Richard Bolt Photography Blog

Celestial Lights

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:10:46 -0700

The video you need to watch below is quite possibly the best display of the northern lights ever captured on film:

Celestial Lights from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo.

I have not the adjectives required to describe the magnificence of this phenomena.

You owe it to yourself to view this full screen in HD...

Overnight and Solo in Winter

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:51:55 -0800

Unsure of what to do when the first winter storm of the season hits?

Head out solo into the wilderness and bivvy out overnight, that's what to do. That's what I did.

24 hours away from home, solo, in winter, in the mountains, in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. What could be more fun than that?

The first winter ...

Brittany & Dakina

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:55:36 -0700

Congratulations to Brittany & Dakina, now Mr & Mrs Dakina Frederick!

Here is the first draft of their wedding album for your enjoyment:

Click the image above to play the slideshow of the album layout, or click this link.

Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic - 2011 Edition

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:42:58 -0700

The 2011 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic featured a blizzard, a foot of fresh snow, over 30 crevasse breaches. This is supposed to be the Summer Classic?

Check out the video and photos by clicking the link below...

Beautiful and Inspirational backpacking video

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:05:24 -0700

Prepare to be inspired by this backpacking around Tromso, Norway.

Magnificent scenery, beautiful videography, inspiring you to get outside and do likewise...

The Backcountry Boiler - Hot Water from Found Fuel

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:10:06 -0700

This is the coolest backpacking gear project I have ever seen. A boiler for water powered by wood you find on the trail. Like the Thermette the ANZACs used during the First World War, only way way cooler, and weighing in at under 10 ounces! That's under 300 grams for you metric thinkers. I missed out on the first run of 100 and I was not going to miss out this time on the second version... Seriously, if you ...

The Art of Flight

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:08:39 -0700

As a teenager I watched, awestruck, as two guys made the first BASE jump from the Great Trango Tower in Pakistan featuring a seemingly endless 11 seconds of free fall before safe chute deployment.

That was an incredible program, and one I have never forgotten. If I remember rightly Leo Dickinson was the filmmaker on that one.

The video you are about to watch, and watch you must, showcases just how far extreme sports have come since the early '90s ...

The Edge of the Earth

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:40:45 -0800

Inspiration at its best. There is one place I have not yet been that I very much want to go to - Alaska...

Check out what these brothers get up to in the Alaskan wilderness.

James & Elizabeth - January 29, 2011

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:12:33 -0800

Congratulations to James & Elizabeth!

A few images from Saturday...

View more from James & Elizabeth's wedding here

View from Double Peak Park

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:50:11 -0800

Double Peak Park in San Marcos, located in the North County of San Diego, is a spot that not everyone knows about. The view is excellent: most of coastal North County to be viewed on a clear day. These are some of the surrounding houses. Many people think Southern California is just houses row upon row, but that's not ...

Fall in Shenandoah

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:50:25 -0800

Fall color in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. I had never been back on the east coast during the fall, so this year we went to Virginia and saw some wonderful fall foliage in Shenandoah National Park. This is late afternoon in the forest toward the south just a few short steps off Skyline Drive.

Solo on the Sierra High Route & Fishing

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:21:02 -0700

Tuesday October 5th - Saturday October 9th, 2010. Starting Roads End and up up and away over Grouse Lake Pass and Goat Crest Pass to State Lake for some fishing before looping back over Granite Pass and back down to Roads End.

I had a few days to kill, so I decided to try some new gear, some high country fishing ...

Fuji X100 - Classic Cool

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:38:02 -0700

Here is a camera featuring the timeless form of a classic rangefinder of years gone by, with modern digital sensor. Cool. This looks amazing, and so I do hope Fuji produces something that performs as good as it looks!

Check it out.

Coffee in the backcountry

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:08:40 -0700

Now this is a genius article on morning coffee whilst hiking the back country. I am a bit partial to a good cup, just not too strong or I'll become that hyperactive child who just ate a bag of sugar and a double espresso within seconds. I'll add some sweetened condensed milk to mine...

Audrey - first day of school

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:23:41 -0700

This is our niece, Audrey. She has just arrived for her first day of school. She is apprehensive and perhaps a little bit scared. Her elder sister has just run off and left her, her mom was on the phone and Aunt and I arrived just in time to save the day and bring out some smiles.

Ostrander Ski hut

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:09:08 -0700

Here is a short interview with a man who has been a hutkeeper during the winter months in Yosemite's Ostrander Ski Hut. He has been the hutkeeper for 35 years. I'm thinking this will be well worth the ski in one coming winter...

Yosemite is one of my favorite places. Yosemite in winter? Even better if you were asking me. Winter is something else entirely in Yosemite.

My Nieces play in the rain

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:13:11 -0700

Recently, in July, we had some thunder and rain. It just so happened that my wife and I were visiting our nieces. And being the sweet little things that they are they just had to play outside in the rain and enjoy themselves. Naturally I just happened to have a camera along for the event; a camera that shoots video ...

ANZAC Day 2010

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:02:54 -0700

April 25th is ANZAC Day, so hats off and show some respect for the fallen soldiers now, please.

"They shall not grow old,
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them."
- Laurence Binyon

<param ...

Beetlecam!

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:18:08 -0700

This is an awesome idea: Attach a camera and a couple of flashes to a radio controlled robot, apply a bit of camouflage, then go to Africa and try and shoot some Lions and other dangerous African game from up very close...

Genius! Check it out...

Michael & Duah

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:57:11 -0700

So after our normal Sunday Morning services in Vista we had a wedding... It's not after every church service you have a wedding:

Check out the slideshow of Michael and Duah's wedding. Don't they look great?

After the wedding reception we hit the beach in Oceanside for a few photographs. The weather was on our side for ...

That fluffy white stuff

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:04:52 -0800

Photographing the beauty of a mountain cloaked in a graceful blanket of snow is something I really have a passion for, in addition to the skiing of course. So here are couple of obligatory snow covered images I have made...

Yosemite and Half Dome, 2008

Skiing at Mammoth, 2008

Now, on to the event at hand: to me, winter means ...

Roll tide

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:46:48 -0800

Last week, my wife and I spent a week camping in Death Valley with Matt, her brother from Alabama.

Below is a picture of Matt golfing on the Devil's Golf Course. He was not without some form of Crimson Tide attire all week long.

He's a total tourist here with his bright yellow disposable Kodak film snapper thingamejig ...

Robyn has her first Christmas

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:55:02 -0800

My little niece, Robyn, had her first Christmas yesterday!

Here is her picture:

She's such a cute bundle of joy...

Merry Christmas

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:18:44 -0800

Merry Christmas to you all!

The Suyat family at Brengle Terrace Park

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:52:49 -0800

Here's a fun tip for North County families: Brengle Terrace Park in Vista, California - it's a wonderful park for families. Plenty of space for a walk in the park, a small wooded area with some fun trails, lovely views over Vista, and a neat location for photographs and fun.

And if your kids are older or you like ...

Veterans Day, 2009

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:11:31 -0800

Veterans Day, 2009 - Current and former military service men and women from West Coast Baptist church.

Well, those that aren't currently in Iraq or Afghanistan...

Thank you to all military service men and women out there.

Extremely Limited Edition 2010 Landscapes Calendar now on sale

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:17:14 -0800

It's here! The long awaited 2010 Landscapes calendar has arrived. Now, this is not your usual run of the mill calendar. Warning: This calendar does not feature sickly thin paper with an anaemic and cheap feel and a stapled binding. You have been warned!

This calendar features bold landscape images on heavy pearlescent card stock with a beefy spiral ...

At the beach one November morning

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:27:34 -0800

I love the beach. I love beaches, and Southern California is filled with beaches. Just head west and you'll find all the beaches you could ever need. I also love the energy and fun involved in photographing people on location at the beach. So yesterday morning my wife and I headed west to the beach with the Gonzalez family ...

Wow is an overused word

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:30:17 -0700

"Incredible" is a word that is overused. So is "amazing", and "awesome". However, the subject of this post is not overused adjectives, it is a video. A video of a Kiwi freediving down deep into a blue hole in the Bahamas. Diving with no fins, neither weight nor help, with nothing but himself and his courage.

I can't even ...

Tannehill - Where the iron was made

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:30:14 -0700

Peaceful is a word you would now use to describe Tannehill. It is a quiet and peaceful place, split by a slow moving river running through the campgrounds. Peaceful is not a word you would have used to describe Tannehill in 1863 when the War Clerk, John B. Jones said from Richmond in 1863:

"Iron was wanted more then anything ...

Video from Gulf Shores

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:30:16 -0700

When I was supposed to be relaxing at the beach in Alabama, sometimes I was shooting a few short video clips instead. This is the result...

I'm sure Matt will love the ending since he's exhibiting some fine class right at the very end...

At the range in Alabama

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:30:17 -0700

So one of the things you do in Alabama is head out to the range to shoot some paper. I first shot paper targets in the Boy Scouts with a .22 rifle, but there were no .22's in sight this day - for this day was vacation and Matt, my father-in-law (whom I call "Dad") and I went out to ...

Coastal Redwood portrait

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:30:15 -0700

Linked is the portrait of a Coastal Redwood tree. These coastal giants are the tallest living things, and therefore, are quite a bit taller than I. They're a marvel found only, as far as I'm aware, in California where I live. If you like trees or appreciate fine photographic works, you'll love the linked image at National Geographic. You'll also want to check out the rest of the presentation that National Geographic has on these wonderful ...

VBS 2009 Book

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:30:12 -0700

Here it is! The Vacation Bible School 2009 book. It's 120 pages, 130 or so photographs, 7x7" and available in soft or hardcover. So if you'd like a momento from VBS now's your chance...

VBS-2009 Slideshow

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:30:14 -0700

So last week was a busy one (as was this week!) We were shooting every evening at our Church which had a Vacation Bible School all week long. My wife and I had a great time with it all. Lots of red buses ran out into the community and came back loaded with kids. Here are (quite) a few photographs ...