Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire 2009

We are leaving for Tanzania tomorrow and will return the on the June 28th. I'm looking forward to the trip and will post images when I return. All emails (to info@mtrainierphoto.com) and phone calls to the Mt. Rainier Institute of Photography will be forwarded/answered to/by my apprentice, Greg Lund. While Greg might not have all the answers, (because I know that you can think up some pretty tough questions) he can answer many of your basic questions, and if he doesn't know the answer he will parlé your question to me, via my almost daily satellite phone contacts.

All emails to Adam@AdamAngel.com will be answered as soon as possible by me, but that might not be until end of June or early July.

Adam

Paradise Valley Road Open

The Paradise Valley Road is open today for the 2009 Summer Season on Mt. Rainier.
Stevens Canyon Road is anticipated to remain closed until the end of July.

Adam.

2010 Kilimanjaro Photography Expedition.

For 2010, we plan to offer a "Photographer's Extension" to International Mountain Guides' regularly scheduled June Kilimanjaro Expedition. The price and length is yet to be determined, but please contact us if you are interested in more information as it becomes available. East Africa offers one of the best environments in the world for an enriching cultural and wildlife experience. This is the only photography workshop in Tanzania that features a summit climb of Kilimanjaro with an experienced high altitude climbing guide and professional photographer. Please contact Adam if you want to be added to the Kilimanjaro contact list.

Chinook Pass opens Friday, May 22 at noon.

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Chinook Pass will open Friday, May 22 at 12:00.
Providing some of the best views of Mt. Rainier from the east side of the mountain, it's a sure sign that summer is on the way here in the park! One of my most popular images was made on Chinook pass, but don't expect to see the ground up there for a long time yet, there is still almost 13 feet of snow!!!!

For Chinook Pass telemetry click here.

Adam

Ken Burns, The National Parks, and America's Best Idea.

Last night over 2000 Washingtonians and I had the privilege of attending a presentation at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.  The presentation, hosted by KCTS 9, was an splendid evening with Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan who discussed and presented clips from their upcoming epic documentary The National Parks, America's Best Idea.  I knew that Burns made wonderful films, but after listening to him speak and gaining a smidgeon of insight on his world view, I am further impressed.  Ken is truly a visionary, not just in the media of film, but in humanity, and as he said last night, these documentaries are ultimately about us.  He confessed that he has been telling the same story about us over and over again, just with different packaging.

I must tell you that I left the presentation last night profoundly re-energized about the magnitude and importance of our National Park System.  I will certainly carry this with me this summer as we explore Mt. Rainier National Park photographing its wonders.

The documentary is 12 hours long and airs this fall on your local public television station.  The series will be available in High Definition (As Ken said, "5 times better") and is available on DVD and Blu-ray.  From the 6 short excerpts that were shown last night, I plan to add this series to my collection.  You can pre-order The National Parks, America's Best Idea from channel9store.com and save 25% with this promotional code: NPBURNS.  The offer is good until 9-15-09 and cannot be combined with other offers.

You can also hear a "Weekday" interview with Ken Burns here.

See you on The Mountain this summer.

Adam