DButcher Photography... The Blog

Announcement: Miles Garrett Butcher

2012-01-24T20:35:00.002-07:00

I am such a proud dad. Stacy and I are so happy to be making this announcement. We have been blessed with a beautiful baby boy. He is so much fun to be around. I just can't get enough.

I set up a little studio upstairs and shot as many pictures as he would let me. This blanket is courtesy of Stacy's grandmother.

Roughly the same size as a D3s with a 70-200mm lens, but not quite as heavy.

From a different day of shooting. Here I just held the camera down low with him in the crib. He was so intrigued with the sound of the camera shutter. This boy has a future ahead of him as a photo assistant (you don't have to pay your own kid, right?).

The 5th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival - A Success

2011-12-17T09:13:00.001-07:00

The Rio Gallery featuring the 5th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival - Life by Passion

We did it. The Hammers Inc Art Festival is up and the opening night was a success. It was a great gathering of the outdoor and art communities. We have some great art on display, the space is awesome, we had some excellent music, and we raised some money for the Utah Avalanche Center.

Music for the evening was provided by both Amalia Smith and Eric Rich

As the night progressed we had more and more people show up. The Rio told me this was the largest gallery opening they have ever had. Psyched.

It was a great event and I look forward to doing it again in the future. For those of you who were not able to make it down on opening night, the exhibit is still on display at the Rio Gallery until January 6. Be sure to stop by and check it out. They are open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.

The 5th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival - Life by Passion

2011-11-29T13:18:00.001-07:00

A close friend of mine, Garrett Smith of Hammers Inc Photography, had a three-fold mission when it came to his art: to create, communicate, and curate the best possible art he could be involved with. He created with his unequalled passion for photography and the places and sports he shot. He communicated by offering workshops (formal and informal) to anyone interested in listening. And he curated with his immensely successful Hammers Inc Art Festival.

I am honored to have been invited to be involved the past couple of years with the art festival. Garrett gave me a chance early on in my photography path that I would not have been afforded otherwise. I owe a large part of where I am at creatively today to his support and all the times we were able to get out and shoot together (which was a lot).

When Garrett passed away this March many of us were determined to not let the art festival fade out. He had started a strong legacy with a ton of opportunity. With the help of a great team of friends, artists, etc. I am excited to announce the 5th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival this upcoming Friday, December 2, at the Rio Gallery in downtown Salt Lake City.

We have teamed with the Utah Avalanche Center to help raise money for its ever-diminishing budget. The UAC provides a service that is invaluable to anyone who spends their time in the mountains in winter. Those of us who spend a great deal of time up there watch the reports daily and rely heavily on the information they provide. We felt like this was the perfect organization to partner with this year given the work they do and our personal connection given recent events. We are asking for a $10 donation at the door, although you are welcome to give as little or as much as you like. The art featured in the show will all be for sale with a commission of each piece going to the UAC. We will also have a silent auction and other events going on to help with the fundraising part of this great event.

The show this year will feature the art of Adam Barker, Trent Call, Kandyce Groesbeck, Flossie Kehr, Chuck Landvatter, PJ Mannion, Sarah Mannion, Kristin Marine, Zachary Proctor, Garrett Smith, and Matthew Turley.

Here is the link to the event on Facebook. I hope to see you there.

Backyard Fun

2011-11-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Spent some time in my in-law's backyard yesterday with my dog, my nephew, and my wife. Decided to take pictures of it.

Kaleb didn't seem to mind having his picture taken.

I liked how these two images (one of Bowie and the other of Kaleb jumping off the deck) turned out to be awesome even though they were more or less shot from the hip.

Then I had Stacy come outside for a few photos since she is 8 months pregnant and the kid is someday going to want to see what she looked like. She looks great. I would have liked to have done some more creative pregnancy photos, but we didn't have access to a full length mirror at the time.

Thanksgiving is great. I am thankful for lots of stuff. Especially my wife... and skiing. I need to go skiing.

New Website

2011-08-15T22:36:00.002-06:00

I have recently done some work on my website and the new version just went live minutes ago! Check it out to see some new photos, new galleries, better navigation, bigger pictures, mobile friendliness, and a bonus bio page for those paying attention. Let me know what you think.

dbutcherphotography.com

Peace.
Dust

And as a bonus for reading this post and checking out the new website, I am going to share this video with you. Remember winter? Yeah winter can be pretty great. Video by Jed Whittaker.

VIDEO - Roc Trip Mexico

2011-07-26T16:57:00.000-06:00

My primary purpose for attending Petzl's RocTrip in Mexico last fall was to shoot the video. Petzl RocTrips have always had a strong video component that accompanies them. It is a way to take an event that originally only reaches some people in a very specific geographic area and expand that reach to anyone on the internet.

I was psyched to have the opportunity to shoot and direct this piece. I was able to enlist the help of one of my best friends and one of the strongest photo/video guys I know, Garrett Smith, as Director of Photography for the project. We also had camera help from two guys from the Petzl France team that were more accustomed to the RocTrip and Petzl video scene.

As we planned for the event, we developed a video concept that involved more story-telling than RocTrip videos had previously highlighted. The idea was to parallel the Mexican climbing scene with the rich culture and history of Mexico. We felt like this would reach a larger audience than your standard climbing video.

I was set to really dive into editing the video after OR in January. This just happened to be the same time I had decided to make the move from Petzl over to Gregory. This has been a great move for me, but I was a little bummed to have to hand off this edit to someone else. Thankfully, the project was taken over by two people who are very capable in the outdoor video scene - Mike Call and Guillaume Broust. They took the loads of footage that we had shot down there and made a strong video.

It is not exactly the story Garrett and I had in mind while shooting, but it turned out rad nonetheless. It is cool to see all the work we put into it taken over by some strong editors. The final piece is below, and I am proud to have been a part of it.

You can find my full write-up of RocTrip Mexico here:
http://dustinbutcher.blogspot.com/2010/11/petzl-roc-trip-mexico.html

VIDEO - New Gregory Travel Gear

2011-07-20T11:28:00.000-06:00

One of my responsibilities here at Gregory is to handle the video side of things. With the launch of the new travel series this fall we wanted to create something that would compliment how rad the bags are. With the help of Nate Balli and my sweet wife, Stacy, I think we did just that. I am psyched with how it turned out.

Here is the long version (3 min):

And here is the short version (40 sec):

Medium Format - Mamiya 645

2011-06-14T15:17:00.000-06:00

A good friend of mine recently came to town to visit. It was good to see him and talk about photography with someone equally enthused. Much to my surprise, a few days after he left I found a package on my front step with his return address. Inside was an old Mamiya 645 medium format film camera with an 80mm and 150mm lens. While directing a shoot this past weekend with another photographer, I took the chance to start shooting with it.

I don't know anything about film. But I do know that medium format is rad.

Caroline Gleich

Caroline and Pat

My nephew, Tate

My nephew, Curtis

TONIGHT - The Hammers Inc Art Festival

2010-12-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is finally upon us. The 4th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival is tonight from 5pm to 10pm at the Crandall Building in downtown SLC. The building is located at the NW corner of 100 S. and Main St. I will be showing a few pieces and would love to have you see them. We have a great mix of artists this year as well as a ton of gear and prizes for the auctions and raffles. All of the proceeds go to the Access Fund. Come down and say hello.

Petzl Roc Trip Mexico

2010-11-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Liv Sansoz - Jilotepec, Mexico

“¿Dónde está el baño?”

I don’t remember much from my Spanish classes in Junior High (sorry, Miss Rush), but I am pretty sure this means, “Petzl Roc Trip Mexico is the best Roc Trip ever!” I heard so many people go up to the event organizers to say this with conviction that it couldn’t possibly mean anything else.

Petzl Roc Trip has been all over the world - Kalymnos, Greece; Squamish, British Columbia; Zillertal, Austria; Red River Gorge, Kentucky; Millau, France - just to name a few. This year the Petzl team visited a couple towns and crags in Mexico. The first stop was a beautiful old colonial town called Taxco.

Taxco, Mexico at sunset

About a 20-minute drive and a 30-minute hike from Taxco resides a cave lovingly referred to by the locals as “El Chonta.” The cave itself is massive. It is riddled with hanging stalactites and tufas making the area look like something out of science fiction.

It was inspiring to see the athletes approach this new area and get psyched about the routes and the climbing. These people travel all over the world to climb yet they still get excited about seeing something new and the challenge of working out new problems on the rock. These are the best climbers in the world and you could see it as they put down route after route in this intimidating arena.

Whitney Bolland works through pinch after pinch in El Chonta

After a couple of days climbing in El Chonta, we moved on to a small town just north of Mexico City called Jilotepec. The Las Peñas cliffs loom over you no matter where you are in this town. The climbing is quite different from what we had just seen in El Chonta. The main wall in Jilotepec seemed like a ginormous egg that sat in the middle of the canyon. It was far more technical climbing with bouldery starts, crimpy moves, and long finishes.

Liv Sansoz shows what it means to "pull down"

This is where some of the athletes really started to shine. On just the second day here, Steve McClure sent the new hardest route in Mexico – a 14c called Cruz Diablo. He was one of the first athletes to the crag everyday and kept relatively quiet while climbing harder than anyone else. Not to be outdone, Mickaël Fuselier and Jérôme Pouvreau sent Las Chicas Superpoderosas our last day at Jilo, which was said to be “a little bit harder than Cruz Diablo.” Watching professional athletes performing at this level was inspiring. Linking their motivation and skill on the rock together made many of them virtually unstoppable.

Said Belhaj rests halfway up this 120’ route

All of this combined with a visit to ancient pyramids, a traditional Temascal sweat lodge, cultural presentations, uber-friendly locals, etc., I can definitively say that this was the best Roc Trip ever. Therefore, I must agree with what was said by so many others during these ten days:

“¿Dónde está el baño?”

“¿Dónde está el baño?” indeed.

Hammers Inc Art Festival 2010 - Artist Bio - Adam Barker

2010-11-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

There will be a lot of talented people at this year's Hammers Inc Art Festival. Beyond that I, too, will be exhibiting some work. Among the featured artists will be Adam Barker. Adam is one of the premier landscape and action photographers in Utah. It was a privilege to go up to Heber with he and Garrett Smith last weekend to shoot this little bio video.

Artist Profile: Adam Barker from HIP VISUAL ARTS on Vimeo.

Be sure to put the Hammers Inc Art Festival on your calendar. It is December 3rd at the corner of 100 S and Main St. in downtown SLC. Garrett and Molly (his sweet wife) have also worked hard to have it featured as part of the monthly SLC gallery stroll. The event will be a fundraiser for the Access Fund, an organization that protects climbing areas across the US. Come on by and show your support, see some great art, spend a little money (if you feel so inclined), and enjoy yourselves.

Hammers Inc Art Festival 2010 - Artist Bio - Kristin Marine

2010-10-26T10:14:00.000-06:00

Video #3 for the 4th Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival

Artist Profile:Kristin Marine from Hammers Inc. Photography on Vimeo.

I hope to see you at the event:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147366985307729

Hammers Inc Art Festival 2010 - Artist Bio - PJ and Sarah Mannion

2010-10-18T08:42:00.000-06:00

Here is the video #2 for the event:

Artist Profile: PJ & Sarah Mannion from Hammers Inc. Photography on Vimeo.

Check out the event info here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147366985307729

Hammers Inc Art Festival 2010 - Artist Bio - Kandyce Groesbeck

2010-10-13T15:00:00.000-06:00

I have been more involved in the marketing and promotion of this year's Hammers Inc Art Festival. Here is the first of five artist bio videos we (me, Garrett Smith, and Nathan Balli) are producing for the event:

Artist Profile: Kandyce Groesbeck from Hammers Inc. Photography on Vimeo.

Be sure to make it down to the Fourth Annual Hammers Inc Art Festival, December 3, 2010. I will be showing some work, Kandyce will be showing work, there will be a silent auction benefitting the Access Fund, and more! More details to follow.

VIDEO: New Line of Petzl Ice Tools

2010-10-01T16:20:00.000-06:00

I worked with the Petzl team in France to create a video for the new tools that has a bit more of an international feel. They did the final edit and I am psyched with how it turned out.

New line of Petzl Charlet ice tools - QUARK NOMIC ERGO from Petzl-sport on Vimeo.

Pecha Kucha Night - August 12, 2010 - Salt Lake Art Center

2010-08-09T15:09:00.000-06:00

I would like to invite all of you who are reading this to a presentation I will be giving at the first ever Pecha Kucha Night here in Salt Lake City. The night will be filled with great creative presentations from many different fields. Each presenter is given 20 seconds for each of their 20 slides. This assures that the presentations keep moving and nothing gets too boring.

www.pecha-kucha.org/night/salt-lake-city/1

I will be speaking about ski mountaineering, photography, and the creative process that brings them both together for me (there will also be some discussion about beards). Please come and join me at the Salt Lake Art Center (20 S West Temple - just north of the Salt Palace) on August 12, 2010. Doors open at 7 and presentations start at 8. You must RSVP for the event by August 10 at 5pm in order to get in. So send your RSVP request to Laura at lgreen@aiautah.org or call her at 801-532-1727.

Ultrafest

2010-07-14T07:14:00.001-06:00

I shoot a lot of video for work as well as some personal projects. The first big shoot I did was for Petzl at the Ultrafest event up at Snowbird before Winter OR this January. We had just received the new camera earlier this day so I was skeptical on how it would turn out. I was pleased with the result.

By the way, if you haven't had the chance to try out one of these headlamps, I would highly recommend it. The only problem is that it makes sleeping harder and harder to find time to do.

www.dbutcherphotography.com

Featured

2010-06-30T09:43:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to post a quick note about some blogs out there that have recently shown some of my work.

First, Climbing.com - the online blog home of Climbing Magazine. This post was written by Sara Lingafelter. We met down at the Red Rock Rendezvous this spring in Nevada. After setting up our booth, we took advantage of some free time to do a little bouldering. I brought my camera along and this is what came of it.

http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/readerblogs/sara_lingafelter/sara_lingafelter_-_reader_blog_4/

Two weekends ago I was asked to go up to the Wasatch Back Relay to shoot some photos for a Petzl blog post. We were the headlamp sponsor for the race. Stacy and I went up in the early evening and stayed a lot later than we had planned. We were enjoying ourselves and I think the photos turned out pretty cool.

http://petzl.com/us/outdoor/news/events-1/2010/06/23/ragnar-relay-race-wasatch-back-relay-2010

A friend of mine over at Deuter Packs asked me a while ago if I would be interested in writing a blog post for their blog. I agreed to it and said I would put something together. I showed him my series on ski mountaineering in the Wasatch and he decided to just cross-post one of my entries from this blog with a little intro about me. I think the presentation looks a little better on my blog than theirs, but it is still cool.

http://blog.deuterusa.com/blog-posts/heart-darkness-guest-blog-friend-dustin-butcher

http://www.dbutcherphotography.com/

The Heart of Darkness

2010-06-22T09:35:00.000-06:00

Late season can be a great time to get in some chutes that you didn't have the chance to ski when the snow was flying. This is what I was thinking when I decided to ski the Heart of Darkness. I was wrong. Sort of.

It was late April and I wanted to get in another chute before I started to focus on training for the Ironman. I called up a couple friends and we decided on the Heart of Darkness. It looked super cool and none of us had skied it before.

Bootpacking can be fun. Cardiac Ridge in the background. Skier: Molly Barker

The walk in Spring is a little different than the walk would be in Winter. You have to boot a lot more.

We were pretty sure we were in the right place. Skiers: Molly Barker and Mark Hammond

From the summit of Mt. Superior you can clearly see the top of the couloir. Once you drop into Mill B South it is not as easy to see where you are going. So we just hiked up assuming we would find it. We did.

Yep. Those are the walls of the chute behind her, and that is why she looks so psyched. Skier: Molly Barker - shot on the Holga

The Heart of Darkness is a bit different than the other S5's I did this winter as the rappel is at the top. This means there are no real "no fall zones." Just do the rap then figure out how to put your skis on in such a tight and steep area.

The line you can see in the background is called the Skyramp. Mark wanted to do this on the same day, but changed his mind when we felt some movement on the approach. Skier: Molly Barker

The rap is fairly short and just a matter of getting past the unskiable stuff at the top. Then we were hoping for something worth skiing inside the chute. This wasn't really the case.

This chute is so aesthetic. Who would not want to ski this? Skier: Molly Barker

It was pretty much just ice down the chute. In ideal conditions I could see how this would be super fun to ski, but in the conditions we were in it was difficult to even try to make turns. But hey, we got up there, learned some things and got down a classic line.

The Heart of Darkness from the bottom looking up.

Now that the objective was accomplished it was just a matter of skiing down Mill B South to our stashed car in Big Cottonwood. This proved to be more adventurous than we had planned.

At the end of the skiable patches of snow. Skier: Molly Barker

We skied what we could ski, but ended up hiking out the last of it. It was a fun day, but I definitely need to come back when the skiing is a bit more favorable.

www.dbutcherphotography.com

Venture Outdoors Festival

2010-06-18T13:27:00.000-06:00

Just to let you know, I will be showing some photos at a booth at the Venture Outdoors Festival tomorrow - Saturday, June 19, 2010. There will be activities all day, but the booth part of the festival goes from 3-10pm at Canyon Rim Park at 3100 S 2900 E.

I am sharing the booth space with a friend of mine, Garrett Smith, of Hammers Inc. Photography. He was kind enough to offer the space and I thought it would be a great venue to show some photos. His photos will be reason enough to come by.

If you feel so inclined, stop on by and check things out. I will be selling and showing prints. If you can't make it but are interested in buying some prints, send me a note and I will put something together just for you.

The Great Salt Lake. Prints available at the festival.

You can find more information about the festival here: http://millcreekoutdoors.org/

Pfeifferhorn - NW Couloir

2010-06-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

My birthday is March 29th. This was always nice growing up as I would usually ask for ski stuff for Christmas and baseball stuff for my birthday. Things are a little different now. I no longer play baseball and it turns out that chute skiing in the Wasatch is prime in late March. Huh. Who would have thought?

Can anyone think of a better way to celebrate one's birthday than to ski something any sane person would never consider? Me neither. I called Mark Hammond about skiing this line and he was a bit hesitant. He had done it before and knew better. But he eventually agreed to it (I am sure, as a personal favor to me).

The peak. Skiers: James Good and Brook Golling

The approach to the Pfeifferhorn is a bit longer than the typical Wasatch walk, but once you get in view it begins to pay off.

A dude was headed up there while we were yet approaching. He helps give a little bit of scale to this peak (that is him as he approaches in the lower left of the frame).

The bootpack up the actual peak isn't too bad it is the walk across the ridge getting to it that was scary. It is pretty exposed in spots and I have never been great with that. I don't know what it is, but I am much more comfortable on steep stuff when I have my skis on.

Our objective for the day was to ski the Northwest couloir (the Northeast face is what you see in the above photo).

And this is just the beginning. Skier: Brook Golling

Here it is. A 50 degree couloir that just seems to get steeper as it approaches the rappel. The conditions weren't exactly ideal for skiing this type of terrain.

The business end of the chute. Skier: Brook Golling

It just gets steeper and icier. The final 10 feet approaching this anchor got my heart beating a bit faster than usual.

Everything changes once you are on rope. Skier: Brook Golling

I was psyched to finally ski this chute. The skiing was marginal all the way out, but a lot of the time with this stuff you don't do it for the skiing. You do it for the overall adventure. And it was a good one.

www.dbutcherphotography.com

Memorial Couloir #3 - Mount Olympus

2010-06-10T06:23:00.000-06:00

During the winter I somehow found myself with a few extra days of time-off from work. Whatever shall I do with this time? I called Mark Hammond and asked if he wanted to join me for some skiing. He said he had his eye on the Memorial Couloirs off Mount Olympus, and it sounded good to me.

We approached from Neff's Canyon and up the backside of Mt. Olympus. You know the main chute that faces the city between the North and South summits? We walked right up the other side of that.

Contemplating which line to ski. Skier: Mark Hammond

We went back and forth a bit about which chute we wanted to ski (and which chute was which according to the guidebook). We decided to go from the North summit into what we thought (I am still not sure) was Memorial Couloir #3.

I knew I learned to climb for a reason. Skier/Climber: Mark Hammond

After a bit of an interesting final approach, the view from the summit was pretty cool.

Remember when Zeus cried, "Release the Kraken!"? I imagine he was somewhere near here. Skier: Mark Hammond

We then had to drop in just about ten feet or so to get to the top of the chute we had decided on. Just so we didn't lose any of our gear, we slung a rope around a rock and lowered ourselves into it.

The West-facing chute was too cool-looking to not make a quick turn or two for a quick photo op. Boarder: Zach Clanton

The chute we actually skied was the east-facing one opposite the above photo. It was super tight and super cool. Zach went ahead to make sure it didn't cliff out halfway down. It didn't… much.

Nice. Boarder: Zach Clanton

There was, instead of a big cliff, just a short section where you had to point it and hop over a few rocks. I got going a little too fast and had to bail into the snow. The only problem was that just under the snow was a rock that was just itching to make acquaintance with my face.

I think I am pointing at the rock that got the best of me. Ph: Zach Clanton

If anyone knows if this is actually Memorial Couloir #3 or not please leave a comment below. I question it because the guidebook is a bit unclear on this and it seemed more technical than S4-, but maybe that is just the blood talking.

For more photos be sure to check out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

The Y-Not Couloir

2010-06-01T08:12:00.004-06:00

I feel like Andrew does a great job describing this one in his guidebook, The Chuting Gallery:

Y Not? A 40' cliff in the middle of a 45º slope is one good reason! This is the Y Couloir on steroids. Shorter, steeper, narrower and scarier by far. An out-of-control fall in the Y-Not would lead to a graphic death as the victim pinballed down the chute, over the cliff and was torn to bits in the rocks below. Falling is forbidden. Timing is critical.

This is the type of ski line description that you don't show your mother (sorry if you are reading this now, mom).

As soon as the snow conditions began to settle this season, the Y-Not was first on my list to hit. My beard was right on the edge of full and big. It did not necessarily play a huge role in the actual skiing of this line, but the correlation of both the skiing and the beard was easy to see - they were both awesome. I got two friends together and we headed up one morning in early March.

The approach is simply 3,000 feet of bootpacking straight up the Y. We happened to be doing it on a day with a lot of snow and no existing bootpack, so the walk took a bit longer than it has in the past.

James Good and Mark Greenwood lead the way up the Y Couloir.

The top section of the Y-Not is super tame. Just wide open skiing with a lot of snow. Then it begins to steepen up.

I have other shots of skiing the upper section, but I just kept going back to this one as my favorite. I think I just like its generous emptiness. Skier: Mark Greenwood

The approach to the rappel anchors is where the descent becomes steep and serious. A fall over this cliff/cave would not end well for anyone.

James Good makes his way to the rap.

The rap anchors where completely mangled due to rock fall (or something) so we had to improvise.

Sometimes rappelling requires a tree and a little more rope than you were planning. Skier: James Good

Once you get on rope you can begin to relax, smile, and get psyched for what is below.

A freehanging rappel midway down a nearly 3,000' ski descent. This is cool. Skier: Mark Greenwood

The bottom section of the chute is tight, steep, and super fun.

"People don't want to hear how tight everything is over and over and over." Skier: Mark Greenwood

The Y-Not is a Wasatch classic for a reason. Just show the line the respect it demands and you will be glad you did it.

For more photos be sure to check out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

Wasatch Steep Skiing - Intro

2010-05-24T21:41:00.001-06:00

Those of us who are lucky enough to live in and around the Wasatch mountains are spoiled when it comes to skiing. We have some of the world's best skiing just minutes from our front door. The backcountry is pristine, the access is unmatched, and the snow is phenomenal. I know of no other place where you can live in a major city (yes, I consider Salt Lake to be a major city) and still be able to be geared up and on snow in about 20 minutes.

But one area of backcountry skiing in the Wasatch that is overlooked by many is the amazing ski mountaineering opportunities that are so accessible. They get skied plenty, but there remain a lot of backcountry skiers that haven't even touched these lines. They don't know what they are missing.

Steep skiing has a rating scale that is pretty easy to understand upon first glance: the higher the number gets - the steeper, more technical, scarier, etc. the line is. S1 is like a green run at a ski resort. S2 is a blue run. S3 is black. S4 begins to have dangerous fall potential. You'd be lucky to live through an S5 fall. A painful death will occur upon a fall in S6 territory. S7 is "just plain ol' steep as hell" (A. Mclean). And S8 is supposedly the future of steep skiing. Allow me to show this scale in a more illustrative manner:

I would like to now show you my progression in steep skiing, but in order to do so I feel as though you need a physical marker that will give you a sense of time. My beard. Those of you who know me are aware that I have had a beard to some degree or another ever since I have been allowed to have one depending on my place of employment. Again, I think a graphic will help illustrate the different stages of my beard (all self-portraits):

The last several years have been very good to me as I have been able to ski some great lines with great snow conditions and some great skiers. Here is a little breakdown of how my skiing (and beard growing) has evolved over the years:

Over the next several blog posts, I plan to share with you some photos and experiences I have had as I have skied some of the classic lines here in the Wasatch this season. Stay tuned. Here's a little teaser photo for you (you can see a few more over at www.dbutcherphotography.com):

Brook Golling - Looking down the NW Couloir of the Pfeifferhorn

May?

2010-05-02T22:10:00.000-06:00

We always seem to get at least one big storm in May every year, but it still seems to catch everyone off guard. This year we were prepared.

April showers bring May faceshots.

Jesse Allen - May 1, 2010 - Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT

Portfolio Post - People

2010-04-21T10:02:00.001-06:00

The people portfolio was an easy one to name. It is pictures of people. Friends, family, skiers, climbers, clients, musicians, etc. Just pictures of people.

Check it out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

Although you can't see from the photo, this was taken amidst a sea of hippies, their tents, and their awesomeness. Check out the full three days here: Day1 - Day 2 - Day 3

Ryan Wells - Phish Festival 8 - Indio, CA

I really like how the colors work together in this one.

Crazy and V Henriksen - Spring City, UT

Portraits are my favorite thing to shoot with the Holga. There is just something about how it works with color, the shape of the image, etc. that just makes it great.

Candice Groesbeck - Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

One of the best things about a Phish show is the light show. I was waiting for the right time to shoot this image knowing exactly what I wanted. I got lucky when it all worked out.

Trey Anastasio - Phish Festival 8 - Indio, CA

People spend all this money on gear to keep their face warm while skiing, but they really should just grow a beard. While it may look cold, the fact is that it freezes over then acts as a weather barrier for your face. Just don't open your mouth too big as it may be frozen to itself.

Jer Valentiner - Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

Another shot taking advantage of the great lighting at Festival 8.

Trey Anastasio - Phish Festival 8 - Indio, CA

Shooting the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk was one of my photo highlights of 2009.

2009 Buddy Walk - Cottonwood Heights, UT

Portfolio Post - Art

2010-04-19T17:34:00.001-06:00

This portfolio was the hardest to name. I didn't want to call it "Landscapes" because it isn't just that. I didn't want to call it "Scenic" because I think that is lame. "Nature" didn't seem to cut it either. With input and help from others, I finally decided on "Art." This is the space to showcase my photos that have more of a fine art feel to them - landscapes, sunsets, sunrises, animals, plants, etc. This is a portfolio I hope to expand on a bunch over the next several months.

Check it out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

I don't know what kind of plant this is, but I think it looks cool.

Plant - International Peace Gardens - Salt Lake City, UT

Shot while climbing at the SUV crag above the Salt Lake Valley.

Bird and Cliff - Salt Lake City, UT

I was headed out to attend my little brother's baseball game and saw this single bird on the wires outside my back door. I had been thinking about a shot like this for a while and recognized it when I saw it.

Bird - Salt Lake City, UT

Sundial Peak sits at the top of the Mill B South drainage between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. This day we ended up skiing some of the terrain you can see in the right third of the photo, but I did scope a line off the top that looks pretty awesome. We will have to get back there when the time is right.

Sundial Peak - Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

Taken from the North Summit of Mt. Olympus looking down on the Salt Lake Valley just 20 minutes or so before I cut my head open skiing down it.

Mt. Olympus - Salt Lake City, UT

I don't think I ever saw the television show, "Green Acres," but I do know the theme song from that part in the Pauly Shore movie, "Son-in-Law," where he sings it. Embarrassing, I know.

Farm - Spring City, UT

Snow can be quite the fascinating subject.

Silver Fork - Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT

My wife and I took a road trip up to the Pacific Northwest this past summer. We stopped in Vancouver, BC and shot this flower in the park.

Flower - Stanley Park - Vancouver, BC

Springtime is a perfect time to shoot in farm towns as there is plenty of adorableness to go around (yes, that was meant to be over-the-top cheesy).

Sheep - Fountain Green, UT

Portfolio Post - Spaces

2010-04-15T08:51:00.000-06:00

I initially got into photography because of skiing and being outdoors. However, once I started carrying a camera around with me more and more I found that I really enjoyed taking pictures of old things - architecture, cars, streets, etc. "Spaces" is where those old things have ended up.

Check it out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

I took a video production class in San Francisco in December. The class didn't start until 10am each morning so I took advantage of the time to walk around town and shoot some photos.

Lombard Street - San Francisco, CA

My wife's parents own an old pioneer home down in Spring City, UT. The town is a registered historic city. Going down there just automatically sends you back to simpler times. This building is an old general store. The same illustration is on the other side, but the sun has essentially removed it of color over the years.

Schofield's General Merchandise - Spring City, UT

Just 15-20 minutes south of Spring City lies Manti. This building was completed in 1888 and looks super cool at night.

LDS Temple - Manti, UT

I took a photo class last summer and one evening was spent downtown shooting some architecture. I think this shot was a bit different than what my instructor was used to seeing, but I really liked it.

City and County Building - Salt Lake City, UT

Spring City was founded in 1850 by the Allred family on assignment from Brigham Young. This meetinghouse replaced the original structure and was built from 1902-1911.

LDS Church - Spring City, UT

Yes, another shot from Spring City. This barn sits on my in-law's property.

Barn - Spring City, UT

Old cars can be fun to shoot, too. These three sit in an overgrown field.

Car - Spring City, UT

I showed the above image of the blue car at the Hammers Inc Art Festival last year and it turned out to be one of my most popular images. I had shot these others with it and have since put them together as a print series for a few people.

Truck - Spring City, UT

The third of the series. If you have interest in these prints or any others you have seen on this blog or on my website just let me know and I would be happy to work it out.

Truck - Spring City, UT

Portfolio Post - Lifestyle

2010-04-12T11:44:00.000-06:00

Initially, I was thinking of just having a general "Skiing" or "Snow" portfolio that would cover both the up and down of backcountry skiing. The issue I ran into was that the mood and feel of uphill images was totally different than that of downhill images, and I wanted to separate them to portray that. So, instead, I put the downhill stuff in the "Active" portfolio and the uphill stuff in the "Lifestyle" portfolio. I feel like the hiking aspect of backcountry skiing really portrays the lifestyle of what we do. This portfolio also includes other outdoor lifestyle activities such as sailing, hiking, etc. It just happens to be dominated by backcountry skiing right now because those are the best images I have.

Check it out: www.dbutcherphotography.com

It turns out that getting to the North summit of Mt. Olympus is not as easy as one might think.

Mark Hammond - Mt. Olympus, UT

I was in Rhode Island for work and our sales rep set up a day of sailing in Newport. I'm a sailor. I sail.

Nate Williams - Newport, RI

In order to ski the Y-Not you have to first walk up the Y. Our problem here was that we actually took a wrong turn and had to work extra hard to get back into the main chute.

James Good and Mark Greenwood - Y Couloir, LCC, UT

The view of the gods.

Mark Hammond - My Olympus, UT

You've seen this image before. It remains to be one of my best and one of my favorites.

Bob Athey and Mark White - Big Water Gulch, Millcreek Canyon, UT

This was shot during my blue period.

Jer Valentiner and Luke Behrman - Wilson Fork, Millcreek Canyon, UT

We skied the NW Couloir of the Pfeifferhorn for my 27th birthday. You can't see the chute from this angle, but doesn't that peak just look rad?

James Good and Brook Golling - Pfeifferhorn, LCC, UT

After skiing South Monitor bowl, Bob broke trail on the way to No Name.

Bob Athey - South Monitor, Parley's Canyon, UT

Shot on the first roll of film I ever shot with my Holga medium format camera. This also happened to have been Candice's first backcountry tour ever.

Candice Groesbeck - Mill D, BCC, UT

Portfolio Post - Action

2010-04-08T14:02:00.000-06:00

With the recent redesign of my website I spent time putting together five different portfolios to try to best represent my work. Check them all out here: www.dbutcherphotography.com

The first of the portfolios (and my favorite) covers action imagery including skiing, climbing, swimming, etc.

Jer is one of my favorite ski models. He will wear bright colors, ski the lines I want him to ski, make turns where I tell him to, and he is a ripping skier. What is up with that tongue, though?

Jer Valentiner - Silver Fork, BCC, UT

The Y-Not is a classic Wasatch line for a reason.

Mark Greenwood - Y-Not Couloir, LCC, UT

This season has been weird regarding snow and avy conditions. I spent a bit of time earlier this year back in the Wilson Fork area. You won't find me complaining, though.

Jer Valentiner - Wilson Fork, Millcreek Canyon, UT

Mt. Olympus had loomed over me for long enough. In March I made my way up there with Zach Clanton and Mark Hammond.

Zach Clanton - Mt. Olympus, UT

Shooting video for a climbing company for work definitely has its perks. Among them is the chance to shoot some cool photos along the way.

Tom Adams - Maple Canyon, UT

This one was shot last season. I went out to visit Jer in Boulder, CO while he was living out there. Surprisingly, we actually found some good skiing. Who knew?

Jer Valentiner - Berthoud Pass, CO

The rap on the Y-Not shot from inside the cave.

Mark Greenwood - Y-Not Couloir, LCC, UT

Took the chance to shoot a bit while at the Ouray Ice Festival.

Mike Portanda - Ouray, CO

Last fall, I went out and shot the Daybreak Triathlon. The swim was supposed to happen in the lake out there, but due to a bacterial issue they moved it to the pool.

Bouldering during this year's Red Rock Rendezvous.

Mike Portanda - Red Rocks, NV

I had the opportunity to ski and shoot a bit with Cait Morgan this season. She is an owner of BlueHouse Skis, has red hair, and is one helluva skier.

Caitlin Morgan - Reynolds Peak, BCC, UT

Another one I shot while shooting video in Maple Canyon. The D90 shoots both stills and HD video. This makes it nice when you want to get a little bit of both.

Jessica Taverna - Maple Canyon, UT

It's been a while...

2010-04-05T18:14:00.000-06:00

I had these grand plans to post at least once a week this winter with my best shots from the week. My last post was from December. It is now April. So that didn't really work out. I have been busy. I have been skiing a lot, shooting a lot, working a lot, and probably doing other stuff a lot, as well.

Here are a few photos from the winter that I like (just to wet your palette):

Jer skis the Nipple headed into Wilson Fork.

Tom climbs some ice in Maple Canyon.

Mark on the lower section of the Y-Not Couloir.

I plan to do a few posts over the next little while that will cover what I have been shooting, skiing, and otherwise doing over the past few months. Thanks for your patience.

In the meantime, check out the redesigned www.dbutcherphotography.com.

Dawn Patrol - A Short Film

2009-12-16T13:27:00.001-07:00

I put together a short film to submit for the Nikon video contest. I need to work on my instruction reading skills, however, because the midnight deadline actually meant ten o'clock here. I really should have figured that out before ten-thirty. Oh, well. Here is the video. I have it up on Petzl's Power of Light Video Contest even though I am not eligible to win. They suggested I do so.

With this being my first real video project (and being totally rushed along) I am happy with the final product. I have some more grand ideas for the future that I hope to put together as time goes on. The era of the HD DSLR is upon us and just asking us to make cool stuff.

Backcountry Magazine - 2009 Photo Annual

2009-11-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to have a photo featured in the December issue of Backcountry Magazine - The 2009 Photo Annual. Just having a photo alongside the others in this section of the magazine is an honor.

After what seems like weeks of anxious anticipation, my copy arrived today:

Flip to page 96 to find what has me so excited (they spelled my name right and everything).

Thanks for supporting me.

2009 Buddy Walk

2009-11-24T20:09:00.001-07:00

In September of this year I was asked to help document the Buddy Walk. This is a fundraiser held every year for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation. I had a great time shooting the event as the kids were all psyched to be there and they loved having their picture taken.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Turkey Bowl

2009-11-14T12:57:00.001-07:00

I am the Venture Scout (age 16+) leader in my neighborhood. This week we got together with more ventures from the area and played the annual Turkey Bowl - night football in the cold.

Festival 8 - Day Three

2009-11-10T23:59:00.006-07:00

A friend of mine, Jimmy Bunting, also met up with us for days two and three of the festival. He brought an old medium format camera into the venue on day three and you can see some of these sweet images here.

Day Three:

She introduced herself as Spanky Sparklebottom.

They played a full acoustic set at noon with free coffee and donuts (coffee? really? it is 90 degrees out).

Fishman played a simplified drum kit for the acoustic set.

They did a mirror image of where they typically stand for the acoustic set.

They played Wilson.

Hippies really like to hula hoop.

The sun went down as we awaited the second set. Notice the ferris wheel and other installations brought in specifically for this event.

The first night we were actually able to see Fishman's face during the show.

We were very front row (on the rail) today and directly in front of Trey.

More Fish.

They played Mike's Song > 2001 > Light > Slave to the Traffic Light. It was so sick.

Seeing them live is just an entirely different experience.

The show ended with a riveting Tweezer Reprise.

I have to say that these were the best concerts I have ever seen... and I have been to a few in my day. If you ever get the chance to see Phish live, do it. You will thank me for it later.

Festival 8 - Day Two

2009-11-07T23:59:00.002-07:00

Halloween + Hippies + Phish = Awesome

Day Two:

Is it just me or is Trey looking right at me?

Page came out front to sing Lawn Boy.

Here is why I shot more pictures of Trey than anyone else: Page only shows his head occasionally above his pianos and organs, you have to be in just the right spot in order to see Fishman through his drum kit, and Mike just isn't as animated as Trey - he just stands there and bobs his head.

For the second set Phish put on a "musical costume" and covered the Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street in its entirety. To help they brought a trumpet, a saxophone, a trombone, and two soul singing ladies. Yeah, it was just as good as you might imagine.

Trey and the horns.

We were about 3 rows back today straight out from Mike.

One of the soul sisters. They also came out during the encore for a super-awesome version of Suzy Greenberg.

He can sure play that guitar.

What is he looking at?

Mike plays bass.

Exile On Main St was a superb choice for the musical costume. It had great energy from start to finish.

The extra talent really brought some added coolness to the set.

Three sets of music today. Not too bad.

More to come with Day Three...

Festival 8 - Day One

2009-11-04T19:04:00.002-07:00

Some of you may know that my favorite band is (and has been since I was 16) Phish. This Halloween weekend circumstances allowed for me to attend a three-day festival put on by the band in Indio, CA. It was the eighth festival in their history, and thus it was called Festival 8. I happened to bring my camera along and I shot a few photos of the event.

Day One:

Ryan and I left SLC around 3:30pm on Thursday arriving in Indio around 2am.

Wading in a sea of hippies while we patiently await the band.

The last time I saw Phish was their supposed "last concert ever" in Coventry, VT in 2004 (coincidentally, this could be referred to as Festival 7).

This could very well be my favorite image from the weekend.

Phish has always had an amazing light show accompany their concerts thanks to Chris Kuroda.

Exodus.

More to come with Day Two...

Hammers Inc Arts Festival 2009

2009-10-25T11:29:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I had the privilege of showing some of my photos at the 3rd annual Hammers Inc Arts Festival. The festival was held in the Leisure Living Warehouse in Sugarhouse, UT. It was great opportunity to show my work to the public, meet some new people, and even sell a few pieces.

I showed these six images at the event:

Bob Athey and Mark White - Big Water Gulch, BCC, UT

Bird - Sugarhouse, UT

Tree - Berthoud Pass, CO

Sailing - Newport, RI

Car - Spring City, UT

Jer Valentiner and Luke Behrman - Wilson Fork, BCC, UT