This silly gig won’t make you rich, but it affords one helluva view. Just ask birthday boy Jonathan Malat. That’s him and his sticks perched high above Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay, Minnesota – where he and the ridiculously gifted Boyd Huppert are putting together one of their Land of 10,000 Stories. They’re a towering pair, even without the added altitude. But trophies suck dust and the fanciest lanyards stiffen over time. Vistas like this, however, last forever. They fill the mind’s eye and keep old souls company long after bold shoulders molder. So the next time you perch upon a precipice in the name of news, soak in the moment, won’t you? They make up for that forest of podiums you hiked through, the press releases you rationed, that wildebeest you gored. If nothing else, know that your life behind the lens will make for a righteous highlight reel. Good luck playing it at the old photog’s home, though.

Those Minnesota cats hog up the machine.