The sight of an ouzel always compels me to pause. I’m incapable of just walking by – they demand appreciation. They seem almost to be spirits of living waters as they bob on stones before diving in, whether it’s into a gently rippled alpine pond or a raging spring rapid.
Born in New Mexico, raised in Wyoming and Montana, the mountain west has always been my home. I come from mountaineering families on both sides: my maternal grandfather was a pioneering climber in the Sierra Nevada, while my father guided in the Tetons and climbed in China and Nepal. Both my parents guided for Outward Bound. I ran my first river at nine months old, and have been hiking and backpacking longer than I can remember. My other major influence has been my step-father, Stephen Bodio, a nature writer, falconer and traveler, and as fine a family member as I could hope to have.
I studied black and white photography in high school, under an excellent teacher, but failed to apply myself. After high school, I began guiding for ARTA River Trips, and my interest in photography gradually rekindled as I endeavored to share with friends and family my work in the finest landscapes of the American West. Meanwhile, I studied classical literature, philosophy and history of mathematics at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 2005. I am currently living with my wife and son in Deep Springs Valley on the Nevada-California border.
Photographically, I travel light and prefer to shoot off pavement and explore unknown locations. My favorite landscapes include the unknown expanses and little-visited mountains of rural New Mexico, the canyons of Dinosaur National Monument, and the vast wilderness of Central Idaho. I have also been fortunate enough to travel in Turkey and Mongolia, and can’t wait to do more.
Contact: frishmanphoto@gmail.com
Crest, Cliff & Canyon
Interesting! Is this Cinclus mexicanus? I was only familiar with the Ouzels in Europe (German “Amsel”, which even sounds similar to Ouzel).
Yes, Cinclus mexicanus. “American dipper” is probably the more technically correct common name, but people in the West commonly call them ouzels or water ouzels. I can think of at least one toponym that shares the name as well (Ouzel rapid on the Middle Fork of the Salmon). It’s certainly my primary, first-to-mind word for them.
I just looked up “ouzel” and they are a type of thrush. Here in Iceland, the Redwing thrushes will descend soon by the thousands for their autumnal feeding on rowan berries.