Towns Less Occupied: part 1

November 10, 2017March 18, 2018 / Andrew McAllister / 6 Comments

17 years ago, as a recent graduate of the Fine Art Photography at the University of Akron I had a problem. With degree in hand I had no more class critiques to work toward. Senior projects all wrapped up. Working at Dodd Camera in Cleveland and then later as a photo assistant in the area. Though I was working in my profession I had to get out and photograph for myself. Personal work as it would be called by career coaches. Except my personal work was truly personal, not just spec work made to get the attention of agencies. I continued to work like a student and make a dozen images every other week. Quickly a pattern emerged, weekends with good wether, old commercial areas of towns and cities, and midday light because I had to travel in the morning to the areas I photographed. In 2011, as a new resident of northern Utah and with only part time work I continued this pursuit with fresh eyes placed on towns I had not seen before. A collection of these images are on display at Gallery East in Price, Utah through December 8th 2017. The gallery is in the new Fine Arts Center at USU Eastern, a regional campus of Utah State University. Since many if not all of the viewers of this blog will not be able to see the show in person, I’ll share some images here on the blog. 140413_Idaho Falls_ID-33

Above: Idaho Falls, Idaho 2014. The post card image for the show and one of the best images to some up the show title. I went to Idaho Falls specifically to wander around it’s old commercial district and see what I could find and the above image I like to think of as a gift from the photo gods. A perfectly clean ally sets up a single point perspective with many hard lines and a beautiful shadow. The order and tension is broke by the twisted power pole and its diagonal shadows in the center and the minimal intrusion of leafless trees and pitiful clouds. The image modulates between looking deep due to leading lines and flat due to limited tonality.

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Above: Malad, Idaho 2014. The documentarian photographer works like a hunter gatherer, with a list of suitable subjects in their head and ideas as to how they would like to order them. In the case above the image was shot for a collection I call Silo Survey. Recently I have started to merge parts of that collection into my Towns Less Occupied series. Like the image from Idaho Falls, this image revels in detail and the play of order and disorder. Mostly vertical lines with a few horizontals, mostly tin with a few wood planks. Unusual for me is the time of day but in this case the warm summer light adds to the overall success. I’ll continue showing images from this show in the next few posts. Not all of them are as hard lined as these two I have talked about today.

Photographers are always curious about what you used to make the picture. Both of the images in this post were captured with a 24mm perspective controlled lens on a Nikon body. The image from Idaho Falls I was using a tripod at normal eye height and the Malad image above I was using a giant tripod and standing on a small ladder. Both images were processed in Capture One Pro with the major adjustments being lessening contrast and shifting the blue sky to a slightly pail tone.

Looking at the West: return to blogging

November 2, 2017November 2, 2017 / Andrew McAllister / 19 Comments

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Over the past few years I stopped publishing this blog. Just let it go. Not because I did not enjoy building it up but because it got to a point where it seemed like what is the purpose? Most other photography blogs I was exposed to were thinly veiled attempts to sell workshops or gear review and training sites. It felt as if photography as it exists on the web was only about selling gizmos. I could not find good content from photographers that interested me. That made me reconsider why I was doing it myself. In that confusion it became easier to just switch to Instagram and stop trying to write blog entries. After all it is more fun and interesting to just go out on adventures and take photos than to sit at a computer and write. After years and stops and starts on that platform I feel like it’s becoming just a huge space for advertising and self promotional content, plus the photos are too small. The end result is after I have liked about a 50 things I don’t feel any connection to what I just saw nor have I learned anything new. Maybe it’s time to get back to blogging. With a huge backload of images from adventures over the last few years I’m planing on restarting the blog and posting with some consistency. The photo above is from earlier this year (2017) from a trip I made to Dinosaur National Monument, a place where I have had the great opportunity to work the last 2 summers as part of a team of researchers. I’ll get to what we were doing later but lets just say this is my happy place. The photo has all the elements of my adventures, interesting and rugged landscape, remote and rugged road and an epic view. Speaking of the view the river in the distance is the mighty Green River and it has just come out of Split Mountain located just to the right. In the distance are the Unitas, one of the few East-West trending ranges in North America and also the northern border of the Colorado Plateau.

Old Rail Station, Preston, ID

February 5, 2017 / Andrew McAllister / 2 Comments

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Old rail station and silo. Preston, Idaho 2013

Twin Peaks, Goose Creek Mtns., Utah

January 29, 2017January 28, 2017 / Andrew McAllister / Leave a comment

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Snow covered Twin Peaks (8584 ft. elevation) located in the far NW corner of Utah about 15 miles from the UT-NV-ID boundry monument.

Little Mountain, Big Clouds

June 20, 2014March 18, 2018 / Andrew McAllister / 27 Comments

Little Mountain, west of Corrine Utah. Unseasonably cold weather pattern came through Utah earlier this week and gave us some great cloudy days and snow at higher elevations. Glad to have ventured out one of the days and snapped a few images before the return of cloudless blue sky summer days returns.

Exploring Promontory: Golden Spike National Historic Site

June 13, 2014March 18, 2018 / Andrew McAllister / 15 Comments

Just over an hour away from Logan Utah and on the way to the Spiral Jetty is The Golden Spike National Historic Site. Usually I’m bringing friends out to the Jetty and we pass by much of what the site has to offer and just stop at the visitor center. This past trip was a bit different as my passengers were meeting me at the center and I would have some time alone to get off the main road and photograph along the East Grade Auto Tour. It was amazingly still and the only sound to be heard was that of a cow off in the distance. That changed with the unmistakeable sound of small caliber gunfire, and close too. Above and below: Looking East from the Central Pacific Grade on a beautiful spring evening.

The landscape of Promontory is unforgiving and it is that aspect along with it’s austere beauty that attracts me. On a previous visit the wind was so fierce that one could hardly stand outside of the car, it’s no wonder few people live here.

Take a moment and consider that these rail cuts were made by men with hand tools. Looking east through the cut toward Brigham City and the Wellsville Mountains. It was at this point I heard the gunfire and thought that it sounded pretty close. After returning to my car that was parked on the road I went through the cut and there I found the family using the Golden Spike Historic Site as their personal shooting range. As a reminder “Firearms may not be discharged in this national park or along the scenic drive and should not be used as a wildlife protection strategy”. Say what you will about firearms the thing that gets me is the attitudes of “it does not apply to me” or “I’m in the middle of nowhere so who cares”, in this case there are multiple public shooting ranges with in view of this location.

Promontory has a lot to offer if you have the patience to travel there and empathy for what you will discover. On this day I was pressed for time and had to get back to Cache Valley but I will no doubt return and continue to photograph the landscape around the Golden Spike National Historic Site in the near future.

Images and text © Andrew McAllister-Looking at the West.

On the road in Wyoming

April 25, 2014March 18, 2018 / Andrew McAllister / 14 Comments

Working on the last post I remembered that I had another shot of a group of horses that I wanted to share on LATW. Taking the scenic route home from Jackson to Cache Valley via Diamondville last fall ended up taking many more hours than expected. With a lot ground to cover, dramatic sky, fall color and a photographer driving it was anything but quick. After a few stops you just have to stop stopping or it will be midnight before you are home.

Fall color near Bondurant, Wyoming.

Horses south of Bondurant, Wyoming

The Flat Top, north of La Barge, Wyoming.

Kokopelli Trail with the Book Cliff Cruisers (day 2)

February 5, 2014April 7, 2014 / Andrew McAllister / 12 Comments

Day two of the Kokopelli Trail the most photogenic of the trip. We crossed increasingly scenic landscape starting with the austere Cisco Wash followed by the increasingly rugged Owl Draw and Dome Plateau (pictured Below). The day concluded with the Top of the World trail that terminates at a rock ledge hundreds of feet above the valley floor. The view from the Top of the World trail terminus one can see Onion Creek and Fisher Towers below you, Professor Valley and the Colorado River in the distance and the ridge line of the windows section of Arches National Park some 15 miles away.

Cisco Wash

After a hearty breakfast our group broke camp and headed for the trail for a long day in the saddle that would cross increasingly scenic territory. The first section took us from our camp at Fish Ford over to Utah 128 via a dusty two track that crosses Cisco Wash. Seeing the depth and departure angle of the wash I jumped out to get the shot above for Sean’s trailer review. Being in a wash like this one, I can understand why maps have warnings about roads being impassable when wet. This last section of this trail was pretty dusty and our groups vehicles spaced out for safe driving. Below a member of our group waits for the last vehicle as we turn onto Utah Scenic 128 and head toward Owl Draw. The helicopter was just flying by.

Owl Draw and Dome Plateau

Utah Scenic Route 128 connects I-70 and 191 and follows the Colorado River through Professor Valley and well worth the trip. Owl Draw is a 4×4 road that starts near Gordon Ranch just as 128 closes in on the Colorado River. Above is looking North towards the East Tavaputs Plateau.

After some time we made a quick stop at a scenic overlook to stretch the legs and grab a photo and we were off again. Interesting to see how the wind is sculpting these sandstone cliffs and the effects of water drainage on the soil.

Above: Yellow Jacket Canyon

We welcomed the long sandy stretches of road and breathtaking views as we headed toward the river crossing at Dewey.

Close to the trails end our group passed through a gate with a nice view of the Colorado River and the crossing at Dewey. There are two bridges at Dewey. The original wood plank bridge burned in 2008 and there is a local effort to restore it. Our group would meet up at the old bridge foundation and then head to our campsite near the Delores River where we would have lunch and drop trailers before heading to the Top of the World trail. Note the tilted angle of the earth’s crust. Below: sandstone cliffs and domes near Utah Scenic 128.

Top Of The World Trail

Ace from the Book Cliffs Cruisers leads the charge as we start the Top of the World Trail. Guide books state that this trail takes about 3 to 4 hours to complete and we were starting after lunch so we had to make good time when we could if we were to make it back to camp before dark. The first five miles were graded dirt road and have plenty to stop and look at if you get an early start. The picture above shows the start of the trail. The rock steps above would eventually turn into proper ledges as seen below at the first obstacle point. The Fun-treks guide book mentioned that this trail has gotten more difficult and once was doable in an aggressive stock vehicle. This would be my first time on a “Difficult” rated trail.

Above: Drivers assess the first major obstacle and plan a route. Below: With a good line and all lockers engaged Sean’s 80 series Landcruiser clears the ledge and pulls a trailer up it too. Since he was writing a review on the build and trail handling he opted to bring it while the others left their trailers at the campsite.

Below: Richard takes a line more suited for the FJ-40’s shorter wheelbase and clearance.

Below: Darius looses traction on his first attempt but soon clears the ledge.

Below: Rocky sections test a vehicles articulation and the drivers ability to choose a line that considers the trailer as well as the tow vehicle. Passengers need to hold on… or get out and take pictures.

Below: In the far distance is where we started from this morning. On this trail you do feel like you are going to the top of the world.

Top of the World – The view

The view from the top was nothing short of spectacular. When we arrived every one grabbed whatever camera they had and started snapping away. Being late afternoon the sun was harsh and hazy and I have had to spend some time in Adobe Lightroom to get the images to the state you see here. Above you can clearly see the windows section of Arches National Park. This is a great location that I’d love to photograph in first light.

Above: Looking down on the backlit Fisher Towers and Onion Creek area of Professor Valley. Amazing view!

Above: Looking North West toward The East Tavaputs Plateau. The haze and fact that I was using a longer focal length lens made this a hard shot to resolve but the view of over 30 miles was worth the effort. The sandstone cliffs in the mid ground are where we were a few hours earlier. I-70 is visible just below the center on the left side.

The overhang at Top of the World is a great photo op. Google it and you find tons of shots just like this. Sean however was not aware of the over hang and was surprised when he saw the picture.

Above: Richard and Kim on top of the FJ-40, on Top of the World with dog co-pilot Shamrock.

Above: Should you look down you will see Onion Creek and to the East: Fisher Valley pictured below.

Below: After the photo ops we needed to get going as we still had a difficult trail between us and camp. A few people received phone calls at the top but cell reception would fade fast as we started back down the trail.

Top of the world Trail – Return trip

Ace again leads the way. With the sun getting lower on the horizon and progress to be made I had to make the most of shooting from the Landcruiser. The shot above is through the windshield and below at a turn in the trail. Not bad if I do say so myself.

After a brief section of trail we came to a series of ledges that would challenge the Landcruisers with longer wheelbases. The ledges were covered with sand and spaced so that both front and rear wheels would be climbing up at the same time.

Below: A tight section of trail forced me to use the widest lens I had available to illustrate the spacing of the ledges. After this shot I switched to the other side of the trail and a safer position.

Below: Driver error caused our trailer to flip when stepping off this ledge. It was quickly righted with a couple of extra hands. As you can see the ledge has a high side and the trailer is top heavy with the tent configured the way it is. Sean writes about this incident in his review.

As soon as the trailer was ready to go our group progressed and we were on the main graded road before dark. Below: Joe steps his Landcruiser down one of the many ledges on the return from Top of the World.

Long day in the saddle was the correct way to put it. It was twilight when we got to camp. Everyone hustled to get tents setup before it was completely dark and with no dedicated camp chef tonight we would be on our own for dinner. After dark we gathered around the campfire and recalled the days events and planned for tomorrows adventure on Rose Garden Hill. After an hour or so I decided to call it day and head to bed. The days trek was pretty intense and I was ready for some sleep. Hopefully the winds would not keep me awake tonight as they did the night before.

Kokopelli Trail with the Book Cliff Cruisers (day 1)

February 1, 2014April 5, 2014 / Andrew McAllister / 3 Comments

This past spring (2013) I had the opportunity to travel a section of the Kokopelli Trail. My friend Sean had procured a spot on the trail pre-run for Cruise Moab, a gathering of Toyota Landcruiser owners and enthusiasts. In addition to sharing fuel costs and serving as co-pilot I would take pictures for a review article on a small kit trailer called the Dinoot that is perfect for what the company calls trailer supported adventure. Sean’s review of the Dinoot trailer build can be found at Off-Road.com This trail run would be a 100 mile 3 day off road adventure through new ground that neither of us had traveled before. We would be guided by Jonathan and Ace of the Book Cliff Cruisers, a club based in Grand Junction Colorado. I charged up camera batteries, packed a tripod, clothes, and my camp box (tools etc.) borrowed a tent and sleeping bag from friends as this was my first camping trip in about 20 years. After an overnight drive we arrived in Rabbit Valley Colorado near the Utah border. A campsite on BLM land was where we were to meet the other 9 LandCruisers we would be joining for the 3 day drive. Soon after we would start on our journey and I would gasp at the road conditions. Literally at the first bend in the road it was rocky with boulders and ruts. I was glad to be a rider in a very capable truck as we would encounter sections of road like this multiple times. I was in new photographic territory too, how does one capture the intensity of a trail like this in a truthful way? What makes it interesting? How to get the best shot without holding up the group? The image above was from our first stop as a group about an hour into the drive. For a newcomer like myself I was really impressed with the terrain we were covering but this was our first real ledge. If my memory serves me it was a little less than 36″ drop total. A good line and a spotter would make it an easy drop for the group. How ledges like this work for clubs is a few people spot and take pictures wile the group slowly moves through the obstacle. After the whole group has passed the obstacle we move on. I would not attempt this in my stock Xterra… yet.

A short distance later we came across some motorcyclists on the trail. At times like this I would analyze the scene as fast as possible and if there was a picture to be had I would tell Sean to stop and I would open the door and stand up to to get the shot. With everyone else still in motion it had to happen fast. We would not encounter another set of motorcyclists the whole day.

Crossing a boulder field a driver in our group snagged the sharp end of a rock and sliced his tire sidewall. Other drivers jumped in to assist in the wheel change and in short time we were rolling again. Funny how both guys helping are in flip flops. A great thing about traveling in a group like this is that there was plenty of knowledge and more than a few spare parts around and everything was Landcruiser centric.

During our pitstop I had time to shoot a few landscape scenes. The Kokopelli Trail is used by used by 4-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, mountain bikes and the occasional atv. Everyone we came across was friendly, respectful and staying on the trail. We would meet up with the mountain bikers in the picture above a little later and it turned out that they were attending Cruise Moab too.

After a break for lunch we traveled through many washes of Bitter Creek. This section of the trail had some grazing areas where we came across sheep and cattle. I’d like to travel this section again some time as there are a few good areas for photography. Both Sean and myself considered this trip reconnaissance and location scouting for future trips. Sometime in the future I like to have a truck like the 80 series Landcruiser above. A highly capable off road vehicle with sleeping quarters on the roof, cooking ability, food storage via onboard fridge and most importantly driving and navigation skills to get there and back safely. A sharp bend in the road and how the caravan was spaced out made this shot possible.

Climbing out of the Bitter Creek area and heading toward Coal Draw. This was an easy section thus I was able to get a sharp picture through the windshield. Most of the way up it was rocky enough that I had to hold on as the cab rocked back and forth. In a group like this you can watch how the vehicle in front of you tracks through the terrain but it’s important to keep in mind how your truck is different. In our case we were pulling a trailer and our line would need to consider how it tracked around obstacles. Other things to consider would be wheelbase and lift (clearance), though all the trucks in our group were similar, it is often not the case.

View from the top looking North East toward Colorado. Note the communications tower on the ridge. From this point onward the trail became less and less rugged until finally we reached pavement and enjoyed a few minutes of smooth road. Soon we would turn onto Route 179 and head to our next destination, Cisco Landing for a restroom break and the final leg of trail for day 1.

This final stretch of dirt road was nice and smooth. As we increased speed we also increased the distance between vehicles to aid safe driving. As you can see from the picture the combination of loose soil and the wind create a dusty situation. Scientists have found dust originating from Utah covering snow fields in Colorado. That dust is causing the snow to melt faster. Now imagine the amount of dust that is stirred up on the hundred of thousands of dirt roads in the west. Mind boggling… 20130430_Kokopelli Trail_104

After a quick stop at the Cisco Landing (pictured above) we headed to Fish Ford, a campground near the Colorado River. As it was early in the season the trees had just started to get their leaves and the overall feel was harsh. Thus not many photos of the camping area. The group spread out around the area and made camp. It was nice to be done with the driving and have some time to walk around. It was a bit windy and I was a little nervous about my first night camping in 20 years to be next to a Cottonwood tree. I set up the borrowed tent as close to the truck as possible thinking it would shield me from wind and falling branches. Pretty silly in retrospect. Naturally it rained that night and I awoke many times thinking I heard animals outside of my tent. The morning revealed no evidence of the large grazing animals that I could swear were just outside my tent all night.

There are many advantages of traveling in a group, safety in numbers, sharing of resources, camaraderie among others. Getting going in the morning, that would be a disadvantage. Once I’m awake I want to get going, make the coffee, pack up and get on with it. With a large group it takes a while just to get everyone up and ready, then there is breakfast and breaking camp. We are talking about a multi hour process here. Not unenjoyable but different than my daily ritual. As a group of strangers camping together for the first time we did a decent job of getting on the trail at a reasonable time.

A bonus of this trail run was having a dedicated camp chef for the first day and a half who would cook the group a great camp dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. Being that I had been awake the better part of 40 hours and was hanging out with people I just met I did not go into photography mode at dinner time. I did not know if I would even publish a story on the trip. Learning this blogging thing as I go I realize that a group shot or establishing photos of the group would help put things in context. Instead I have the above shot of the cooking and dining area. Far from a great record of the event you will have to trust me that the food and the conversation were a great way to end the day. Many lively conversations continued late into the night, however once the sun set I was ready for sleep and the end of an adventurous day.

2013 in 10 photos

January 4, 2014January 3, 2017 / Andrew McAllister / 26 Comments

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This was a year of looking, learning and contemplating. If I had to choose just one image to represent 2013 it would be this image of a mountain goat on Willard Peak in Northern Utah. I took the photo on a drive to Inspiration Point with a photographer friend who shoots pictures of wildlife. Unlike earlier trips when I looked at animals through binoculars, this time we hiked to the mountain goats and saw them at close range. I look forward to doing more of this in 2014. Technical info: Willard Peak via National Forest Road (starts in Mantua) to Inspiration Point. Accessible in warm months by automobiles with high clearance. The last few turns are at over 9000 feet elevation and exposed. Not for the faint of heart.

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Lone teenager at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Any year when you get to visit Moab six times is a good year. The area offers so much to explore and so many photographic possibilities that it boggles the mind. Now that I can go there frequently, I have the luxury of not feeling rushed or compelled to fill the day with a million must-see things.

Hunter Power Plant from Ghost Rock

Ghost Rocks viewpoint looking toward the Hunter Power Plant. This photo was taken on a solo winter trip to photograph the area. It was nice to experience Southern Utah at a slower pace and find new locations like this. The quickest way from Moab to SLC is through Price, but a winter storm made travel over Soldier Summit questionable so I took I-70 across the San Rafael Swell and saw a new part of the state.

Top of the World Trail Phone Home on the Range. Last spring I had the opportunity to travel the Kokopelli Trail on a Cruise Moab pre-run. A friend was writing a review of an off-road trailer so I came along to document the run. This great trip gave me access to some amazing country that is not accessible with my stock 4-wd vehicle and I got to meet a group of off-road travel enthusiasts. The view from here to the East Tavaputs Plateau–the ridge line in the distance–is more than 40 miles.

In 2012 I wrote about a grain elevator in Preston, Idaho that burned down and how it seemed to have changed the identity of the town. This year I explored this idea and created a series of images documenting grain silos in small towns within a few hours of Cache Valley, Utah. The image above is from Soda Springs, Idaho. More images from the series can be found on my website.

The series on grain elevators led me to industrial areas of towns and other sites like this at American Nutrition in Ogden, Utah. The dramatic light and shadow from the late afternoon sun bring out the structural beauty in this otherwise mundane industrial facility.

My search for silos took me north to Pocatello, Idaho, where I came across Walts Scrap Metal. It may not speak to everyone, but it interests me because of the play of the flat surfaces depicting western scenes against the actual western landscape. Additionally, the compression of space and the illusions it creates is a kind of puzzle and you have to really look at the photo to pull the different elements apart and try to make sense of the image. Scenes like this make the hours of driving worth it to me.

On a return trip to Utah from Denver I crossed the continental divide via Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge Road. I had just completed a Phase One Capture One training event and was delighted to come upon this dramatic scene.

As I mentioned, 2013 involved a lot of learning and looking. When not photographing I spend a lot of time looking at the world via Google Earth. Last year I took advantage the opportunity to look down from an airplane window in Iceland: the location is somewhere between Reykjavik and Akureyri.Shelf road leading out of Spring Canyon. From my sixth and final Moab trip of 2013. I hope you enjoyed this short review of my 2013 photographs and if you have a similar post about your past year’s adventures please share a link in the comments section.

Happy travels and pleasant photography for the coming year!