Dirk Collins

[dirkcollins]

For Black and White 3 of 5 we are going to the Amazon. After a morning of fishing in heavy rain, Amazon River boatman clean Black Piranha - the largest of the Piranha species. Life on the river revolves around a heavy diet of fish, with over 5500 species in the river system. The scene pictured is a few hundred miles up the Rio Negro River from the city of Manaus. The Rio Negro is the largest tributary to the Amazon and one of the ten largest rivers in the world. The amount of water in the Amazon is unfathomable. During the rainy season, sections of the Amazon swell to more than 30 miles wide and flooding in the greater Amazon basin covers an area larger than Alaska. While the Piranha are tasty, the locals say the fish illicit heavy dreams (which I can attest to). I nominate @robfrost to join the challenge.

[dirkcollins]

The original @travisrice Pass It On Board - #passitonprojct. A cool social art project started by @asymbol where Travis handed off his board to another rider and that rider hands it off to another rider and on and on. This board started in Jackson, made its way all over PNW, headed to Japan, made its way back to BC and then Alaska. I was in Girdwood and about to drive back to JH where I picked it up. This is somewhere along the Cassiar Highway en-route to Jackson. Once I returned the board in JH it continued onto Australia and New Zealand before Travis finally got it back. Pretty rad! If you are in Jackson stop by and see it on display at the Asymbol Gallery.

[dirkcollins]

With snow on the ground and six months of winter heading our way it is worth taking one last look at how epic summer was.

[dirkcollins]

In a blur summer is gone and winter will soon be upon us. @brittmumma enjoying the cold, wet weather of fall.

[dirkcollins]

It is an incredible world out there. Make sure to take time to actually stop and see it.

[dirkcollins]

The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has literal meaning: we are all in the same boat. Jacques Cousteau Troll Peninsula, Iceland

[dirkcollins]

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving. - Maurice Greene Après work trail run. Lake Como, MT.

[dirkcollins]

Without imagination there is not innovation. Without innovation there is not progression and without progression there is no invention. Looking forward, man is going to need a lot of imagination to solve the challenges we face.

[dirkcollins]

Tommy Clowers - @178tomcat -going huge in Green River, Utah back in 2007. This was the day before @rendawgfmx hit the infamous Green Thumb. I have had the pleasure to work with both of these guys over the years and they continually blow my mind with their skills on a dirt bike.

[dirkcollins]

Sunrise over Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park. "No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit." - Ansel Adams (at Grand Teton National Park)

[dirkcollins]

While winter is my favorite season without a doubt, fall in the Tetons is unbelievable. The temps are down, there is rain, sun, the leafs are changing and the tourists are starting to subside. Today was one of those days - cool temps, rain overnight and no one in the mountains. With these conditions it seemed like an awesome day to run from the @jacksonholemtnrst Tram to Jenny Lake along the Teton Crest Trail. For some reason I always think this is a pretty flat trail but it is not. However, it is one of the raddest trail runs around. Six and a half hours, 5000 vert and 27 miles later we hit the dock at Jenny Lake. A good day.

[dirkcollins]

Is there any thing better than hopping rocks at a high alpine lake? Not really. The miles of walking and 3000 vert of climbing are suddenly forgotten as the stark beauty and unforgettable memories become the payoff that will last a life time.

[dirkcollins]

Had the pleasure of running across the Tetons Sunday - Darby Canyon to Teton Village: a little over 20 miles, 6,000 feet of elevation gain in 5 and a half hours. Still feeling it a bit today! Pic by @brittmumma

[dirkcollins]

Paddle boarding from Russia to Alaska across the Bering Straight. The islands in the background are Big and Little Diomede. Big Diomede is in Russia and Little Diomede is in the US. This shot was taken a few miles after crossing the International Dateline (technically the paddle started tomorrow and ended today). Another interesting thing about this shot is how calm the water is. The Bering Straight is notoriously nasty and ripped by the wind and unsettled weather. Adding to the unsettled state are five major currents that race through the Straight with the tides as water dumps between the Bering and Chukchi Seas. There are only a few days a year when it is calm like this. The girl paddling is Sonja Baumstein, who became the first person to cross the Straight on a stand up paddle board.

[dirkcollins]

Took this photo last week flying into Anchorage. In the shot you can see the town of Whittier in the lower left corner along with the tunnel system that allows residents and visitors to move from the Tunragain Arm side of the mountains to the Prince William Sound side. In the center of the frame is Portage Glacier and Portage Lake. This is where it becomes interesting. In 1914 the glacier extended all the way to the end of the lake (the far right side of the photo). Since 1914 the glacier has retreated a distance of 5 kilometers. I like this shot because you can clearly see the distance the glacier has retreated - a stark reality shown in plain sight.

[dirkcollins]

Sand bars on the Rio Negro. To a large extent the Amazon River basin is completely incomprehensible; more species of plants and insects than any where on earth, over 4000 species of fish and during the rainy the season the area that floods is larger than the state of Alaska! The stats go on and on. Unfortunately, it is also being destroyed at an incredibly alarming rate. If you get the chance to visit, do. If you get the chance to help make a difference or spread the word, do. #oneeyedbird #epicquest #amazon #dosomething cc: @outsidetelevision @epicquest

[dirkcollins]

Miko at the helm, guiding us down the Rio Negro, while on location shooting for #EpicQuest. #oneeyedbird #amazon cc: @outsidetelevision