Violent storms roll across the Factory Butte landscape in Utah at the first light of dawn. The landscape portion was shot by a drone, while shooting long exposures with a ground based camera to capture the lightning bolts landing nearby

The fading twilight reflects in these California salt flats

Centuries of erosion create intricate patterns in the sandstone of Utah

Sunrise light bathes the Cascade mountain range in Oregon.

My friend David Thompson forgot the cord to his drone in the car. He didn't figure it out in time to shoot the soft light covering this scene so I gleefully had it all to myself

Patterns in a dry lake bed create beautiful shades and patterns in this desert area of Nevada

An aerial abstract image of the intricate patterns of an eroded wash in Arizona

Wild eroded sandstone patterns litter the high desert in the desert Southwestern region

Wild colors reflect the setting sun in these California salt flats

Scrub brush looks like thousands of jagged lightning strikes in this aerial abstract

Dawn light washes over intricate patterns carved into the desert of Utah

Beautiful lake area of interior Iceland shot from a doors-off helicopter flight

The fantastic rivers of interior Iceland on a frigid doors-off helicopter flight

The trees of Washington in autumn take on an entirely different flavor when viewed rom the air

Eons of erosion cause some wild scenes in a remote sandstone canyon of Utah

Miles from nowhere with no cell service and just cows for company, our rental car just shut down shortly before making this image. Ryan and I figured we were doomed anyway, so we might as well get a few shots before we went into a full panic

The textures and colors of this remote wash in Arizona are simply unbelievable when viewed from above.  As far as we know, Paul Rojas was the first to discover this area and kindly shared its wonders with David Thompson and I

First light begins to emerge over my beautiful home city of Portland, OR on a lovely spring morning