Datura Photography

Photography of J.R. Robinson

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Oct. 2018 - The Enchantments: The Core Zone

Oct. 2018 – The Enchantments: The Core Zone

Time was against me as soon as I reached the summit of Asgard Pass.  Already six hours into my Enchantments Death March, I still had 13-14 miles to go and only seven hours of usable daylight remaining to me.  Normally, I’d have no trouble making the mileage, but the amount of time it had taken me to get up to the pass was already telling me that this was no normal trail.  I didn’t know what was…

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Oct. 2018 - The Enchantments: Asgard Pass

Oct. 2018 – The Enchantments: Asgard Pass

For the past three years living in Washington, I’d heard stories about the Enchantment Lakes Basin hike in the Central Cascades, a difficult, permit-only traverse through some of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness’ most spectacular scenery.  The stories I’d heard tended to go along similar lines, it was brutal but beautiful, and due to the National Forest Service’s restrictions on access, almost…

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Portugal, 2017: Lost on a Layover in Lisbon

Portugal, 2017: Lost on a Layover in Lisbon

It’s a strange feeling stepping off a plane into a place you have no knowledge of and even less of an idea of where to go.  I had not planned for Lisbon, though I knew I would be having an eight hour layover in the Portuguese capitol, I was woefully under-researched on where to go or what to see.  I often prefer this method of wandering, walking into a new place and figuring it out as I go, but…

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Mar. 2018 - Saguaro National Park

Mar. 2018 – Saguaro National Park

Sentinels on the Wash Saguaro Skyline Pictographs on Signal Hill Fishhook Barrel and Ocotillo Lineup Tucson Sunset Sunset Sword Saguaro Sunset Late Flare Desert Sky Enter a caption Last Light on Saguaro Evening in the Desert Twilight in Tucson First Light in the Desert Saguaro Sunrise Morning in the Cactus Forest Light Grows in the East Saguaro Ribs Octopus Saguaro Symmetrical Sentinel Broken…

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Already missing the desert. Thank you @cheerssusan for letting me spoil you all weekend for your birthday. #arizona #tucson #az365 #visitarizona #arizonahiking #hikeaz #explorearizona #saguaronationalpark #tucson #sunset #desert #sonoran #americansouthwest #wanderlust #landofthesun #cactus #nps #ourpubliclands #getoutside #getoutstayout #reiemployee #optoutside #nobuts (at Saguaro National Park)

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Mar. 2018 - Olympic National Park

Mar. 2018 – Olympic National Park

Tree Cave Kalaloch Beach Beneath the Roots   Amongst the Driftwood     Old Root Bed     Ruby Beach     Ghost Water     Eye of the Driftwood     Window on Rialto Beach     Cairns at the Beach     Skeletal Driftwood     Starburst     Golden Hour at Second Beach       Inferno       Second Beach Sunset     Sea Fog       Magic Hour       Apocalypse     Veins in the Sand     Second Beach     Twilight…

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Upstate New York, 2017: You Can't Always Go Home

New blog post about my trip back to my childhood home in Upstate New York is up! Check it out

I grew up all over the place.  As the son of a University Professor, I’ve often likened my experience growing up to that of a so-called army-brat.  From 5th grade through 9th grade, I was in a different school each year.  Friends came and went, and the only constant was my family.  It drew us together, but it made it hard for me to think of a specific place as home.  Home became the place where I…

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Sleep Deprived in the City That Never Sleeps

New blog, new blog post! Retracing some steps from 2017, starting with revisiting NYC!

Freedom in the Clouds When I first set out in April of 2017 on my pilgrimage through Europe, I didn’t really know where the journey would lead me.  I had planned minimally, knowing barely more than my general route and a smattering of language learned through an app on my phone, enough, in my mind, to get me by for three months in a foreign land.  I left my home in Washington state with a series…

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11/2017: Mt. St. Helens St. Helens From the Hummocks 

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Ciao Italia!

When I set out on this half-baked idea of a pilgrimage through Europe, I had every intention of doing a lot more writing about my experience, but long days of hiking and wandering the cities of Italy have made me realize that the majority of my writing about this trip will have to take place after the fact, once I’ve returned home and am able to digest the enormity of what I’ve seen. The Roman…

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Why National Monuments are Worth Fighting For #monumentsforall #bearsears #notmypresident #nps

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Two years ago today I was hauling my sorry ass out of Hauser Creek with no water and even less sense, tying a ribbon on my first full day on the Pacific Crest Trail. . I had no idea how far my journey would take me away from the life I knew in Los Angeles, and still don't, as I prepare to embark on my next long distance hike. Although I left the trail in 2015, in many ways I've never left, and my heart still lives on those sunbaked mountains in Southern California. Tonight I'll raise a tall glass of water to my memories of the SoCal desert and the long walk that made me appreciate water that much more. . Good luck to this year's herd, May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. Saluti i pellegrini! . . #pctig #pct2015 #pct2017 #pacificcresttrail #hausercreek #hausercanyon #campo #lakemorena #desert #sunset #trailiversary #memories #lookingback #lookingforward #pellegrino #peregrine #pilgrimage #longdistancehiking #backpacking #cheers #hiking (at Campo, California)

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Io Sono un Pellegrino

Io Sono un Pellegrino

When I was a kid, my favorite animals were always the fastest, the cheetah on land, the mako shark in the sea, the peregrine falcon in the air.  The falcon in particular always captivated me, the fastest living creature on earth, a perfect evolution of form and function, the epitome of the things I found fascinating as a child.  I had a book, I remember, a bird book given to me by my dad, and I…

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A Definition of Wandering

A Definition of Wandering

It’s been a while since I’ve written on this blog, as the distractions of life have gotten in the way of a lot of my focus on keeping this updated.  But I figured today was as good a day as any to get back in the swing of things, as I now sit one month away from my next big adventure, one that in many ways is even bigger than my Pacific Crest Trail hike in 2015. I wanted to come back and start up…

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I'm drunk with power... #sawyer #reiemployee #rei #staffpick #sawyermini #availableforsponsorship #youcandrinkoutofit #itstrue (at REI)

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My trip down the Oregon Coast was only a week ago, but I'm already jonesing for another coastal exploration...so many perfect moments like this just waiting to be captured... #oregoncoast #newport #lighthouse #yaquinahead #yaquinaheadlighthouse #oregon #ocean #sunset #coastal #exploreoregon #exploregon #perfectmoment (at Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon)

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Thor's Well was my main target in my recent photography run down the Oregon Coast, and boy did it not disappoint. True, I got slammed by several waves and soaked, but got this shot and several others as a reward. I'll definitely be coming back another time for sunset or star photos, really a special little place. #capeperpetua #thorswell #oregon #oregoncoast #coast #sinkhole #pacificcoast #pacific #vieworegon #exploregon #exploreoregon #labordayfun #longexposure #blackandwhite (at Thor's Well, Cape Perpetua, Or)