Get Outside! (After You Read This.)

Chasing Waterfalls

You know what one of the keys to landscape photography success is?  Going outside.  Because that’s where the landscapes live.

There are so many variables outside though!  (And bugs.  And bears.)

I am 100% an advocate of working smarter, not harder and the Interwebs is a great source of information.  Every outing requires, minimally, some research about the weather, sunrise/set times, possible tide schedules (location dependent…duh) and if it’s a night shoot, the moon phase.  Those things are the easy part though.

For me, the hard part is always figuring out where to go.  Despite my art brain, I try very hard to be organized about my image releases, making sure I mix up subject matter and environmental conditions.  Often, my location decisions are loosely based around 4 factors: how much adventure I am looking for on any particular day, how much time and money it will cost me to explore, what I feel like shooting and what I haven’t shot in a while.  I used to spend hours scouring 500px, Instagram, etc for new locations…then more time on the Googles trying to get good information about the location’s accessibility.

Then I discovered The Outbound.  It’s like <insert favorite joyful, gift-opening holiday here>.  It had everything I needed in one spot.  I was so impressed, in fact, that I reached out to them and became an Outbound Explorer myself.  (Which makes this post extremely biased.  Give the site a shot anyway though.  If you like adventure, you’ll like The Outbound.) 🙂

If you’re already an Outbound regular, find me!  If you want to talk about local spots to explore, also find me.  If you want to give me a winning lotto ticket, definitely please find me!

The Mountains Are Calling…

The Mountains Are Calling :: NH

The mountains are calling and I must go.

Warmer weather is coming. Adventures are close on its heels. I can’t wait. 🙂

So many of you have been looking for an update on the soon-to-be book. We have officially started formatting (first 4 chapters are done-done!) so hopefully we will be prepping for a release soon. There will be some fun hoopla surrounding the release, but you need to get our newsletter to be part of it. 🙂 Sign up for that here!

The Outbound

Crystal Cascade :: New Hampshire

Spring is finally springing, and I am so happy to be back outside, filling my life with adventure.  So often, I get asked about where shots were taken and what the journey to get there was like….  Well, as of this week, it just became a lot easier to find those answers.

I have started posting my trips up on The Outbound Collective, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.  It’s an online adventure resource goldmine.  If you want more information about the practical aspects of making a trip up a particular mountain, or trekking a desert, or kayaking a river…they probably have it.  In particular, they are filled to the brim with info about the west coast…but I intend to beef up their page with plenty of east coast adventures in the coming weeks.  All you have to do is follow and save any trips you like, and when you’re ready for a vacation….viola!  Instant trip guide!

So, if you want the details on how grueling a hike was to get to the peak of that mountain to take that pretty picture…well…go read about it on my Adventure page.  Then you will be a little more prepared for when you make your own trek into the great….where ever. lol

The above shot was from last year, when I took a trip up Mt. Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine Trail.  Read more about it (and see more pretty, some previously unpublished photos) here!