A few of the streaks are airplanes, and one gets the sense that if we had had one more hour of darkness, we’d have been able to see a ton more meteors.

I finally got to sleep around 5 am, glad I wasn’t still out there changing batteries. So here’s what an all-nighter in sub-zero can get you. Thirty seconds of this…

Quadrantid Meteor Shower Time Lapse

Also, as you can see from the photos, the house has been jacked up on wood trellises with metal I-beams to top it from going down anymore, and yesterday (not shown) a carpenter covered up the open side of the house.

Kevin and Jess are amazing people who are dealing with this in such an admirable way. There is no easy solution to their problems, but they’re moving one step at a time trying to keep their chins up. I have the utmost respect for them.

Thanks to all who helped and continue to help and we’ll keep you updated. A special guest may be making a visit today so stay tuned…

You can contribute to a fund to help them get through the next few months here.

As you can also see in the photos below, the part of the foundation that originally appeared solid is actually subsiding. As of yesterday morning, it looked like it was around six inches. Hopefully I’ll get back there tomorrow to get some more photos and help them however possible. They’re keeping smiles on their faces in light of this devastating development and I’m continually amazed by their strength and outlook.

Please check here tomorrow for the link to a site where you can donate money to help them through this crises. And if you’ve tried to contact them and they haven’t been able to respond, just know that they really appreciate all the support and are just unable now to respond to all the calls, texts and emails.

The White River is the longest undammed river in Vermont. My friends live right next to the river, next to a bridge. Last night I spoke with them and they thought their house was in jeopardy when the were forced out by rapidly rising water. They slept in their cars higher up on the hill.

What we found this morning was devastating. I was able to get to them in 4wd this morning before they closed the road. They are safe and that’s the most important thing.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. My thoughts go out to you.

More photos after the break…

P.S. Thanks guys for displaying one of my photos (the orange leaf photo on the wall) prominently to the neighborhood.

You can find out more about our project and become a supporter here. We’re using a great new funding platform called Kickstarter, which is beginning to revolutionize the way independent artists support their projects. Check it out as, we’re offering great rewards for those that support us.

Here’s the full link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/256905182/janapar-trail-a-journey-through-nagorno-karabakh

Chess is a national pastime for the Armenian people. Here in Shushi, we witnessed a major chess tournament.

We’ll be hiking for two weeks, gathering all the film, photos and info, and we’ll be spending another week to ten days, traveling around the region by car, gathering info on hiking, food and lodging, and the history of the area.

Shushi, an old town in Nagorno-Karabakh, was almost obliterated in the war during the early 1990's. Here you can see the towers of a mosque. This land has been occupied by both ethnic Armenians of Christian faith as well as by Islamic Azeris. Most Azeris fled during the war, and this region is mostly inhabited by ethinic Armenians now.

At the end of the project we will have a guidebook, map set, photos for a number of exhibitions and a 20 minute documentary-slideshow.

The light in this mountainous region is often incredible.

If you have any experience in the area, definitely let us know. My wife Julia lived here for about a year, so we’re lucky she knows the area and can speak the language, which is a variation of eastern Armenian.

Thanks and be sure to check out our Kickstarter project!

The snow in the air refracts the sun and the shadow of our ballon creates a silhouette on the rainbow.

Well, we did this almost two months ago, but think it’s high time to share it. My in-laws gave my wife and me a hot air balloon ride as an engagement gift a number of years back. We finally decided to do it this winter, and I thought that since I’m working on the Kickass Guide to Skiing and Riding Vermont we might as well use the ride to get good aerial shots of one or multiple ski areas.

This interesting perspective looking toward Killington Peak shows the difference in light between what is and is not in shadow.

We decided to choose Balloons of Vermont out of Quechee. We met Darrek our pilot and Jeff our balloon chaser early in the morning at Quechee, VT. We climbed into his big extended cab pickup and drove over to Killington, then Rutland and back to Killington before the weather finally cleared. We drove up the Killington access road to an empty restaurant lot. Quickly, we pulled out the basket and the balloon, as well as a generator, big fan, burners and propane tanks, which all fit in the back of truck.

Within ten minutes the fan and propane had filled the balloon (I actually think it’s called the envelope), we jumped in and were off! They skies had cleared, and even though it was in the teens that day, with very little wind and a ton of sun, and the propane burners going off intermittently, it was actually pretty warm.

Although it was bright and sunny to our north, east and west, just the peaks of the higher southern vermont mountains poked out above the low cloud layer.

Interesting tidbit: Darrek says most people are surprised at how calm balloon rides are because the balloon is traveling at pretty much the same speed as the wind, so in effect there is no wind chill!

We slowly floated up towards Killington peak and the K-1 gondola. There was ample time for photographs and shots of Middleton’s Irish Whiskey, which at $150 per bottle, is a purchase that we treat ourselves to once per year. While we were serenely floating over Vermont’s second highest peak, Darrek maintained communication with Jeff in the chase vehicle.

As we were floating over Killington, we noted that they had stopped the Superstar high-speed quad chair as well as the K-1 gondola. Soon a snowmobile chased us up the mountain and yelled “what are you doing?!” Darrek yelled back “we’re flying!” which we thought was pretty clever. Apparently Killington was nervous about us being so close and they actually shut down the lifts for over ten minutes. According to Darrek, we need to be at least 500 feet above buildings or things on the ground in rural areas, and it seemed to me that we were. Oh well.

We slowly floated out over Skye Peak and then Bear Peak and out over route 100. As you may guess, landing a balloon, without any ability to steer other than rotation and altitude, finding a clear landing spot in Vermont is not easy. Lucky for us, our inability to land gave Julia and me an extra hour in the balloon. We eventually found a spot, and used the tops of trees to slow us down. We hit, then dragged, while Darrek tried to keep the balloon upright. In the meantime, Jeff had found us and came running out to help.

I was sent to use a rope to pull the balloon down while it deflated. Darrek and Jeff packed up the balloon and shoved it into the car. Then we drove to an empty area, and had some champagne and Mimosas after which Darrek treated us to a nice meal at the Long Trail Brewery.

What an amazing day! Thanks Terry and Dorothy! Now I want to go again this winter. Uh, oh. Is ballooning another addictive activity? Let’s hope not.

I highly recommend Balloons of Vermont and guarantee that whenever you go, you’ll have a great time with Darrek and the crew.

Check out a short slideshow by clicking on the image below.

Same Camera, twice the price. How much would you pay for a red dot?

Anyways, I say that the FZ-100 can do everything except take great photos. I say that tongue in cheek, because it actually can take pretty good photos in decent light. You can find the specs anywhere on the web but the main reasons I bought the camera were the versatile range (an equivalent of 25mm-600mm), 11fps shooting (great for sports), Raw file format, full 1080 HD video with autofocus and zoom, a flip out lcd allowing for above the head and ground level shots, super close macro ability, optical stabilization, electronic viewfinder (for sunny conditions) and extremely light weight. Yes the sensor is very small and even at the lowest iso you’ll see some noise. But for anything small, or used on the web, the photos look pretty darn good. And all this for around $375-$400. Seems like a pretty good deal. Check out Michael Reichmann’s

Here's a sample shot taken with my Panasonic FZ-100 while I was down in Florida visiting my folks.

Overall I’m very pleased with the camera. Which brings me to the subject of this post. My mother, who is really getting into photography and has an amazing eye, wants a camera that is light weight and won’t strain her back and shoulders. I mentioned this camera to my father and he mentioned in return a small Leica camera with similar specs. Well obviously Leica is a great camera maker and an even more amazing lens maker so I had to check it out. The camera is called the V-Lux 2.

Now, I’m already a little suspect of Leica, as their D-lux 5 is just a rebadged Panasonic LX5. The Leica is about $800 while the Panasonic is $400. Yeah, you get a few extra accessories but it’s the same camera for twice the price! Well, lo and behold, the Leica V-lux 2 is a rebadged Panasonic FZ-100! You’ll find Leica fanboys on the web forums saying that Leica added their own tweaks to the jpeg engine. I doubt this is true, and if you’re shooting raw it’s irrelevant. How much does the V-lux 2 cost. $850!!!

I’m all for great cameras, and I understand certain brands have a cache that may add to one’s personal value of a particular object. But how in the world does Leica get away with charging over twice the price for Panasonic cameras? Obviously people are buying them, or they wouldn’t do it.

If you’re a purchaser of any of these cameras, let us know what helped you make your decision. I for one cannot understand the logic, and feel that Leica is misleading well-meaning consumers, like my parents.

So how much is the red dot worth? Looks like it’s about $400. Ouch! I think I’ll draw my own red dot.

I got a chance to see the very end of the Men’s Snowboard Superpipe final, the prelims of the men’s Slopestyle Ski comp and the Finals of the Men’s Ski Superpipe, which was after dark and totally lit up. I got a media pass which allowed me to be right at the bottom of the half pipe and pretty much anywhere on the slopestyle course.

I watch a LOT of ski movies, but it’s always so much more impressive to see it person. Man, these guys were hucking!

Some of these pics are good shots, some I just thought were interesting as we can see how by stopping time, a graceful feat of amazing acrobatics can seem to be a complete torquing of the body.

Stretch those hamstrings!

Don't land on me Simon!

Just about 35 feet above the bottom of the pipe.

Look ma, I'm flying!

Simon Dumont's the king of big air, and style. But alas, he just came in third this night.

Dan catches some air during the best powder day of last year at Jay Peak.

My experience self-publishing has been very positive. It’s true that many people think self-published books will automatically be of a lower quality than those produced by a major publisher with a substantial amount of funding behind them. Personally, I couldn’t disagree more. Self-publishing allows one to create a product exactly how the writer/photographer/artist wants it. True, we are limited by financial considerations, but having the freedom to produce something without sacrificing quality in the name of “marketability” will almost always result in a better outcome. In the end, I believe the quality of the product will drive long-term sales while at the same time providing a much more positive experience for the creator.

A great view off the chair at Smuggs.

My next self-published book (Fresh Tracks Publishing) I hope will be the first in a series of books entitled The Kickass Guide to Skiing and Riding ______(you fill in the blank). I grew up skiing in Vermont, currently live here, and believe that the best skiing and riding east of the Mississippi can be found here in the Green Mountain State. So it makes sense that my first book in this series is going to be The Kickass Guide to Skiing and Riding Vermont. Fingers crossed, I hope that this book will be published in August of 2012.

The Vision: Whether you live in Vermont or are just coming up for a day of skiing, this book will provide you with the information you’ll need to make the most of your day of skiing. Are you into glades? You’ll find out exactly where the best glades are on the mountain. Are you into terrain parks? Don’t spend half the day looking for the best rails or jumps, go right there and spend your time riding, not searching. Looking for the best steep bump run? Don’t ski every black diamond until you find it, check the book and head right there.  You get the idea.

Katie catches som early freshies at the Middlebury Snowbowl.

What makes this book different than all the other guides out there? First off, I truly believe that the most important part of making a great book, is being passionate about the subject. Well, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many more people out there that are more passionate about skiing than I.

The famous single chair at Mad River Glen.

Next, I’m a photographer first and a writer second. What does this mean? Quite simply, the book will be filled with many full-color photos and text will be kept to a minimum. A guidebook should do more than provide information. It should inspire the reader. Most basic information will be available on the internet, and at each resort’s website. What the book aims to do is show just how varied and amazing the terrain out here. We get powder days and lot’s of them. There may be six inches of nasty crust outside my front door in Windsor, VT, but above 2,000 feet there could easily be 16 inches of fresh snow. (Did you know Jay Peak, VT averages over two feet MORE snow than Vail, CO?!)

Third, since self-publishing involves an upfront capital investment, it is important to understand how and where the book will be sold, prior to making a print-run. My first book, Moosilauke – Portrait of a Mountain has a limited but focused market. It’s true that most people outside of a one-hour radius from Mt. Moosilauke probably do not know anything about the mountain. With almost every Dartmouth College graduate having spent at least one night up at the mountain, and with over 1,300 people graduating yearly, there is a passionate but focused market who can be approached via a robust digital and word-of-mouth network. For this book, I plan to take a different approach. Instead of focusing on a niche market, I plan on widespread availability. In addition to traditional outlets, such as bookstores, I will be able to sell the book at outdoor gear stores, ski shops and even the resorts themselves.

Seth finds the entrance, deep in the Smuggs woods.

Another reason why this book will be unlike anything out there? I plan on having a local from each resort, whether a ski patroller, local bartender or a grisled old-time Vermonter, tell us what makes that particular place special and where they recommend skiing.

Here’s a list describing the main facets of this book:

• Small enough to leave in the car, yet large enough to showcase my photography (probably 7″x9″)
• Covers each resort. What makes each place unique?
• Local backcountry and sidecountry options
• Profiles of locals, and their advice and comments
• Many full-color, inspirational images
• Appropriate for snowboarders and skiers
• Plenty of “top ten” lists (best inbound tree runs, best terrain parks, most likely to get a powder day, etc.)
• Associated digital content. (TBD, but most likely an iphone/ipad app)
• Retail price of ~$25.00
• Much, much  more!

As the project progresses, I’ll be posting photos, advice, stories and a lot more. I hope to create a discourse and involve people from the community. If you want to be a part, model for some photos, have any suggestions, or just want to chat, leave a comment and/or email me. I’ll be traveling around the state all this winter and next, so join me in this exciting project. Most importantly, have fun out there and I’ll see you on the slopes!