Happy New Year and welcome 2010!

As we usher in a new year, and folks around me are making new years resolutions, I have promised myself a very simple and easy to follow idea. In 2010 I want to leave a smaller footprint on this earth. To need less, to buy less, to use less, to be more environmentally conscious.


I took this photo of my own footprint in the sand in Naples, Florida last week as I tried to dream up what this would look like for me.

At home, it can be accomplished more easily.... watching what I buy and what I use - making the best environmental decision at every fork in the road.

But on vacation, it can be more difficult, and even selecting a vacation should include the environmental costs as well as the economic costs. Sometimes, like most of us, I tend to throw out some of my values on vacation week!

As a photographer, being green can be a challenge. There are a number of professional photographers who have taken on a "green label," and are trying to do things right. Last year I added the first "environmentally friendly" packages to my weddings. But what more can I do?

Areas needing more work:

Proof Books & Prints
Printing photos uses some harsh chemicals. And proof books can use a lot of resources too - but I want clients to have hard copies in their hands and displayed at their homes... so how to green them?

Printer Cartridges
My Epson 2400 printer cartridges are NOT recyclable! I thought they were and have been religiously saving them and delivering them to outlets for 4 years since I bought this printer - last year I learned that I was wasting my time!

Looking back, we are pleased to be doing the following in our efforts at Beaton Photography:

No hard copy proofs - everything can be offered as a "Green Package" - all digital images and online proofing only.

Environmentally Friendly Wedding Albums White Glove Albums are the only album that I know to date that advertises "Eco-friendly" wedding albums - but I will continue looking for vendors.

And we're continuing to follow the lead of a number of great photographers who lead the way in greening this industry:

Grazier Photography - Boston

Anne Ruthman - Boston area

Fun Photo Guys - California

All vacations must end - saying Goodbye to the Naples Beach!

When we left Naples (Florida) two days ago, I took my camera out and was trying to document a few of the things that are so memorable from vacation - and things that are common in Florida and not so common here in the mountains of Colorado. And I knew we were moving from a week of temperatures in the 70s to temperatures in the single digits, so I was trying to soak it all in.

The full vacation slideshow here....

Happy New Year from Naples, Florida!

After spending Christmas in Colorado in the single digits, we have been able to spend a wonderful beach week at New Years in Naples Florida. So nice to be able to enjoy both the mountains and the beach. We are blessed! Happy New Years!

The full vacation slideshow here....

Lake Clark National Park - Day 1

Today we arrived at this amazing place, Lake Clark National Park, at a beautiful resort called Alaska Homestead Lodge. It is located 130 air miles southwest of Anchorage, but only accessible by boat or plane. There are no highways or cars, just wildlife! AMAZING! The photos tell the story of today - and tomorrow will bring even more, as I join up with a Dale Franz FotoSarfari!

We all think we have died and gone to heaven.....3 full days here....ahhhhhh!

The first grizzly we saw was when we landed on the beach out front....amazing!

A Wandering Moose - Soldotna, Alaska

I love this place! All of Alaska, but also this great cabin in Soldotna, Alaska called A Wandering Moose! Where moose really do wander through the yard, and the salmon flow out the backdoor on the Kenai River like we have never seen before! Ahhhhh... sure love vacations!







And the owner of the lodge, Audrey, is a wonderful host and a great fisherwoman! She has caught enough in the last couple days that she's treating all the guests (16 of us?) to salmon dinner tonight!



Heather decided to fish with her dad right out the back door, but had no waders, just went in mudboots & rainpaints! Now she has found the supply in the shed by the river!


And Kirk is loving the Kenai River....although we have to avoid the upper section where they have what is termed "Combat Fishing" - shoulder to shoulder fishing to get these great salmon!

First week in Alaska....WOW!

We have been in Alaska for a full week now, and WOW is all I can say! What an amazing place, from top to bottom, inside out! And I am SO GLAD that we took the full two weeks instead of shortening our trip to save on money!

The first amazing thing is just how light it is here in June in Alaska - when we wake up we never know if it's midnight, or 3am, or morning, as there is always some light in the sky! Hard to get used to but very interesting!

We went up to Denali National Park and Talkeetna first. Then a few nights in Seward, an ocean town on the Kenai Peninsula where we took a sea cruise and saw whales, sea lions, otters, and were amazed at the Alaskan Glaciers. This one is the Holgate Glacier, a part of the Exit Glacier - truly amazing!



















Now we are in Soldatna on the Kenai River, catching more salmon than we can eat. My daughter, Heather, appears to becoming a fly fisherwoman & is loving the catching and the eating of the salmon! We're staying at a beautiful quiet resort called A Wandering Moose - where you can catch salmon off the dock and moose really do wander through the yard! We're hoping the grizzly bears don't wander so close, or at least if they do I want a local and a big lens really close!






It's amazing how many small planes are here in Alaska - I guess it's the best transportation route! We'll be learning about that transportation method tomorrow when we take a float plane out to Lake Clark National Park!