My dear friend Ryan just got into town, and seeing that exploring new areas is one of our favorite things to do, that’s exactly what we did yesterday on his first day here.  It was incredible!!  We went hiking into the Sabrina Basin out of Lake Sabrina, just 20 minutes from my house.  I can’t believe I’ve never hiked out there before!!  It’s absolutely, mind blowingly beautiful up there, with several beautiful lakes and towering jagged peaks and ridges.  We were totally blown away and are already planning a several day backcountry excursion into this area later this summer.  It’s great to have Ryan around and we’ve got some cool adventures we’re psyched on over the next few weeks so there’ll be lots of cool backcountry and mountain pictures coming soon.  So for now hope you enjoy these!

Hope you’re well,

I had another awesome little trip up to Tuolumne last week. Its been so nice getting to spend some more time up there this year after hardly getting any time up there last year.  It truly is one of the most beautiul paces on earth, and feels like home to my heart like no other place.  I’m really getting inspired about my nature work again, and want to spend as much time as I can in Yosemite, Tuolumne, and the High Sierra mountains this year soaking up their goodness and hopefully bringing back images to share that love with you.

Hope you’re having a wonderful day,

My friend Kevin loves to paint by the river, and I love to accompany him to beautiful places in nature and just be, or walk around, listen to the birds, go swimming, play guitar, whatever; but I always love capturing images of him creating art.  He has a special energy that comes through in his art.  Its very alive. You should definitely check his work out.

One day we hiked up to find this lake Kevin had seen on a map under the east face of Johnson Peak.  It looked like we might get some afternoon thundershowers, so we made sure to bring our Gore Tex jackets; not something us Sierra minimalists used to dreamy Sierra weather often bring.  After almost 2 hours of hiking we found the lake!  It’s so beautiful up there and was perched up in this high basin that had great views all around, but as you can see the clouds were starting to build.

That lit up rock pillar way out in the distance is something we refer to as Minas Tirith.  A super cool prow in a remote basin where Kevin did a rad sculpture last year.

We looked in all directions and rather quickly the thunderheads were starting to build all around us.  And then we heard the first big BOOM!!!  We were up pretty high with no cover and lots of granite all around us.

We decided it was really time to high tail it and get out of there as the thunder and lightening started pounding.  So we started running thinking it was coming from the south and we might be able to outrun it.

Our hearts were pumpin pretty good as we raced down this long meadow filled corridor of granite.  Kevin’s look says it all on how we were feeling; WHOOOOA, this is gonna be a dusy!!!!!

So we kept running trying to get to lower elevations off the ridge top.

But a beautiful field of Lupines sure has a way of making a couple of artists stop dead in their tracks and commence shooting pictures, even with pure blackness at their backs.

As we were having fun taking pictures in the lupines, the storm was building behind us and little did we know what we in store for.

Right after this last picture it started raining so hard I had to put the camera away.  We ran/speed hiked till we were off the high plateau and into the trees, and the thunder and lightening was pounding all around us.  Its the first time in years I’ve gotten caught out in a storm like that, and there was a part of me that was definitely scared, even though I genuinely felt in my heart that everything would be alright.  After an hour and a half of hiking in the all out pouring rain and hail with thunder and lightening all around us, we made it back safely, albeit soaking wet like we had jumped in the river with all our clothes on. What an adventure!!!

The next day Kevin was back enjoying one if his favorite past times, painting by the river.

I love his river paintings.

One day I went down into Tenaya Canyon to these awesome granite bowls where the river flows down in these beautiful cascades. I absolutely love this area.

I ran into my good friend Doug Robinson again and this time he was on his way to the Palisades with his kids and some friends. They stopped in Tuolumne for a little climbing and bouldering and it was fun to hang out with them. Here’s Doug and his son Tory bouldering on perfect Tuolumne amazingness.  Tory’s a great climber!!

Must take after his dad.

Got to go on a new hike down Yosemite Creek that was gorgeous.  Ever wandered what it looks like looking down the world’s 3rd tallest waterfall?

I also got to hang out with a really cool family that I know from working in Tuolumne for years. I hiked out to the top of Yosemite Falls with them one day, and we shared a nice sunset this evening.

Gotta love Tuolumne.  I sure do.  The simple life in nature’s grand beauty.

Last week when I was over in Yosemite my friend Graham and I decided to hike up to one of my favorites places, Hidden Falls. Its a beautiful hike up Tenya Creek, and one of my favorite places in Yosemite to hang and for photography. Graham had never been there before, and I always love sharing my favorite off the beaten path with others, so it was especially fun.

A few days later two of my dearest friends came back into town, Kevin and Ashlee. They just spent close to 4 months in India and Nepal and have now arrived back into the marvelous Sierra Nevada for another fun filled amazing summer in Tuolumne Meadows. Kevin is one of my longest standing friends. We’ve been friends since just after high school back in Maryland, and its so awesome that he comes and spends a good part of the year every year in California. He’s a very inspiring traveling artist who I love sharing time and adventures with. They stayed with me a few days and then we went up to Tuolumne. Our first night up there we hiked to the top of Lamb Dome and caught and amazing sunset.

Kevin did a rad watercolor.

I LOVE this next shot!!

The next day I met up with my great friends Sean Jones and Graham Hunt. Sean’s been dreaming of a new route potential over Tenya Lake for years so they went to explore and check it out.

I also met up with another good friend and Sierra legend Doug Robinson. Here he is with some of his friends after a great trip in the Palisades. They stopped in Tuolumne on their way back to the coast and we all serendipitously happened upon each other. Sean and Doug and I have worked on 3 feature articles together, yet its rare we get to just hang out and have fun in the mountains. We actually got Doug to detour his trip home and come join us for a real mountain adventure a couple days later. More on that in a blog post later this week.

The route Sean wanted to check out looks amazing!!! Looks hard, maybe too hard for him, but only time will tell if it’ll be climbable.

The Tuolumne River was sure looking spectacular. It has such a special place in my heart after sleeping right next to it for 11 summers, and I love to just go sit down by the river and Be.

Doug, Sean, Graham, and I went on an awesome mountain adventure a few days later that I’ll be sharing here real soon, so check back!

Hope you’re well,

This past year has been amazing. Another wonderfully growing year of learning, working hard, being creative, and exploring possibilities.

And as always I cherish my time in the mountains. Even though I worked more this past year than I ever have putting tons of energy into my business and projects, I still found some time to be in the mountains. This time is so special to me and I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends to share these experiences with.

I want to share some of my favorite shots and adventures with you. These will be in order of when I took them so we can see the progression of the year. It has been another amazing year of living and these are some of my highlights. If you have any favorites please leave a comment, I love hearing from you. Hope you Enjoy!

This is my good friend Chris Sharma. He was in town filming for his movie King Lines. Hard to believe it but this was in January up at the Buttermilks. Chris is amazing and is one of the world’s best climbers, not to mention one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

This was taken in March at a new favorite local spot. “Red Hill” is about a 3 minute drive from my house and is this really cool little hill (but just big enough) that puts you elevated right in the center of the Owens Valley, one of the deepest Valleys in North America.

This is probably my favorite picture from the year and was taken from Red Hill. I’m probably biased because it looks right down on my neighborhood, my home. I’m just in awe that I get to live here. Dreams do come true!

This was a really cool view I found of Vernal Falls in Yosemite when I climbed over the railing and explored out a little closer to the edge and climbed onto this ledge. It looked right out over the dropping waterfall. Incredible!

This is Sean Jones on the grandest route of his life, “Growing Up” on Half Dome. Sean and I have worked together almost exclusively through the last 7 years capturing images of him on his collection of new routes throughout Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, and this one got us our First Cover. He is a visionary rock climber and has explored and pioneered new climbing routes in Yosemite and throughout the Sierra Nevada, a world mecca for rock climbing. I’m building Sean a website as we speak so when that goes live in the next few weeks I’ll let you know. You can see more of “Growing Up” HERE.

This is my brotha Ryan chillin in Tuolumne Meadows. Nice spot to kick back.

The ever gorgeous Tuolumne Meadows, one of my favorite places on earth.

This next series is when Ryan and I went out and climbed the north ridge of North Peak and then the north Ridge of Mt Conness in this really cool and long mountain linkup. You can see more HERE.

We climbed straight up the incredible arete on the left hand skyline as the final push to the summit. It was soooo exposed and exhilarating. What a beautiful line!!

Mid summer Sean Jones and I went back to Half Dome when he did his final push to climb his new route “Growing Up” and we got these amazing shots up on the towering 1200 ft headwall thats 1000 feet off the deck. Wow!! You can see more HERE.

Another day at my local Red Hill.

In early September my friends Ryan, Zack, and I went out and climbed an amazing mountain called Bear Creek Spire. This is a really famous peak right in the heart of the Sierra up Rock Creek and we had an incredible day! You can see more HERE.

A few weeks later my friend Lisa and I went and climbed on Mt Humphreys, the towering peak over Bishop. I can see this peak from my yard. You can see more HERE.

A few weeks later Lisa and I went out again up to Mt Emerson. Its incredible to live somewhere where you can just go out around home and be in world class mountain scenery and terrain. I LOVE living where I live here in Bishop, California. You can see more HERE.

A couple days after Emerson I went on a really long hike with my dear friend Kevin Maddrey, a very talented artist and vagabond. We hiked deep into a remote area of the Yosemite high country to a nature art piece Kevin had done earlier in the summer. This area was totally insane it was so beautiful and there wasn’t a soul in sight. You can see more HERE.

My beloved Mono Lake at dusk.

I spent a very reflective Thanksgiving in Tuolumne and Yosemite this year so it was fitting to come across this beautiful scene at sunset. You can see more HERE.

My friend Ryan and I got to go on a hike into the High Sierra all the way in December this year. It was right before the big snows came and was such a treat to be in the high country this time of year. You can see more HERE.

And to finish out here’s a classic Bishop winter sunrise. Its so beautiful here! You can see more HERE.

Hope you’re enjoyed these photos and I hope this New Year brings you much happiness.

Today was amazing!! A bunch of photographers from the MD/DC/Virginia area got together to hang out, shoot pictures, and just have a blast wandering around Washington DC. We got to see a really cool exhibit at The Corcoran Gallery of Art that featured an exhibit by Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz, and then just walked around, got some lunch, and enjoyed each other’s company. Jessica Del Vecchio and Sarah Hodzic helped plan all the fun. We had a great time and I made some great new friends today. Thanks so much Jess and Sarah!

Kate Triano came up from Virginia, close to DC.

Joana Gribko was from the area.

Kathy Freundel came down from Westminster, MD which is actually where my dad lived for 12 years.

Jill Myers came down from Baltimore.

Here’s Sarah Hodzic of Blink Photography. She lives right outside DC.

Kathy brought her lovely daughter Kristiana, who was also shooting with us. Kathy told me she has 8 kids which blew me away. She looks fabulous!!

And its always great to see the fabulous Jessica Del Vecchio, who’s always so helpful to so many people.

It was great to meet you all and see you again Jess and Sarah. Thanks for the awesome day!!

My friend Ryan and I took advantage of an unusually warm december day the other day and went for a hike in the High Sierra. We hiked up to about 11,500 feet and had an incredible day. It was so quiet and peaceful, the calm before the storm. The next day a storm brought in over a foot of fresh snow, the first big snow storm of the winter. It was so cool to be able to slip one last day into the high country before it gets covered in snow for the season.  We got to hear the amazing rumble of lake ice slowly melting and shifting and cracking all day. It was really special. We didn’t even see one animal the whole day until a hawk graced us with its presence. The earth felt ready for its winter blanket.

Shawn