Where Have I Been?

Sunrise over Moraine Park from one of my favorite spring locations in Rocky Mountain National Park. The blog has been quiet of late but look for frequent updates moving forward as we head into the best time of year in RMMP. Technical Details: Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 S lens

If you follow me on my Twitter or Facebook accounts you can see I’ve been active and out photographing all the beauty Rocky has to offer. The blog has been a quiet of late and I apologize for that. Sometimes life gets in the way and one needs to triage in order to manage what they can while still staying on task.

I’ve had quite a few life circumstances and other commitments that allowed updating the blog to slip through the cracks. Ironically, I value updating the blog more than updating any of my social media accounts but the ease in which I can manage those accounts won out over taking the time to sit down and attempt to write out a thoughtful blog post.

The blog postings slowed in the late fall early winter mostly because we had very little in the way of interesting weather or conditions for photography. Early winter was extremely dry in Rocky and we had very little snow to speak of to wrap up the end of 2021. 2022 started off more or less the same and getting out in the bland conditions was not really pushing any of my buttons.

Jackson was loved the water. Because of this, Grand Lake was as much a favorite spot to hang out at as it is for all of us. Even in his old age he could not get enough of swimming and chasing sticks. Here’s Jackson frolicing in Shadow Mountain Resevoir of a perfect July afternoon in Colorado back in 2020. Here’s to hoping all your days are filled with endless lakes, tennis balls. frisbees and big sticks. We miss you buddy! Technical Details: Nikon Z50, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 S lens

Further more, my nearly 15 year old Border Collie, Jackson began having troubles and failing towards the end of winter. If you know Border Collies, you know they never want to show you that they are not ready for their next job. Whether that’s herding sheep or chasing tennis balls. I wanted to spend as much time with Jackson in his last days with us as I could. Finally, on January 13th, the day myself and our family had been dreading for the past few years came to fruition. It was time to send farewell to our buddy and loyal companion since we picked him up at the Boulder Valley Humane Society in 2006.

I’ve lost a parent and loved ones, but saying goodbye to Jackson was one of the hardest and most difficult things I’ve had to do. I know some will say he’s only a dog but he contributed far more to my development and our families happiness than I could ever imagine. We had a great 15 years with him and he lived and awesome life but the absence of Jackson from our everyday life and routine has taken a lot of time to process.

After losing Jackson, we brought on our newest addition to the family. Meet Finn, our now 6 month old Australian Blue Heeler. Having a puppy around is keeping us busy but has also helped us move past losing Jackson. Technical Details: Nikon Z6, Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 S lens

We’ve since brought a new family member in who is learning the ropes. Finn, is an Australian Blue Heeler who we adopted at 9 weeks old. Going from having an elderly canine in the house to having a 9 month old puppy has been and adjustment and has also required quite a bit training and oversight. Regardless, getting back into the routine of having an active dog around the house has helped me slowly get back on track.

Moving forward I promise that I’ll be back updating my blog with lots of new images of information, mostly regarding Rocky National Park. Summer is nearly here in Rocky and each day the grass greens a little more, the snow melts a tad and the early season wildflowers like Pasque flowers and Mountain Ball cactus adorn the landscape with a splash of color. Trail Ridge Road will be open soon and much of Rocky, covered in snow will be accessible for summer for what is always an amazing time of year to photography the park. Maybe, I’ll see you out there on the trail but I’ll certainly keep the blog filled with new images and updated going forward. As always, thanks for reading and I appreciate all the support.