Favorite Images of 2017

As we all prepare to say goodbye to 2017, I want take time to share my favorite images of 2017. Looking back, this year has been one of much excitement as I have had chances to expand my work in what I am calling "Sciencetelling" to new audiences thanks to presenting at several science education conferences as well as joining up with the great folks at National Geographic Education where I am contributing to their blog on a regular basis.  You can find my updated author page HERE! 

These exciting additions to my life resulted in fewer opportunities to get out and shoot images this year, but I still had a great time on vacation this summer in Utah and Colorado where I fell in love with the Red Rock Country of the intermountain west! In addition to shooting nature as I have done for years, I have begun to explore shooting local theatre productions in North Texas where I live. In particular, Allen's Community Theatre, where my wonderful wife, Robyn both acts and directs. You can expect to see tidbits of both of these in my year end retrospective as well as some images I took on a final walkthrough of the science building I worked in for the past 27 years - it's was demolished in June as we replace it with a new, state of the art science center. 

Thanks for visiting and I am looking forward to utilising this space for a wider range of sciencetelling and photography in the coming year!  HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Western Landscapes (click to view high res versions) 

Black Canyon National Park

View from top of Grand Mesa

Lone Pine at Colorado National Monument

Balanced Rock at Colorado National Monument

"Weathering Sentinel" at Colorado National Monument 

The Coke Ovens - Colorado National Monument

"Verticality" at Colorado National Monument

The Long & Winding Road"  - Canyonlands NP

Animals (click to view high res versions) 

Utahraptor stalks a small child - Moab Giants -, Utah

T. Rex at Moab Giants - Utah

 

Yellow Bellied Marmot - Colorado

"Sharptooth" at Colorado Gators Reptile Park

Camouflaged Gator at Colorado Gators Reptile Park

"Cruisin'" at Colorado Gators Reptile Park

            The Old Science Building (click to view high res versions)

Warning sign in the Science Lecture Hall

"Break it Early...."

Faucet & Nozzle

"Impossible is Nothing"

Theatre (click to view high res versions)

Victor Von Frankenstein - from Young Frankenstei  

Reanimating the Monster - Young Frankenstein

"Ride in Ze Hay" - Young Frankenstein

The Monster - Young Frankenstein

King Henry and Alais - Lion in Winter

Queen Eleanor & King Henry - Lion in Winter

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Should you find yourself driving through south central Colorado, I strongly recommend that you take a break from the road and wander over to Great Sand Dunes National Park (GSDNP). These are the highest sand dunes in the United States, reaching an elevation of 750 feet. 

Click in the image to see a high resolution version

These dunes are particularly interesting as they are obviously not coastal and thus all the more unusual. According to the National Park Service, Great Sand Dunes National Park is significant for a range of reasons including:

• GSDNP contains the tallest dunes in North America and one of the most fragile and complex dune systems in the world
• GSDNP protects a globally significant, water- and wind-driven system, which includes creeks that demonstrate surge flow, a rare hydrologic phenomenon 
• GSDNP provides tremendous scenic settings that, for many, provoke strong emotional responses. These settings (including massive dunes surrounded by alpine peaks, a desert valley, creeks flowing on the surface of the sand, pristine mountains, and rural range land) offer spacious relief from urban America, exceptional solitude and quiet, and a remarkably unspoiled day and night sky
• GSDNP hosts a great diversity of plants and animals, including insect species found nowhere else on earth. The system, which spans high desert to alpine life zones, supports rare biological communities that are mostly intact and functional
• GSDNP contains some of the oldest (9,000+ years before present) known archaeological sites in America. The dunes have been identified as having special importance by people of various cultures, and the area is recognized for the culturally diverse nature of human use

Click in the image to see a high resolution version

A few hours spent exploring this unique environment will stay with you for years afterward!