This is not really photography related so feel free to disregard this completely if you choose.  I was going through my photos that I have taken in the last six months and was not surprised to discover that there weren’t very many.  My wife and I welcomed our first child into the world this March.  My previous life lies in ruin and Jonah Charles Vetter Parker is dancing on its floundering remains.  Thankfully though a new different and much better life has sprung up to keep me interested.  Psychologists will say I am delusional but I really think I am happier now than at any point in the past.  Ask me again when Jonah, as my brother puts it, “pisses you off more than you can imagine.”

Back to the picture above.  I have no recollection  of this picture, not falling asleep on the door, not it being taken, not downloading it, nothing.  This image goes a long way towards explaining my lack of productivity in the past six months, I have been a zombie!  Not that I am going to be much better going forward but at least now I think I will be able to remember what happened and when.

If you are here looking for pictures of Jonah you will not find them,  friend me on facebook if you must see the bundle of joy that is my son.

Shortly after my trip to the Olympics I was headed off to Nebraska to celebrate the birthday of my wife’s Grandfather.  The Grain Place always provides a plethora of picture opportunities and this trip did not disappoint.  Enjoy!

As is usual, when school started in late August my photography took a back seat to academics.  Right before school started I took a trip to the Olympic Peninsula for a good friends wedding.  Thankfully the post wedding festivities included a hike through Olympic National Park and a side trip to nearby Fort Worden.  These images are a little bit of a style departure for me but I think the look suits the material pretty well.

This past July, Molly and I traveled to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago.  We were among an estimated 200,000+ pilgrims who will walk the Way of St. James this year.  It was an amazing experience, one that was completely different from any preconceived ideas I had.
One of the many surprises was the foggy overcast mornings that we were treated to each day.  The fog made for some interesting photographic opportunities and some compelling images.

On several occasions we saw marker posts with worn out shoes abandoned near them.  I really liked the way the pink shoe contrasted with the concrete.

And then I found this abstract scene.  Any guesses where this is.  I’ll give you a hint, it’s not in Spain.

Yesterday I went to a free neighborhood meal Hosted at Normal Heights United Methodist Church.  This location always seems to provide a wealth of photographic opportunities and today was no exception. People like the man above come in large numbers to partake in the meal which is provided entirely by volunteer cooks from San Diego First United Methodist Church.

On day thirteen Molly and I had the pleasure of hiking over Muir Pass and past the splendid lakes that lie in it’s shadow to the north.  Wanda Lake, named for John Muir’s eldest daughter is home to a rare treat, frogs living at 11,500′.  As we walked past Wanda lake we were startled by the plop, plop, plop of frogs jumping into the lake as we passed by.  We stopped to admire the frogs living in this relatively inhospitable environment.  Check this post for more on the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog.

Muir Pass was in my opinion one of the easiest 12,000′ passes along the trail, the final ascent from Evolution Lake is just 1200′ and it is a very gradual slope all the way up.  While I was reminiscing about the Muir Pass summit experience I began to realize that more often than not I felt that reaching the summit of each of the eleven passes was relatively easy.  Why were they “easy”?  I think it has a lot to do with the strategy we used while hiking the trail.

Like most others who hike the JMT we had an itinerary planned long before we even set foot on the trail.  That itinerary remained unchanged for exactly one day before we modified it for our hiking strengths and weaknesses.  Pretty early on we decided to attack the big climbs in sections.  The basic strategy is to look at the passes and plan to hike up approximately half of the required elevation on one day, then camp and hike up the rest the next day when you are fresh and relatively full of energy.  But like the saying goes hike your own hike and follow a strategy that works for you!

8-8-2009
Once again I woke up with a sore throat and felt weak much of the day.  I tried sleeping without socks last night and that did not work very well, my feet froze.  We had only a 1200 foot ascent to Muir Pass but every foot was amazing.  The lakes were a gorgeous teal blue that Molly said looked unnatural.  The Climb to the pass was easy and the descent was long but not too difficult.  In my mind Silver Pass still holds the record for worst descent.  We are camped near Big Pete meadow and are taking advantage of the altitude with a warm campfire.

Today I am happy to be announcing the availability of a new collection of limited edition prints.

The images in this collection were taken during a restorative 20-day hike of the John Muir Trail in California’s Sierra Nevada during July and August, 2009. When I set out to hike, I expected to find jagged peaks, winding streams, and blooming flowers.  I found those things and more: stunning beauty, peace, wildness and the renewal of a soul sapped by human conflict.

Each of the 13 images in this collection is limited to editions of 25 prints and is available exclusively from Gallery La Mesa.

I invite you to come and view the prints with me during the opening reception.  I’m happy to discuss style, technique, equipment or anything else photographically related.

If you cannot join me for the reception you are welcome to visit the exhibit anytime until April 3.  I would be more than happy to view the prints with you at another time, just give me a call.

What: Fountains of Life Opening
When: February 19, 6-8PM (Opening Reception)
Where: Gallery La Mesa 8808 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942 619.462.5760

Finding images that compel me to capture them can sometimes be challenging.  Sometimes I try to force an image or take a picture that does not feel right, those images very rarely turn out to be something that I am proud of.  Other times images come at me in a flood and it takes all of my concentration to make sure all of the technical aspects of image capture come together.  One of the good days was August 7 when we were hiking through the Evolution Range.
I felt ill the whole day but really wanted to make it to Evolution Lake before we stopped for the day, and I am really glad we made it there.  As the golden hour came the mountains were wrapped in clouds and set aglow by the setting sun.  The scene felt natural and I was able to find several compelling compositions in the span of an  hour.  As a photographer, these are the days I live for!

8-7-2009
I don’t know what is going on but I still feel sick!  I still have a sore throat and still feel low on energy.  Sick or not we still gained 2800 feet and walked 12+ miles for the day.   We passed 130 miles in total today and I am determined to finish this hike!  I did not take many pictures today, mostly because I was focusing all of my energy on hiking.  When we arrived at Evolution Lake a spectacular sunset unfolded and I quickly rattled off a hundred frames or so.  We found a neat wind sheltered spot for our tent but in the process of pitching the tent I broke one of the guy lines.  I fixed it with a square knot and then found someone’s discarded shoe string.  That shoe string may come in handy.  Just before we came over the crest to Evolution Lake we heard the “Cheeseburger Bird” for the first time.  I was really starting to doubt the existence of this bird until I heard the unmistakable song.

When We were relaxing at VVR a weather report came in that was somewhat alarming.  The Dweeb Report (yes that is what it is called) was predicting a weather freak-show starting on the sixth.  Predictions were for three to six inches of snow down to seven thousand feet with substantially more on the passes.  A report like this presents a difficult decision for backpackers and an especially important decision for backpackers who pack as light as Molly and I do.

We are not equipped for snow travel so in the event of snow we would likely be holed up in our tent for a couple of days until it warmed up again.  Several backpackers decided to extend their stay at VVR to see how the weather played out.  I spoke with a couple attempting to hike the JMT with their two young children, they had decided to end their trip at VVR.  They had already been trapped in a hailstorm on Donahue Pass and were concerned about hypothermia in the event of a snowstorm.  Us?  Well, ever the skeptic i decided to ignore the weather report and continue Hiking.  I had bailout points marked on the map and was ready to live with the decision.

As it turned out there was no snow, no rain, just some clouds and a ten degree drop in temperature for a day.  Seldon Pass was EASY Molly and I both felt like we just flew up the pass and cruised down the other side.  In retrospect I think Seldon Pass is the easiest pass of the entire trip.

8-6-2009
Last night I had dreams about being sick and that led to me feeling ill again this morning.  We slept in so that I could recover and finally got up around 8:00.  I felt 90% but still have a scratchy throat.  Most of the day was cold and cloudy, especially the hike up to Seldon Pass.  Once late afternoon came the clouds had mostly disappeared but it was about ten degrees colder than normal.  The day’s hiking was easy and I kept thinking that Seldon Pass was the Yin to the Silver Pass Yang.  Tonight might be our last campfire as we are mostly going to be above 10,000 feet from here on.

Well, Its been way too long since I have updated the site.  First it was mid-terms then it was finals  and then a much needed vacation.  Molly and I spent Christmas in Estes Park, Colorado and New Years on the beautiful island of Kauai.  I have some photos to share from those excursions but first I have a few more to share form the JMT last summer.

VVR is somewhat of a cruel Joke, you spend a night there enjoying some nice hot food, a warm bed, and a soothing shower.  Then the next day you wake up and have to trudge straight up a 1500′ ridge only to go straight back down, no views just up and down.  In the way down I did find a gem though in this Photo which I call “Sheltering Cedar”.  I did not see it at the time but this photo has become one of my favorites from the trip.

8-5-2009
I haven’t felt well most of the day and that has made hiking hard.  I’m not sure what happened, maybe something I ate?  The hike out of the valley was brutal, by far the most elevation gain  in the shortest distance thus far.  When we had come back down into another valley we ran into a guy named Ron who used a different trail to skip the difficult up and down.  he said that he went the traditional route last year and had no desire to do it again (me either).  When we made it to our campsite near Bear Creek I was feeling horrible. Some mashed potatoes lifted me up quite a bit!  Ron then stopped by and it turns out he lives in San Diego.  We talked for quite a while about his JMT hike last year, he had a few really good suggestions for us that we hope to put to use in the days to come.  We exchanged emails and I hope we see him again.  I am feeling much better now, hopefully this bug has passed.