Adventures of 2025 in Images

Still far from complete but I feel like this is the bulk of what I'll post for now. Keep in mind I've added photos all the years in review from 2008-2024 over the last few months, so the album with never truly be finished. But either way, enjoy a little slice of my adventures in 2025!

Direct link to the Flickr album can be found here: 2025 in Images or you can click the highlighted links below each photo on the photo collage to see full size individual images. Order is left to right, top to bottom. So 1-5 is top row, 5-10 is the second row and so on.

1. Marshall on Hurricane, 2. Skiing with Marshall, 3. Deore Purgatory, 4. All That the Light Touches Is Yours..., 5. Love, 6. Moose River Madness, 7. Marsh and Sen, 8. Enjoying the Campfire, 9. Seneca Falls, NY -Cayuga-Seneca Canal, 10. Buc-ee's, 11. Ouachita Trail Single Track, 12. My name is Marshall..., 13. November 2025, 14. Memphis Zoo, 15. Memphis Zoo, 16. Finger Lakes - Erie Canal Trail Bike Tour, 17. Sweet Relief, 18. I'll Always Rembember Us This Way, 19. Erie Canal Bicentennial Bike Tour, 20. Mid-fat at the Lake, 21. Bikewhat....?, 22. Spring on the Erie Canal Trail - New York, 23. Marsh on Moonshine, 24. Seneca, 25. Preview to Heart of the Finger Lakes Bike touring, 26. Looking out at 2026...Let's Roll!, 27. Breaking Away, 28. The Road to Paradox, 29. Autumn sunset on Blue Mountain, 30. Mashall backpacking in the Adirondacks

1. October Roads, 2. Autumn bikepacking in the Adirondacks, 3. Autumn at the Lake, 4. 1991 Trek Multitrack 7900 on the Erie Canal, 5. Transition season in the Keene Valley -Adirondacks, NY, 6. Cup of Contemplation, 7. Adirondack Autumn Views, 8. Big Wheels Keep On Turning, 9. Camping with Dogs: Seneca, 10. The Road to Paradox Panorama, 11. Sun Beams Over the Northern Adirondacks Descending Haystack Mountain, 12. Adirondack Groads: Gravel bikepacking in the Northwest Adirondacks, 13. Aim and the Marshmallow Man, 14. Gully Piton, 15. Grass River Revival, 16. BCXC In the Western Adirondacks, 17. The Pyramid, 18. Father and Daughter, 19. Oooops.....!!!! (WATERSHED BREWING - GENEVA, NY), 20. Marshall and crew on the Crows, 21. Mountain Biking Vermont: Green Mountains Fall Foliage at Sunset, 22. Rollin out, 23. Sunset snowshoeing at Moreau, 24. Descending Sugar Hill into Watkins Glen, 25. Bikepacking: Hector Falls - Hector, NY, 26. Crooked Lake Ice Cream Company - Hammondsport, NY, 27. I Love New York - bike touring / bikepacking edition, 28. Ski Trail, 29. Overwatch: Backpacking in the Adirondacks, 30. Sunset after glow over the Northern Adirondacks (panorama)

Adventures of 2025 in Images

^^^^^Click through the album to see all the 2025 images^^^^

 

Far from a finished product, this is the most images I've uploaded in a year for quite a few years. 

I like to sort of leave the bulk editing to the shoulder seasons when things settle down for a little bit most years. Some years Nov-Dec is more active than others, but typically my winter doesn't start until January, giving me plenty of time to get photos sorted, culled, processed and uploaded.

Looking forward to filling this out a little more as the dead period between seasons seems to be coming to an end with this weekends storm. 

Have a happy and adventure filled 2026!

Going mirrorless in the mountains of New Zealand!

Some time ago I wrote a rather lengthy and extensive review of the Samsung TL500/EX1. Though the review covers the history behind selecting this camera, it all boiled down to having something that almost fits into a pocket but produces professional quality imaging. This sort of camera isn't quite ready to replace a larger SLR system in utility or image quality, but it will go places an SLR probably won't and gives every photographer another weapon in the arsenal.

Having the camera now for 5 months, I am always pleased with the output, even when testing the technological bounds of the TL500. So upon seeing some skiing videos that used the TL500 and NX10, I was glad to learn the Samsung TL500 was in fact being used in professional settings for the purposes I originally envisioned a camera like this.




Some images I've shot with the TL500 (EX1) can be found here:





The full review of the EX1 / TL500 can be found here at Enticing The Light. Not recommended reading for the casual photographer or snap shooter, but certainly the sort of review that will leave you without surprises when Amazon delivers it to your doorstep!

What I can add post review is that this camera has performed admirably in all sorts of weather for me so far. From 90 degree sunny days to -10F winter days. Coupled with a Lowe Pro Terraclime 30 case, it is really just shy of the ultimate on the go compact that pretty much leaves you without an excuse to come home with a shot or two. Besides a few software updates, I'd have weather sealed it to make it the perfect on the go professional grade compact. Inclusive of those minor issues, it's a joy to use outdoors and enables me to get more than web quality snapshots when I don't want to (or can't) carry an SLR!

A little more fun from the New Zealand shoot with some really insane skiing (some of us would just be happy to be able to turn in both directions when needed, this is just insane!)...

Happy first day of Winter!

Via our friends at the Green Mountain National Forest and Vermont State Parks!

 

Just a friendly reminder that it's officially the hap-happiest season of all! Yep, the most wonderful time of the year is here!

Time to get frostbite, hypothermia, be blown off ridges, plummet down icy slopes, and cover those exposed bits of skin from hurricane force winds and sub-zero temps.

Brrr!!!!

Proof that you don't have to love winter to really love winter!

So break out the skis, snowshoes, crampons, ice axes, goggles, toboggans, ice houses, mittens, balaclavas, full Gore-Tex hard shell and get outside. Before you know it you'll be seeing trees of green and red roses too, and that my friends is not a wonderful world!

(you know you already have it playing in your head) Now sing it with me...

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When love ones are near
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time
It's the most wonderful time of the year

Star Trails and Ski Trails, Night Skiing Under The Stars

For the winter solstice, the first night of winter, I set out to do two things:

1) Ski (duh) on the 2 feet of fresh powder. First time skiing this year, and a rarity to have actual powder and not at least heavy wet snow, if not worse. Plus, I was one of the first tracks, so it hadn't iced up yet!

2) Photography, but there is nothing like messing with wireless flashes multiple tripods/light stands, in 30mph wind gust, and 15F temps. Suffice to say direct flash WAS NOT in the plans. My idea was to have myself back lit with a wireless flash in front of me, with the spill off the snow further illuminating me. The long exposure was supposed to get the star trails.

As you've finally figured out, months or years into reading the Mountain Visions blog and photo captions, things ALWAYS go wrong. It's not that I have bad luck, actually, I find things tend to work out pretty well for me overall. It's just that it's a roller coaster of good and bad, and I'd prefer to have a more boring life!

So what went wrong:

1) In the cold the cheap Ebay triggers don't fire. Not even point blank range unless I warmed them first. In fairness the batteries are 2 years old, and they were in the cold for 30 minutes before I set up. However, blame goes to me for using the Ebay triggers and not the Elinchron Skyports I have sitting charged up on the desk next to me.

Unfortunately, the Ebay triggers (Gadget Infinity) come with a hot shoe mounting bracket, and I could not find my hot shoe bracket for the Skyports! So I could have taken the Sky ports, and used the Gadget Infinity triggers as stands, but hooked the skyports up to the sync socket! (If I lost you, don't worry).

2) The wind. Even if everything worked as planned a camera on a tripod is not going to stay still for 10-30 seconds in the 30mph wind gust. It was bad enough I was waiting for my flash to blow down into the frozen water during a few gust

3) I'm not wuss, but it was cold out in the open at Vischer Ferry Preserve. I was between two levees or something on the Old Mohawk River Canal system, which is right next to the New Mohawk River Canal, but the problem was the open ice funneled the wind. I chose that spot because it gave me a clear run to ski on, and also a clear shot of the sky (although facing the wrong direction, south towards Albany and it's inherent light pollution).

4) The sky wasn't perfectly clear. It was in and out of light cloud cover. So despite 10 attempts the only good star trail shot was just ok once blur and light pollution were factored in.

So what did I learn:

1) Battery operated stuff sucks in the cold. And that the cheaper the electronics the worse the problems. My Canon G3 was just fine in the 30 minutes I was setting up and shooting, the Vivitar 285HV and it's batteries were fine as well. Only the wireless flash triggers had issues.

2) When you have a $200 pair of wireless flash sync transmitters at home, don't take the cheap $40 Ebay triggers that you got prior to the good stuff.

3) Leave camera, and multiple tripods in car when wind is gusting to 30mph, go skiing and come back another night when it's less windy for the photography portion

4) Albany/Saratoga/Niskayuna are not quite the sticks that my brother makes them out to be. Yes we are a lot closer to the best weekend wilderness in the country, but we have a fair amount of light pollution 5 minutes from home...Of course, 1-2 hours north is the best star gazing in all of New York State.

5) Night skiing is the best. Had the place to myself as always, aside from a few snowmobilers who were on another trail. Between the wind and the snow muffling the sounds, it was eerily peaceful. I guess I'm nocturnal because I just prefer the night for most things including paddling, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, driving and photography.

Blogged with the Flock Browser