Hippos from Botswana

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On land hippos can gallop at 20mph, that's very close to the fastest human sprinters.... just let that sink in for a moment. In the water, they actually don't swim but spend lots of time lounging in shallow water and walking along the bottom when they do move through deeper water. Their mouths can open 180° and they can easily chomp & tromp a human to death, it happens about 500 times a year - either you get too close in a small boat and they attack or at night you run into one on land and it feels threatened. Photographing from the water provided a unique perspective, nice and low, that I really like. It also let us drift quietly by, observing their behaviors, and most of the time they ignored us except num. 2 and num. 3 - that hippo decided we were a little too close. It was a mock charge meaning they never came all the way to the boat - just showing what was possible. We got the message and moved on.

Some of my all time favorites

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Forest Bathing on Earth Day

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I just returned from a lovely little exploration of Vancouver Island. On the last morning, I hiked to a small waterfall that was mildly photogenic. I decided to take a different trail back and that's when I found this. The way the light falls on that distant moss-covered boulder - swoon!

Captured with
Sony a1
Tamron 20-40
Maven Magentic Filters (http://photorec.tv/filters)
20mm • f/9 • 5 secs • ISO 100

Grand Canyon NP Storm Light Sunset

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Yesterday I gathered together my favorite photos captured while using/reviewing the Canon R10 - Canon's entry-level mirrorless camera. My full review will be out in a few weeks but in short, I was reminded that it is more important to go to pretty places than it is to have the latest and greatest gear. These two photos were captured at the Grand Canyon just before and just after sunset - about an hour apart.

Slot Canyon Dreams - 360° Photo

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Walking through a slot canyon is something that I wish everyone could witness for themselves. The nature-carved shapes are truly breathtaking and it's such a humbling feeling to be surrounded by such beauty. While I can't physically take you all with me, I'd love to share my 360-degree photo from inside the Horseshoe Bend Slot canyon so you can at least get a glimpse of what it's like.

Cascade of the Firehole River, Yellowstone NP

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3.2 second exposure | f/11 ISO 100

I am not an official ambassador for any photography gear, I like to be able to use and recommend whatever I think is the best, and those opinions change from time to time. I also am very careful about excitedly recommending something because if I don't take the time to properly test I am going to look quite foolish when I am on a workshop with someone and they bought something on my recommendation and it is not working well. Last year mavenfilters asked if I would test some new filters he was working on - he’s a good dude and a fellow photographer so I was interested to see his take on what I consider a pretty crowded market. After almost a year of testing, I can say that these are the best on the market - by a significant margin! It was actually quickly apparent that he had taken the time to develop something really great here. I wrote up a quick list of what makes these filters different and great on http://photorec.tv/filters

I captured this photo using the 6-stop ND filter from the set. This is one of my favorite stops on our winter Yellowstone workshop, I think you can see why :) We are going to be launching our return to Yellowstone next February - add your name to the list to be notified when the workshop is launched - we actually have enough people on that list that it may sell out in just a few hours. http://photorec.tv/ynp

3.2-second exposure.

There's Too Many *Walrus* in this Tub...

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In elementary school, I was asked to pick my favorite poem. After many seconds of *careful* thought I picked "Crowded Tub" by Shel Silverstein.

There are too many kids in this tub

There are too many elbows to scrub

I just washed a behind that I'm sure wasn't mine

There are too many kids in this tub.

I can't help but think about the walrus version when I look at this photo I captured back in August while leading the @mckaylivephoto #Arctic workshop

My Favorite Photos - October, November and December

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The last post sharing my favorite photos of 2022. These are from October, November, and December which started in Iceland and ended back in Death Valley NP.

My Fav Photos August & September

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I am still sharing my favorite photos of the year but in an effort to finish this up before 2023, I have smushed August and September together which started with Arctic explorations around Svalbard, jumped to Katmai Alaska before heading east again to Greenland, and finishing in Iceland. You have just hours left to submit your fav photo captured in 2022 https://photorec.tv/content/2022/12/favphoto2022

My Fav Photos June & July 2022

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June and July slowed down with just one workshop in June (Olympic NP) and lots of family time and local adventures in July.

My Fav Photos from May 2022

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Continuing my favorite photos by month. May started in the woods of the PNW and ended with two Southwest workshops. You have just 2 days left to share your one favorite photo from 2022 at http://photorec.tv/slideshow

My Fav Photos from April 2022

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Continuing my favorite photos by month. April started in Egypt cruising down the Nile before we hopped over to Jordan which included the amazing area of Petra, the Dead Sea, and Jerash.

P.s. - Happy Xmas Eve and thank you for all the very kind comments on the posts and photos.

Share your one favorite photo from 2022 at http://photorec.tv/slideshow

My Fav Photos from March 2022

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Continuing my posts sharing my favorite photos I captured each month. March 2022 started with two workshops in Death Valley NP and finished in Cairo, Egypt. Share your one favorite photo from 2022 at http://photorec.tv/slideshow. Click the photos below for larger versions.

My Fav Photos (and one video) from February 2022

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Continuing my posts sharing the fav photos I captured each month. February 2022 started in Antarctica and finished in Yellowstone NP.

My Fav Photos from January 2022

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Over the next few days, I will share my fav photos that I captured each month. You can submit your own ONE fav photo at http://photorec.tv/slideshow

My first visit to Eureka Dunes and Racetrack Playa did not disappoint. The early January road trip from Seattle to Death Valley yielded a series of photos that remain my favorites from the entire year. I headed way further south the second half of the month with a morning sunrise in Patagonia and several photos from our Antarctica workshop finishing the month. The drone shot of the ship is probably one of the worst quality shots that I have included in recent memory but it is such a fun/stressful memory from that trip that I had to include it- bouncing along in a tiny zodiac in the Southern Ocean, concentrating on keeping the drone positioned to capture the moment as we all crossed the Antarctica circle. I was switching between photos and video and at some point, I used the zoom in the Mavic 3 and that kicked it into this lower-quality version. Ooops! Thanks to Ab our expedition leader for trusting me to launch and land .. ah who am I kidding, I think he would have enjoyed a good crash. ;) Thanks to @scurich for catching the drone and really being the MVP that kept us all safe.