the image above is a still frame from a video of El Capitan.  If Ansel had a video camera, I think he would have shot it this way.

      Somebody asked me on Twitter where I have been. I'm still here! Just taking a little break and deciding what to do next.  I decided at the end of the Summer to really take a look at what I spent my time on and what was important. I wanted, most of all, to concentrate on my teaching, as that is what pays the bills. I got off Twitter, dropped off some sites I was contributing to, stopped blogging, and even sold my video camera. I put Beautiful Places on the back burner and just stopped banging my head against the wall of frustration that comes from having such a successful show but making zero money to help pay for it. I've told my friends that Beautiful Places is done and that I am moving on, but I actually have a new episode that is ready to be released. Unfortunately, ON Networks is switching over to UStudio and there are a lot of technical issues keeping the show from being released. I'm being patient though. It's a show from Hawaii on the Chain of Craters Drive. I'm looking for it to appear every day, but It has not yet. Still waiting.

I bought a Canon 7D and I'm now shooting HD video with it and a bunch of other great tools that I'll tell you about in another entry.  I have also renewed my commitment to becoming a good photographer. Shooting video with the 7D is a bit more difficult than I realized it would be, so I'm taking my time with it. But things will be clicking along soon.

I have decided to create a show this Spring on Yosemite. Sometimes, it will be like Beautiful Places, but other times, it will include more of my thoughts, more of me and what I'm thinking while standing in such an awe inspiring place. Other times it will only be about a place and the sounds of the place. I'm working on an El Capitan show for the first one!  Other times it will be about the geology of the place or the ecology, whatever I find that is interesting about the place.   It will also have shows on specific hikes or backpacking trips, like my Beautiful Places: Hiking shows. This project is something I want to do and know that I can sustain for the rest of my life whether there is money to pay for it or not. I'd love to travel the world and bring the Beautiful Places to everyone, but it just may be that that is not possible, at least not right now. So I'm going to show you the place that I love above all others, Yosemite, and I'm going to show it like no one ever has!

Coming this Spring!

Tony