Out West, Off the Beaten Path Part 2

In my previous post, I described the first half of our fall 2025 trip through Utah and Colorado—flying from Asheville to Salt Lake City, then traveling on to Price, Utah, and Grand Junction, Colorado. After five nights in Grand Junction exploring Colorado National Monument and Grand Mesa, we headed north to Vernal, Utah, near the Colorado–Utah border. We spent five nights there using it as a base to explore Dinosaur National Monument and the surrounding region.

View of Steamboat Rock from main drive in Dinosaur National Monument

This is working country—dominated by oil and gas extraction and mining—and by October most of the tourists had long since departed. The government shutdown likely reduced visitation even further. One day we drove thirty-four miles from the southern entrance of Dinosaur National Monument to the end of the road without passing a single vehicle. While having such a vast place to yourself is a rare gift, it can also be a little unsettling. The area is extremely remote, with no cell service and limited ranger presence, especially during the shutdown. If you get into trouble here, you need to be prepared. A four-wheel-drive vehicle wasn’t strictly necessary for the main roads, but with many dirt and gravel routes, high clearance and off-road capability felt like a wise choice.

Pictograph in Canyon Pintado

On the drive from Grand Junction to Vernal, we took a narrow two-lane road through Canyon Pintado, stopping at rock art sites along the way. Many were right beside the road, making them easy and rewarding to visit. The variety was remarkable, including both pictographs—painted onto rock surfaces—and petroglyphs, which are chipped into darker, desert-varnished stone.

Vernal itself is a no-nonsense working town, but it has good restaurants, grocery stores, and a range of modest motels along the main strip. We stayed at the Dinosaur Inn & Suites, an older but clean strip motel with an excellent breakfast each morning and a small on-site laundry—always a bonus on a long trip. Several restaurants and gift shops were within walking distance, and I’ll admit I love motels where you can park right outside your door for easy loading and unloading.

Vernal embraces its dinosaur identity. Small dinosaur replicas appear throughout town in front of businesses, not unlike the painted bears in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Dinosaur National Monument is the primary attraction here, yet it receives only about 300,000 visitors a year—compared to more than 13 million annually at our neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Even in peak season, crowds are minimal.

Although we had researched the monument in advance, we were still surprised by its sheer size, diversity, and beauty. The landscapes range from open desert to scrubby grasslands, steep canyons, and sharp mountain peaks. With cottonwoods and aspens glowing yellow in peak fall color, it was among the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.

Split Mountain in Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument isn’t organized around a single main road. Instead, it has an east entrance near Vernal and a southern entrance, with various other roads entering the park from surrounding areas. The main visitor center at the east entrance houses an extraordinary dinosaur exhibit, with fossil bones embedded in a cliff face and the building constructed around them. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit for renovations. Beyond the visitor center, the road winds through dramatic canyon landscapes dotted with Native American rock art. The Green River cuts through the park and passes beneath Split Mountain, a striking geological feature visible even from town.

Steamboat Rock in Dinosaur National Monument

Several campgrounds sit along the river within the monument. One of the most beautiful is near Steamboat Rock, accessed via a rugged four-wheel-drive road from the southern entrance. The thirteen-mile descent drops from the rim to the valley floor, passing steep cliffs, broad valleys, old homesteads, and rock art panels, while crossing small creeks along the way. The Green River wraps around Steamboat Rock in a dramatic bend reminiscent of Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona. Normally busy with families enjoying the river, we had the place nearly to ourselves—spending more than an hour there without seeing another person on the beach.

McKee Springs pertroglyphs

The visitor center at the southern entrance was closed, likely due to the shutdown, and over multiple visits we saw only a single ranger in that section of the park. From the northeast side, we took an old dirt mining road that ran more than ten miles before entering the park boundary near the remarkable McKee Springs rock art site. We stopped there for lunch and hiked up to the panels before continuing deeper into the monument. Over the course of five hours, we didn’t encounter another person until just before leaving the park that evening.

Fantasy Canyon

One afternoon we also drove more than an hour south of Vernal to visit Fantasy Canyon, a little-known and highly unusual area recommended by a local shop owner. Though not part of Dinosaur National Monument, it’s set amid gas pipelines and oil derricks and features a compact collection of bizarre rock formations. Shaped on an ancient seabed millions of years ago, the formations resemble dripping sand sculptures—many evoking strange animals and humanoid figures. It was eerie, fascinating, and unlike anything else we saw on the trip.

Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,Utah

After leaving Vernal, we returned to Salt Lake City for two nights before flying home. We spent a day exploring the city, visiting the Mormon Tabernacle—home to the renowned choir—and the internationally known Family History Center. I had long wanted to see the center and expected only a brief walk-through, but instead we were immediately welcomed. A volunteer spent a couple of hours helping us explore our family tree, an experience far richer than I had imagined.

While I can’t say I fully understand Mormon theology, spending time in Utah makes it clear how central the Mormon settlement was—and remains—to the state’s history, development, and culture. The concentration of buildings in Salt Lake City reflects that legacy, set against the stunning backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains. It’s easy to see why they chose this place, and today the city has grown into a major destination for skiing and winter recreation, welcoming visitors from everywhere.

Dinosuar National Monument

In the end, this trip reminded us just how rewarding it can be to explore remote, lightly visited national monuments and lesser-known landscapes. National monuments often offer fewer crowds, solid facilities, and natural beauty that rivals any national park. If you ever get the chance to visit these places, I highly recommend it. And if you’re planning a trip of your own or have questions, feel free to reach out—I’m always happy to talk travel.

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Out West, Off the Beaten Path, Part 1

Native American rock art, fall foliage, desert landscapes, and wild rivers—these were the things that drew us west in the fall of 2025 for a two-week journey through eastern Utah and western Colorado.

Because of staffing shortages and ever-growing crowds, we knew early on that we wanted to avoid the national parks. Instead, we chose places we had long wanted to see—destinations that were just beyond the reach of earlier western trips. With that in mind, we mapped out a manageable loop through eastern Utah and western Colorado, minimizing long drives and scheduling multi-day stays in a handful of towns that would serve as bases for exploration.

After flying from Asheville to Salt Lake City, my wife Kathryn and I rented a four-wheel-drive SUV and headed south to Orem, Utah, for the night—just far enough to escape the city. There we stocked up at a local grocery store: a cooler, gallons of water, and a boxes of staples. When we travel this way, we’re often far from civilization during the day, so picnic lunches are a ritual—eaten roadside or at the trailhead—before returning to town for dinner at a local restaurant.

From Orem we drove east to Price, Utah, where we stayed for two nights, passing through the neat little town of Helper along the way. Founded in the late 1800s as a railroad hub, Helper earned its name from the extra engines added to trains to “help” them climb the mountain grades. Today it’s a lively place with great shops, restaurants, and several beautifully preserved old gas stations (photo above).

Price was our base for visiting Nine Mile Canyon—a roughly forty-mile drive through a rugged, remote canyon containing thousands of Native American rock art sites. By pure luck, we arrived on the one day of the year when volunteer docents were stationed at several of the most significant panels. They explained, as much as anyone can, what the images may represent, and shared insights into the history and geology of the area. Even on this special day, there were only a few dozen people in the entire canyon. Highlights included the Owl Panel and the Great Hunt Panel (photo above), both remarkable for their scale and complexity.

One thing we hadn’t counted on when planning the trip back in March was the possibility of a government shutdown in October. Although we were avoiding national parks, two national monuments—Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction and Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal—were centerpieces of our itinerary. We called ahead before leaving, but no one could say whether they would close if a shutdown occurred. We decided to take our chances.

To hedge our bets, we left Price, with its excellent dinosaur museum, a day earlier than planned, sacrificing a bit of time there to ensure at least two full days at Colorado National Monument. Heading south, we stopped at the Rochester Panel (photo above)—another extraordinary rock art site, reached by hiking along a rocky spine in a remote landscape you would never stumble upon by accident. Many people cite Newspaper Rock as the most compelling single rock art panel in the Southwest, but after seeing the Rochester Panel—with its distinctive animal figures and striking “rainbow” design—I’d argue it’s among the most fascinating I’ve encountered.

From there we continued south to I-70 just north of Moab, then turned east toward Grand Junction, Colorado, where we would stay for five nights. This stretch of interstate may be one of the most beautiful in the country, with pull-offs (photo above) offering sweeping views toward Capitol Reef and Arches National Parks. We first passed through Grand Junction about twenty-five years ago on our way to Arches National Park, and it was a pleasure to return.

Grand Junction sits at the confluence of two major rivers—the Colorado (originally called the Grand, hence the town’s name) and the Green—and while it has grown considerably since our first visit, it remains a lovely place. Surrounded by natural beauty, it has excellent restaurants and a downtown filled with outdoor art. It also makes an ideal base for exploring the region, particularly Colorado National Monument, which lies just minutes from town.

The monument (photo above) itself is breathtaking: a ribbon of road climbing from the desert floor to the visitor center, then continuing along the canyon rim for more than twenty-five miles before dropping back down near the rivers. Along the way are countless overlooks, hikes, and exhibits, all supported by a small visitor center staffed by friendly, knowledgeable people. When we returned the next day, no one yet knew whether the monument would close that evening, so we explored again, assuming it might be our last chance.

As it turned out, the governors of Utah and Colorado worked out an agreement to keep their parks open despite the federal shutdown that ultimately did occur. Driving the monument road from west to east—and back again—over the course of several days gave us dramatically different views as the light shifted from morning to afternoon (photo below). One entrance lies near Grand Junction, the other near Fruita, a small town with a vibe reminiscent of what Moab felt like twenty years ago.

From our hotel, we could also see another destination we were eager to explore: Grand Mesa (photo above). This massive flat-topped mountain rises above town and is crossed by more than sixty miles of road through forests of aspen glowing bright yellow with fall color. From the valley floor, you pass through six distinct climate zones on the way to elevations above 10,000 feet. We spent a full day hiking and taking it all in. It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful drive—and it’s easy to see why the mesa offers a cool-weather refuge for locals during the heat of summer (photo below).

After five days in Grand Junction, we headed north to Vernal, Utah, and Dinosaur National Monument, before returning to Salt Lake City for the final leg of the trip. I’ll share those experiences in Part 2—so check back in for the rest of the journey.

TRAVEL IDEAS, PART 2

In December 2022 I posted Part One of my Travel Ideas article and had terrific positive feedback from folks so thank you for that. If you are just coming to this article for the first time, I would suggest scrolling down and reading Part One first. I hope you enjoy this second installment and that you find it informative and useful and that it inspires you to want to travel more!

Be flexible. If you can plan short stays during the week, rather than weekends, then you are more likely to find places available and fewer people and crowds. Some national parks are swamped with visitors from dawn till dusk, especially in the peak travel season, so look to state and county parks as options. Many are just as spectacular as the national parks, just on a smaller scale. If you are going to a national park, consider the shoulder seasons. If you can’t do that, get entry times for early morning or late in the day. Many people are headed out of the parks by 4pm, just as the late afternoon light is getting great, so stay for a sunset and you may have the place almost to yourself. Or get an early start and return midday for a meal and a nap before heading out again later in the day. Do your shopping and relaxing mid-day when everyone else is sitting in their car looking for a parking spot at an overlook or trailhead. 

Travel close to home for short trips. A drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway or through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be done in a day or as a short 2 or 3-night excursion. And it’s something you can do on short notice if your work schedule is flexible, or you are retired. As temperatures warm up in the spring, it’s a great time to get outdoors for a hike or picnic in areas before the heat of the summer. Higher elevations, such as Mt. Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain, offer cooler temps even on mid-summer days. Fall color in these areas is especially beautiful, and with elevation ranges of 1500 to over 6000 feet, you are sure to find areas of color somewhere or your fall drive. Check out our guidebooks, Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas, and Great Smoky Mountains Vistas for additional ideas. The text and photographs are sure to point you toward some terrific spots to visit.

Cancel as far in advance if you must. We book many options far in advance. We hope to keep all our reservations, but plans can change as the months pass and sometimes we must cancel a trip. If you cancel far enough in advance you usually get back most of your deposit, so pay attention to the cancellation windows when booking a spot and mark those on your calendar. We try to cancel as far in advance as possible to give others the opportunity to take our spot. If you are flexible in your schedule and can travel on short notice you can take advantage of such cancellations to make your own trip. Most last-minute spots come open about two weeks or less in advance of a particular date. 

Save money. Travel can get expensive, so always look for ways to cut cost that won’t impact your experience. Many destinations offer special packages to get bookings for the next season, or at times of lower visitation. Many times, these offers will be sent to you by places you have visited before in an effort to lure you back. If you enjoyed your previous stay, then maybe these are offers you want to take. We use a travel credit card and put all our household purchases on that card (which we pay off promptly each month). It’s not uncommon that we have enough points to pay for a rental car or airplane flights for our next big trip. You can also save money by planning where to fly into and rent a car. For instance, if we can fly into Las Vegas as a base for a western trip, then the rental car rates are significantly lower than other nearby airports. Air flights in and out of there are generally cheaper as well and the airport is easy to access; so we would choose Las Vegas rather than Albuquerque for instance if we had the choice.

Stay with friends. Another way to save is to stay a few nights with friends. This saves you money on hotels or an Airbnb. We travel out west a lot and had friends in Santa Fe, New Mexico who we always enjoyed visiting. We made many trips that took us through Santa Fe, and we would stay with them for two or three nights. We had a great visit with old friends, and locals always know cool spots to visit and places to eat. From there we would move on the Mesa Verde or Chaco Canyon and the Four Corners. Taking along a gift, or paying for a meal or two, or hosting them on their next visit your way will show your appreciation of their hospitality.

In conclusion, I hope you will let me know if you have other travel ideas that you have found useful that I might not have mentioned. I’m always interested in hearing about, and learning from, other people’s experiences.

TRAVEL IDEAS, PART 1

As 2022 comes to an end, it’s a good opportunity to set up new adventures for 2023. I thought I would share a few travel ideas and tips I’ve learned from talking with others and from my own experiences. 

Choose a destination. This sounds simple but most of us have many places we have always wanted to visit, so deciding on a particular one for your next trip can be complicated. Are you traveling domestically or internationally? Are the countries you are hoping to visit welcoming people again or still have restrictions making travel more difficult, in which case a US trip might be better this year? In any case, you’ll need to find a good time of the year to visit, plan well in advance, decide if you will drive, or fly, rent a car, camp, or stay in hotels, cook or dine out. We’ll break some of these down in the following paragraphs to make planning more manageable.

Pick Your Season. If you have children in school, you may only be able to make excursions of a week or two in the summer months. If you don’t have those restrictions, you can plan trips year-round. In either case many travel destinations are best at a particular time of the year. When we did our trip to Death Valley a few years ago, we obviously looked at fall and winter months as any of the summer months would be unbearable in the heat. Unfortunately, we have a fire season in the western states now that starts earlier and earlier each year, so planning those trips can be a gamble anytime in the late summer through the fall. On a recent September trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks we had smoke blow in for several days in a row obscuring the views. Maybe a spring trip to areas of the west might be better. Other spots, such as Glacier National Park, might have a very short season of only a couple of months mid-summer, so research your preferred destination and see when the best time is to visit.

Plan ahead. It's not too soon to be planning vacations and making travel plans for next summer and fall. Many companies and hotels offer special deals for certain times of the year, and if you have flexibility in your schedule, you may be able to take advantage of these deals and plan your excursion around that destination. When we make travel plans for a trip to a popular area, for instance, we realize that we just can’t wing it like we did ten years ago. Then we could travel to a place, stay a few extra days if we liked it, then move on. Now we must look at all our stops along the way and book the most difficult one to obtain and plan our trip around that. You can also save on rental car rates and airfares by booking well in advance.

Book as soon as you can. A couple of years ago we wanted to visit Capitol Reef National Park in Utah and Monument Valley in Arizona with a stop at Goblin Valley State Park in between. A little research showed that the hardest sites to reserve were not the two main attractions but rather Goblin Valley due to its limited number of sites and heavy demand. We had to plan our entire trip around campsite availability at Goblin Valley, so air fares, rental camper, other camping reservations all had to wait until the 6-month advance booking window opened for Goblin Valley. Once we reserved a spot there, which we did on the computer the very minute sites were available online, we booked the other places, along with airfare and rental vehicle. Similarly, where we camp along the coast of South Carolina, we must book a campsite 13 months in advance to get a spot that will suit our setup. If we miss that window, it is all but impossible to find a site. Look at booking windows for national park lodges and campgrounds, as they can range from 6 months to 13 months in advance and put those dates on your calendar.

Check back for Part 2, where I will share other travel ideas to help you plan a great vacation or weekend getaway!

NEW BOOK RELEASE: Jewels of the Southern Coast

Our new book, Jewels of the Southern Coast: Architectural Gems of Charleston, Savannah and Beyond, has just arrived from the printer in Vancouver, Canada. The large format softcover book includes over 130 full-page black and white images along with a history of the area with an emphasis on architecture written by Charleston-based writer, Robert Salvo. This collection of photographs focuses on civic, religious, business, and residential structures including churches, synagogues, and cemeteries as well as courthouses, city halls, and post offices. Additionally, theatres, schools, public buildings, and historic residences along with forts and lighthouses were included. A few parks and landscapes were chosen to provide a sense of place for the buildings.

Jewels of the Southern Coast showcases the spectacular historic architecture found in cities along the South Carolina and Georgia coast, with special emphasis on Charleston and Savannah. Other towns featured include Brunswick, Darien, St. Simons, Tybee Island, St. Marys, Midway, and Jekyll Island in Georgia, and Beaufort, Hunting Island, McClellanville, Sullivans island, and Huntington Beach in South Carolina.  

From the mass and weight of marble and stone construction to the intricate details carved in wood and sculpted in iron, the structures and spaces featured in this book surpass the ordinary. They have stood the test of time, touchstones to the past and centers of life that provide strong foundations for the future.  

This elegant book would make a great gift for anyone who appreciates the beautiful buildings, rich heritage, and lush landscapes of the southern coast. So, whether you vacation there or have friends or family who love the area, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this beautiful book for yourself or as a truly unique gift. Order today! 

Format: 9 x 11 vertical, 160 pages, black and white duotone reproductions, softcover, $29.95. 

New Studio Now Open

We have a new studio. After 28 years on Coxe Ave., we have moved to a new location in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC. We are sharing space with my long-time friend, documentary photographer Ralph Burns. He has maintained a darkroom and gallery space there for years where he has produced and showcased his many wonderful photo projects. I am grateful that he has been willing to share this space with me going forward. We are in the colorful Pink Dog Creative building at 344 Depot Street, inside with the arts studios in Suite 106. Enter the building at Suite 101 entrance, then we are the first space on the left. We hope you will pay us a visit. There is free parking along the street or in the large parking lot across the road. If you do not have an appointment, please call before stopping by to make sure we are in, as many jobs take us out on location. If you need an updated business portrait, or your art or craft work documented, we are once again able to offer our full range of photography services, now in air-conditioned comfort!

The always fantastic Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is coming up next week. This event is held twice a year at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center-Asheville, and dates for this summer’s show are July 21-24. This year’s promises to be a great event. You’ll find wonderful arts and crafts from the region’s top artist and craftspeople, so whether you are shopping for your home or for a special gift, you are sure to find something beautiful and unique at the fair. For additional details and hours, visit their website, www.southernhighlandguild.org/craftfair/ 

If your summer plans include trips to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or the Blue Ridge Parkway, we hope you will consider one of our best-selling guidebooks, Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas or Great Smoky Mountain Vistas. These newly updated books provide valuable information on where to go and what to do in and around these national treasures. They also include the unique component of mountain peak identifications, so when you drive into an overlook you will know what you are viewing and have a better understanding of where you are in our beautiful mountains. These, and all our titles, are available in our store. For your enjoyment, included here are a few images from our upcoming (fall release) book, Jewels of the Southern Coast: Architectural Gems of Charleston, Savannah and Beyond.

If music is something you crave, then consider the upcoming LEAF Downtown Festival in Asheville in August. This will be the fourth year of this event, organized by the people who have been running the semi-annual LEAF Festival held in Black Mountain for over 20 years. This event will run August 19-20 and will range from performances by international music groups as well as placing an emphasis on local artist. It is free and open to the public. 

In the meantime, if we can help you with any of your photographic needs, give us a call!

The Face of Appalachia Re-envisioned

My first book, The Face of Appalachia: Portraits from the Mountain Farm was published by W.W. Norton Books (New York) in 2003. It was the culmination of over 25 years of work documenting people working in traditional farming methods in southern Appalachia. It combined over 100 images with oral history interviews with the subjects, where they share stories from their life, describe what they are doing in the image such as working crops, making crafts, or playing music, and relate what it is like to carve out a living in the remote mountains where they grew up. This was the first in my trilogy of Appalachian-themed books that also includes On Earth’s Furrowed Brow and Hands in Harmony.

A few years ago, after two printings, The Face of Appalachia went out of print. Since that time, I secured permission to publish a Second Edition through my own imprint, Numinous Editions. Taking advantage of newer technologies, I scanned my original 4x5 inch negatives and produced separations using digital, rather than traditional darkroom, methods. This resulted in images fine-tuned to a level not possible before and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I was able to consider different croppings, make changes in contrast and density, corrections to text, and resequenced some images.

To produce this new edition, I went back to the original printer in Italy for their superior duotone reproductions. The Second Edition is a limited run of 1,000 copies, and at $34.95 this hardcover, best-selling classic is a great value. I hope you enjoy the images here, and feel free to stop by the studio to look through the book. I can sign it for you in person, or you can order signed copies through my website.

While you are on the website, check out my other titles, including my latest, Tide Runners: Shrimping and Fishing on the Carolinas and Georgia Coast. I also just updated and reprinted my popular Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas and Great Smoky Mountains Vistas books and the new editions just arrived last week. All these books make great gifts for family and friends, or to display in your home or office, and your support allows me to continue to explore and document new subjects to share with you.

Plan for Success 2022 (Part 2)

Last month I laid out some strategies for success in 2022. With the New Year just beginning, it’s a good time to start planning for your success. Only you can define what that is in your professional life, but here are a few strategies that will work to your advantage. My approach is to set goals then create a step-by-step path to reach those goals. These are strategies that have worked for me over my thirty-plus years in my photography and publishing businesses.

Submit your work. This includes to magazines, both print and online versions. If you can write or get a friend to compose the text for a piece on your work and submit that along with a handful of strong images to an editor, in all likelihood they will publish it, especially in smaller trade magazines. They need content month in and month out so they love it when folks send them pieces they can easily edit and go to print. This type of editorial article will bring much greater rewards than any paid ad you could place.

Take care of business. Bill jobs and product deliveries promptly. Rebill outstanding invoices at the first of every month. Get your taxes done early and you’ll get any refund sooner and have that cash to work with. Even if you owe money it will save you paying penalties and late fees because you avoided dealing with it until the last minute. Pay quarterly estimated income taxes and monthly sales taxes as soon as you can. Add due dates to your calendar. Don’t put yourself constantly up against deadlines.

Keep your portfolio current. Show the work you are proudest of and showcase your bestselling items. Document your best work, because once it’s gone it’s nearly impossible to get it back to photograph. This will allow you to showcase it on your website and to galleries and museums who are looking more at bodies of work rather than single pieces for sale. Make large display prints of your best work and place in your craft booth so shoppers can see from a distance what you have to offer. This is especially critical if you make small work such as jewelry.

Add a face to your business. Update your business portrait to reflect your personality. Whether it’s on a straightforward studio backdrop, a photograph of you in your studio, or at work on an interesting project, make it engaging and warm. Incorporate it on your social media accounts and website much as you would a logo to make all your public-facing media consistent and part of your ”branding.”

Schedule time off. Self-employed people are bad to ignore this. Vacations are essential to give you something to look forward to and refresh your thinking and approach to life in general. Be sure to book travel and vacations early, at least six months in advance. You can always cancel but as travel picks up the supply of rooms, and especially campsites, dwindle. You don’t have to spend a lot or travel far. Simple weekend trips up the Blue Ridge Parkway or to the Great Smoky Mountains are refreshing. Even stays with family and friends are often just as satisfying as more elaborate journeys.

Hopefully this will give you a few ideas for the New Year. If we can help you with your business needs, just give us a call. We do in-studio and location portraits, specialize in photographing products and art and craftwork, and are familiar with how to showcase your work to best apply to art and craft fairs and publications. We also do large-format printing and can add text to your images for terrific display prints. And check out my newly updated Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas and Great Smoky Mountains Vistas guidebooks for travel ideas and destinations!

Hope 2022 is a great year for you. Enjoy a selection of my photos from the Grand Canyon and other Arizona locales!

Best Regards;

Tim Barnwell

Plan for Success 2022 (Part 1)

As the New Year rolls in, it’s natural to think about the upcoming year. I always dream about travel and look forward to trips, so I thought I would share some images I made from a journey to Scotland a few years ago. It’s also a good time to Plan for Success in 2022. Only you can define what that is in your professional life, but here are a few strategies that I think will work to your advantage. Rather than making resolutions you might not keep, a more concrete approach would be to set goals then create a step-by-step path to reach those goals. These are strategies that have worked for me over my thirty plus years in my photography and publishing businesses. 

Set Goals. Knowing where you want to go is the first step along the path to success. Your goal may be to generate more business, have more exhibits or participate in more art fairs, or get a promotion at work. Then, figure out smaller, manageable steps to get there. If it’s about more sales or shows, identify your buyers or curators and when and how often to approach them. Break down a schedule of contact times and add those to you work calendar.  

Get organized. Set up your yearly calendar. Whether you use a paper version or keep it electronically, it is essential to maintain and update. Enter show deadlines, then a prompt for yourself several weeks in advance so you’ll have time to have work photographed, properly labeled for submission, and applications completed ahead of time. If you apply to art fairs, try Zapp or Juried Art services, both of which allow you to apply online to shows through their portal, and will host 20 or more images so you’ll have them ready to use. 

Don’t procrastinate. Do something, however small, every day toward your goals. Maybe it’s posting news or things of interest on your social media account or sending emails to clients or galleries. Pick up the phone and call them just to catch up and stay in touch, without a sales agenda. Not every call should be a sales call. Some days you may be in the mood to do more, other days, less, but do something every day, big or small, and you’ll be amazed how much you can accomplish.

Punch it. Create list of things to do at the first of each month. Use these punch list to detail what needs to be done to finish a project, define contacts you need to make, and to outline what needs to be done to prepare for upcoming events. Check it weekly to monitor your progress; mark off completed items and add new ones as needed. 

Stay in touch. Contact buyers ahead of the sales season so they can place orders and have your items in stock. With travel down in general, people are spending more on items for their home, so have inventory ready and fill orders promptly. Check in with galleries and clients at least every other month to see if they need to restock. Don’t assume they’ll call you if they need more work, as most small business owners are swamped and don’t always do a great job of tracking when they are out of an item among dozens of vendors. They appreciate a prompt and want the sales as much as you do. 

Share the news. Most people have a hard time promoting themselves, but marketing doesn’t have to mean blasting your advertising through a megaphone. If you are not comfortable being a “shameless self-promoter,” use a softer approach. Develop personal relationships with your clients and buyers. Stay in touch. Email buyers and clients with the latest updates about your business that might interest and benefit them. Post your work on your social media accounts on a regular basis. Shop at the places that sell your work. 

Hopefully, this will give you a few ideas for the New Year. I’ll post a second installment of this article next month. If we can help you with your business needs, just give us a call. We do in-studio and location portraits, specialize in photographing products, art and craftwork, and are familiar with how to showcase your work to best apply to fairs and publications. We also do large format printing and can add text to your images for terrific display prints. CHECK BACK FOR MORE IDEAS!

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Trip

My wife and I just returned from a two-week trip out west to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks and surrounding areas and I thought I would share a few images from that trip. 

We flew into Bozeman, Montana and spent nights in the neat western towns of Livingston and Red Lodge, Montana before driving the incredible Beartooth Highway from Montana to Wyoming. This is rated by many folks as one of the top 5 drives in the country and I would concur. A switchback road that climbs to over 10,000 feet, it views small glaciers and amazing mountain peaks with lakes perched in the clouds. From there we took the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody, Wyoming where we spent much of a day in the amazing Buffalo Bill Cody Museum of the West. It includes thousands of square feet of space with fascinating displays, images and artifacts with separate sections on Cody himself as well as guns and rifles, natural history, Native Americans and more.

From Cody we entered Yellowstone from the east for three nights in the Lake Lodge area, then three at the Old Faithful complex. From those bases we drove the upper and lower loops of the park exploring the many geyser basins and hot springs. Heading south we stopped at Jackson Lake Lodge for three nights as a base for sightseeing in the Grand Teton area. We met up with friends who were doing a six-day hike through the Tetons range and spent some time traveling with them before their hike. The Jackson Lake Lodge offers amazing views from the deck and Mural Restaurant, where you can sit by the window and view the amazing mountain range at sunrise or sunset. One evening a grizzly bear came wondering down a trail just below the lodge to everyone’s amazement and delight. 

Of course, Covid has a big effect everywhere and most restaurants were doing take-out only right now and all interior spaces in the national parks required masks, but even still, Yellowstone hit an all-time record for visitors while we were there.

From the Tetons we backtracked to the town of West Yellowstone and explored Lamar Valley in Yellowstone, famous for bison herds and other wildlife, before returning to Bozeman to fly home. Although we had several days with smoke obscuring the mountains, we found plenty to see and do, including a day in Jackson Hole and a visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art, just outside of town, a fantastic structure and piece of artwork in its own right.

In addition to the photographs here, you can see over two dozen short videos on my Instagram page from the excursion that were posted while we were traveling. Be sure to follow me @timbarnwellphotography for lots of great content and images. I hope your summer was a great one and that you have been able to get out and enjoy nature, wherever you live.

Summer Travel Season

Hello and we hope this note finds you well. As to business, the governor has given the OK for businesses such as ours to fully reopen, so Barnwell Photography is open for business and scheduling jobs. I, and my staff, are all vaccinated but are happy to wear mask while you are in the studio if you prefer. We certainly hope everyone has taken the opportunity to get the vaccines that allow businesses, such as ours, to reopen safely. If you’d like to schedule a job, give us a call or drop us an email.

When you feel comfortable, we hope you’ll return for a meal at your favorite restaurant and shop in a local store to support area businesses. Not all made it through the Covid pandemic and most are still struggling, even as things get better on the infection and vaccine fronts.

As to travel, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains have opened up most roads and trails, along with Visitor Centers and shops. If you are exploring this summer, and are looking for a great guidebook to plan your travels, keep in mind our Blue Ridge Parkway Vistas and Great Smoky Mountain Vistas books. You can purchase one of these unique best-selling titles from a park shop, local bookshop, or from our website store.

In addition to the unique mountain peak identification component, these books provide a wealth of information on everything from popular attractions and insiders tips on where to go to beat the crowds, to information on waterfalls, hikes, campgrounds, and scenic drives. All books come signed and are mailed promptly.

Recent times have made us all realize how important it is to keep in touch with family and friends. While text and emails are useful for transmitting information, everyone appreciates the heartfelt emotions expressed in a hand-written note. Recently we introduced a line of high quality note cards, each with one of Mr. Barnwell’s beautiful nature images. They are available in the studio or in our store. Each card comes with an envelope and plastic sleeve.

For inspiration to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, here are a few images taken from the Vistas books, which showcase the beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With a modest effort we can all safely enjoy nature’s beauty even in these trying times, so head out for a drive or hike and enjoy the green, lush, days of summer.

All the best;

Barnwell Photography

Ten Things You Can do to Help Others, and Yourself, during the Pandemic

Last month I talked about things you can do to stay busy during the pandemic and I thought I would follow that up with a few ideas for what we can all do to help ourselves, and others. We do the obvious things like social distancing and mask wearing not just for ourselves but for our friends, neighbors and family members. So what are other good practices and ideas? Here’s 10 things that come to mind.

Get the Covid vaccine. For those that qualify, get it as soon as you can. Although currently in short supply in most areas that will change over the next few weeks so get on the list so you’ll be scheduled when supplies become available.

Support local restaurants. We’ve often seen mention of supporting our favorite dining establishments by buying gift cards or getting meals to go. Even with To-Go orders it will be tough for restaurants to stay in business, so order out once or twice a week if you can, and spread it around. Maybe have a meal delivered for a shut-in on your street.

Stay safe while shopping. When the new virus variants were found in the state, we started ordering groceries and picking them up. So maybe cut out a visit or two in person and order from somewhere that offers curbside pickup or even delivery. Many retail stores, such as Target, also offer regular item pickup as well. Otherwise shop off-hours if you have to go in somewhere.

Support local artist. Many retail craft shops and art galleries have suffered during the pandemic, along with the artist and craftspeople they support. As the number of tourist has fallen and local folks stay home, it’s been increasingly hard for artist and craftspeople to stay afloat. But, almost all craft fairs have become virtual, including ones run by local institutions such as the Southern Highland Craft Guild. A quick online search will link you to sales portals for a variety of shops, artist studios, and organizations. You can spend whatever you can afford, from a simple ceramic mug for the morning coffee to a large painting to brighten up your home.

Call friends and family regularly to talk. Winter is a lonely time of year when people spend a lot of times indoors even without the pandemic, and days of clouds and rain don’t help. A familiar voice on the other end of the line can really boost the spirits. Text are only good for answering questions, but impart no warmth or emotion so pick up the phone. Meet up for a socially distanced hike or picnic on a warmer day.

Donate. Clean out your closets and donate a winter jacket or pair of gloves. Take items to Goodwill. Make a cash donation to the Salvation Army or Manna Food Bank or another organization you admire. Support public radio (you don’t have to wait for a fund drive). Every bit helps.

Stay engaged. Attend community meetings online using Zoom or WebX type connections. Most are free and fun. Our Astronomy Club of Asheville has monthly talks, geared to the general public, the first Thursday of the month. February’s was on the search for extraterrestrial life (everything from microbes to intelligent life). You can watch previous presentations on our website using your computer, if you missed one. Here’s a link to the page: Meetings | Astronomy Club of Asheville (astroasheville.org)

Read a magazine or good book. Join an online book club. Buy a book from a favorite local author, either directly or through a neighborhood bookstore. Many, including our studio, offer online ordering and/or curbside pickup. A good book is a great companion on these cold winter days. When you are finished, share it with a friend.

Order household items somewhere other than Amazon. Yes, it’s convenient, but it’s displacing local stores across the country. It started with bookstores, now it’s every mom and pop shop on Main Street. Chances are also better you won’t be wasting resources by getting three separate boxes with one item per box if you order from a local store or mid-sized company. So look for alternative suppliers when possible.

Stay positive and keep your social media positive. Share some good news from your life. Avoid controversial subjects and “doom scrolling.” I’m sure folks would rather hear about my new granddaughter than my political views, and I’d rather talk about her as well. Just ask! 

So stay happy and stay safe! 

Tim Barnwell

Keeping Busy During the Pandemic

So if you’re like me you may be running out of things to do around the house about now, as what we thought would be a couple of months at home may turn out to be a year or more! And with winter here, gardening and yard work are mostly off the table. Like many of you I continue to work but find myself with more time when I’m off, as vacations, travel and even day trips are minimal this time of year anyway. So a few ideas come to mind.

One thing I traditionally work on in the winter months is my family history. I have memberships to Ancestry.com and use a program I like a lot, by another company (that will link to Ancestry) called Family Treemaker. It allows you to create a tree and add vital information, media, and extensive notes about each person in your tree. Over the past few years I have traced my Barnwell genealogy back to Scotland and Ireland in the 1200s, and my son-in-law’s family directly to Ann Boleyn’s sister in England. But it doesn’t really matter if you find royalty or rogues-and I have found both-as any family would expect over the course of history. But, rather, it’s just a lot of fun. You become the family detective figuring out links and relationships. That leads you researching the history of the time for added perspective on their lives. And you can pursue it to any level of interest and stop and move on to something else when your interest wanes. It’s also a great thing to share with family.

Along those lines might I suggest doing an audio, or video, recording of some senior member of your family? I started that in our family with my daughter when she was doing an elementary school project and interviewed my dad. He was flattered and loved to tell his story, and it ranged way beyond the initial concept. It’s obviously something I value and enjoy as well, as you can tell from the oral history sections in my books. And if you are the senior member in your family, take it upon yourself. A few minutes a day will go a long way to creating a living memory to share with your children and grandchildren. (Collage of portraits of my father I made in 1979 and again in 2001, a year before he passed away).

Right now my mother is using the tape recorder I gave her to relate stories from her 92-year life. For years she’s been meaning to write things down for us to have, but the thought of having to hand scribe that much kept her from starting. So I said, “Why not record it.” I gave her a recorder and some tapes and now she sits down, presses a button, and recalls stories from her life, in her own voice; something I, and my descendants, will treasure. Currently she is recalling her year in France after World War II when my dad was stationed there while in the army. It’s great because I just had a bunch of old family 8mm movies copied to DVD which I can share on my computer or TV. One whole reel are scenes from their time in France, Germany, and Austria.

So a third related thing might be to find a service that can transfer home movies or videos to digital so you can watch old family events such as birthdays, weddings, and vacations. I have had dozens of spools of 8mm home movies from my childhood transferred over the past few months and have added identifying title slides to many of the segments, so my daughter, cousins, and descendants, will know who the people are in each. I’ve even dropped in background music to some sections which adds a nice touch. Contact me if you want the name of the service I used for the film transfers.

So just a few ideas that might be of interest. I’ll post a few more next month. Hope everyone is doing well, and let me know if I can help with your photography needs in 2021. Also check our website for book ideas if you want something great to read or just enjoy beautiful photographs of our area, including my latest, Tide Runners: Shrimping and Fishing on the Carolinas and Georgia Coast. Also follow me on Instagram @timbarnwellphotography

Best Regards;

Tim Barnwell
Barnwell Photography

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As I mentioned in my previous email/blog there was a close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21st. I set up my Celestron 11-inch telescope at AB Tech and made the image, above, of the two planets and some of their moons. You can check my previous posting for a diagram of what is visible, but you can see Jupiter to the left with four moons lining up diagonally and Saturn, and two larger moons, on the right. Really a unique sight!

Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in December night sky

Many of you know I have a keen interest in astronomy, so I wanted to share some details about an upcoming event that anyone in the general public can enjoy. This month there’s an exciting event happening in the skies overhead. The planets Jupiter and Saturn are appearing closer together each night, as we view them from earth. Their true distance apart in depth is still the same of course, but their proximity in the night sky is getting closer each evening. They will be their closest, low in the southwest just after sunset, on Monday, December 21st, the winter solstice. This is their closest conjunction since 1623.

As weather can be bad the night of any sky event, try watching the progression on a series of evenings both before and after this date, as the planets move gradually nearer each other. They reach their closest point on that night, but are still great to view on either side of the ”super conjunction.” In fact, the waxing crescent moon ads a nice element on December 16th and 17th, joining the two planets in close proximity. Jupiter is brighter than Saturn as you view them.

While these events are great “naked eye,” binoculars add another level of detail. And if you have even a small telescope, you can get both planets and their moons in the eyepiece the night of the closest conjunction for a truly spectacular view! For more information be sure to visit our Astronomy Club of Asheville website, source of the following diagrams. Although all our club activities have been suspended due to Covid-19, there’s still a ton of useful and fun information on the website as well as the opportunity to enjoy our monthly speakers programs online.

OUR MAGNIFICENT PLANET - New book by LensWork

I would like to thank LensWork publishers for including me in their new book, "Our Magnificent Planet 2020." They chose a single photograph from each of 300 photographers, from a total of 2700 entries worldwide, for this beautiful coffee table book that showcases the beauty of the natural world. Buy from LensWork 

My image titled, “Storm, Six Shooter Peak, Canyonlands, Utah,” was one of the photographs selected for inclusion. I appreciate this honor as LensWork magazine has a well-deserved reputation for only publishing the best of contemporary fine art photography. This image, along with five others of mine, was also recently purchased by the Booth Western Art Museum for their permanent collection.

Storm, Six Shooter Peak, Canyonlands, Utah

To make the image, selected for inclusion in “Our Magnificent Planet,” a lot of skill and a bit of luck were involved. A few years ago when traveling out to the desert southwest, something my wife and I try to do every two or three years, we were driving north along Highway 191 in Utah headed to Arches National Park. After a stop to photograph Church Rock I noticed a large storm brewing to the west. Recognizing the potential for some interesting and dynamic photographs, we headed in that direction. 

As I drove toward Squaw Flat in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park, the clouds intensified and lightning struck in the distance. I pulled off along the roadside, where there was an interesting foreground, to take in the view toward Six Shooter Peak as rain begin to pelt down. I got out of the car and set up as quickly as possible as the clouds roiled. I concentrated intently on the fast moving storm and the ever-changing cloud patterns as I worked to capture different compositions while simultaneously grappling with the technical aspects of correct exposure under such dynamic conditions. 

After a few minutes I felt the electricity in the air on my skin, breaking my concentration and reminding me that standing in an open field with a metal tripod might not be the best idea. I quickly made a few final exposures before throwing everything back into the car. A minute later the storm engulfed us with a blinding rain. It continued following us for the hour or so it took to drive up to Arches National Park, where we spent the night in nearby Moab. Just after we arrived, the storm cleared and a double rainbow appeared over town, a fitting end to a great day in the desert.

Rock Spire, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Cholla Cactus, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Lake Reflection, Ouray, Colorado

Many folks think that bright sunny days are the best times to photograph, but I prefer the dynamic conditions before and after storms, when the clouds and light change quickly and you have an “atmospheric” feel. Other great times are early morning and late afternoon when the light is low creating long, striking shadows that reveal texture in my subjects. This is evident in my other images, shown below, that are now part of the permanent collection of the Booth Western Art Museum. These images are also available for purchase through the studio or from my gallery in Atlanta, Lumiere. 

Thanks and I’ll post more next month! For more frequent images, be sure to follow me on Instagram @timbarnwellphotography

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, California

Tufa Formations, MonoLake, California

New Line of Hand Made Art Cards

HAND MADE ART CARDS - SUITABLE FOR FRAMING

Hello and hope your fall is going well. Cool weather has arrived along with the beautiful fall foliage. Hopefully you can find an afternoon for a scenic drive or hike, or even a walk around the neighborhood. 

Over the past few months I have been working on a new product line that we call Hand Made Art Cards. These beautiful note cards, with images I have created over the last few years, are hand-printed on heavy stock photo paper in my studio, scored, trimmed and packaged with high quality cream-colored envelopes and delivered in plastic, re-sealable, protective sleeves. I hope you will take a minute to enjoy the slide show highlighting a few of the images. 

Each card has one of my photographic images on the front, title on the reverse, with blank inside for writing notes for any occasion be it general correspondence, birthday wishes, special event, sympathy, or holiday greeting. We have a wide variety of different images shown or our website that range from local scenes to coastal images and western landscapes. More are being added each week, with some Christmas and winter imagery coming soon so keep checking back. 

Cards are roughly 5 x 8 inches with A9 envelopes (5.75 x 8.75 inches). They require only one Frist Class stamp to mail. Cost per card is $5.95. These make great cards when presentation is key and will show your recipient how much you care. They are even suitable for framing! Pick up at the studio or order through our website to be mailed.  

Best Regards; 

Tim Barnwell 

Laurel Magazine Fall Drive Article

Last year I wrote an article for The Laurel magazine detailing a fall drive. I am reproducing it here in case you are looking for something to brighten your spirits. The clear days and crisp air have certainly made me want to get out of the house and head somewhere for the day! Have fun and enjoy our beautiful mountains.

Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine Feature

I’d like to thank Naomi and all the folks at Beaufort Lifestyle magazine in Beaufort, SC, for running my profile of shrimp boat captain Steve Kerchner in their July 2020 issue. I went out with Steve on his boat the Poor Boy a few years ago when working on my book, Tide Runners: Shrimping and Fishing on the Carolinas and Georgia Coast. I recently re-interviewed him for this article. This is my second shrimping feature for them. The first one was on the Gay Fish Company and their 75-plus year old family business.