Happy Holidays!

Happy Hanuhkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Winterfest, Festivus, or whatever you're celebrating this time of year! No matter what we're celebrating it seems to be the season for giving, and what would be better than an awesome print for your loved one? Any and all of my work is available for sale. So feel free to browse through my blog, my website, and especially my for sale page. If you see something you like just let me know. Prices vary depending on the image, size, and the finish you would prefer, but they're all very affordable.

I hope to hear from you soon and enjoy looking through my photos.

Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Tallest Man on Earth

So it's been tough to think of what I could possibly follow the photos from NM with. I also haven't gotten a chance to go out and shoot anything since NM. However, with the holidays coming up I was searching through images to think of which ones will make good presents, and I stumbled across some photos I shot that never got posted. Quite awhile ago I was lucky enough to catch a performance by The Tallest Man on Earth at Club Congress, here in Tucson. If you're not familiar with the band, it is a single man from Sweden who has mastered an American art, country folk music. I fell in love with his music on our drive out to Tucson from the East and seeing him perform could have been the culmination of my time in Tucson, and I would've felt complete. I saw him perform a few days before shooting a wedding, so I had with me some higher end rented glass and tested the large aperture by shooting hand held in a dark club. They for the most part all looked the same, so here is just one.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates

Gila Wilderness: Gila Cliff Dwellings

At the recommendation from a co-worker at REI we decided to check out the Gila Wilderness while on our trip to New Mexico. The Gila was first suggested because of what is supposed to be an amazing overnight hike that takes you to the Jordan Hot Springs along the Middle Fork of the Gila River that is right in the middle of it. We researched more about the hike and couldn't wait to do it. Then Emma hurt her back. We still decided to check out the area around the trail which included not only the Gila Cliff Dwellings, but also tons of free camping! It also boasted an awesome hour and a half long ride down a winding forest road to get there(a huge highlight for me, a downside to my motion sickness prone partner). Not doing the hike ended up being a good idea either way. With night temperatures close to single digits and a guarantee of getting wet from the many river crossings, it seemed best to stay at the campground. We instead took a day to tour the cliff dwellings and then explore the drier side of the West and Middle Fork rivers.

The best way to sum up our trip to the Gila is that I can't wait to go back.

Enjoy
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

White Sands: Textures and Shapes

White Sands: The Dunes

I can't even explain what it was like to walk through the "backcountry" of White Sands. All it takes is climbing over a few dunes for you to feel like you're in the middle of no where, miles from anyone. Sleeping in the "backcountry", an area that starts a mere 3/4's of a mile, from the parking lot, is the only way to experience the dunes. Sunset and sunrise is when the dunes are in all of their glory. I've never felt like I was on another planet more in my life.

Please enjoy a few photos of the dunes. If only photographs could do this place justice.

Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

White Sands: Just a Taste

I just got back from 3 days in Southwestern New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. I spent one night in White Sands National Monument and one night in the Gila Wilderness. Both places were absolutely amazing! And although 24 hours in White Sands is all you'll need, the views I saw will stay with me for life. As for the Gila Wilderness, I think I could live there for a year and not see all of its wonder.

Either way, the next 3-5 posts will most likely center around this trip and those destinations. So please keep checking back for updates, I'll try to be fairly regular. In the meantime enjoy a little taste of White Sands.

Enjoy
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Meisner Wedding

Although wedding's aren't my normal thing, I'm always happy to be part of my friends' special day. This wedding was between my friends Eric and Ellie, who had actually met at my parents house awhile back. I flew back east this fall for their wedding and here are a few select shots.

Enjoy
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Paradise Forks

Just another part of exploring Northern AZ, Emma and I stopped by Paradise Forks. Paradise Forks is a set of waterfalls at the start of Sycamore Canyon, the second largest canyon in Arizona. It's a haven for trad climbers, and considered some of the best climbing in Arizona by many, and the best crack climbing in the US outside of Utah. Even if you don't climb, the 40 minute drive to Flagstaff is totally worth the views. There is a great horse and hiker trail (sorry mountain biker's, it's in wilderness land) that travels over relatively flat ground along the rim for several miles, giving away amazing views of the canyon at every turn. The canyon and the national forest surrounding it offer miles and miles of hiking trails and jeep roads, as well as a bunch of primitive and back country camping options. We only spend a day and a half here but I could easily go back for at least a week to explore even more.

Enjoy these photos of Paradise Forks, if you look closely many of them have climbers dotting the walls.

Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Humphreys Peak Trail

I think I could spend a solid decade exploring Northern Arizona and still not be satisfied. Unfortunately it's located at a much higher elevation than Tucson(about 3000-4000ft higher), so I've been trying to get in a few trips before it gets too cold for my already thinned Tucson blood. This past weekend I decided to try to slip in an attempt at the highest peak in AZ, Humphreys Peak (12,600+ft) before I needed any gear that includes metal spikes of any kind. As luck would have it, it snowed on the mountain 4-6 inches the day before I was able to get up north. After receiving mixed advice from the guys at Babbit's, I decided it was worth a shot. I hit slush within the first half mile of this 4.8 mile one way trek. It only got whiter from there. Not expecting so much snow, I was only mildly prepared. I managed to huff it up to 11,800 ft, a saddle 3 peaks over from the big show, at which point the 30 mph winds and teen to 20's temperature made me turn around. Oh yeah and the fact that visibility was around 20 yards, it didn't seem worth the view. And anyway, I was already making tentative plans on returning on either skies or snowshoes in a few months.

On a side note: these photos were shot with a lower end point and shoot, so if there is some quality missing compared to my normal photos that is why. The hike was too beautiful not to share photos of.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
The Good Life Photography

Garden of the Gods Climbing

There has been some serious lacking of climbing in my life recently. And as I was laying in my bed thinking about this, I realized that I never posted photos from climbing in the Garden of the Gods.

I knew there was some good climbing in Colorado, and I didn't know how to contact any of the other bike mechanics I was going to be there with. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to find an awesome climber, named Patrick, in the Colorado Springs area on Mountain Project. I met up with Patrick twice while staying in the Springs, and both times we climbed in Garden of the Gods, which is really an obvious choice for any sort of geophile. If you haven't seen my previous post from the Garden of the Gods, get there. One night we met up with two other climbers, and spent the last hours of sunlight bouldering. The second time we went out for the day, on a crazy busy weekend. I've never told some many people how I got the rope up there. We climbed on a pair of 35 foot spires that I could belay from a sidewalk, it was an interesting experience to say the least. On the opposite of the spectrum, we hiked a mere 100 yards from the road and climbed an adventurous 3 pitch climb, and I felt like I was in the Cochise back country. The place continued to amaze me, and I'd go back in a heart beat, but I'd probably aim for a weekday.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

Mountain Biking in Colorado Springs

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love anything that has to do with bikes. However, if you know me well, you know that I haven't done much mountain biking. But I wasn't about to let little things like experience and ability stop me from getting in on some great mountain biking with some great riders. Of course all but two of our group hadn't brought bikes with us, so it was 5 of us with bottom of the line GT Avalanche 3.0 rentals trying to keep up with a guy with a Santa Cruz full suspension monster. Let's just say the bikes weren't pretty when we dropped them off.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography

There aren't lifts on every downhill mountain in CO.

Helping a friend out on the last leg.

Red Rock Canyon double track.

Garden of the Gods single track.

Jeb on Lower Jacks

Pike's Peak

While in Colorado Springs I obviously had to take a trip to the top of Pike's Peak. As much as I hate the idea of roads that go to the tops of mountains, I will admit it was a good time. The landscape up there is other worldly, especially when you can't see the valley below. The treeless rocky environment seems to go on forever, until you drop low enough to get back into the pine trees.

Enjoy,
Tyler Gates
Good Life Photography