Next Adventure: Art at the Grand Canyon and Beyond

Trip Preparation.

When I choose a location for travel I search for inspiration on the web.  It's not hard to find.  For the second year in a row, I'm visiting the Grand Canyon for the Invitational, Plein Air Festival. And I love to surf the websites of the participating artists.  While at the Grand, I too will be painting and making photographs, although not part of the Invitational, but I aspire to be invited someday soon.  I'll be hanging out at the Ten-X campground south of Tuscayan near the South Rim.

And the Art of the National Parks book is a terrific, inspiring informative read.  Last year, at Zion National Park's Invitational plein air festival, the authors spoke and showed a terrific slide show of some of the work in the book, as many of the artists featured were present.

I will be at the Grand for 5 days and then I'm participating in the Escalante Canyons Arts Festival in Utah.  My camera is my traveling art studio for the week,  and right now I'm building some drying racks for my oil paintings.  The organizers have reserved some group camp sites at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park.  Photography, painting and travel go together for me.

Today's Inspiration

Here are some artists who inspire me, and trigger my need to "Get Out and STAY out"

Erin Hansen's Website

©ErinHansen

©ErinHansen

©ErinHansen

Matthew Higginbotham, painter

©MatthewHigginbotham

©MatthewHigginbotham

©MatthewHigginbotham

I will be "on the road" for about three weeks, Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante Canyons, and then Capitol Reef National Park.  I love all three of these locations for early fall photography and this year I will practice oil painting too.  Join with me as I share the adventure and new imagery on my blogs.  And since I have a new hip, I will do some hiking in all three locations.

My Website Link

Grand Canyon Photography, 2014

Here are a few photos from my 2014 trip to the Grand Canyon

OOH la laaa, the clouds

By hanging around the canyon for a few days, I enjoy the changing light,
the shadows, and the warm/cool colors.

This view of O'Neill Butte and the South Kaibab trail seduced me as
it was lit be the sunrise.

I was thrilled by the clouds, which allowed me to include quite a bit
of the sky in the image.  Cloud shadows are my favorite subjects.

The sunlit O'Neill Butte really stood out
against the shadows of the inner gorge from Yaki Point.
This year I hope to hike the South Kaibab trail, visible
to the left of the saddle.

Capitol Reef Fall Photography, 2013

Autumn in the Orchard, Capitol Reef

Looking towards the Henry Mountains, from Strike Valley Overlook

RVwest Magazine features a story about My Adventures and RV Lifestyle

RV West Magazine Article about Kit Frost

Kit Frost's Photographs and Camping Adventures Featured in RVwest Magazine 

My rig at the Watchman Campground in Zion National Park

I was thrilled to get a call from Jessica Kirby, a writer for RVwest Magazine.  What do you think of the story she wrote about me and my life of adventure?
Click here to read the story.

Dry Camping in the San Juan National Forest, near Durango, Colorado

RVwest Newsletter - eNews about RV travel, product Reviews and Photography

http://www.rvwest.com/campaigns/html/11762

Comment below please.  I'd love to know what you think of RVwest.

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!