This will be a somewhat abbreviated newsletter from what I planned to send out with more updates coming in mid to late October. As I type this I am getting ready for the first workshop going into the last days of summer. I hope you enjoyed your summer as we look ahead to cooler crisper mornings for most of us, and thus fall. While I don't put a lot of stock into color forecasting, it can be kind of fun to watch the fall color forecast progress. I feel there is great opportunities well before peak, and after, which is why I don't let tools like this be the the decision maker. They can provide general updates, not exact precision. For what it's worth, one of my favorite fall photos is with all the fall colored leaves on the ground and bare trees.

Since we are moving into fall it's a perfect time to share a spring photo. Logically. I have seen some impressive fields of lupine over the years yet few have been as impressive as this. Vast meadows filled with lupine was amazing to see without hardly another person around. The atmospheric conditions as the low clouds lifted from the area midday added to it. To understand how much wildflowers can change from year to year, in this same location in Northern California, there were almost none that bloomed in 2025 when I visited. A few lonely flowers on the side of the road, nothing else. This year wound up being the exact opposite. A bumper crop. More photos to come from that day in the future.

In this newsletter:

• 2027 Best of the Northwest Workshops
• My Photo Stream

2027 BNW Workshops Available

Last week the 2027 Best of the Northwest workshops were made available for signup. Spots are filling up with spaces still remaining. Below is the list of what I am offering next year.

• ​Oceanside - April 5-8, 2027: This is a new workshop I haven't offered in the past going to locations I haven't lead workshops before.
• ​Oregon Outback - April 18-22, 2027: A year ago we went in fall and I am excited to switch it up and return for spring season.
• ​Gardens and Waterfalls - May 22-25, 2027: It's been many years since this was offered due to access challenges. We are happy to bring this back.
• ​Sawtooth Mountains - Sept 24-27, 2027: We let the ash and smoke settle over the last few years from the summer wildfires and are ready to return.

Since the last newsletter we had a couple cancellations for fall 2026 sold out workshops. The following now each have one spot open.

• ​Painted Hills - Oct 2-5 with Zack Schnepf
• ​Bryce & Escalante Canyons - Nov 6-10 with Eric Bennett

New Photo Stream

Some of you might remember (and possibly subscribed) to my now defunct Photo of the Week (POTW) posts. A couple of years ago I started posting blog posts with a story behind the photo. It was a well intentioned plan that faded away. The posts dwindled into once a quarter at best. It needed retooling to try this again in a different way.

I started posting in August to a single Photo Stream on my site where you can view additional thoughts I share about the photo, experience, processing, etc. It will range from very short to longer stories yet all bite size. No novels here. There is no specific frequency these will post. Being it's quicker and easier for this than the separate blog posts, expect to see more. I haven' thought if I will send out separate updates occasionally to those subscribed to POTW. Feel free to let me know your thoughts in a reply. You can also leave comments online under each photo. It would be great to engage with folks on there if you have thoughts you would like to share.

Besides the writing you will find a few new photos worth checking out, including a scorpion!

Reads, Watches, and Listens

What I am reading, watching, or listening to that I feel others might find of interest.

• ​Fareed Kotb decided to be different from the rest of the sports photographers at the 2026 World Cup. He used a 96 year old camera. While I think it's a neat concept, and I like some of the photos, I admit it wouldn't be my choice over today's gear for sports. I respect he did it. There seems to be a small slowly growing interest in analog devices in todays world.
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• ​Jay Myself directed by Stephen Wilkes - Last month the photography world lost a legend, Jay Maisel. He was an interesting guy with an eye for creating impactful photos. I was fortunate to be in a small group for one of his presentations 20 years ago when I hardly knew what I was doing. This documentary as he moved out of the 36,000 sf former bank building he called home and studio for decades is fascinating.
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• ​The Last Great Land Artist by The New York Times - While I often prefer the natural landscape, I am impressed and in awe of land artists that are able to work one specific project for decades to build their artistic vision (in this case Charles Ross took 50 years to build Star Axis). To me this is trying to blend art and nature in a slow, deliberate, and respectable way. The recently finished City by Michael Heizer is what comes to mind these days when I hear "land art." It also took about 50 years until it opened in 2022 and only allows six visitors a day.

If you enjoy this newsletter, I would appreciate it if you share it with your family or friends. As always, thank you for your time and support!