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Thirsty Thursday: Wyoming Skies

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Lamarca Prosecco

Hey Welliver Photography friends...Thristy Thursday here again. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! I finished yet another quarter of my MBA earlier this week (hence the prosecco) and finally have time to write a post and share some photos. Even better, I have recent photos to share! 

We spent a little time in Wyoming at the end of May visiting Terry's parents. My parents joined us from Iowa and one evening we found time to go for a drive. We ended up on some random road north of Cheyenne, chasing the last few rays of light in a constantly evolving sky. I'm sure my mom (photo assistant for the evening) was confused by my ADHD scrambling, but at least she's smart enough to avoid the steamy cow pies as we went running across pastures to get the right composition. 

We ended up with some incredible yet fleeting clouds. And some incredible but fleeting color. There for a minute, gone the next. It felt good to be out in my photographic element though. All is right with the world when I'm there, unencumbered by case studies, group papers, accounting problem sets, or the usual work issues.

Smiles. All around. 

In case you want to visit that tree, we were way out on Whitaker Road, northwest of Cheyenne. Or, better yet, get out there and find your own tree and crazy sky this weekend.  

The Welliver Photography Best of 2012

Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites! 

Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.

Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry. 

Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry. 

Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.

Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry. 

Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.

Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht  (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.

Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.

Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.

Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.

Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog! 

Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.

 

Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry. 

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.

Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.

Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.

Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.

Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.

We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there! 

Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!

All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.

Thirsty Thursday Bonus Edition: Snowy Tree

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2010 Hallauer Blauburgunder (no idea, but we had to buy a screw top since Terry decided to leave the corkscrew in his carry-on luggage)

That's right, a bonus Thirsty Thursday...and we've gone international. I thought I'd share a quick snap I took from the train between Luzern und Interlaken...the windows on the train opened! Pretty sweet, and well, just plain pretty. Pretty, as in, absolutely freakin' beautiful!

Thirsty Thursday: More Aspens

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Hot apple cider...mmmmm

Thursday is here again already, so that means its time for the weekly installment of Thirsty Thursday. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I just got back from a drizzly and chilly trail run, hence the warm drink in my hand! Fall continues to slide into winter, and sadly tonight will probably be the last weeknight trail run of the year with the time change coming this weekend.

Before I let fall scoot all the way out of my mind, I have to share some more autumn color. Last fall I spent an week in the Eastern Sierra chasing golden aspens and snow-capped peaks. I happened to be there in the days immediately following the first major snow of the year. This makes the commute from the central coast over the Sierra Crest a pain in the rear, but it was beautiful. This was the scene at North Lake. Yeah, not your typical North Lake perspective, but I was happy to work for this view away from the masses on the shore.

Sometimes the close-ups are just as good as the big views.

There's a big storm headed for California this weekend, so the high country will likely see quite a bit of snow. Heck, the snow level here is supposed to drop to around 3000' by tomorrow night. Who knows, maybe there will be a little dusting on the local peaks (probably not, but maybe). The first snow of the year is always magical. So clean and fresh.

Get out there and find something pretty to look at this weekend!

 

Massey Monday: Spotted Mountain Goat

Massey loved her little trip to the Sierra backcountry. She was such a rockstar in the woods...chasing birds and pikas but never strayed to far and always came back. She loved scaling these granite rock formations, too. She would bound and scramble up them like a little spotted mountain goat! It's true, my dog is more athletic than me.

Thirsty Thursday: Swamp Things

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: North Coast Brewing Co. Pranqster Belgian Style Golden Ale

Thirsty Thursday snuck up on us this week, and what's worse, due to crazy long bike rides, a weekend bbq/party, and general busyness, we've hardly gotten out to take photos recently. Eeeek! So I had to go back in the archives today to find something to talk about this Thursday.

Over the weekend I was hanging out with a lot of my old cycling friends. We had a few discussions about my preparation for the upcoming Leadville 100 in a little over a month, and inevitably comparisons were made to training last year in flat, humid, swampy Lousyana versus this year's training in the coastal mountains of California. These discussions made me think back to those icky rides on the otherwise incredibly fun singletrack loops around Shreveport, LA. Places like Bodcau Bayou and the Monkey Trail were very well maintained and super fun to ride, but came with unique "environmental enhancements" like snakes (on the ground and in trees), gators, spiders, thick spider webs, mutant mosquitoes, and fire ants to help keep the heart rate higher than the target training zone. Throw in some poison oak for good measure, too. It was the only place I've ever been in which I swore nature hated me.

However, if you slathered on enough DEET and looked at the swamps right, there was some beauty to be found. Or at least something unique to photograph. Here are a few examples.

The lines on the trees in the photo below are high water marks. There was a major flood in this area a few months before I took this photo. Closed the mountain bike trails there, too.

This sign was in the campground where I stayed on Barksdale AFB after I sold and moved out of our house. There were gators there. The totally awesome white trash camper I stayed in for a week was about 100 yards from this sign. Massey was on a short leash during our stay.

And this little bayou was behind the above sign. I took this photo from a road that I frequented on my road bike and saw gators lurking in the water on several occasions. Luckily I always saw them in the water in this particular spot.

There were always guys out in bass boats at Bodcau Bayou fishing away when I was there, but I thought this guy took it to a new level. He's actually standing in that dark, scary, icky water. I don't even know how he got himself to this point out in the muck, but he must have very large huevos. Or he's just plain ol' southern crazy.

I'll spare our readers from the assortment of crazy spider and snake photos I have in the archives. Instead, I'll leave you with some pretty flowers. Ironically, for as unpleasant as much of Lousyana was, a surprising number of wildflowers bloomed throughout the spring and summer. The splash of color along the roads always brightened my day.

It took me most of the year and a half that I was in Lousyana to appreciate the landscape there, but I'm glad I got to experience it. It just goes to show that no matter where you are, there is so much beauty in the natural world around us. Get out there this weekend and enjoy it!