Desert Wildflowers are in Bloom

The cactus flowers are spectacular this year

This year marks an epic cactus bloom. It's the best display of wild cactus flowers, and continues to be so.  I heard this bloom is considered a 100 year bloom (prolific). A combination of cold and rain in April and May have watered the gardens of the desert and the cactus are the stars of the show.

I like to create compositions that tell a story about the life of the prickly pear cactus

By photographing with my macro lens (Nikon 60mm), I am able to get within a few inches of the subject
and by choosing a large aperture, like f2.8, the background blurs considerably.

Camping close the the subject

In the evening light, the blooms along the slick rock were singing. ©Kit Frost

One of the primary reasons I love camping is to be close to my subjects when the right light hits.  I knew I would only photograph for a few hours after breakfast and again before sunset. The BLM lands in Southern Utah make camping accessible and private. When I scouted the subjects a few weeks ago, the blooms were amazing; up to 50 flowers on each plant.  By the time I came back for a weekend, many of the bigger blossoms were finished.  But persistence pays off, and I found many plants still in full bloom.

In this image, I focused on the main, large, bloom.

Using my 60mm macro lens and manually focusing gives me choices.

I love the pink bud hanging out with the yellow flowers

And then, hit the river.

Needing to cool down after a hot morning in the sun, it was time to move camp to the San Juan River.  I love the Sand Island Campground near Bluff.  We had our pick of sites along the river because it was "past season" in Southern Utah.  But the river trippers "put-in" is at Sand Island so I sat, lounged and watched the river flow and the rafters and kayakers go by.  I occasionally sat right in the "eddie" to cool down.

Rvs, Campers and Cameras- A Southwest Colorado Photo Workshop

Mineral Creek and Rolling Mountain

Rvs, Campers and Cameras
June 6-9, 2014
Silverton and Durango, Colorado
$650.
$250. deposit

Photography, RVs and camping in the San Juan National Forest, of Colorado.

Some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world surround you in the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado.  Located between Ouray, Silverton and Durango.  Mountain peaks like Kendall Mountain, Engineer Mountain, Grizzly Peak, Whitehead and Pigeon and Turret Peaks, ranges like the Grenadiers and the West Needles.  Folks come from all over the world to explore and photograph these high altitude wonders.







Join us as Kit Frost teaches you and shares with you her very special method of teaching photography.  Bring along a tripod so she can look at your compositions and discuss improvements to your vision.  Or keep it simple with your handheld point and shoot camera.

Kit has been teaching photography for the past 40 years.  Learn Digital Photography, bring your film camera too.

Learn how to compose great digital images, learn how to use your camera, Kit will teach you the tips and tricks to improve your photography.

We meet at our campground along Mineral Creek in the San Juan National Forest where we review camera skills; YOUR individual camera will be reviewed.  Kit Frost will teach you how to capture great landscape and waterfall images with your digital camera. Feel free to request accommodations in Silverton, Colorado and we'll meet you at our campsite daily.

Don't miss this great adventure.  A combination of camping, short hikes, waterfalls, mountain photography, in Southern Colorado.  The Mineral Creek campground is a jumping off point to some of the most beautiful, inspiring, awesome, landscapes in Southern Colorado, in the Four Corners, in the USA.

After a introduction to camera skills, composition, and exposure, we will head out to locations each day, and then review and critique, Kit will offer suggestions for continued improvement.   Let Kit teach you her special techniques for capturing grand and intimate landscapes.  And at our nightly campfire we will continue the conversation and review your day.

Locations will include:

• Mineral Creek Waterfalls
• Big Views, Molas Pass and the Grenadier Range
• The Twilight Peaks
• Engineer Peak
• other special locations around Silverton.

Gear List will be sent to registered participants, bring your family.  Enjoy a few days on photo instruction and review in Colorado.  Tent camping, RVs, whatever suits you.  We'll save a campsite for you.

Use paypal to securely make a full or partial payment towards this amazing photo workshop.

Choose a Payment Option

Pay in Full $650.00 USD Deposit $250.00 USD

Mineral Creek Fall, Spring snow melt

Molas Pass, looking east to the Grenadier Range

Mineral Creek Fall, San Juan National Forest

Get Out and STAY Out with Your Camera and Your Camper

First Camp at Valley of the Gods, my new Rig.

My father loves to say Get Out and STAY Out.  I'm the second oldest of seven children and when we were young it was a running joke.  Of course he wanted us to Get Out…for a bit of peace and quiet.  I love that man.

Well, I think I learned to do so.  This year alone I traveled to six National Parks, Arches, Canyonlands, Redwoods, Yosemite, Zion and Capitol Reef.  Most of my trips out west are based in Durango Colorado, so I also Get Out and STAY Out in the Weminuche Wilderness, the San Juan National Forest, in Colorado,  the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, and Grand Gulch Wilderness Study area in Utah.  In the spring of 2013 I bought a travel trailer, an 18 foot trailer, I love it, so most long weekends I can be found in and around my favorite places, teaching photo workshops, and Chasing the Light of the Western United States and Beyond.  I park my camper at some amazing places, hike or bike or drive to locations I love, meet students in the field and back in my studio in Durango.  The camper allows me to charge my batteries each night, to connect my solar panel for boon docking, and to rest in a nice, warm, space.

The emphasis over the past two years has been the National Parks.  For years (13) I had a dog, Zazi, my black lab, she was my constant companion and hero.  I mostly photographed, backpacked and hiked with her in wilderness areas that allow dogs.  Since her passing I am on the mission to see and photograph all I can in our National Parks.  I will get another companion, but am taking some time.

This blog is to tell the story about photography, travel and preparation for the next stage of my life.  I'm 60 years old. I was a teacher at Bayonne High School in New Jersey for 21 years, followed by the last 18 years of building my art and photography business in Durango, Colorado.  I love to teach and currently I teach students of all ages to make art, and to learn digital photography.  Many of my students come to my studio for private lessons on using their digital cameras properly.  And a great deal of my time is spent on Photography Adventures, teaching participants to use their digital and film cameras to capture grand and intimate landscapes.  In April of 2013, we took a group of students to Monument Valley, and I taught lessons in composition, dealing with wind, capturing scenes in the right light, right place, right time of day.  June usually finds a group of us along the waterfalls in the San Juan Mountains, where I teach the proper use of shutter speed for water flow.  And July and August, you can find me up above 10,000 feet in the San Juans and Weminuche Wilderness, teaching Wildflower photography, and the elusive high altitude sunset.  And by the time the fall arrives in the Southwest, late September through early November, I can be found reporting on, and chasing colors all around Southern Colorado, Arizona, and Utah.

As I transition from a continued part time position as a graphic artist working for corporate America, to full time travel and adventure, I thought others might enjoy reading about the process of getting on the road.  From purchasing a small travel trailer, the right tow vehicle, renovations and learning the systems of the camper, to the current stage of planning and follow up of dreams, this blog will help me remember the things I've done and link to other blogs that help in my mission to Get out and STAY Out.

Click on these links to some of stories, maps and my photos of our National Parks, including a few that won recent photo contests.  Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky
Canyonlands National Park, Needles District
Zion National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Redwoods National and State Parks
Yosemite National Park
Weminuche Wilderness
San Juan National Forest
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Grand Gulch Wilderness Study Area

And in 2014 I can be found in the Rainforests, photographing and teaching at Yellowstone National Park, Redwoods National Park, Olympic National Park and Jasper and Banff.  Come along for the ride!