The Road to 63 · National Parks of America
One journey. Every park. A lifetime of light to chase.
There are currently 63 National Parks in America. One for every year I’ve been alive… give or take. The goal is simple: To visit all of them! But the mission is bigger than a checklist. It is to see each one of them slowly, deliberately, and with a fresh perspective.
I’ve already been to about 28 of these parks over the course of my life. But I was a different person then… moving fast, checking boxes, photographing on autopilot. This time I’m going back with slow travel eyes, a lighting professional’s obsession with when and where the light falls, and enough time to actually listen to what each place is trying to say.
The posts in this section are being built in advance of and alongside that journey. They’re part research, part planning, part love letter to landscapes I haven’t stood inside yet. Some parks I’ve visited before and am seeing again for the first time. Others I’m approaching completely fresh.
Every post is designed to be a free planning resource… for photographers, slow travelers, and anyone who wants to understand a park more deeply before they arrive. Think of it as a field guide in progress, built in public, one park at a time.
This collection grows with the journey — and the journey started long before I hit the road.
Parks In The Collection
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Storm Light in Canyonlands National Park
Every photographer eventually builds a list of landscapes they hope to experience at least once. Most of those landscapes are defined by a single subject…
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The Light at Arches National Park
The name tells you exactly what you’re going to find, which is unusual for a landscape. Most parks require explanation — you have to describe…
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Finding Light in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Smokies suffer from a reputation problem among serious photographers. It is the most visited national park in the system — twelve to fourteen million…
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Inside Mount Rainier National Park
When planning a visit to America’s national parks, Washington State offers two experiences that could not be more different from each other — the wild…
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The Light at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Every photographer eventually builds a list of places they owe a proper visit. Black Canyon of the Gunnison went on that list on a long…
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Chasing Light in Zion National Park
The canyon is unlike anything else in the American Southwest. The Navajo sandstone walls rise two thousand feet from the Virgin River below, and the…
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First Light at Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is technically not a canyon at all. It is a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the eastern edge of the…
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Finding Light in Yosemite National Park
A photographer’s first look — and a promise to return with better light. I’ve spent forty years thinking about light. Not
This collection grows with the journey — and the journey started long before I hit the road.