It is that time of year again when Father Time reminds us of the ticking clock. The calendar will change to 2025 in a few days, making me reflect on a year of ups and downs, inspiration and challenges. 

Sunrise_Flowers_Fog_RMNP_2024_1A colorful sunrise over Longs Peak and a meadow of vibrant golden banner flowers in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. It never fails, however, that as I look back on the year at the end of December, I go into the process thinking things didn't go as well as I had hoped they would when the year started. But then I look through the images and realize it has yet again been another stellar year, full of adventures, beauty and new opportunities!

2024 was no different. Although there were certainly challenges on many levels, I am yet again reminded of how lucky I am to live the life I do. Further more, I feel quite grateful to share those adventures with you – either through my writing that you may read, my photos you may review or the tours you may participate. 

Sunset_NeverSummer_RMNP_2024-1The sun sets behind the Never Summer Range as the sky lights up in golden hues on a summer evening in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope my stories with words and photos inspire you to take life a little slower because it goes so dang fast. 

Here is this year's collection of images. There are definitely more landscapes and night photos than previous years but the wildlife certainly captured my attention too. 

Under the cover of darkness

This year marked the peak of the 11-year solar cycle. The sun produced a lot of coronal mass ejections, creating numerous geomagnetic storms that culminated in vibrant, colorful northern light displays that haven't been seen in decades. One G5 storm on May 10 could be seen in all 50 states and a G4 storm on October 10 gave a stunning light show in southern Colorado. 

Northern_Lights_LakeErie_2024_1The northern lights danced across the sky on a rare G5 geomagnetic storm above Lake Erie in northern Ohio. But I also visited a couple of locations where the dancing lights make regular appearances, even on slow years. Places like Alaska and Churchill, Canada give Aurora watchers numerous opportunities to witness the dancing colors in winter. 

Northern_Lights_CH_2024_1The northern lights spin through the sky in shades of pink, purple and green above the forest near Churchill, Manitoba. Seeing the northern lights, however, in Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, San Juan Mountains and Ohio was just the icing on the cake this year. 

In addition to the northern lights, 2024 had a total solar eclipse – the Great American Solar Eclipse – on April 8. Although my original plans involved a visit to Texas, the weather said otherwise so I diverted to Missouri. So glad the change of plans worked because the conditions were perfect. 

Northern_lights_and_Meteor_EP_2024_1A astoundingly bright meteor of the Perseid Meteor Shower shows through the Northern Lights as seen from Estes Park, Colorado.

In addition to the regular meteor showers, like this bright meteor during the Perseids shower, this year also had a comet that was visible in September and October. I tried a few times to photograph it when it could be seen in the early morning hours, but I didn't have much luck. The evening time frame, however, produced a couple of nice images on the few nights there were clear skies. This photo was captured on the tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park just days before the road across the park closed for the season.  

Comet_A3_ATLAS_RMNP_2024_1Comet A3, also known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS), streaks across the sky above the tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. And no year can go without a few new images of the Milky Way. Although there were more than these couple, these two photos – a fall image in Rocky Mountain National Park and a snowy scene in Colorado's mountains in May – rang out as two of the more unique photos I took of our galaxy.

Milky_Way_Bear_Lake_in_Fall_Color_RMNP_2024_1The fall colors can be seen as our eyes adjust at night as the Milky Way sets behind Hallett Peak at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Milky_Way_Loveland_Pass_2024_1The clear night sky reveals the Milky Way above the peaks around Loveland Pass near Silverthorne, Colorado. A beautiful world

The stunning beauty of the varied landscapes on this planet blow my mind. I am lucky to live in the U.S., where we have a wide variety of landscapes to enjoy – from coastal views of the vast ocean to the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to look out on a sea of mountains. 

Chasm_Lake_Trail_RMNP_2024_2Chasm Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park sits at 11,810 feet and is 2,449 feet below Longs Peak, the mountain on the back side of the lake. I worked harder this year to find more photos of wildlife in the landscape, but as I have told my photo tour clients, successful environmental portraits can be one of the hardest images to produce. I fell into that scenario this year – those critters just didn't want to follow my requests for where to stand!

But I still managed to capture some unique photos – and some not so unique but new to me, like the dancing trees of southern Colorado. 

Dancing_Hidden_Trees_2024_1The dancing trees of southern Colorado are a well-kept secret to protect the potential destruction of these unique shapes.
I hiked some of the hardest trails I have tackled in a few years (and need to do more of that in 2025), like Flattop Mountain, Mount Ida and Chasm Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The accomplishment of reaching those destinations keeps me motivated to do more of that because being that deep in the park just blows my mind with the scenery and serenity. 

But there are also the easily accessible locations within Rocky Mountain National Park that, although they draw big crowds, are still some of the most scenic views in the park.

Dream_Lake_RMNP_2024_3A perfect summer sunrise at Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Outside of Colorado, I explored Alaska, visiting Anchorage, Haines and Nome, where I photographed moose, an endangered fin whale, bald eagles and muskox.

Haines_Sunset_2024_1The pink of sunset fades as blue hour sets in on Haines, Alaska.

Wild places, wild faces

I had no shortage of landscape opportunities this year but I didn't seem to have much time to photograph wildlife. Wildlife photography really takes a ton of time to sit and patiently wait for the right light, opportunities and behaviors. There are many days that just don't produce a lot of worthy images, but boy is it fun just to enjoy the outdoors. 

Snow_bunting_CH_2024_1A snow bunting feeds in the fresh snow in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. This year I spent a lot of time writing, producing at a minimum four columns a week for the Estes Park Trail-Gazette. Although that means I am grateful to make a living doing what I love and share stories about my explorations, it does often mean that my time must be dedicated to that first. That doesn't always leave the time needed for the wildlife photography that I would prefer. 

Polar_bear_CH_2024_2A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) walks across a frozen lake on a snowy day in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. I did, however, work as a guide for several photo tours, including to Yellowstone National Park in winter, Belize for birds and monkeys, the Amazon rainforest in Peru, Nome in Alaska, Churchill for polar bears (and FINALLY a photo of a snow bunting), and owls and other wildlife in Minnesota.

Lesser_kiskadee_Peru_2024_1A lesser kiskadee (Pitangus lictor) holds a moth in its beak while perched on a snag against the dark greens of the jungle in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. The Yellowstone trip in particular provided one of the most amazing wildlife encounters I have ever witnessed. For a full day, our group watched the Wapiti Lake Pack interact with an injured bison. The 12 wolves patiently waited for the bison's demise, all the while wearing it down a bit too. It was hard to watch but the opportunity to see such behavior was once in a lifetime. 

Wolf_YNP_2024_6The alpha male wolf (Canis lupus) leads the six black yearlings of the pack along a river in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Wolf_Bison_YNP_2024_2A wolf (Canis lupis) and a bison (Bison bison) stare down each other during the day-long standoff between the bison and the wolf's pack in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. My second trip this year to Alaska was to photograph bald eagles in Haines but I also had plenty of local trips here in Colorado to photograph deer, mountain goats, moose, sage grouse, ducks and elk. 

Bald_eagle_Haines_2024_7A pair of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) fly over the snow-covered peaks of the mountains in southeast Alaska. Year of the weasel

For as little time as I had in the field as I would have liked to photograph wildlife, what time I did have produced a lot of photos of weasels this year for some reason.

Long-tailed_weasel_MBS-MtEvans_2024_1A long-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) peeks over the top of a boulder on the tundra of Mount Blue Sky near Idaho Springs, Colorado. Weasels, which includes long-tailed, short-tailed, martens and black-footed ferrets, are hard to photograph. They move quick, blend into their environment extremely well, and are few and far between. But even with those challenges, I had several opportunities with long-tailed weasels, a few ermine, black-footed ferrets (see below) and pine martens. 

American_marten_YNP_2024_11An American marten (Martes americana) climbs down the branches of a pine tree in Cooke City, Montana. I'll take that as a success for the year! Now to add wolverine to the list!

Making an impact along the way

One of the most exciting opportunities I had this year was to participate in the release of 18 black-footed ferrets, the most endangered land mammal in North America. Released on a private ranch in southeastern Colorado, the release included 14 kits that were raised in captivity and four adults who were being retired from the breeding facility. What an opportunity to not only watch those adorable little predators but learn more about the program to help bring this animal back from extinction. (Yes, BFFs were thought to be extinct until a small population was discovered in Wyoming.)

Black-footed_ferret_Lamar_2024-2A black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) peeks out from his carrier during a release into the wild in southeastern, Colorado. Black-footed_ferret_Lamar_2024_4A black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) runs into its new surroundings on a private ranch in southeastern Colorado after being released into the wild by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

These are just a few of my favorite photos from this year. So many photos are about the experience and the stories behind the photos, and I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about each of these photos. A larger set of images from 2024 has been compiled into a video available on YouTube. Please check that out at: https://youtu.be/VMkRAMA1LM4.

2025 adventures in nature

And I hope you will join me on my 2025 adventures. There is still space available on the following photo tours:

- Yellowstone in Winter
- Amazon River Adventure in Peru
- Birds and Monkeys of Belize
- Nature of Nome
- Brown Bears of Lake Clark COMING SOON!! Email me for info.
- Polar Bears of Churchill

And of course don't forget private photo tours for landscapes, wildlife, night skies or a combination of these in Rocky Mountain National Park.

There are many more tours that will be added as well, including photo tours for birds, night skies, northern lights and eagles, so keep an eye on my social media pages and website for the latest updates.

Again, thank you for an amazing year. I am so thankful for all of the photographers and nature enthusiasts I have met, taught and laughed with this year.

Have a very happy New Year!!