Photography

Capitol Christmas Tree, Charitable Giving, Choose Outdoors, National Forests, Photography, Public Land / 16.12.2019

After more than a decade of reliable service I am finally retiring my trusty Canon EOS 40D SLR Digital Camera. Even though it’s still in good condition and ready to use on a new project I’ve decided to give it away to an aspiring young photographer. ABSOLUTELY FREE! If you know someone between the ages of 12 and 17 with a passion for taking pictures I want to make a gift of this well-loved piece of equipment and a few accessories to encourage their development as an artist....

Capitol Christmas Tree, Choose Outdoors, Photography, Uncategorized / 24.12.2018

It’s Christmas Eve and I have a lot to be thankful for. Even though back home in Wisconsin I’m lamenting the fact that there’s not a flake of snow on the ground and it’s unseasonably warm for a late December day in North America, there is still so much joy in the world. After many long months of travel I’ve seen a lot of our great nation. Following the path of the United States Capitol Christmas Tree I connected with some truly wonderful folks from one end of...

Capitol Christmas Tree, Photography / 02.12.2017

The 2017 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has arrived in Washington D.C.! After a long journey of more than 3,000 miles, this 79-foot Engelmann Spurce was delivered by members of the U.S. Forest Service to the grounds of the United States Capitol where it will be decorated and set alight on December 6, 2017. In partnership with the non-profit Choose Outdoors, photojournalist James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project had the honor of taking an extensive series of photographs of the People's Tree from the moment it was harvested...

Commentary, Diversity, Photography / 01.09.2017

A recent blog post described me as “a champion in the effort to bring more diversity to the outdoors.” As much as I appreciate the compliment, the statement appears as the cutline to a photograph at the head of an article that goes on never to mention anything that I might have done to earn the title of “champion”. The author never contacted me for a quote or even referenced a single one of the 800+ stories published on this blog or the scores of magazine articles, radio...

Commentary, Hiking, Madison, Photography, Walking, Wisconsin / 15.08.2017

On Sunday August 13, 2017 community organizers in Madison, Wisconsin gathered citizens together at the State Capitol to stand up against a climate of hate. The day before in Charlottesville, Virginia a group of white supremacists lead a march to protest the removal of a monument to the Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee. The event tragically resulted in the deaths of two Virginia State Troopers Berke M.M. Bates and H. Jay Cullen, whose helicopter crashed while providing public safety assistance when the demonstration became violent. Heather D....

Adventure Activism, Art, Madison, Photography / 24.07.2015

With my laptop plugged into a borrowed digital projector I quickly scrolled through a series of photographs taken over the last 36 months of my career. Preparing a workshop for the Lussier Community Education Center in Madison, Wisconsin I made sure to pick out images that were both engaging and inspiring to meet the interests of a very critical and discerning audience. A bit heavy on animals and action shots I had sprinkled in as well more than a few ionic vistas of the National Parks from Yosemite...