By Virginia Parker Staat
The time has come. David and I have begun culling through 45 years of slides and photos. We began with our thirty carousels of slides. Each carousel holds 100, making 3,000 slides total. And that’s just the slides in the carousels. I admit that the process feels overwhelming.
Continue reading The Gift of CullingVirginia Parker Staat
Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers. How did these two separate crafts ever come together? A quick check with long-time members Don and Barb Laine and Jack Olson led me to discover that when RMOWP began in 1973, most members were writing and using their own photos to accompany their stories. They considered themselves outdoor communicators rather than purveyors of a specific craft.
Continue reading A Comparison of CraftsText & photo by Virginia Parker Staat
As most of you know, I’m not much for standing in the spotlight. I’m happy being the photographer behind the viewfinder or the writer behind the computer. In fact, as RMOWP’s new president, I feel more like my Aussie dingo friend in the photo, frozen under the torches (aka flashlights). It’s the problem with us introverts… we spend most of our time trying to be invisible. Sometimes it doesn’t work.
Continue reading Embracing the OxymoronText & photo by Kent Taylor
This will be my last President’s Column, friends. Perhaps I’ll survive the unenviable task of taking the baton from Al Perry four years ago after all. Yet here, now, is what stirs as RMOWP approaches its 46thannual conference in a few days.
By President Kent Taylor
One of the great opportunities of the RMOWP organization through the years has been the annual photo workshop. This long-standing summer ritual has provided first-class, professional instruction in nature photography for the many participants who signed up and showed up, wanting to improve their skills in the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. Most recently, coordinator Nic Showalter and instructors Jared Gricoskie and Fred Lord have for the past 11 years created a remarkable learning experience and contribution to the field of photography. Individuals from several states across the country have taken part. It has been a good run indeed.
Continue reading Decision TimeText & photo by Kent Taylor
“Take refuge in your senses, open up to all the small miracles you rushed through…
be excessively gentle with yourself, having learned a new respect for your heart,
and the joy that dwells far within slow time.”
~ Sourced from the poem, “For One Who is Exhausted, A Blessing”
by John O’Donohue
By Kent Taylor
Late last summer, wife Laura and I were watching TV one evening. Continue reading Frank’s Trophy: an Extra “Touch” of Nature
by Kent Taylor
“I was trying to think out loud about the concentration essential for all artists, and in the very little child I found the perfect example. The concentration of a small child at play is analogous to the concentration of the artist of any discipline. In real play, which is real concentration, the child is not only outside time, he or she is outside of themselves. They have thrown themselves completely into whatever they are doing…this throwing away is the act of creativity.”
~ Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet Continue reading The Act of Creativity
By Kent Taylor
The place is Bean Hollow State Beach on the California coast, close to Pescadero, a few miles south of Half Moon Bay. Continue reading Getting Lost at Bean Hollow
The mention of Spring’s Return in early March may seem a tad premature for those of you in higher elevations where boots, gloves, and a good snow shovel are still within reach. Continue reading Spring’s Return
