Sarah's 2019 Year in Review and a New Direction for 2020 - Black & White Photos

After the narrative below, you will find twenty more of my favorite black and white nature photos that I took or processed during 2019 (if you have a few favorites, I would love to hear which ones you like most in the comments). I am still working on my favorite color photographs from last year and hope to share those in a few weeks, so stay tuned. Being outside is my favorite part of nature photography and is where I devote most of my efforts, so I have always struggled with promptly/ever processing the photos I have taken. Thus, the fact that I am almost through ALL of my 2019 photos feels like a photographic miracle. In addition to my favorites, I will be sharing all of these new photos over the next few weeks and months. In the meantime, here is a quick recap of my 2019.

A New Direction for 2020

Sometime in 2010 or 2011, I remember hearing a line from an Avett Brothers song, “Decide what to be and go be it” and it has eaten away at me ever since. Since around that same time, I have been splitting my focus between a career in the nonprofit/philanthropic sector and an avocation/obsession/almost career in nature photography. This split has worked well in a lot of ways and has been hard in others. After physically moving away from the base of my nonprofit consulting practice in Denver a few years ago, this division of effort, time, and mental energy has made less sense with each intervening month. Not wanting to say goodbye to one particularly meaningful, years-long project served as my constant excuse to keep both lines of work going.

And then came what would be my final consulting project… Years ago, I started my consulting business because I wanted to remain in mission-driven work but never wanted to report to a nonprofit board of directors again. I enjoyed almost a decade of being able to choose projects that allowed me to avoid having to do so while still working on a range of interesting things. This summer, I said yes to a big project because of the money and it became that proverbial last straw – yet another supremely dysfunctional board of directors, a reminder of how I did not want to spend my time, and the final realization that I am just mailing it in for one career and not devoting enough time to the other.

And with that, I finally decided what to be and I am going to be it. In 2020, being a nature photographer, teacher, writer, and guide will be my sole professional focus for the first time in ten years. I am taking this leap with some trepidation that is balanced with a lot of enthusiasm and hope. It is far easier to earn a living through nonprofit consulting than it is through photography. My personality is a better fit for the inherently collaborative nonprofit sector than it is for the comparatively competitive field of landscape photography. I think I have more natural talent for consulting, coaching, and leadership than I do with nature photography, and I certainly have more confidence when it comes to the former than the latter.

But! I love photography, being in wild places, and building my knowledge as a naturalist more than I have enjoyed any other pursuit that I have tried. Our photography business has been successful without it ever being my primary focus so it seems like the right time to try to overcome the challenges I described above and see if I can make it work. And, to keep a bit of the mission-driven nonprofit spirit alive in my nature photography work, I plan to find ways to contribute to the social good through more active involvement in efforts like Nature First and other conservation activities.

2019 In Brief

Aside from this biggest of decisions, 2019 was a roller coaster of a year – full of sadness and anxiety about a family member’s serious health problems; full of joy at being able to be outside most days of the year; gratefulness for being able to live in a place I love and find endlessly inspiring; happiness with being able to spend a lot of time with Ron and friends in wild places; appreciation for the technology and modern work arrangements that allow us to travel and work remotely from our Airstream trailer for a good portion of the year; and challenging because of an injury that kept me from hiking as much as I would have liked and required a few months of physical therapy (thus, ending the year hiking 11,043’ Telescope Peak in Death Valley with no pain felt like a big accomplishment).

Priorities for 2020

For 2020, I hope to fully get through my backlog of unprocessed photos, share those photos more consistently, and be more disciplined and prolific with writing. During our last trip to Death Valley, I repeatedly remarked how my photographic calling card is “find pattern, compose photo, focus stack, repeat.” While I find great joy in finding and photographing these mundane subjects and then presenting them in a way that I find beautiful, I feel like that focus has come at the cost of other approaches to photography. So, I also want to try some new things, especially with composition, in this upcoming year to bring some diversity back to my work.

Thank you and Best Wishes for 2020

Thank you for your ongoing interest in and support of our photographic endeavors. I wish you all a healthy, happy 2020 - hopefully with some time spent outside enjoying wild places.

Note about the photos: You can also see these photos collected into a gallery for easier viewing.

#2: Desert Chronicle: Eroded layers expose the extensive geologic history of this Utah desert.

#3: Dinner Plate Aeonium: A silvery succulent from the San Diego Botanic Garden.

#4: Garden Stars: A fancy plant seen at the San Diego Botanic Garden.

#5: Lashes: A slice of focus reveals a different take on a common salsify plant.

#6: Scoured Mountains: Extensively eroded badlands in Death Valley National Park, California.

#7: Shimmer: Late light hits the edges of shimmering sand dunes. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado.

#8: Geyser’s Edge: Intricate patterns line the edge of a geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

#9: Desert Temple: A slice of light illuminates this massive monolith of Entrada sandstone, which rises more than 500 feet above the surrounding desert.

#10: Bat Signal: Long shadows and upturned edges of mud tiles in Death Valley National Park, California.

#11: Winter Watchman: The iconic Watchman formation enveloped in a winter storm. Zion National Park, Utah.

#12: Two Trees: Two trees stand out during a snowstorm in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

#13: Saltscape: A look into the world of Death Valley National Park's tiny salt patterns.

#14: Desert Dust: Early light hits a swirl of dust in Death Valley National Park, California.

#15: Stripes: Early morning shadows reveal the patterns in Death Valley's badlands.

#16: Waiting for Spring: A dormant bush plus some interesting light, found while wandering through a magical canyon on Christmas Day. Death Valley National Park, California.

#17: Almost Twilight: The last light of the day peeks through seastacks at Cannon Beach along the Oregon Coast.

#18: Another World: Heat from the sun hits rain-soaked badlands in Death Valley National Park, California.

#19: Winter Begins: The first heavy snowfall of the year falls in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

#20: Glimpse: A window of clouds briefly opened up to reveal this peak before a blizzard quickly moved back in. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

#21: Hillocks: Soft hills on the fringe of Grand Teton National Park under a fresh coat of snow.

A Few Favorite Photos from 2016 (Sarah)

Every year, Jim Goldstein publishes an extensive collection of “best photos of the year” posts from photographers. I always enjoy looking through the entries and finding inspiration from photographers who are new to me. This year, I have been struggling a bit to pull together my own collection of photos to submit for Jim’s blog project. As is my tradition, I am nowhere near finished with processing my photos from this year, which makes it difficult to pull together a collection of favorites. Still, I felt motivated by Jim's submission deadline to pull together this post. 

This post includes only a small collection of the photos I took or processed in 2016. If you would like a see a more complete collection representing our year of travels and photography, you should view Ron’s photos here. He is much better about keeping up with his processing than I am, so his collection includes photos from all of the places we visited this year plus a little update about our travels. 

Since I spent a good portion of 2016 working on my new black and white photography ebook + video course, most of the photos I processed this year are in black and white. Thus, it seems appropriate to start this post with some of my recent black and white photos. You will also see Death Valley National Park well respresented in this collection. We both started and ended 2016 in this park, which is one of our favorite places to visit. 

Thank you for your continued support of our photography! Happy New Year and best wishes for 2017. 

An incoming storm over large mud tiles in Death Valley National Park.

Patterns in seaweed in a tidal flat on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in Iceland.

The setting sun illuminates these cactus from behind, making them appear to be glowing. Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona, near the Mexican border.

The last light of the day illuminates a ridge on remote sand dunes in Death Valley National Park.

One of Death Valley National Park's many surreal landscapes.

I took most of these photos in 2015 but assembled them as a collection in 2016, so I am sharing them here. All of these photos were taken in Oregon.

A clearing storm allowed a bit of light to peek through and illuminate these colorful mountains in Iceland's remote Landmannalaugar region.

Pastel badlands at twilight in Death Valley National Park.

Iceland's characteristic green mountains reflect in a large lake in the Landmannalaugar region.

A colorful mix of fall foliage in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.

2016 Year In Review (Ron)

2016 was an eventful year for Sarah and I. We bought land in southwest Colorado in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and will shortly be building a house on it, sold our house in Denver, and moved full time into our Airstream trailer. During that time we went over 5 months (!) without taking a single photo, by far the longest stretch since we've been photographing.

Despite the "Lost Summer" we were able to get a decent amount of photography in during the rest of the year.  We started the year in Death Valley, moved to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, and then went up to Nevada and Utah during spring. After summer we spent 10 days in Iceland leading a workshop, a few weeks in the San Juan Mountains and south Utah photographing fall colors, and then spent some time along the Oregon Coast in November.

All photos I have processed from this year can be viewed on my 2016 Portfolio page, including:

• Death Valley Winter
• Southwest Spring
• Iceland Autumn
• Colorado Autumn
• Southwest Autumn
• Autumn Monochrome
• Pacific Northwest Winter

Finally, I have collected a few of my favorite photos of 2016, some of which I will include below with brief captions. You may also be interested in the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 versions of this post.

Desert Gold. One of the highlights this year was the wildflower bloom at Death Valley National Park. This photo fails to convey how wonderful it smelled out here!

So That Happened. The other major highlight at Death Valley National Park this year was all the rain which flooded Badwater. This particular sunrise came out of nowhere, it was completely clear about an hour before.

Wind Rain Sand. This photo was taken the sunrise after a day of almost constant rain (not that common in Death Valley), the winds were blowing 35-50mph - creating a unique mix of rain patterns and blowing sand.

Wavy Ibex. Ibex Dunes may be my favorite in Death Valley, we were treated to some stormy light at sunset.

Beach Bubbles! Photographing these foam bubbles on Cannon Beach was quite the challenge, they would move quickly and then burst and evaporate. I was lucky to get a few sharp photos highlighting the iridescent foam.

Stormy Cannon Beach. The Pacific Northwest coast in late fall and winter is beautiful - there are often breaking storms in between the relentless rain which we were lucky to catch on this particular sunset along with some washed up foam and a well timed gull.

Mossorama. Winter trees in the forests along the Pacific Northwest coast are beautiful, especially the mossy trees with a little backlight highlighting the shapes and forms of the trees.

Shuffleboard. Mud patterns in Death Valley (reminding me of a shuffleboard table) and an approaching storm that would dump about an inch of rain later that day.

Organ Pipe Frames. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has some of the most pristine Sonoran Desert scenery in the United States and is the only place in the US with the namesake Organ Pipe cactus.

Colorful Blurries. Multicolored aspen leaves photographed against a colorful blurred out background. Aspen leaves in fall can be all sorts of colors, not just the common yellow and gold.

Organ Pipe Fuzzies. Backlit Saguaro and red-fringed Organ Pipe cactus. The Sonoran Desert is called the green desert for a reason!

Ocean Motion. A nice sunset on the famous beach in Vik, Iceland

Classic Zion. The famous Watchman framed by colorful autumn Cottownwood trees and surrounded by lush desert vegetation. 

Last Leaves. Bare aspens in front of the last autumn foliage of the year.

Saguaro Forest. Saguaro, cholla, and green octotillo frame a hillside in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.

In Celebration of America’s Best Idea

"The national park idea has been nurtured by each succeeding generation of Americans. Today, across our land, the National Park System represents America at its best. Each park contributes to a deeper understanding of the history of the United States and our way of life; of the natural processes which have given form to our land, and to the enrichment of the environment in which we live." - George B. Hartzog, Jr., NPS Director, 1964-1972

In my early twenties, I took my first real hike – a backpacking trip on the Tonahutu Creek Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Before that experience, I had not spent much time outdoors and was completely unprepared for the trip. My hiking boots were too small. I wore cotton socks, which combined with the problematic boots, encouraged painful, bleeding blisters to form on both of my feet. I brought along a completely inadequate sleeping bag, with no sleeping pad. In the summer, this choice might have been fine but in mid-October, it meant spending two nights as cold as I have ever been. In all, it was kind of a miserable experience. 

Despite the misery, the magic of being deep in nature, miles away from the closest road, proved transformative. Experiences like seeing a moose and its baby in grassy meadow, standing on the brink of a thundering waterfall with no one else around, and sharing the company of good friends around a late-night campfire made up for all of my ill-preparation. On this trip, I experienced the healing and inspiring power of nature for the first time and thus started down the path that eventually lead me to landscape and nature photography.

For me, you, and millions of other people, the creation of the National Parks Service has made it possible to experience these moments of awe, wonder, inspiration, relaxation, contemplation, and healing and connect to our nation’s history in meaningful ways. Without the National Parks Service and the acts of preservation that came before it, the most special places in the United States could have been commercialized for private profit rather than protected for the enjoyment of generations of Americans. 

Today, August 25, 2016, is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Parks Service and we offer this sampling of photos from some of our favorite national parks in celebration of America’s best idea and the impact that this essential act of preservation and protection has had on our special places. 

Death Valley National Park, California. (c) Ron Coscorrosa.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. (c) Sarah Marino

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

Redwoods National and State Park, California. (c) Sarah Marino

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

Death Valley National Park, California. (c) Sarah Marino

Zion National Park, Utah. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

Badlands National Park, South Dakota. (c) Sarah Marino

Olympic National Park, Washington. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

Yosemite National Park, California. (c) Sarah Marino

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

An essential part of the National Park Service’s mission is protecting land with natural and cultural importance for future generations. Thus, we all have the responsibility to help protect and preserve this important legacy. Here are three things you can do to help protect these “crown jewels” of the United States and reduce your impact: 

• Follow the Rules. A new story about bad behavior in our national parks comes out almost every day. With people regularly doing things like walking on geothermal features, getting far too close to wildlife, illegally using drones, and vandalizing priceless natural and cultural treasures, NPS resources are stretched. Take these figures shared by The Denver Post: citations within the National Parks system were up 19% from 2014 to 2015 and search and rescue operations were up 67% - all in a single year. We can all help the NPS and protect important natural resources by following established rules. And, if you are a photography workshop leader, we encourage you to serve as a good role model and help educate your students about both this point and the next one.  

• Practice Leave No Trace principles. With visitation to NPS sites at an all-time high, it is even more important for all of us to be good stewards of the places we visit. A simple way to reduce your personal impact in learning about and practicing Leave No Trace principles. You can find a longer post on this topic here. 

• Vote. At least for us, the preservation, protection, and adequate funding of public lands is one of our biggest priorities when voting for local, state and federal officials. If these things are a priority for you as well, check in with your local and national conservation organizations to see how politicians in your community view the protection of public lands before you cast your votes this November.  

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Best of 2013

Here it is almost February and I am finally getting around to posting my version of the ubiquitous "Best of 2013" post. I hope I don't lose what little Internet credibility I have by being so late. Before we get started with the images, it is important to know that these aren't my best photos of 2013. Yes, the title of this post is a lie.

I haven't edited a high enough percentage of photos from 2013 to have any idea what my best actually are, and I never will. So then, these must be the best photos I've processed in 2013, right? Nope! Many of my favorites aren't included here.

I decided to try something different: narrowing my selection to only abstracts and plants. There are no clouds or skies in any of these photos. Nothing that ties any photo to a specific region or location. None were taken with a wide angle lens (the widest focal length was 44mm, the rest were taken with a 70-200mm zoom, and a 100mm macro lens). There is not a single foreground in the group.

In the future I may post a Part II or even a Part III that includes other types of photos (such as intimates and grand scenic landscapes).

The photos are listed chronologically in order of capture. Click on an image to open the series in a lightbox.