A large flat-topped sandstone butte with layered red and tan rock faces rising from a desert floor scattered with scrub brush near Moab, Utah, under a blue sky with wispy clouds.
A butte standing alone near Moab. Layered sandstone catching the afternoon light with just enough cloud to balance the frame.
Another horizon worth chasing.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Moab
A close-up abstract view of overlapping hot air balloon envelopes at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, showing vivid panels of purple, magenta, green, orange, blue, and grey fabric with white seams and tether lines crossing the frame.
Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, 2018. Got in close during inflation and the overlapping envelopes turned into something almost abstract.
The closer you look, the more there is to see.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #BalloonFiesta
An F/A-18 Super Hornet in a steep banking climb with both afterburners lit, seen from behind against a hazy blue sky at the Great Colorado Air Show.
F/A-18 Super Hornet in a steep bank with afterburners blazing at the Great Colorado Air Show. One second overhead, the next it’s a dot.
Moments like this are why I keep looking up.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Aviation
A view from the rim of Crater Lake in Oregon, looking down through evergreen trees and rocky slopes to the deep blue water of the lake, with the far rim and mountains visible in the hazy distance.
Crater Lake, Oregon. That blue is something you can’t prepare for. Some places just make you stand still for a minute.
Landscapes like this make the journey memorable.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #CraterLake
A wide panoramic view from the Shafer Trail near Moab, Utah, looking out over a vast canyon landscape of layered red sandstone mesas, buttes, and carved rock formations stretching to the horizon, with the snow-capped La Sal Mountains visible in the distance under a clear blue sky.
Shafer Trail near Moab. Layer after layer of red sandstone stretching to the La Sal Mountains. Your eyes just keep finding another ridgeline.
There’s always another view waiting somewhere.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Moab
A powered paraglider pilot suspended beneath a bright yellow-green and teal canopy, flying against a clear blue sky at the Frederick, Colorado balloon festival. The paramotor’s propeller cage is visible behind the seated pilot.
Powered paraglider over the Frederick balloon festival. A motor, a fan, a canopy, and a seat — that’s the whole aircraft.
Machines like this never stop being fascinating.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Aviation
A man holding a tether rope attached to a large teal hot air balloon being inflated on a green grass field at the Frederick, Colorado balloon festival, with children and onlookers watching nearby under a partly cloudy sky.
Balloon festival in Frederick, CO. One guy, one rope, and a job to do while the envelope filled in front of him.
Glad you’re here to share the moment.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
An abandoned weathered log cabin with a sagging roof, stone chimney, and covered porch sitting alone in an open grassland at Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico, under a dramatic grey sky with mountains in the distance.
Movie set cabin at Valles Caldera, NM — built for Ron Howard’s “The Missing” (2003) with Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett. Still standing, still convincing.
Know someone who’d love this view? Share it their way.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #NewMexico
A red sandstone butte near Moab, Utah, backlit by the sun which creates a bright glow along the top edge of the rock formation against a pale blue sky, with desert scrub in the foreground.
Sun dropping behind a sandstone butte near Moab. That backlit edge where light wraps around the rock is the whole shot.
Another horizon worth chasing.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Moab
A small brown and tan duck with mottled plumage and a pale blue-gray bill perched on a mossy, weathered log with soft tropical foliage in the background at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This one at the National Aviary was posted up on a log like it was posing for a portrait. Sometimes the quieter birds make the best subjects.
If this tiny moment caught your eye, pass it along.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Wildlife
A blue metal sculpture consisting of four overlapping circles of varying sizes, installed on a concrete pad at Roosevelt Park in Longmont, Colorado, as part of the Art in Public Places program. Winter grass and bare trees fill the background.
Art in Public Places installation at Roosevelt Park in Longmont. Blue circles, strong shadows, and a 40mm at f/2 to soften the background.
A quick pause can reveal a lot.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #PublicArt
A cluster of purple crocuses with bright orange stamens blooming among rocks, dried leaves, and debris in a neighborhood flower garden in Colorado, lit by direct sunlight.
First crocuses of the season — purple petals and orange stamens pushing through the rocks. Spring doesn’t ask permission.
The closer you look, the more there is to see.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Spring
A close-up of a weathered wooden fence post with a split top and barbed wire attached, silhouetted against golden rangeland and a soft blue Spanish Peak mountain in the background near La Veta, Colorado.
Fence post near La Veta — old enough to split and twist into its own shape. Barbed wire holding on, Spanish Peak going soft behind it.
Sometimes the smallest subjects hold the most detail.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
An upward-looking photograph of One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, showing the neo-Gothic glass tower rising into a blue sky with clouds reflecting in the mirrored panels. The building's angular glass facets converge symmetrically toward the top of the frame.
One PPG Place in Pittsburgh — 40 stories of neo-Gothic glass by Philip Johnson. My son spotted that I was off-center and guided me to the right line.
Cities always reward a second look.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Architecture
A close-up of a Caribbean flamingo's head and neck at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, showing vivid orange-red plumage, a pale yellow eye, and a black-tipped bill, with water and tropical foliage in the soft background.
Flamingo at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. Walked right up. No zoom needed — just pure confidence and zero personal space.
Nature always has another story waiting.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Wildlife
A black and white photograph looking underneath the Portal Bridge at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, showing sweeping concrete arches curving overhead with pendant lights, a metal railing along a curved walkway, and repeating arch forms receding into the distance.
Portal Bridge at Point State Park in Pittsburgh. Repeating arches and curves — pure geometry. Had to shoot it in black and white.
A quick pause can reveal a lot.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Architecture
A bull moose with a large set of antlers bedded down in green and brown willows on a mountainside meadow below the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Bull moose bedded down in the willows below the Alpine Visitor Center in RMNP. Those antlers are hard to miss, even from the road.
Wild moments like this are why I keep the camera ready.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Wildlife
An F/A-18 Super Hornet seen from directly below in a banking turn, showing the full underside of the aircraft with U.S. Navy markings and exhaust staining visible on the fuselage, against a hazy blue sky at the Great Colorado Air Show.
F/A-18 Super Hornet banking overhead at the Great Colorado Air Show. The wear and exhaust staining on the underside tell their own story.
If you know an aviation nerd, send this their way.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Aviation
A weathered wooden fence post in sharp focus in the left foreground with a blurred Spanish Peak mountain rising in the background against a clear blue sky, near La Veta, Colorado.
Fence post near La Veta — picked an angle to isolate one of the Spanish Peaks in the background. Sharp up close, soft in the distance.
The quiet details are always worth noticing.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
A burrowing owl standing on sandy ground near a rocky burrow entrance at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, looking directly at the camera with bright yellow eyes and a skeptical expression. The owl has brown and white spotted plumage and identification bands on its legs.
Burrowing owl at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. Tiny bird, full-sized attitude.
Encounters like this never get old.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Wildlife
A starry night sky with the faint glow of the Milky Way visible between silhouetted pine trees at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico.
Milky Way between the pines at Bandelier National Monument. Skies dark enough to see it with your eyes — the camera just pulls out more.
There’s always another view waiting somewhere.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #MilkyWay
A USAF Thunderbirds F-16 Fighting Falcon in red, white, and blue livery banking into a left climbing turn with afterburner lit against an overcast sky at the Great Colorado Air Show.
Thunderbirds F-16 pulling into a climbing turn at the Great Colorado Air Show. Over 40 years on this airframe and it still owns the sky.
Precision and motion always make a compelling scene.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Aviation
A wooden boardwalk curves through snow-covered banks along the BP Pedestrian Bridge in Chicago, with the Loop skyline and high-rise buildings visible against a blue sky with scattered clouds, leading toward the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
BP Pedestrian Bridge in Chicago, curving through fresh snow toward the Pritzker Pavilion. In town for my son’s theater auditions.
Scenes like this stay with you long after the trip ends.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Chicago
Two weathered wooden fence posts along a barbed wire fence line receding into flat, open rangeland with dry golden grass and scattered brush under a pale blue sky near La Veta, Colorado.
Fence line near La Veta — two posts leading the eye into rangeland that just keeps going. Grass and sky all the way to the horizon.
Landscapes like this make the journey memorable.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
A silhouetted weathered fence post against a clear blue sky with a sun flare and lens artifacts in the upper right corner, near La Veta, Colorado.
Old fence post silhouetted against the sun near La Veta. Sometimes the simplest compositions are the most satisfying.
The closer you look, the more there is to see.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
A weathered wooden fence post in the foreground with a barbed wire fence line receding toward a stand of trees, set against golden grassland and a distant mountain range under a partly cloudy sky near La Veta, Colorado.
Old ranch land near La Veta over Thanksgiving. A fence line through golden grass leading toward the Spanish Peaks.
Another horizon worth chasing.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Colorado
A black and white photograph of a metal utility box on a street in Lyons, Colorado, with pieces of dark tape arranged to form a simple face. The box is mounted to a wooden utility pole with a blurred background of hills and trees.
Found this guy on a side street in Lyons — someone taped a face onto a utility box. The vent slots even double as eyebrows.
Sometimes the best moments are the ones you almost walk past.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #StreetArt
An F/A-18 Super Hornet seen head-on from below with both afterburners fully lit, climbing against an overcast sky at the Great Colorado Air Show.
F/A-18 Super Hornet on full afterburner at the Great Colorado Air Show. Rented a Sigma 150-600mm Sport and finally got the airshow shots I’ve been chasing.
Moments like this are why I keep looking up.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Aviation
A near-full moon with visible craters and surface detail against a solid black night sky, photographed at 1200mm equivalent focal length.
The moon at 1200mm. At this reach, craters and mare start to feel more like a landscape than a distant object.
There’s always another view waiting somewhere.
#Photography #ScottKissPhoto #Moon
