If you have an I-Phone or an I-Pod Touch then you might be interested in a new product which has just been released. It is an application designed to help you photograph Rocky Mountain National Park. It makes use of 150 of my photos showing you where they were taken, the best time of day to photograph the exact location the image was taken from as well as other information about how to best shoot the area. The application also has a number of other tools such as an itinerary planner, sunrise and sunset information, hyperfocal distance assistance as well as tools to help you share your time in Rocky Mountain National Park with others via social networking sites. The application is being released in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Nature Association. You can find it at: TravelPhotoGuides.com

This spring I once again spent about a week in the desert southwest. Just before and just after the busy season here in Estes Park I like to run away to the desert for personal refreshment and to photograph something different. On this trip I spent about half my time in Zion National Park and the other half along the Arizona / Utah border. I never thought it would happen, but my imagination has been completely captured by sandstone. This simple material reveals itself in a myriad of forms and colors. It almost dances to the light, revealing new and unseen aspects with each movement of the sun.

I like to keep my gallery inventory fresh as I have many new images that I would love to show, so I'm selling off a bunch of inventory at a huge savings. Many of these pieces have been used in art shows and so have some minor wear, but the prices are less than half of their original and some pieces are marked down nearly 75%! I have only one of each of these pieces so when they are gone, that is it. "Check it out" and "contact me" if you are interested in purchasing one or more of these highly reduced pieces.

At the end of October after a busy summer season I once again ran off to the desert. They are becoming places of retreat for me, places where I can enjoy solitude and beauty. They are places of healing and prayer. It reminded me of why so many of the early church leaders were known as the "Desert Fathers". On this trip I had generally bad weather but I still managed to take a few images and enjoy a break from the business of life for a little while. Most of the images I took were more of the abstract images since the sky offered little most of the time. I've recently noticed that when I am in the mountains my photos tend to focus on the grand landscape and when I'm in the deserts I am captivated by the small details. What a wonderful and varied world we live in!

Many people who drive across Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park look out across Forest Canyon to the distant valley of Hayden's Gorge. It seems so close and perhaps even accessible. Many people dream of one day hiking down into the valley and across this forest, thinking that it can't take more than a few hours. Others have heard the incredible stories about the ruggedness of Forest Canyon and wonder if they are true. Yesterday a friend and I made the journey. It was an epic adventure, one that started at midnight at Bear Lake and ended at Trail Ridge Road near the Ute Crossing. Here is a full report of our trip.

April is my slowest month of the year at the gallery so I decided to get away and catch my breath before the busy tourist season arrived. I drove out after work on Sunday and then spent the next two days shooting, returning to Estes Park after sunrise on Wednesday morning. The weather conditions weren't amazing but I still had a great time and covered a lot of ground. It was a wonderful break and provided quite a few photo opportunities. This is simply a stunning part of the world and so very different from the mountains where I spend most of my time. For most of my visit. Have a look at some of my new desert images.

While I love the natural world and enjoy capturing its beauty, it is important to remember that a large percentage of the people on our globe face the challenge of poverty. Close friends of mine have been working to give people a hand out of poverty through the creation of small business programs in Sudan, Uganda, northern India, etc. Their organization "Global Business Assist" is doing some amazing things. I encourage you to visit their website and consider getting involved. To further raise awareness to this need I am in a race with another photographer to be the first Colorado photographer with 10,000 people signed up on my Facebook Artist page. (See Press Release) If I win, I will donate $1,000 to the work of GBA. You can encourage others to sign up and help me get there. Most importantly, you can use this opportunity to let others know about how they can be involved in helping the world's poorest through the work of GBA.