journey | Todd Slawson Photos

Journey

A Photobook by R. Todd Slawson

Cover: Adele Penguins

Swan on Ice: A trumpeter swan north of Jackson, Wyoming on the Snake river battled his way from a small section of unfrozen water onto the ice to stretch his wings.

Mount Moran Reflection: This panoramic photo of Mount Moran and the Teton Range by Jackson, Wyoming was shot at Oxbow Bend to capture the view on the Snake River.

Classic American Bridges: On the left is the famed Bixby Bridge along Big Sur, CA. This art deco spanning bridge was built in 1932 as part of President Roosevelt’s WPA infrastructure program during the Great Depression. In the upper right is the historic Brooklyn Bridge in New York City opened in 1883 and spanning the East River. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is on the lower right. It opened in 1937 and was the longest and tallest suspension bridge at that time. This photo was taken on a typical San Francisco night from the northern side of the bridge.

Bull Moose in the Tetons: I had some better closeups of this bull moose but for this book, the photo showing the Teton Mountains by Jackson, Wyoming in the background was much better.

Northern Lights: A photo tells you many things but not how cold it is at 3 am in the Northern Yukon territories by Dawson City – the home of the Klondike Gold Rush at the turn of the last century. It was -30°F. The northern lights are so beautiful dancing whimsically across the winter sky. I love the pattern of this one as it looks like two arms with hands in prayer.

Antarctica Sunset: No reason to rush outside on the boat deck to photograph the sunset in Antarctica in December because with the sun never really going below the horizon, the sunset lasts for about 4 hours. The soft light made the snow look like marshmallow cream.

New Zealand Coast: The low tide along New Zealand’s Golden Coast on the north shore of its southern island exposes unique sand formations.

Nova Scotia Moss: Low tide exposes some interesting things and vivid colors. This caught my eye as I was driving the Nova Scotia roads. I love the color.

Western Anemone Flower: This western anemone is in its seed stage in this late October photo with a first snow providing the moisture droplets. It is in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.

Hawaiian Jacaranda Tree: I love the contrast of this picture taken on the Kona side of the big island of Hawaii. The grassy ground cover makes an interesting contract to the purple blooming flowers. This is in a lava flow and it takes several centuries to reestablish decent vegetation.

Trailing Ice plant: Sometimes called the magic carpet or pink/purple carpet, this trailing ice plant covers Pacific Grove in the spring.

Evergreen Branches with Snow: “Look low” an amateur iPhone photographer once told me. Interesting things are not always high or in the distance. First snow hitting the evergreen branches making an interesting pattern in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.

Monarchs: These monarch butterflies congregate in a certain part of Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula in California in November before they migrate to Mexico for the winter.

Garrapata State Park Wave: This State Park is one of my favorites on the northern end of the Big Sur coastline just south of Carmel, CA. Big waves occur in the winter and I caught one slamming the cliffs.

Santorini Sunset: Sunsets on this gorgeous Greek isle draw a crowd.

North Dakota Farms: Both the right and left photos are North Dakota farms. On the left, a late summer storm reigns over a golden wheat field. On the right, canola (grown for its oil) is blossoming bright yellow in July.

Sunflowers: My home state flower (Kansas) but these sunflowers are in North Dakota by Lake Sakakawea.

Rainbow Lorikeets: These are the most colorful and playful birds. I wish I could say I took this photo deep in a Central American forest, but it was at a wildlife sanctuary in Wichita, KS. Go see them if you can.

Hawaii Grass: Sometimes the prettiest things in nature are its most simplistic. This was on Kauai, Hawaii.

Tabular Iceberg: This area in Antarctica, nearest to South America, produces large tabular icebergs that do not melt for many years. Antarctica is the most arid climate on earth, only snowing 2-3 inches per year. You can imagine how many years of snow this iceberg contains.

Happy Seal: This Weddell Seal seems very content.

Antarctica Reflection: The biggest surprise in Antarctica was the beautiful snowcapped mountains and the beautifully smooth water. These mountains made for gorgeous landscape photos.

Penguin Line: Adele penguins in Antarctica line up to enter the water. The line is formed to see who wants to be first to enter the water where the leopard seal awaits to prey upon them.

Penguins: This dancing pair of Antarctica Gentoo penguins were fun to watch. They do not have knees, so they must waddle to walk. They are so cute and full of character. The white patch on its head looks like earmuffs. On the right is an aptly named Chinstrap penguin. They always appear to be happy.

Antarctica Reflection with Ripples: Another reflection of an Antarctica mountain piled high with snow. The boat ripples added a nice effect.

St. Pete Bridge: The lights under this bridge to St. Petersburg’s Beach in Florida made for an interesting photo.

Bagpiper Sunset: The bagpiper at dusk tradition at Spanish Bay Resort in Pebble Beach, CA is a must for grabbing a drink by a firepit.

Black Crowned Night Heron: The Black-crowned Night Heron is a very patient fisherman, staying incredibly still until it seizes its opportunity. Its stillness gave me the perfect opportunity to take a long exposure and blur the small water falls on which it was standing. Shot on the Platte River in Colorado.

Cathedral Mountain Clouds: After hiking to Cathedral Mountain by Aspen, CO in the rain, the hike down was much more pleasant and provided a great shot of the parting rain clouds covering the peaks.

Assiniboine Mountain Panoramic: This panoramic photo shows Mount Assiniboine in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada with surrounding lakes and golden Larch trees in the fall.

Big Cats: Lion and Amur (Siberian) Tiger. These two photos show the true beauty of these two large cats.

Black Bear: This black bear is a Kermode bear in the Great Bear Rain Forest in the coastal areas of British Columbia. I loved how its front feet are crossed as it perches all four legs on a small rock.

Waterfall, New Zealand: This long exposure is of Rainbow Falls by Rotorua, New Zealand on the north island.

Rock Outcrop Panoramic: It took a helicopter to get here on top of Mt. Olympus on the South Island of New Zealand. If you recognize this area, it might be because you watched the Lord of the Rings movie.

Lynx: This Canadian lynx was eyeing me just as much as I was eyeing him. He was in the Yukon Territory in northern Canada. They are larger than you would think.

Swimming Grizzly: This long shot of a grizzly bear taking a refreshing swim is in coastal British Colombia, Canada. I think he was trying to escape all the flies swarming around his head.

Opal Mountain Range: The sun hitting this rugged portion of the Opal Mountain Range by Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. Turning the photo into a black and white photo exposed how rugged it really is.

Eagles: Two eagles: similar but very different and on different ends of the world. On the left is the fishing eagle in Zambia, Africa. On the right it the bald eagle of North America.

Swans-a-Swimming: This is also just outside Jackson, Wyoming on a very cold November morning. The line of swans caught my eye.

Spirit Bear: One of the rarest animals on earth, the Kermode Bear lives in a very small portion of coastal British Columbia, Canada. The white subspecies is called the Spirit Bear and only occurs in about 10% of the Kermode Bear population. It is not an albino bear. There are only about 100 Spirit Bears.

Grizzly Cub: This grizzly cub is also from the coastal area of British Colombia, Canada. You can tell it is a cub by the white collar around its neck.

Norfolk Pines Panoramic: One of my favorite photos from New Zealand’s North Island in the Northlands. The Cavalli Islands are in the background. Norfolk Island Pines are the unique trees in the photos which were imported from Norfolk Island between Australia and New Zealand. This is the island that the Mutiny on the Bounty mutineers settled on. The photo was taken from the amazing Kauri Cliffs Golf Course.

Four Assorted Photos: From left to right: A baby albatross on Kauai, Hawaii, a little capuchin monkey in Costa Rica, a yawning lion in Zambia and a tiger that wanted to show me how long its tongue is.

Grey Crowned Crane: This African bird was photographed in Southern Zambia. Africa has some of the prettiest birds.

Two Elephants: These are two brothers that were strolling towards us as we turned the corner. We let them have the right-of-way. Taken in Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park.

Lilac Breasted Roller: This is one of those pretty birds I mentioned in Africa. They are even prettier when they spread their wings. They are called a roller for their flying pattern which makes them difficult to photograph. Taken in Zambia.

Hippo: I thought this was a unique photo also taken in Zambia.

Elephant Line: This is my oldest photo in the book taken in 1995 in Tanzania with a film camera.

Bee Eaters: More pretty African birds. Taken in Zambia in Lower Zambezi River National Park. Yes, they eat bees.

Leopard: I loved watching this young, playful leopard in Zambia close to the Zambezi River.

Yellowstone N. P. Waterfall: This long exposure is of the 84-foot Gibbons Falls in Yellowstone N.P. in Wyoming. I loved the black rocks behind the falls as it made for an interesting contrast.

Aspens with Pines: These two photos are from the Vail area. I love the contrast of colors between the yellow aspens and the green pines.

Yellow and Green Aspens: Colorado’s mountains provide beautiful yellow colors in the falls with the aspens. The photo on the left is from Castle Creek by Aspen.

Aspen reflection in Pond: The afternoon sun was hitting this little pond and the fall aspens perfectly on a late September day near Telluride, Colorado.

Dancing Aspens: These “dancing” aspens by Telluride, Colorado got their unique shape from an avalanche when they were smaller that pushed them over. Then they straightened back up reaching for the sun.

Colorado Fall Landscape: This is by Ohio Pass north of Crested Butte, Colorado.

Kansas Cows and Prairie Fire: The Flint Hills prairies in eastern Kansas are intentionally burned each spring to keep invasive species from growing and ruining their beauty. The burning also rejuvenates the grass into a more nutrient rich grass for the grazing yearling cows. The prairie fires at night make for interesting photos.

Flint Hills Sunset: A unique photo of the smoky and colorful sunset in the Kansas Flints Hills with the cows on the horizon. The intentionally set spring prairie fires create amazing sunsets.

Common Loons: All three photos are the Common Loon which calls Minnesota lake country its summer and breeding home which is why it is the Minnesota State Bird. It has a beautiful black and white plumage with bright red eyes when sunlit. These loons usually have two furry babies which love to crawl on their mom’s back for a free ride.

Eagles in Tree and Closeup: Bald Eagles also call Minnesota lake country their home. I love photographing them and the Common Loons from the kayak in the early mornings.

Merganser Family: These hooded mergansers have large litters. This photo was taken in Minnesota in the Brainerd Lakes area.

Baby Loon: This furry baby loon tries to spread its tiny wings. Amazingly in a month those wings were many times longer. This was taken in Minnesota.

Dancing Loon: These birds do unusual things which is probably why the term loony translates into the English language. Here a loon is propelling himself up and then slamming his chest into the water. His feet are at the back of his body which is why he cannot walk on land. This was taken in Minnesota.

Pelican in Flight: This white pelican just took off. Notice that his feet had just splashed in the water to help with his takeoff run. This was taken in Minnesota.

Loon Wingspan: The black and white wings of the common loon is so stunning when they are spread. This was taken in Minnesota.

Minnesota Lake Sunset: Sunsets in the summer are beautiful in Minnesota at this northern latitude. The colors on the water are spectacular.

Denver Skyline Lightning: This is a July 2009 photo and the Denver skyline has changed significantly since this was taken.

Idaho Sheep: This was taken in Driggs, Idaho. I had to keep the three sheep dogs from jumping all over me while I took this photo. They were happy to see a human.

Goosenecks: This is in Utah as the San Juan River winds its way into Lake Powell and then into the Grand Canyon. I took this from the plane I was piloting.

Sunsets: The sunset on the left is from Casey Key on the gulf side of Florida. The inset golden sunset on the right is from the inner passage in Alaska.

Yellowstone Hot Springs: This is another “look down” photo as I captured the patterns made in the ground by the water running off a hot spring in Yellowstone N. P. in northwest Wyoming.

Monument Valley: I also took this photo of Monument Valley in Utah while flying. Next time I will fly lower, but this higher view is pretty.

Grand Prismatic Hot Springs: This is the very colorful Grand Prismatic Hot Springs, but this photo is a black and white. The sunlight makes this look like ice, but it is water running off the hot springs. I like the silver look.

Campanile: This World War II memorial on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The right photo is a view of the inside while I laid down on the floor.

Lake Moraine: This might be the most beautiful lake in the world. It is in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The turquoise color comes from all the glacial silt that comes down the mountains into the lake.

Jefferson Memorial: The memorial to one of my favorite presidents. It sits on the Tidal Pool which is lined with cherry trees. Those photos will have to be saved for the next edition.

If you would like to purchase additional copies of this photo book please visit www.toddslawson.com/shop or email esaad@slawson.com.