Many people say they love nature photography. But how many people can tell you why one specific photograph makes them feel something when they scroll on their social media feeds? 📱

Photographer Jessica Fridrich shares her journey into the love for one of the greatest artists of all time: nature. Drawing on her inspirations and on some of the most renowned natural locations in the American Southwest, such as the Paria Plateau and the Vermilion Cliffs region, Jessica shares what motivated her to start hiking with purpose rather than simply taking photographs of her adventures. 📷

In this episode, Jessica shares the importance of asking the right questions before taking a photograph, crafting a story within your photo, and using lighting effectively. She explores some of her favorite techniques for getting the perfect lighting for her landscapes, such as her love for special light, taking the same location 20 or 30 times to perfect the lighting, and her preference for golden hour, blue hour, moonlight, and even night photography techniques such as long exposure and light painting - without the use of heavy Photoshop fixes. 🖊️

She also shares some of the preparations that go into her most well-known astrophotography time-lapses, including her visit to The Wave in the American Southwest. Hear about the permits to enter The Wave, some of the challenges of photographing The Wave during the night with the Milky Way in the sky, and some of the challenges of the desert landscape that most people do not see in the final print of her photographs. Jessica also shares some of her next travel goals for the planet, including her dream of capturing the northern lights in Arizona’s White Pocket area. 🌌

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“Rather than taking pictures while hiking, to hike to take pictures.”

Photographer Jessica Fridrich shares how landscape photography became more than a hobby and turned into a completely different way of experiencing the outdoors. 📸

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A mural can be more than just a pretty backdrop for the city streets. But when the mural is four or five stories tall and features the face of one of the area's native animals, it’s likely to make people stop and consider the species and their place in the town's environment. 🎨

Alexandrea Pangburn is a mural and animal art artist who has dedicated her career to creating massive murals of animals that people end up feeling protective of. 👩‍🎨

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Alexandrea shares with us her journey from Kentucky to Colorado, the influence of the Western landscape on her art career, and her unique style that includes realistic depictions of animals with retro 1970s color palettes and an understanding of the way sunlight plays on the animals’ coats. 🖼️

Alexandrea also shares the challenges of working outdoors in the heat and with the weather, her tools of choice, the differences between gallery art and mural art, and the various mural commission requests that she has received throughout the years. 🌱

Alexandrea shares how she captures the essence of her pet portraits by focusing on their eyes to depict their personalities and to release the emotions that come from the passing of these beloved companions. 🐶

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Nature is closer than we think 🌿

“I want people to be able to see the beauty and the details of the animals and plants that live among them.”

Alexandrea Pangburn, muralist and animal realism artist, shares how her work brings attention to the natural world around us.

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While managing spent fuel from current commercial reactors is a major concern for nuclear engineers today, one question remains about nuclear energy, SMRs, and next-gen reactors: where does spent fuel go long term? Rod Baltzer from Deep Isolation explores how spent fuel can be placed about a mile below the surface into deep boreholes using directional drilling techniques. ☢️

Spent fuel from commercial reactors is dangerous because of the radioactive decay of the nuclear material. While storing spent fuel is important, it is not the same as permanently disposing of it. Deep geological deposits and long-term safety of the spent fuel will keep the potential impact on the surface to a minimum. However, a significant portion of the population already lives near stored spent fuel nuclear waste. Yet, if spent fuel can be stored beneath ground where spent nuclear waste already exists, people’s perspective on the issue will change. ⚡

Discussing the technical details of this process, the discussion also covers the specifics of the canister that will contain the spent fuel. Furthermore, nuclear quality assurance will be essential for the transportation and storage of spent fuel. Finally, Baltzer discusses what an early commercial facility will look like and why the speed of SMRs and next-gen reactors could be the key to solving the issue of spent nuclear fuel waste. 🌎

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“Nuclear waste is handled and transported and stored very safely… but it is very radioactive.”

Rod Baltzer, CEO of Deep Isolation, explains why long-term storage still matters, and how his team is approaching it differently.

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