Sometimes you have to force yourself into spaces that will allow you the room to bloom.

What kind of person sees our planet's beauty and thinks "this place could sure use private equity" or a data center, or fracking wells, or even just something as seemingly insignificant as ignoring the posted signs to walk out on this fragile landscape? Because none of it is insignificant.

Rumor has it there’s a decent chance of northern lights tonight. Probably not gonna be strong enough to extend to the southwest like here, but if you can’t sleep and are away from the lights of town, you might get lucky.

“If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according what opinion dictates, you will never be rich.” Seneca

At some point very soon, humanity is going to have to realize that taking care of each other & our home planet aren’t weird, fringe, hippie ideals. They are vital to the survival of life as we know it.

"This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." - Chief Seattle

No matter how you believe it came about, we were given an abundant home planet with enough to satisfy all of our needs. We were given fresh food, clean fresh water, fresh air. All that is asked is that we are good stewards. That we take care of each other and our home.

Last night as the smoke began to dissipate providing some temporary relief.

I was talking to a friend last night who is a musician about the trap creative people get into always feeling like we need to be promoting our newest work, to always be creating & sort of ignoring some of our best work.

Last night was a pretty great experience. I went kayaking before the latest round of storms came through & found myself surrounded by 5 loons that seemed very curious. They just let me photograph them at close range for 5-6 minutes before they moved on.

reflect.

Anyone else down for a quick swim in this heat?

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to be free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" --Emma Lazarus, 1883

Feeling loony?

Dear wind: You need to calm down. I deserve a good paddling.

It's hard to imagine that this photo was only made a month ago & that the very areas we spent most of our time are closed due to the Pocket Fire outside of Sedona. Here's hoping that the containment lines hold through the winds & that the monsoons do their part to douse the flames.

The west is an absolute tinderbox right now after a low snow / record warm winter, with no end to the drought in sight. Sending love to the places already affected by fires this year & hoping for rains to help get them under control.

Sometimes being a dad means you get to do cool things with them & show them places you love. He would have been satisfied with just the view from the top, but exploring this “secret trail” for him to come upon this scene was priceless.

The storm will pass. It may do damage. It may be painful. However, as everything in life, including life itself, it is temporary.

It seems like about once a summer I end up catching an amazing sunrise from this spot. I have so many versions of this photo over the years, but last week when I went out for a sunrise paddle I had to add to the collection.

What a beautiful morning to get out for a paddle.

While beautiful, these non-native big leaf lupines are an invasive species that tend to choke out many of the native plants & once established (like they are in this particular spot) can be very difficult to remove & restore the land.

Admittedly I haven’t been great about posting photos lately. Since getting back from AZ I’ve been spending less time online and more time stocking up on joy outside. Stocking up on several new photos too that I’ll get around to. For now, enjoy another Sedona sunrise.

I can tell that my recent Arizona posts seem to not be pleasing the algorithm gods. I still have some I haven’t even edited yet. Anyway, this one is more close to home & brand new! I just want to thank those of you who do pay attention & engage with what I post. It means the world.

Noticing the way the shadows and light play during golden hour made for some really fun, really different shots for my usual style with the 150-600 lens.

The Amitabha Stupa & Peace Park is one of the most peaceful & beautiful places I've ever been, with many small trails, benches, wind chimes, bird feeders & offerings left by visitors & caretakers.

Gotta get up & hike a lil bit real early to get this view. Worth it? Always.

100% without a doubt, the best Sedona sunset we got. I'd have preferred a more secluded spot, this was close and accessible after an afternoon of heavy rain. It was really cool, however to hear the 50 or so people we were up here with collectively doing th ooh's & ahhh's to the evening's beauty.

Sometimes you go to an iconic location and get lucky. Conditions perfect, no one around, all the good things.

I'm still slowly going through all of the photos from Sedona. However, I do think that this perfect reflection may be my favorite of the whole bunch. I knew when I stepped into the scene here that it was a special spot & I hope that I did it justice.