RANDALL LEVENSALER

Recently I participated in a photo project called Action:Reaction a part of Aurora Photos 15 year Anniversary of being in business as a stock agency. The Action:Reaction project has been in progress since June 2008 and the basic concept is that every 48 hours a new image is uploaded to the site that somehow relates to the previous image. It is a very interesting progression of images by an incredible group of Aurora photographers. 

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

I pledge allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

“For All” by Gary Snyder from The Gary Snyder Reader. © Counterpoint.

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. The cool of nights, frosty mornings, the changing of colors, crisp days, long shadows. But it always seems to be elusive to me. In a perfect world I would take 3 weeks off in March to ski and 3 weeks off in October to climb. It never seems to be that simple…

This Fall has been about exploring what local Colorado has to offer. Four months out from rotator cuff surgery. I am trying to stay diligent to my P/T, dreaming of skiing again, and pondering riding my mountain bike on a “real” trail and not just pavement this weekend. Maybe staying locally and listening carefully to the pulse of nature changing seasons is what it is all about, as well as joining in the social rituals that fill this season. Sometimes in this busy season daily life gets too hectic and we miss it. The soft whisper of quaking Aspen, the sun falling lower in the southern sky, the frost on the morning grass.

Highlights this Fall from my local explorations are plenty…Photographing trail running near Loveland Pass up on the shoulder of Torreys Peak, hanging out in Indian Creek, UT shooting climbing, and recently skiing Andrews glacier in RMNP.

Look for my work in Trail Runner’s 2009 Wall Calendar and Backpacker Magazine’s January issue.

Here are some galleries from this Fall.

/www.levensaler.com/grizzlypeak/

www.levensaler.com/wildbasin/

www.levensaler.com/singletrack/