computer.

So, I hope that helped explain my absence, or at least made you laugh half as much as it made me cry.

But enough about that, let's get onto the photo, shall we?

This was taken near the beach of the El Condado region of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was a very surreal spot with the solo light and two chairs, which is what drew me to it. As always, you can see a larger version of the photo by clicking RIGHT HERE and going to my Fine Art Galleries.

I'll hopefully have some more images from San Juan posted in the next week or two. Until then, take care and be sure to give your computer some love! ^_^

A new record!

Last week, I told you that my recently completed road trip of the western US was the best trip ever. For once, I wasn't kidding. The journey took me through Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota in that order -- 7,500 miles in all!

Of course, the primary purpose behind the trip was photography. Being that it was the "best trip ever" it shouldn't surprise you that the whole adventure was very productive photography-wise. I came away with what I feel is some of the best work I've done yet. I picked out my favorites and came out with EIGHTEEN pictures to show you. That's a new record for the most photos in a single blog entry, completely decimating my previous record of thirteen.

The highlight of the trip, as expected, was meeting up with renowned photographer Marc Adamus. He and I hit it off immediately and became fast friends. Marc is quite the guy. He's bursting with energy and is a veritable encyclopedia of wilderness trivia, not to mention a gourmet chef. (The meals he can cook in 20 minutes using only a single pot are astounding -- I've paid $40 for entrees at nice restaurants that weren't half as good.) He tears down lonely gravel roads at 90 miles per hour, and on the rare occasion that he misses a turn, he hits the e-brake and does a 180. My kind of guy!

Marc picked out a gorgeous campsite -- very secluded, right next to a babbling stream beneath the rugged Steens Mountain Range in remote southeastern Oregon. The first day, he took me on a seven mile hike, much of it off-trail, with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Needless to say, by the end I was fairly spent. Marc, on the other hand, hadn't even broken a sweat. He later informed me that he often hikes two or three times that amount in a single day, all while carrying a 70 pound pack, sometimes in sub-zero weather. Wow.

As impressive as all that was, it was Marc's knowledge of photography that wowed me the most. He taught me several useful techniques that I was able to start using immediately. He has an uncanny ability to "see" a potential shot. I've always considered that one of my own strong points, yet Marc helped to make it even stronger. Same thing with composition: he helped me improve something which I was already skilled at. Lastly, Marc has a remarkable knack for predicting weather accurately, which is obviously extremely useful for a nature photographer. He helped me understand how he does this, which I know will be a great boon for me in the future.

Best of all, I have gained a new friend, someone I'm proud to know. We're already talking about meeting up again this summer for some more shooting. I'll be sure to post about it here when the time comes.

In closing, I'd like to give a big "THANKS!" to Marc for a fantastic and productive time. Ditto to my assistant Kaelly for helping me greatly throughout the entire journey. And for putting up with me (no small task, I assure you).

And now, without further ado, it's time for the photos. Be sure and click the links below each photo. That will bring up a larger, more detailed version, along with the story behind each image.

The next time you hear from me, I will be in lands far to the south of the US. Until then, take care!

"Skyfire" Click here to see and learn more.

"Steens Mountain Sunrise" Click here to see and learn more.

"Lost Ladybug" Click here to see and learn more.

"Demons In The Sky" Click here to see and learn more.

"Soulmates" Click here to see and learn more.

"Elowah Falls Autumn" Click here to see and learn more.

"First Snow" Click here to see and learn more.

"The Chandelier" Click here to see and learn more.

"Underworld" Click here to see and learn more.

"Struggling Ant" Click here to see and learn more.

"Fall Color Cascade" Click here to see and learn more.

"Cycle Of Life" Click here to see and learn more.

"Lonesome Butterfly" Click here to see and learn more.

"Painted Hills Sunset" Click here to see and learn more.

"A Piece Of The Past" Click here to see and learn more.

"Long Shadow" Click here to see and learn more.

"Desert Grandeur" Click here to see and learn more.

"Desert Thunderstorm"

(This one is not on my site and can only be seen here. Marc taught me how to shoot lightening bolts and, for fun, I thought I'd post the results from my first try. Not bad, but next time, I'll do it much better to be sure, and I'll post the results.)

Best. Trip. EVER.

WOW, what an AWESOME trip!

I did and saw so much stuff, it would take me way too long to tell you everything right now. Because it's the night before Thanksgiving and I've been working on these for many, many days now, I'm just going to give you a quick teaser. Early next week, I will give the story a proper retelling, complete with photos of course.

This is my very favorite image from the entire trip. You can click RIGHT HERE for a larger version and all the details that went into getting this shot. Let's just say it was quite... sandy.

Have a GREAT thanksgiving and I will see you early next week!

Marc my words, this is gonna be good.

Woo-hoo! It's time for a road trip!

Tomorrow morning, I leave on a month long photography-based road trip of the western United States. I will of course be visiting friends and family along the way, but the heart of the trip centers around one very special individual. When I get to Oregon, I will be meeting up with Marc Adamus for a few days of shooting!

Marc is one of the finest landscape photographers in the world. Check out his work and you'll see what I mean -- it's simply incredible. He is renowned for stopping at nothing to get a shot. He will often hike 20, 30, 40 miles deep into the wilderness, in the middle of winter, to get a single photo. He has been published many times and won gobs of awards.

So, why the heck has Marc agreed to meet with the likes of me? Good question. Maybe all that high-altitude hiking has clouded his judgement. Or, maybe he's feeling compassionate and wishes to help the needy. Or, maybe, just maybe, he sees something in me. Whatever the case, I sure am glad he did. He is going to take me to some of his secret spots and I think I'm going to learn a lot. I couldn't be more stoked!!

Before I go, I want to keep with my tradition and post some shots. These are from this year's Renaissance Festival. As always, larger versions can be found here in my Fine Art Galleries. They are the very last photos I had left to edit and process. I am now completely caught up and ready for the trip. When I return, I'll surely have hundreds if not thousands of new shots to work on. It never ends! And, I love it.

See you in a month!

Told ya' so!

See? Even I can come through sometimes. I told you that I'd have the photos from my Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness trip done and posted by the end of the week, and lo and behold here they are. Snowflakes must be fluttering through hell.

Of course, there's a small catch. Not all of the photos below are from the Boundary Waters. The Arrowhead Region of Minnesota has so much to see that I naturally ended up taking some photos outside the BWCAW. Two of those -- the bottom two -- are displayed below. They are images of the famous Split Rock Lighthouse. The other three photos are from the BWCAW.

As always, larger versions of each image complete with detailed information can be found right here in my Fine Art Galleries. Or, you can just click on the link right below each picture.

Click here for larger version.

Click here for larger version.

Click here for larger version.

Click here for larger version.

Click here for larger version.

I'm back. And with all my limbs!

Whew! I got back from the Boundary Waters a couple days ago and have a new found appreciation for things like refrigerators and roofs. The first two days were harsh: high winds, low temps and heavy rains make things, shall we say, a trifle difficult when camping and traveling by canoe deep in the back country. Throw in my less-than-perfect canoeing acumen and a malfunctioning cook-stove and you have a recipe for... issues.

Fortunately, the weather turned around quite nicely at the end, and I was able to get some very nice photos -- I'm really happy with the way they turned out! I'm currently editing them and should have them posted by the end of the week. (Yeah, I know you're heard that before, but this time I mean it!)

For now, I want to take a quick moment to show you a couple of shots that I took the week prior to my Boundary Waters trip. I was camping on Gull Lake in northern Minnesota and captured these two images while spinning around the lake on a friend's boat. The second one needs a bit of clarification. The shoes were left there by a friend, who walked out along a long, shallow underwater point. If you follow the water into the shot, you will see him standing in the background. (He's even easier to see in the large version.) As always, larger views of both shots are available here in my Fine Art Galleries.

Thanks for looking. I'll have the Boundary Waters photos up soon.

A miracle?

This swan must've been hobnobbing with Jesus lately. Either that or he just likes to show off. Whatever the case, his little manuver sure impressed me. I shot this about a month ago and call it Waterwalking Swan. As usual, the larger version can be found right here in my Animals Gallery.

Incidentally, I could use a little waterwalking magic myself. Tomorrow, I leave for a photography, camping and canoeing excursion into the wild and woolly Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I'm very excited and anticipate getting some great shots, and will be sure to post them here as soon as they're all edited and processed.

Just pray I don't become bear food. That wouldn't be fair to the bear. ^_^