Sierra Nevada Mountains

Hello, earlier this month we visited the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Click here for a slide show.
Sierra
We flew into the Tahoe/Reno airport where our good friends Kim and Gregg from San Francisco met us in their silver Jetta. The four of us piled in and drove an hour to Lake Tahoe for a long-weekend birthday celebration. Gregg and I celebrated our recent 50th birthdays and Kim also had a birthday to commemorate! The entire trip was new ground for Geri and I as we'd never been to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake or Yosemite National Park before.
The weather in Tahoe was cold and even snowing as we arrived! This first part of the trip was really more about relationships than location, although we did go on a great hike once it warmed up a little. Lake Tahoe is big and beautiful, and an unbelievable area from so many different views.
Geri and I decided to tack on an extra week after Gregg and Kim headed back to S.F. We drove south and explored Mono Lake and Yosemite. Our first stop was at one of the most atmospheric gold mining ghost towns in the West named Bodie. In the 1880s, Bodie was the second largest city in California after San Francisco! In it's heyday, it boasted three breweries, and some 60 saloons and dance halls. It also had a well-earned reputation as the raunchiest and most lawless mining camp in the West, where almost every day ended in a shootout on Main Street while the firehouse bell rung once for every year of a murdered man's life, seemed never to stop sounding.
Bodie is now a California State Park and a very peaceful place on a warm, fall day.
I had so much fun there, they had to ask me to leave at 5 p.m. - closing time! I am beginning to act my age closing state historical sites rather than bars!
From Bodie we drove over a tough dirt road to the town of Lee Vining on the edge of Mono Lake with its blue expanse and 60 square miles reflecting the snow-capped Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The salty alkaline lake is most known for the strange, sandcastle-like tufa towers that were formed underwater, where calcium-bearing freshwater springs well up through the carbonate-rich lake water. The calcium and the carbonate combine as limestone, slowly growing into the weird formations that resemble giant coral. The towers became more visible as Los Angeles drained away the waters that flow into the lake between 1940 and the 1990s. Now the lake is slowly expected to refill to its natural levels in about 20 years.
We arrived at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve's South Tufa area as the sun set in the west and the moon was rising in the east. We weren't alone as about 30 other photographers from around the world lined the shoreline with cameras on tripods. This scene played out again the next morning at sunrise with the moon setting in the West over the eastern Sierra Nevadas.
After breakfast at the Whoa Nellie Deli, we drove into Yosemite National Park traveling over Tioga Pass at almost 10,000 feet in elevation, taking in some of Yosemite's most breathtaking high-country scenery. Tioga Road is the highest paved road in California!
We decided to stop and hike up to Lembert Dome, about a 4-mile roundtrip that was well worth the time and effort. The park is full of granite domes, the most famous is Half Dome - which we decided not to climb. It's a 12-hour hike including the last part which uses cables to get to the top. The cables were pulled up in anticipation of winter the day we arrived.
In the minds of many, Yosemite National Park is Yosemite Valley, a four-square-mile nugget of stupendous landscape that never fails to impress. This valley not only lives up to your expectations but exceeds them! From the first views of El Capitan's 3,000 vertical foot wall of rock, past Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome greets you with a smile as you drive beside the Merced River. The river and the falls were dried up at this time of year, but I can imagine how the springtime runoff would be a sight to see.
We drove past Yosemite Village to the end of the road at the Ahwahnee Hotel, built in 1927. This six-story grand European-style hotel has attracted royalty, heads of state and movie stars. From there we hiked up to Mirror Lake at the base of Half Dome about four miles round trip, even though the lake was also dry. As the sun was setting, bathing Half Dome in pink alpine glow, we headed for our hotel just outside the parks south entrance.
Over the next few days we explored the valley and the south end of the park including Glacier Point, which provides one of the best views of the valley. We also did a couple of cool hikes to Taft Point and Sentinel Dome. Taft Point is known for its valley rim view and the fissures that cut down the steep edges. It is not a comfortable place if you are afraid of heights! Sentinel Dome was a much more mellow hike and a good spot for lunch.
I should note that the park service was doing a controlled burn, so the sky was more than a little hazy, which made some pictures not so interesting and others became more interesting.
No trip to Yosemite would be complete without a stop at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village, where you can study and buy some of the best landscape photography created by Ansel Adams and others who've specialized in photographing Yosemite and the western states.
Cheers, Kent

China travel stories

Hello, with the 2008 Olympics in China, I thought I would post some pictures from our travels around China including Tibet. Click here if you would like to see a slideshow. China.
In May 2005 we traveled around China for 17 days and in 2003 we visited Tibet so I am including some pictures from that trip as well. China is an amazing country to experience and we would like to go again as there were several places we didn't get to see.
We started in Beijing where we began with an authentic Dim Sum Breakfast before going to Tiananmen Square followed by a pedicab tour of the Hutong, Old Beijing's neighborhoods with narrow lanes too small for cars. We were treated to a home hosted dumpling lunch while our pedicab drivers gambled playing cards outside.
The next day we climbed a few miles of the Great Wall which is much steeper than you might think.
On our final day in Beijing we visited the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven before catching an evening flight to Wuhan.
In Wuhan, we began a three day cruise on the Yangtze River including pasting though the Three Gorges Dam.
The cruise ended in Chongquing which is the largest city in the world with more than 40 million people!
On a day trip from Chongquing we went to see the Dazu Stone Carving masterpieces that are combinations of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian Statue themes.
Our next stop was the city of Guilin in southern China where the Li River flows though picturesque landscapes of lush tropical limestone hills which have inspired many ancient and modern artists and poets.
From Guilin we flew to Shanghai and quickly transfered to the 2500-year-old city of Suzhou which is known for silk, gardens and canals.
On a day trip from Suzhou we visited the city of Nanjing the home of Dr. Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum and the Nanjing Massacre Memorial from WWII.
Our trip finished in Shanghai, the commercial and artistic center of China.
I've only touched on the highlights of our tour so please check out the slideshow to get a real sense of what we experienced.
Cheers, Kent

POY Slices of Life images from 2007

Hello, this week I've prepared my Slices of Life Pictures for the Year 2007. Wow, what a busy year it was filled with snow storms, memorials, camping, hiking, skiing, concerts and traveling.
It was a difficult year with the death of my father-in-law, Jim Meyers, last March as he was a very special person in our lives. I photographed him so much over the past 15 years and he was always at ease with me. I had no idea until the last few years what a collection of images I had amassed. After preparing a memorial collage for Jim's wife Pat a few years ago, I realized, that Jim had given me a gift and wanted me to continue documenting his life all the way to the grave. If you would like to see a memorial slideshow about Jim Meyers, CLICK HERE: Jim Meyers. If you would like to see a slideshow from Jim's Montana Memorial, CLICK HERE: Jim's Montana Memorial. IF you would like to see Jim's Minnesota Goodbye, CLICK HERE: Jim Meyers Minnesota Goodbye.
These collections of pictures might well be my favorite story of all time.
Every picture tells a story as you can see with my POY 2007 slideshow, CLICK HERE: Pictures of the Year 2007.
Cheers to 2007, a vintage year, Kent

Tuscany 2004

Hello, my last post featured our good friends Luisa and Luciano visiting Denver from Italy, so I thought I would go back and post a story about our last trip to see them, in Tuscany in early July 2004. They actually live in Genoa but Luciano's family has a farm/vineyard in the town of Cerreto Guidi which is between Florence and Pisa. We were traveling with two of Geri's sisters and a brother in-law so they arranged for us to stay at a nearby Agriturismo.
Luciano met us at the airport in Florence and guided us in our rental car to what would be our home base for the next two weeks, Agriturismo La Colombaia, a working farm/villa and in this case also a vineyard, with rooms to rent. Our apartment had two bedrooms and a giant kitchen. We were welcomed with a basket of locally-produced food, plus a bottle of Chianti from their vineyard. We had access to everything growing in their large vegetable garden, barbecue grills and a beautiful swimming pool.
Agriturismo La Colombaia.
After we unpacked, we drove over to have lunch with Luciano's family including his 93-year-old mother. For the next two weeks we visited neighboring towns such as San Gimignano, Siena, Pisa and to Florence by train a couple of times for the museums, galleries and shops. We even ventured over to some great beaches on the Mediterranean coast.
Our hosts at Agriturismo La Colombia were Daniele and his wife Elena, who offered a tour of the vineyard as well as the bottling plant in town. Each Friday evening they planned a dinner for all of the guests. One evening Elena's mother rolled out pizza crusts and we each made our own pizza. Then her father would bake them in a wood-burning oven. We became good friends with Daniele and Elena and keep in touch via email. We hope they will come visit us in Denver, but they vacation during the winter and don't like cold weather. They much prefer a warm beach.
We had so many great experiences. Please take time to watch the slideshow. You won't be disappointed. CLICK HERE: Tuscany 2004. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.

California - San Francisco and points north

If you would like to see a slideshow of our California Road Trip CLICK HERE: California Road Trip. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.
Hello, we recently vacationed in northern California. Two of our San Francisco friends said we could stay at their house in Noe Valley, while they relaxed in New York City and Aruba. It worked out very well - they left their car at the airport for us, and we in turn left it at the airport for them a week later!
We spent the first couple of days in S.F. dining out at some favorite neighborhood restaurants and visiting friends who live in North Beach. We also enjoyed the play "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" at the American Conservatory Theater, then hit the road heading north through wine country, stopping in Healdsburg and Middletown and finally arriving in Mendocino as the first rain of the season arrived! It rained more than two inches overnight. The sun came out the next morning and we went for a bicycle ride through Big River Beach State Park. Mendocino Coast.
The next day another storm blew in but we didn't let that slow us down. We hiked in the rain out to the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. The weather made great coastal images, with lots of angry surf. Next we drove south to Bodega Bay along Highway 1. Wow, what a beautiful, scenic, twisting drive! We managed to arrive and get checked into our motel in time to watch a Rockies/Diamondbacks playoff game before dinner. The next morning again in the rain, we drove inland to Guerneville and Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve, which is in a rain forest. After that we headed back into town and on to the Korbel Champagne Cellars estate where we took a tour, tried several premium champagnes from their extensive list and had a gourmet lunch in the deli.
By sunset we had made it to Point Reyes National Seashore and the lighthouse. It was a long, 20-mile drive through the coastal countryside which included several historical dairy farms. We had to watch out for milk cows on the road!
We made it back to San Francisco that night and were looking forward to another weekend in the city, including a visit to the Noe Valley Harvest Festival. We stopped for lunch and I waited for the costume contest to begin. I photographed kids in costume, the pet costume category and the 'Pimp My Stroller' competitors.
Then we hopped on the Muni (public transportation) and headed uptown to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The museum has an entire floor devoted to photography but it was closed as they were installing a new exhibit - bummer. The rest of the museum was open and provided plenty of cool exhibits and galleries.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
For dinner that night, we caught up with our North Beach friends and ate at a restaurant called The House, with an Asian Fusion menu.

Road to Zen Summer 2007

As promised, our road trip to Montana is delivered! I began this trip with all of four hours sleep the morning after I shot the Breckenridge wedding! We made it to Bozeman in about 10 hours and had a great barbecue rib dinner. The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the Cateye Cafe before getting back on the road. Our only stop was at Clearwater Junction to savor an ice cream cone and photograph the giant cow. We headed north along the Swan Seeley Highway - driving along Seeley Lake, Salmon Lake and Swan Lake. We made it to Kalispell - our destination - in about five hours. If you would like to see a slideshow of our trip CLICK HERE: Road to Zen Summer 2007. All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.
The intention of this trip was not to have fun, believe it or not. We spent the week taking inventory, packing and cleaning Geri's father's house. He passed away in February and all four daughters and two brothers-in-law put in some long, hot days. In fact, there was at least one day of record-setting temperatures of 101 degrees. When you are that far north, the sun comes up about 5 a.m. and sets about 10 p.m.!
I managed to have some fun catching up with a photographer friend, Craig Moore. I actually met Craig the week before at the Breckenridge wedding. He was a guest and I was the hired photographer. We hooked up for lunch at Moose's Saloon. Craig invited me to join him for a sunset drive to Glacier National Park. He loves to do late-night, long-exposure pictures featuring star fields and trails. I hadn't done that in many years. Needless to say it was a late night or early morning. We saw lots of wildlife and thank goodness, no bears. A mountain lion crossed the road in front of us at 2 a.m. when we were driving down Going-to-the-Sun Road. We had a good time and made some cool images. Craig's website.
The next morning, which was the Fourth of July, we got up early (not my idea) to get some work done so we could attend the unveiling of the new War Memorial in downtown Kalispell, at the end of the parade. Jim, Geri's dad and a WWII veteran would have enjoyed being there with us. I was too tired to drive out to the lake to photograph the fireworks that night, but we were able to see and hear plenty from where we were staying!
Geri and I visited our good friends Howard and Mauriene for lunch and a quick visit to their art studio. The next day we had lunch with another couple, Chris and Cas, at their home near Big Fork. Chris is a landscape architect and I always enjoy photographing in and around their yard.
We headed for home on July 8 which was our 12th anniversary, stopping for the night at the Snow Lodge in Yellowstone National Park. We toasted our union with a bottle of wine, before taking a wonderful sunset stroll around the geyser basin. What an amazing place.
We were on the road at 6 a.m. the next day so we could see the sun rise over Yellowstone Lake and have early morning light while driving through Grand Teton National Park. Please take time to see the slideshow from the trip and if you are wondering about the little guy, he is our traveling gnome, Jerome. Oh, and I almost forgot to explain the pictures of Geri having her thumbnail punctured to release the blood under the nail after she slammed her thumb in a car door. Ouch! I told you it was supposed to be a fun trip.
Cheers, Kent

New York Minute

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted a story. We went to New York City for nine days over Thanksgiving to visit Geri's cousin Jeanne, who lives on the upper West side of Manhattan. As usual, we covered a lot of ground by foot, cab, train, ferry, car, bus and plane.
Here is a list of the highlights:
"The Drowsy Chaperone", a play at the Marquis Theatre in Times Square. It's one of the hottest shows on Broadway and it was very funny.
Geri's belated birthday dinner at Blue Smoke, a really good Danny Meyer's barbecue restaurant.
The Statue of Liberty National Monument. We took the last ferry back to the city at dusk. It was cold, but the skyline was beautiful.
A lunch of grilled cheeseburgers, crinkle-cut fries and shakes at The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.
Top Of The Rock Observation Deck at sunset. Again, a bit cool but that's to be expected from the exterior of the 70th floor of Rockefeller Plaza.
Hanging out with our friend, Kack, and touring her new penthouse condo.
The Brooklyn Museum exhibit, 'Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life' featuring more than 200 photographs debuting before an international tour. The show is based around a new book by the same title which I am hoping to get for Christmas - hint, hint.
Another amazing show, 'Ron Mueck Sculpture' at the Brooklyn Museum, eleven works by an artist known for his extraordinarily lifelike renderings of his subjects, either smaller or larger than life-size.
It rained on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but that actually made it more interesting to photograph!
A bus trip to Southbury, Conn. to visit Geri's Aunt Eileen, for Thanksgiving dinner and a two-night sleepover.
'Americans in Paris' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a rather large show of American impressionist painters who studied in Paris in the late 1800's including John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt and others.
And a long walk through Central Park where I came across a newly-wedded couple from Queens, who were married at the courthouse and visited the park for pictures. If you would like to see a slideshow from our trip. CLICK HERE: New York Minute
All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

Friends we met in Costa Rica

At the end of April/early May 2006, Geri and her sister, Melani, and I flew to Costa Rica for a 17-day adventure. We enjoyed white-water rafting, traveling by horseback, snorkeling, hiking, bird watching and flying though the jungle on ziplines. We even took part in an after-dark bug tour! It was like summer camp for big kids - the many activities and the international cuisine were exceptional the entire trip.
The bonus surprise of our journey were the friends we made during our last three-night stay at La Paloma Lodge on the Osa Penninsula. Our new-found group of 11 had traveled from Los Angeles, New York, Canada, Phoenix, Denver and England! We shared meals, hikes, snorkeling adventures, etc. It was such a relaxing environment to hangout in, or to go exploring on our own. We've managed to keep in touch, even as Ben and Pamela moved from London to New York City, and while we are spread out all across North America.
If you would like to see a slideshow of photos from everyone CLICK HERE: Friends in Costa Rica slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player Kevin from Canada, in the black and white photo, took the very cool picture of the frog (it's greeting card material). Thank you to everyone for sending pictures to create this show. We hope to see all of you in person again, somewhere in time.
Cheers, Geri & Kent
PS.Here is a link to my original slideshow CLICK HERE: CostaRica

Canyonlands Trip

Last week I took a road trip to Canyonlands National Park in Utah with my friend, Rick. The drive west was spectacular with beautiful fall colors along the Colorado River and near Vail ski area.
The plan was to be in the desert for both sunset and moonrise, which happens at the same time during the October harvest moon (full moon). The weather didn't cooperate with us as far as the sun and the moon were concerned. Since it was cloudy, I decided to use a camera that had been converted to shoot only black and white infrared images. Photographing landscapes in intense environments seemed simple enough, although it's difficult to capture an image that exactly reflects what it's like to be there.
In this case infrared made the scenery look like something out of Alice in Wonderland, which is pretty much what it was like in person. Infrared turns green and yellow leaves white, like they are snow-covered and brings up the clouds in high contrast. I hope to use this camera again in other environments, such as above timberline in the mountains of Colorado.
If you would like to see a slideshow CLICK HERE: Canyonlands slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player
We arrived after sunset on Day One, and discovered that the four-wheel drive roads were too difficult to navigate in the dark. It did make for a couple of cool pictures though. So we headed out of the park to camp on BLM land nearby. We found a great spot and had dinner while the moon came up and then disappeared in the clouds.
The next morning we woke up to light rain. Not what we had planned for, so we didn't get in a hurry to go hiking. We checked in at the ranger station and learned that a big rain storm was coming in that night and was going to last a couple of days. We figured if we wanted to hike, we had better get going. The area we wanted to visit is in the southern part of the Canyonlands, about an hours' drive south of Moab called The Needles. The rain stopped and the sun came out about noon. We decided to do a hike that would take about six hours and finish just after sunset.
It was perfect weather for hiking and the incoming clouds made for a cool background behind the rocks. Taking time to make pictures put us a little behind schedule, and before the sun set, the storm had rolled in upon us. We were about four miles from the trailhead - in the rain and the dark. We hiked hard and fast as thunder boomed around us. Before long the trails became streams. We felt fine as we were prepared for rain and the lightning was up high and we were in a valley.
Then I heard what sounded like Niagara Falls. What had been a dry streambed suddenly turned into a roaring river about 50 feet across and five feet deep. There were rocks tumbling under the water and a big tree floated by. There was no way we could have crossed the rushing water. We also couldn't figure out where the trail would reappear. We decided to find some shelter from the rain and try to stay warm. We found a rock outcropping that blocked the rain but not the wind. Sitting there getting colder by the minute I couldn't imagine hanging out until dawn. The rain stopped about midnight and we decided to hike around to warm up and find a better place to spend the night. We found a spot and I even managed to get in an hour of sleep before I woke up in the cold. We hiked back down to the water to see if it was low enough to cross, since it hadn't been raining for awhile. The water was low enough but we had trouble finding the trail on the other side. The trail/road crossed the stream/river about five more times! We finally made it to Elephant Hill which is a four-wheel drive road - the one we tried to drive up the night before. It was a long, steep climb and a sharp descent to the parking lot. It was cloudy and raining by the light of dawn as we walked up to Rick's Ford Explorer.
So what started out to be a six-hour day hike had turned into a 19-hour adventure in the wilderness. All's well that ends well.
Cheers, Kent

New York, New York

Hello,
Last week I went to New York City to attend a seminar by VII Photo Agency at the Parsons New School of Design. This agency specializes in war and conflict photo stories as well as documenting the social issues of our time. These folks are some of the most dedicated photojournalists working in the world! Not only was it a collection of amazing photographers, but editors from Time Magazine, Newsweek, Fortune, Vanity Fair and the New York Times Sunday Magazine joined in on a couple of panel discussions.
I stayed with my wife's cousin, Jeanne, who lives on the upper west side of Manhattan. The day after the seminar, Jeanne and I spent the day walking and riding the subway around the city so I could collect a little slice-of-life photo story. Our journey began in Madison Square Park where an installation of photographs was being erected. After we arrived, I figured out what Jeanne really wanted to do - to eat lunch at the Shake Shack. It's basically a fancy hamburger stand in the park. I couldn't believe New Yorkers would stand in line for a half-hour for a burger, until I got one, plus a killer shake! From there we went to Little Italy, Chinatown and to "The Pit" at Ground Zero.
We then walked down to Battery Park where the ferry boats go out to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and Staten Island. It was a beautiful, even hot, afternoon. Jeanne drank an entire bottle of Gatorade for the first time in her life!
Next came Wall Street followed by the one place I wanted to visit most of all - The Brooklyn Bridge. Not only did we walk out onto the bridge just as the sun was setting, but we walked across the bridge and down to a park below the bridge on the Brooklyn side. The sky turned a beautiful orange/blue color behind the city skyline which included the bridge. Wow, what a finish to a fun day in the city.
We took the subway back to Manhattan and Jeanne headed for home while I decided to check out Times Square. I had no idea what I might find. Lucky for me, the rock band Motley Crue, was walking the red carpet into The Paramount Theater next to the Hard Rock Cafe.
I met up with Jeanne back at her apartment where we made a plan to meet another friend, Kack, for a late Italian dinner.
The next morning while watching The Today Show, I saw a really cool piece of artwork being unveiled in Rockefeller Center. "Sky Mirror", a concave piece of polished steel, 35-feet in diameter was being installed. The artist, Anish Kapoor, did another reflective piece of art in the Millennium Park in Chicago. So I decided to jump on the subway and go capture this work of art in motion before blasting off to La Guardia Airport. I had a direct flight home to Denver, however, the plane sat on the runway for two hours before the flight was finally cancelled. I ended up on a flight to Chicago/O'Hare and then transferred to a Denver flight. I arrived home six hours late, but safe and sound.
Enjoy the slideshow.
Peace, Kent

PS. I forgot to mention that sometimes when I travel I take my travel gnome, Jerome, with me and I photograph him in fun places.
If you would like to see a slideshow CLICK HERE: New York slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

Fishin' Blues

Hello, today's story Fishin' Blues comes from British Columbia, Canada. I would like to post this story as a tribute to my good friend, Steve Cox, who passed away recently. Steve was supposed to accompany me, my father-in-law, Jim Meyers' and his buddy Geoff Hughes, both of Kalispell, Montana. Steve and I worked together for 10 years in The Denver Post photo department. I hope Steve was laughing every time I pulled up some strange-looking fish from the depths of the ocean.
If you would like to see a slideshow CLICK HERE: Fishin' Blues slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

I met up with Jim and Geoff in Vancouver and we flew from there to Port Hardy where we climbed into The Goose, a nine passenger plane that can land on water or pavement. I begged to ride shotgun as the co-pilot so I could make pictures from the side window.
The Goose landed on the water in Ocean Falls and taxied up the boat ramp where Joann and Jim Walls met us. They own and run "Wall's" Fish Camp. Joann does all the booking and cooking while Jim and several other guides take guests fishing.
We were fishing for salmon for the most part. However, I kept reeling in odd catches one after another. It became a running joke! Finally, I caught a small China Rockfish but before I could reel it in a large Ling Cod grabbed it. I almost dropped my rod and reel into the ocean when this giant fish came out of the water with its mouth wrapped around the smaller fish. Usually I end up taking pictures rather than fishing. This trip I managed to do both. Yesterday I dropped off 80 pounds of filleted fish to be vacuum packed.
CLICK HERE: "Walls" Fish Camp

Telluride Mushroom Festival Weekend

Hello! Telluride, Colorado, is a destination like no other, in a high mountain valley at the end of a box canyon. Last weekend we drove for more than six hours one way to attend the 3rd annual Telluride Culinary and Arts Festival. The drive over the mountains was long but fun, stopping to shop for antiques in a few small towns. We arrived on Friday afternoon to a condo in Mountain Village, from there we took the ski area gondola down into town for a four-stop Progressive Dinner, ending up back in the village. Our favorite course was Seared Hawaiian Walu with Lemon Spaetzle, chanterelle mushrooms and fennel, served with lobster brown emulsion at Allred's, halfway down the mountain.

On Saturday, we went into town for breakfast at Las Montanas. The huevos rancheros with tomatillo green chili was great. Later that afternoon Geri, my wife, attended a cooking demonstration while I photographed the Telluride Mushroom Festival parade, which turned out to be a major highlight of the weekend for me.
Another unexpected fun stop was in Ridgway, about 20 miles from Telluride. Geri stopped to shop for antiques while I checked out artist studios at the old Ridgeway Fire Station. I hope you enjoy the story of our weekend get away.
Cheers, Kent
If you would like to see the slideshow of our trip CLICK HERE: Mushroom Festival slideshow All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player

China's Cultural Revolution

Hello,

I would like to introduce you to Mr. Li Zhensheng, a Chinese photographer who documented the Cultural Revolutions for his home town news paper, the Heilonjiang Daily in Harbin. Forty years ago China's leader, Mao Zedong was clearing a political and ideological path that resulted in a 10-year experiment in terror.
Risking his life Mr. Li hid more than 30,000 of his negatives in the floor boards of his home rather than turning them over to the government to burn. In 1996 he moved to New York with his negatives where he realized the historical value of his images. Last year he had an exhibit in Paris and he recently opened his first show in the United States at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Englewood, Colorado just south of Denver.
The show runs though June 16th. I attended the opening with Mr. Li walking around to each picture describing the situtation including a group excution by firing squad. His black and white pictures are very powerful images documenting the daily terror in his community from 1966 to 1977.

Peace, Kent

Costa Rica Adventures

A gecko on the window at sunset.

Hello,

As promised here are a few images from our trip to Costa Rica. If you would like to see a slideshow click on the headline, Costa Rica Adventures.
We started out on a cold Denver day deicing the plane. Melanie, Geri's sister met up with us in Dallas for our flight to San Jose where we spent our first night before leaving at 6AM for a two day white water rafting trip on the Pacuare River. It was one of the best rafting trips I've ever taken including several in Colorado. Plus the Pacuare Lodge where we stayed in the jungle along the river was amazing.
Kevin & Heather Michaelsen of Colorado Springs on their honeymoon in the hot springs at Tabacon.

Fast forward a couple of days to La Fortuna with Arenal Volcano, Tabacon Hot Springs and a water fall hike and swim.Getting from La Fortuna to Monteverde took about six hours including, a taxi, boat, horseback, and four wheel drive taxi.
The boat ride across Arenal lake was cool with the volcano burping gas and spitting out rocks.
Then came the horseback ride with our guide, Nixon, for 3 1/2 hours. I love riding horses and this was a blast as I think I had the fastest horse in the bunch. I had to slow him down so I wouldn't pass Nixon when we would run at a full gallop.
At the end of the ride we stopped in a restaurant and met Nixon's friends and family.
The 4-wheel drive ride to Monteverde was a beautiful rough ride.Gregg of Steamboat Springs, Colorado on a zipline canopy tour.

Nicole of Steamboat Springs, Colorado on a zipline canopy tour.

In Monteverde we did another zipline canopy tour, a coffee plantation tour and visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.Miriam of Los Angeles picks coffee beans.

The cloud forest is the highlight of this area eventhough we had a rare blue sky day rather than the usual clouds and rain. We saw a pair of rare and beautiful birds, Resplendent Quetzal. This reserve is one of the most outstanding wildlife sanctuaries in the Americas and includes eight distinct ecological zones. It protects more than 400 species of birds and over 100 spices of mammals.
Boarding pass for one of the coolest flights ever!

The next leg of the jouney took us to Drake Bay on the Osa Pennisula. The flight in at 5,000 feet elevation made for some fun pictures. I love shooting pictures from planes and other moving forms of transportation. We landed on a dirt runway where we quickly unloaded and packed into a 4-wheel drive for a ride to the beach for a boat ride to La Paloma Lodge and our sunset rancho bungalow. The view from my seat.

La Paloma Lodge is a nature oriented eco-lodge with an amazing natural environment full of birds, mammals, and bugs. We saw several Scarlet Macaws. The lodge is spead out over 24 acres of natural flora and fauna with great views of the ocean and the beach is only a 6-minute walk. Sunset rancho at La Paloma Lodge.

We quickly made friends with other quests several were on our flight. One couple from the United Kingdom arrived by boat and had some pictures of large crocodiles right next to their boat. Another couple were actors from New York. Two other couples were engineers both husbands and wife's! One couple from Los Angeles and the other from Calgary Canada. We formed friendships and I hope to do another story and share pictures from everyone in a few weeks.
The first night we did a night hike with "The bug Lady" after dinner and cocktails. We saw all kinds of strange creatures crawling around. One of the coolest was the Trapdoor spider. I even managed to get a picture of one! In the middle of the hike it started to rain. We took cover under a shelter by the pool while our guides continued to hunt for snakes, frogs and toads. The rain and thunder didn't stop until about 5AM.
Our wake up knock came at 6AM with a pot of Costa Rican coffee. After breakfast we took a boat ride over to Cano Island Biological Reserve where we went snorkeling along the coraline reefs with manta rays, barracudas, reef sharks and hundreds of reef fish.
The next day we split into two groups visiting different parts of Corovado National Park which in known as the Amazon of Costa Rica and spans over 40, 00 hectares of virgin and secondary rain forest. Our group went to the northern entrance of Corcovado at the San Pedrillo ranger station. Before lunch we hiked through the rainforest looking for birds, snakes, bugs, monkeys etc. and back along the beaches.
Our travel nome gets a kiss from a parrot.

After lunch we hiked up to a series of waterfalls where we could swim. Melanie became know as Crocodile Mel after spotting a 10 foot long croc in the river. Luckily the croc's don't go up the river where we swam.
The last morning before we flew back to San Jose and back to the USA, we did a fun series of portraits of each person in the group and a couple of the gal's from La Paloma.
(Me) Kent repelling down from a zipline canopy tour.

Leaving Drake Bay for San Jose and Denver, I couldn't believe it was time to go home.
I hope you've enjoyed this brief travel story. If you would like to see a slideshow from our trip click on the headline Costa Rica Adventure.

Cheers, Kent

China

Hello,

We are leaving for Costa Rica today for a two week adventure. So I am posting a few pictures from our trip to China last spring to entertain you all while we are gone and to give you an idea of how I work while traveling. The headline China is a link to a slideshow from the trip if you have time check it out.

Ciao for now, Kent

Home from Las Vegas and Vancouver

Bally's Las Vegas, the site of the WPPI convention.




Mark Cafiero, speaking at WPPI.



A kid who gave us directions.



An old Taxie Cab at Joe's Oyster Bar where we had dinner.



Geri in the rain.



Vancouver is reflected in a window as people eat at the market.




A Great Blue Heron in Vancouver at the Ferry Dock.



Geri, my wife getting chopped by Fin The Canucks mascot.



Mating butterflies at the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver.




Geno, our neighbors new burnesse mountain dog puppy.



Ashby, our neighbor girl.



Bleed Hearts in my backyard.



Hi folks,

I am back from the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Convention and a long weekend trip to Vancouver Canada. The convention was a world class whirl wind with more than 7,000 photographers. I attended at least 16 speaker presentations including one by my friend Mark Cafiero on defining your business and personal vision among other things. I will attach a couple of photos of Mark from his class.
Seeing old friends and making new friends at the convention who are all pumped up about creating the best photography for themselves and their clients will push me to be even better!
Now on to Vancouver, Geri my wife and I, traveled with the Colorado Avalanche Hockey team for a game against the Canucks. The Av's lost in overtime but it was a great game. Please see the photo of Geri getting chomped by there mascot, Fin. I thnk its a whale.
We had a good time walking around town eating and drinking. Its a very international up scale sort of city with a large asian population as well as lots of asian tourists.
On Saturday we took a ferry boat over to a fun indoors and outdoors market full of food, flowers and artists. The boat rides were as much fun as shopping.
I expected Vancouver to be more like Seatle or maybe San Franisco but it has a feel all its own.
Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day so I thought I would share some recent earthy pictures.
One of our neigbor girl Ashby, who came over to get you ball out of our back yard and the light on our front porch was beautiful back lit.
Another is one of our other neighbors new puppy geno, a Burnese Mountain dog.
One of my favorite spring flowers, bleeding hearts, made for a great shot this morning before breakfast.
And the last picture is on a pair of mating butterflies.

Happy Earth Day, Kent

On my way to Las Vegas

Hello again,

I am just about to leave for WPPI, Wedding & Portrait Photograhers Internation convention, in Las Vegas. I will also be attending DWF, Digital Wedding Photographes Forum convention. These are huge events that draw more than 7,000 photographers from all over the world!
I will share a few stories when I return.

Cheers, Kent

PS. Here is a photo from my last trip to Vegas. A bride at The Little White Wedding Chapel.