Jon Fernsler
Explore
The Outdoors as inspiration, adventure and an escape
I am drawn towards exploring mountains, rivers and the ocean for many reasons including the raw beauty of the outdoors, challenging myself in physical and mental ways, and sharing meaningful experiences with my family and friends. However, what I didn't expect was that being outside has become the best and most consistent source of ideas for my scientific and creative projects. After the repetitive motion of my feet on a trail or the waves moving under my surfboard has progressed for some time, I find that ideas flood my brain and fuel my best understanding of my projects that I just can't get when sitting inside.
Surf
Mountains
Backpacking reminds me how rewarding difficult journeys can be. I love sharing these adventures with my family and friends.
Winter
Winter gets a bad reputation, but it's my favorite season. This is when the surf is the biggest and snow falls in the mountains. Winter camping, backcountry and resort snowboarding require a lot of preparation and resilience in the cold, but anticipation for these trips and the memories they make last me all year.
Winter camping with my son, Nash, on Glacier Point in Yosemite
Night
Much of my experimental research is about imaging tiny, dim materials. I recently turned that interest outward to imaging large, dim objects, like our Milky Way over mountain scenery. The center of our galaxy is peaking out from behind the mountain peak in the image below.
Star trails provide direct and beautiful evidence that our tiny planet is rotating on its journey through space.