Lincoln Creek Abstract and a memory

Last fall I photographed around one spot along Lincoln Creek (near Aspen) for several hours; this was the among last of hundreds of frames. It was incredible fun!

I came across this while collecting images for my new book... it reminded me that within hours of taking this picture my car's engine imploded after going over Independence Pass. Interesting how images trigger such specific memories.

It would be neat to see and hear about your nature images with especially strong memories.

That is a really nice abstract Nat! I love graphic images like that and I bet it looks fantastic at its full resolution.

Funny you mentioned memories. My conversation with Momo last night sparked some memories of my trip to Paria Canyon two years ago and when you asked for images with memories, this one was especially fresh.

This image is the final image I captured during my backpacking trip through the canyon. I rented the legendary 14-24 nikon lens for this trip and used it only a few times. I badly sprained my foot halfway through the trip and had to walk on it for another 20+miles. Photography was not even on the radar as I was eating advil like candy for the final 2 days with minimal pain killing results (and guaranteed chronic liver damage).

Anyway, this is the final shot of that trip. It's not really worthy of postprocessing but it made me twitch just looking at it so I figured it fit the topic.

So are you the new Morris now getting the troops to post more?

Great topic Mor....er, Nat. My most recent memorable image is from last May. My daughter was graduating from college in the summer and she asked me to take her to Yellowstone for a graduation trip. One morning I hiked down to the beach from our cabin at Signal Mountain Lodge for a sunrise. I've posted the sunlit version of this image but this is the Alpenglow version captured a couple minutes before the sun touched the peaks. Great trip, exceptional company, and some fantastic memories.

Hey Nat, I'll play.

I have stopped to shoot this scene along Hwy. 160 near Ft. Garland 3 times. The first time in 1983 when I had my wife and first 3 daughters with me on a fall vacation trip, in 1999 when it was just my wife and 4th daughter along on the same kind of trip, and then this last fall when I was coming back from working in San Luis. This particular shot did nothing but bring up a sad rememberance of when my daughters were still living with me and not all grown up. Sometimes I really miss those days.

Oh, and excellent shots everyone!

I took this last summer on goose creek in the hayman burn area. This was the last trip that my dog and hiking partner made into the field. A week later I had to put him down do to bone cancer.

I posted this before, but I love your idea here, Nat.

I consider the series of photos from which this one was taken a gift. I was doing my usual dirt track fantasy driving over the Kebler Pass road two summers ago when I rounded a bend and there were two deer along the roadside. I pulled over, but, while curious about me, they didn't bolt. I sat in my truck and took pics of these two for a good 10-15 minutes. The reason I consider it a gift is because not one other car came along that road for that period of time. Anyone who has driven it in summer or fall knows it gets a steady stream of traffic, so to have 10+ uninterrupted minutes was astounding. To prove the point, as soon as the sound of another car echoed through the forest, their heads popped up at attention and then POOF! They were gone.

Many years ago, our first (and only) trip to Tahoe was to (reluctantly) take pictures of a friend's wedding. JR and I had had no luck with any landscape photography so we dragged ourselves out of bed for one last attempt before flying out that day. We expected this place to be another bust, but as sunrise came, we felt differently. This image reminds me that it is always worth getting out of bed for one last attempt!

In October of 2009 I shot the sunset in Saguaro National Monument east of Tucson. It was a lovely evening and the sunset was gorgeous. On the way out, I discovered a miserable man in the road. He had been riding his Harley out of the park and, instead of watching the road, he was enjoying the last rays of sun. Over the bank he went. When I found him his backside was filled with cholla cactus, and other, spires and his bike was down in the ditch. I helped him get the bike on the road and offered a ride to an ER. He insisted on riding that Harley, however. I cringe every time I think of that poor bloke sitting down - OUCH - on that bike.

Great idea Nat, thank you for thinking of this. As photographers, we have so many cool memories of our outings. Its great to see people posting evocative images and sharing their stories.

Here's mine, from a long long time ago. This image resonates with me because its one of the first ever digital shots I ever took with - get this, a Canon D60, back in December of 2002. I had made the purchase a few weeks prior and couldn't wait to get out there. At the time I was still trying to master the medium format (and then bought into a 4x5 system), but ultimately the D60 (and then a 10D body also) was the clear winner. I had embraced the digital world and slowly my film systems sadly started to collect dust. I didn't completely give up, but my MF was eventually sold, and that old 4x5 is still a piece of art in my office (I know some of you guys are probably cringing right now).

I think this turning point for me was a revelation, one that meant we were in for it as far as technology goes. Its truly amazing to see how far we've come, from the early days of the first line of expensive DSLRs to now. What a truly remarkable paradigm shift.

Taken at Great Sand Dunes National Monument (prior the the changeover to NP in 2004)