Kevin Harrington

I love this! It's absolutely beautiful. And after getting out to photograph my first meteor shower this weekend, I have even more respect for the work that goes into photos like this. The framing is wonderful with the alignment of the Joshua tree …

We eventually nailed the lighting. I gave the tree justice by featuring its beauty. The ancient bristlecones are the oldest living organisms on the planet. Their germination 5,000 years ago predates written language. These incredible trees have …

To my surprise, the clouds parted an hour later. I had to take advantage of the completely cloudless sky. It was a new moon at the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. And rain had just fallen which meant the smoke had been cleared out. Sleep didn't …

I sought the shelter of my tent. An isolated thunderstorm hit directly over our camp. The thunder rattled the trees like a gust of wind. The lightning was so close and so bright that the flashes woke me up. The light made its way through the rain …

This is at the end of our hike. There I am on the left. I was bummed that the weather was going to prevent us from seeing the stars later in the night. It was a quiet drive back to camp. PC: Alex Lin

My friend Alex shot a video of a lightning strike. Here's a frame he grabbed from the video.

At 13,000ft, thunderstorms were brewing. Rain started around sunset. Lightning was striking in the distance. Big mountains like the ones we were in are known to create their own weather. The chance of photographing a meteor shower was zero. And …

My border collie was ecstatic. Herding sheep was her calling. She sprinted around the outside of the fenced corral. The lack of oxygen at 12,500ft didn't phase her.

These sheep were part of some sort of clinical trial at the Barcroft Field Station. They were experiencing side effects of some experimental drug so humans won't have to. They were lethargic.

Dozens of researchers were hard at work. They invited us in. We got a rare glimpse inside the scientific laboratory. I knew medical history was made there like proving Ibuprofen prevents AMS and the clinical trials of Diamox, and I got to see where …

We reached the Barcroft Field Station: a massive 1940's quonset hut used to conduct high altitude experiments and clinical drug trials. Half the group were UC graduates, so they were stoked to see this sign.

The road is gated at 7 miles below the 14,252ft summit of White Mountain Peak. Vehicle travel above 12,000ft is prohibited to the general public. Driving offroad at these elevations can be quite dangerous. Brake fluid can boil resulting in complete …

At 11,500ft, the skies were clearing up. Cumulonimbus clouds mostly replaced the smoke. The road was ridden with jagged rocks, so we drove slowly to avoid tires popping.

I came to appreciate the existence of this strange mountain range as we drove higher on the one and only route: White Mountain Peak road. It is a shale-covered, barren land. The range was formerly ocean bed and now plateaus with docile peaks that …

The objective was to get above the smoke. The highest ancient bristlecone grove at 11,000ft was covered in a thick layer of smoke -- a huge bummer though I somewhat expected it given my analysis. My goal of using the trees to give my photos an …

Friday night was a bust, and we woke up the next day to smoke so thick that we couldn't even see across the 1-mile long Convict Lake. Saturday night was my last chance to capture the meteor shower, and I wasn't going to let smoke ruin my chances. I …

Thanks for the kind words! I have massive respect for the Meru team. Not only are they the world's finest artists and climbers, they're amazing storytellers. If there's anything I can learn from them, it's passion, determination, and drive. Having …

Has anyone ever seen scorpions in the Sierra / Inyo Valley area? I've spent so much of my life in this area, but I've never seen a single scorpion. I didn't even know they lived at this altitude, but on Friday night they were crawling the beaches …

> Grandview is quite popular this time of year. Indeed! We went back Saturday afternoon, and scored a spot! I was stoked we had site in the only campground in the range. Grandview's unique proximity to the ancient bristlecones and White Mountain …

We got to the beach with the columns. My plan was to light the columns from the inside with four headlamps I brought so it would look like some sort of natural interpretation of the Parthenon. I’d never seen so many bugs in my life. I couldn’t get …

The columns were 6 miles line of sight from our campsite. Last night, it took us 2 hours to get there. I pushed my Subie to the max, zig zagging through giant whoops three feet deep. Eventually a four foot rut emerged in the road. It wasn't worth …

Crowley Lake has these obscure stone columns that I thought would make a great foreground to fame the milky way. They are so otherworldly and very much un-photographed. Most people don’t know they exist and it’s really difficult to get to them. A …

We aimed to sleep at Grandview Campground last night to put us close to the ancient bristle cone pines today. But of course the first come first serve campsite was full. We found a spot at Convict Lake outside of Mammoth. The smoke was absolutely …

I plan to scout out locations today and tomorrow night to be the night I stay up really late shooting.

My biggest worry is that too much smoke will spoil the chance of seeing the meteor shower. Here’s the view from Alabama Hills, a couple hours from the destination. No smoke. Great sight of the Sierra. So far so good. I’m stoked.