A Look Back

It would seem to be a cliché to be writing about the past year and yet, by this time of the year, we tend to do just that. I like to think that past can be prologue, rather than wishing more had been checked off the to-do list or celebrating those things that were checked off. Nothing wrong with that but since we photograph and travel, looking into the future a bit is more satisfying. More of the same could be seen as a good thing, making images of the places and inhabitants of those places that we find interesting if not down right mind-blowing.

Nature photography and using digital cameras gives us the opportunity for endless learning and that, I think, is key to not letting the political class drive us totally crazy. “Walk in beauty” isn’t just an adage, it’s a directive that we can use to find that sometimes elusive key to happiness.
Contentment may lay in the past but life itself is ahead. So….. here are a few images from 2012 and a sincere wish that this coming year is very good to you.

Temple of the Sun and Moon, morning light, Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Bentonite palette, Bentonite Hills, Utah

Desert Bighorn sheep [Ovis canadensis nelsoni]; browsing Pointleaf Manzanita [Arctostaphylos pungens]; Zion National Park, Utah

Green Honeycreeper [Chlorophanes spiza]; Gamboa, Panama

Red-legged Honeycreeper [Cyanerpes cyaneus] male; Gamboa, Panama

Blue-crowned Motmot [Momotus momota]; Gamboa, Panama

Blue Dacnis [Dacnis cayana]; Gamboa, Panama

Chorcha Waterfall; Meseta Chorcha, Panama

Rainforest inland lake; Soberania National Park, Panama

Mule Deer [Odocoileus hemionus] bucks in the velvet; Fremont County, Colorado

Mule Deer [Odocoileus hemionus] buck yawning while browsing near doe, during breeding season; Fremont County, Colorado

Rocky Mt. Bighorn Sheep [Ovis canadensis] rams battling over ewe during rutting season; Bighorn Sheep Canyon, Arkansas River, Colorado

Rocky Mt. Bighorn Sheep [Ovis canadensis] rams, during rutting season; Bighorn Sheep Canyon, Arkansas River, Colorado

Rocky Mt. Bighorn Sheep [Ovis canadensis] ewes & lamb, during rutting season; Bighorn Sheep Canyon, Arkansas River, Colorado