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

January 5, 2020 Sarah Marino

#1: Desert Etching: Delicate patterns form on brackish water in Death Valley National Park, California. — **#1: Desert Etching:** Delicate patterns form on brackish water in Death Valley National Park, California.

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

Autumn in Southwest Colorado

October 22, 2018 Ron Coscorrosa

Nothing gets a nature photographer as excited as the arrival of autumn. Sarah and I are very lucky to live in southwest Colorado, among the San Juan Mountains, one of the prime locations for fall colors in the US.

Despite the inevitable doomsday predictions that the colors would be bad or super early, the colors were fantastic and right on time (late September and early October), as they usually are every year. In addition to the color we had some interesting weather especially late in the season.

Here’s a small selection of my photos from the fall this year, for the full set, see my 2018 Colorado Autumn Gallery.

Black & White Nature Photography Portfolio #2: Intimate Landscapes & Abstracts

March 8, 2017 Sarah Marino

This is my second black and white photo portfolio that I will be sharing here on our blog (the other three posts in this series can be found here: grand landscapes, plants, and tips for creating better black and white photographs). This post features some of nature's smaller scenes - narrower slices of grand landscapes, intimate landscapes, and abstract renditions of natural subjects. You can view all of these photos plus others, at a much larger size, in my Black + White: Small Scenes & Abstracts gallery.

Black & White Nature Photography Portfolio #1: Grand Landscapes

March 7, 2017 Sarah Marino

Feathery plants in autumn, deep in Jasper National Park's backcountry (Canada).

Over the next two weeks, I will be sharing three portfolios of black and white photographs, starting here with grand landscapes (the other posts in this series: smaller scenes in nature and intimate landscapes, plants, and tips for creating better black and white photographs). This is a project I have been working on in fits and starts for a few years and although it still does not feel complete, it is time for me to get these photos off of my hard drive and into the world.

For my photography, I enjoy working in both color and black and white. Generally, I feel more restrained when presenting a photograph in color. While I do not hold others to the same principles, I personally think that my color photographs need to be mostly grounded in the reality of the moment I experienced in the field. While working within this constraint is my choice, it does highly influence my work in a way that applies boundaries. With my color work, I often seek to portray simplicity, quietness, elegance, and contemplation. Many of my color photos are light and bright, or soft and quiet. With my black and white work, I often choose to portray drama, grandeur, and darkness in a way that just does not work for me when working in color.

With black and white photography, the constraints of conveying “reality” do not come into play since there is no reality conveyed in shades of gray. Thus, I can take an image file and create something that reflects my interests, visual preferences, and emotions about a scene or place in a much different way than I can with a color photograph. By shedding the expectations that come along with color photography, I have the opportunity to share my photographic concepts with greater latitude.

Recent Writings: Scouting Tips, Seeing Beyond the Literal, and More

February 25, 2016 Sarah Marino

Photographers Jay and Varina Patel have worked hard over the last few years to develop their Visual Wilderness website into an excellent resource for landscape and nature photographers. I started writing as a guest author for Visual Wilderness last year but have not been very good about sharing my articles with our blog audience. So, here is a quick summary of the four articles I have written for Visual Wilderness, with links to the full content over on their site.

Death Valley Wildflower Update: Prelude to a Super Bloom?

February 9, 2016 Ron Coscorrosa

Desert Gold and the Black Mountains in late afternoon, Death Valley National Park. (c) Ron Coscorrosa — Desert Gold and the Black Mountains in late afternoon, Death Valley National Park. (c) Ron Coscorrosa

The last so-called wildflower "Super Bloom" to occur in Death Valley National Park happened in 2005. The next one may very well be this year and is already in progress in parts of the park.

On October 18, 2015, Death Valley suffered a historic flood event. By early January, the first wildflowers started to bloom in the southern part of the park, much earlier and more profusely than typical years. More rain has helped build momentum by keeping the plants healthy and growing. On January 6, 0.2 inches of rain fell and on January 31, another storm brought 0.32 inches of rain, as measured at Furnace Creek. These three rain events, along with the current profusion of wildflowers, make it likely that this wildflower year in Death Valley could be the best since 2005. All photos in this post were taken this year (January and February 2016).

2015 Year in Review (Sarah)

January 20, 2016 Sarah Marino

In looking back on my life 6 or 7 years ago, it is still a little hard to believe that 2015 took the form that it did. Back then, after finding myself in a variety of unpleasant personal and professional situations, I started talking about the desire to travel more, with the vague idea of travel representing an opportunity to live a more fulfilling life. While this process took years to fully realize, 2015 feels like the culmination of a lot big decisions and changes that together, feel like a much better path.

2015 Year in Review + Personal Favorites (Ron)

December 30, 2015 Ron Coscorrosa

Crescent Twilight, Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park

As Sarah recapped in her post Our Semi-Nomadic Life: One Year In on our travel blog, 2015 was a very busy year. We were were on the road or traveling about six months of the year and only on vacation from our full time jobs for two of those weeks.

I also managed to do something I haven't been able to do in at least 6 years: keep ahead of my photo backlog! While I still have a few stragglers, I can say with confidence that I have processed 90% of the photos I have taken this year, in addition to fully processing all my older photos from Mt. Rainier.

Alien Conditions in Death Valley

December 1, 2015 Ron Coscorrosa

Stormy Sunrise at Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park. © 2015, Ron Coscorrosa

On the morning of Sunday, October 18, 2015, Sarah, our two cats, our shiny silver trailer and I were at Area 51.

We were not seeking aliens, or, to our knowledge, being sought by them. Other than our cats throwing up, there was very little evidence of any medical experimentation of any kind.

We honestly had no idea we were on the Extra Terrestrial Highway until we saw the road sign. We were doing what we often are doing, driving, leaving the beautiful Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada and heading to Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra. The ET highway was just the fastest route (though extremely remote, with over 150 miles between gas stations).

Leave No Trace: A Discussion About Our Impact On Wild Places

September 9, 2015 Sarah Marino

White Sands National Monument. Footprints will remain in these areas of hardened sand (so I didn't walk on them), but will disappear from the dunes themselves during the next wind storm.

I came to photography well after I started hiking and backpacking. Thus, my early sources of information about wild places all prominently featured advice about outdoor ethics, especially practices like Leave No Trace. If you are not familiar, the basic idea behind Leave No Trace is that travelers in the backcountry should strive to leave no evidence of their visit, minimize their impact, and if possible, improve the condition of the places they visit (leaving a campsite in better condition than you found it, for example). With many wild places experiencing increased visitation, human impacts can cause significant damage if visitors do not show this kind of respect and care during their visits.

Increasingly, it seems like some landscape photographers do not view these principles for outdoor ethics as applicable to our kind of outdoor pursuit and the damage left behind is becoming obvious in an increasing number of spots. I have recently engaged in a few online discussions on this topic and have found some of the responses disheartening, with some portraying the attitude that they are entitled to a photograph regardless of their impact. Other arguments favor a dismissive tone, downplaying any specific example as an exaggeration for nothing more than making a point or so minor that it doesn't matter (trampling some plants is no big deal). All this seems to be a sign of the times, with daily stories about how the forces of willful disregard, ignorance, entitlement, and narcissism combine to do a lot of damage to special places (click on the links for a sampling: national parks in general, the Appalachian Trail, Sedona, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree).

200+ Women Landscape & Nature Photographers Who Inspire

August 25, 2015 Sarah Marino

Why a compilation like this?

I will start out by saying that I am generally not a fan of women-only lists because I want my photography to stand on its own. I don’t want to be known as a woman landscape photographer, just a landscape photographer who happens to be a woman. So, why am I writing this post? For the two reasons described below.

Since I started in landscape photography, this field has noticeably diversified in terms of both race and gender. Significantly more women are pursuing landscape photography (or at least are more visible) and many have developed compelling, top-tier portfolios of work. More women are teaching workshops, running photo tours, writing, showing in galleries, selling prints, and providing leadership within landscape photography. Yet, we continue to be woefully underrepresented at the top levels of this field as evidenced by the overwhelming absence of women in publications, conference/summit/symposia rosters, podcast interviews, portfolio features, brand ambassador line-ups, and other symbols of achievement and relevance in landscape photography. And, when a woman is included, it sometimes feels like little more than a token gesture.

This dynamic seems to be increasingly frustrating to women photographers and I see more people speaking out about this lack of representation more regularly. Some women are responding with women-only workshops, publications, and collaborative groups to offer alternatives to the "business as usual" spaces in this field where few women are represented. And, photographers concerned about this under-representation are being more vocal in calling it out.

Chase the Light. Or Maybe Not...

June 23, 2015 Sarah Marino

A few years ago, a typical photography trip for us looked like this… Ron leaves Colorado, driving toward the Canadian Rockies. A few days later, he stops by the Edmonton, Alberta airport to pick up me and our friend Koveh. In a day, we are heading out on a 40-mile, 4-night backpacking trip into the heart of the Canadian Rockies (with Ron and Koveh both recovering from illnesses on the day we depart for the hike). After returning from our backpack, we spend two days driving all around the Canadian Rockies, chasing the light, following the weather, and seeing as many places as we can. Ron and I drop Koveh off at the Calgary Airport and drive to Vermont (yes, Vermont – 2,411 miles away), intent on chasing fall colors and foggy conditions.

We end up spending about a week in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire before clear skies come into the forecast. Following the clouds, we end up at Rickett’s Glen in Pennsylvania (383 miles away) for less than 24 hours, hiking along the 6-mile trail featuring 20+ waterfalls twice in one day, and leaving at an absurd time early the next morning so that Ron can drop me off at the Boston Airport for my flight home. Ron drives down to West Virginia and with clear skies in the long-term forecast, heads home as well after about three and a half weeks away.

Chasing the light… Chasing the weather… This is just what landscape photographers do.

Or maybe not.