Steam Train in 3D, composite

A steam train engine, modeled and rendered in Maya. Original render composited in Photoshop.

Compare this image to the real thing from the Teton Valley, in Idaho.

Oyster Mushrooms on Tree

A beautiful set of oyster mushrooms growing out of an old stump, somewhere in a forgotten section of Salt Lake City.  Oyster mushrooms are edible, and considered tasty, although I will not personally be eating these.  I liked these images quite well; below I have included a slideshow of more photos of the oyster mushrooms.  Also, there are some slime-capped brown mushrooms that were sharing the space, although I have not identified them yet.  Any help would be appreciated.

High Fashion

Fall Panorama Roundup

Fall is panorama time - ok, well, everyday is panorama day - so here are a couple recent big images. The top two are from a recent venture into the McCain/Palin stronghold of southeastern Idaho (on the opening day of deer hunting season, no less). Pictured is Bear Lake, complete with its abnormally blue-green waters, and a (190 megapixel) early morning outside the forest service cabin in Idaho where we stayed.




And just for old time sakes, a panorama at sunset overlooking Flaming Gorge in Utah, taken almost exactly one year ago at th

Men Sawing Lumber

Montana Panorama

I have a feeling Springhill Ranch leaves their sprinklers on all day for dramatic effect. Not really needed, but a nice touch nonetheless. Overlooking Bozeman, Montana, the foothill of the Bridger Mountains can be seen to the left, with the Hyalite Mountains in the center, and the Spanish Peaks range in the distance on the right.

A Man Standing Near Lake Yellowstone

This picture was taken near Fishing Cone, in the West Thumb Geyser Basin near Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park. Approximately here:



This area is unique in that geysers and hotspots are on and in the lake. A story from the 1870 Washburn Expedition tells of a man trout fishing near one particular cone in the water, and the fish got off the line, flipped into the thermal vent, and boiled itself. No work on how sulfur infused lake trout tastes.

This photo was probably taken in the mid to late 1910's to early 1920's. During that time, the West Thumb area was a popular tourist destination in the Yellowstone area. Arriving on stagecoach from the Old Faithful Lodge (still a great building), travelers could depart nearby on a steamboat that would take them to the northern end of the lake.

Also, Lake Yellowstone looks like a hunched-over backpacker. West Thumb should be called Hiker's Head.

A Message From The Forest

Along the Rocky Mountains, from Canada into Colorado, lodgepole trees are dying by the thousands. Entire forests are being attacked by beetles and the trees, in a weakened state by a decades long drought, are unable to defend themselves by natural methods. More dead trees produce more beetle larvae, and warmer, drier winters don't produce cold snaps sufficient to kill off the beetles. It takes two to three summers for the tree to die, after which the forest is simply biding time until a fire destroys historical structures, cabins and homes, and trees alike. This, unfortunately, is Your Fault.

Somehow, You thought that it would be a good idea to invest in ATVs and snowmobiles, and You taught your children how to start a two stroke engine before they could walk. By insisting that the only means to explore the world is via a powered, personal vehicle, You have created a misinterpretation of outdoor recreation: motor boat bait fishing rather than backwater fly fishing, unlicensed offroading rather than hiking and exploring, and Your original sin, parking Your motor home and associated motor scooters, generators, and trucks in a once empty meadow campground like so many beetle grubs in the forest. You have warmed, and consumed, Your planet.

This particular species of beetle (Mountain Pine Beetle) only attacks lodgepole pines, and their deaths make other trees in the forest nervous - like shopping in a marketplace in Sadr City. Here, then, is a worried message from a couple Aspen trees. Try and expand upon their message, and consider that there are other ways of igniting and burning a forest than by simply lighting a match.