Landscapes

Fading Footprints

I watched as the sun slowly set behind the distant dunes and as my footprints slowly faded away into the sand; wind wiping away memories just as the sun wiped away the day, setting up for a new dawn, a new beginning amidst the mighty dunes of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in CO.

As I reflect upon the year that is almost ending, this image seemed an apt metaphor for the multitude of events that happened this year. And just as the sun set on that day, so it will on this year. And just as the footsteps were erased by the wind, the canvas will be wiped clean for the next year, a canvas where we can forge new stories and new experiences.

In the last remaining month of the year, lets take a moment to remember the defining moments, and carry over the learnings to the future.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

CO USA

Memories of Summer

I peered over the edge, nervously balancing my tripod. It was a long way down, and I couldn't afford to slip, even as I was hurrying to catch the last of the sunset colors. My heart was still rushing from the nerve-wracking drive to catch this sunset, and with the sky turning a vibrant crimson on the western side, it was not going to slow down anytime soon.

Palouse falls was just as I had remembered it. I had visited this amazing destination many years ago, at the time it was just starting to get well known. The cavernous canyon formed by the waterfall cuts through the bedrock as it makes it way downstream is a sight to behold. And the roar of the waterfall is certainly unforgettable

As the sun descended on the horizon behind me that day, the clouds lit up, the colors reflecting gently on the winding river below. I paused for a moment, trying to soak in the sights and the sounds, know that it will be a while before I return back here. With the Pacific Northwest getting ready for a cold and dark winter, memories like these keep me going until the next summer.

Palouse Falls State Park

WA USA

Blues of Mt Rainier

I turned my head east, into the glowing orb of the sun. A silhouette of endless peaks beckoned. Mountaintops were lit bright, while shadows stretched deep into the dark misty valleys below. This was a blue sunrise at Mt Rainier

I had arrived at that lookout point at dawn, hoping to capture sunrise lighting the imposing massif of Mt Rainier. As the deep whites of the glacier-capped Mt Rainier cycled through a vibrant scarlet, lush orange, and bright yellows, I became completely engrossed in shooting the light unfolding in front of me. And I had completely ignored the blue silhouette of endless peaks forming behind me. Until I turned my head east.

From atop this peak, I circled round and round: the massif of Mt Rainier on the west, the distant glowing summit of Mt Adams to the south, an unending series of blue mountain ranges on the east, the glacial summits of Mt Baker and Glacier peak to the north. Nowhere else could one be treated to such a noble sunrise vista.

Mt Rainier National Park

WA USA

,

When in New Hampshire

,

The weather forecast called for partly cloudy skies with pleasant conditions. But where I was, standing in freezing rain and overcast conditions, the sky clearly hadn't gotten that forecast. But all that didn't matter, for what I was seeing was a sublime fall scenery in the heart of New England.

Standing atop Artist's Bluff in Franconia notch that foggy morning, a carpet of gold stretched in all directions, carpeting the Appalachian range. The twin lanes of the Franconia Notch Parkway stretched into the horizon, bordering a still lake reflecting the golden hues.

Immersed in the tranquil scene, I momentarily forgot about the freezing winds and sleet as I rushed the bluff. Until I stopped shooting.

I wanted to stay and soak in the colors, but there was terrain to cover. And I was glad to leave the frozen bluff that beautiful morning.

Franconia Notch State Park

NH USA

Last of Summer

The trail kept climbing on. Along a narrow tree-lined cliff, up a steep grassy ridge, and onto a rocky scree at the lip of a receding glacier a couple of thousand feet above. It was not a sprint; it was a long marathon. I would have given up were it not for the jaw-dropping mountainscape opening up the more I climbed.

It was late afternoon by the time I got to the glacier. Endless vistas of jagged peaks stretched into the blue horizon. The stalwarts of the North Cascades - Mt Baker, Mt Rainier, and Glacier Peak, all made their exalted appearance. It was landscape that made me wish I could spend the night amidst the mountains so close to the stars. But what goes up must come down.

This was taken on the way down, just as the sun was starting to disappear behind the jagged edge, highlighting the fall landscape in the high sub-alpine terrain of the North Cascades

North Cascades National Park

WA USA

Alpenglow at Rainier

I opened my eyes to a loud alarm. It blinked 4am.

I was dazed, a light hangover persisting from last night, and wondering why I had set the alarm so early?

Then it all came back. Sunrise at Mt Rainier. My date was at 7:30am. It is a 2hr drive and a 45min hike to get to the viewpoint. And it was the last weekend before the road closed for the winter.

...

The smooth pavement stretched into the fog, winding between ranches and forests heading into the black unknowns. I didn't even have time for coffee. It was pure determination to capture this that kept me going.

...

Mt Rainier was glowing in an ethereal pre-dawn light. I was still a mile away from the viewpoint, hiking as fast as my legs could carry me. Another 15 minutes.

...

The Belt of Venus slowly dipped into the horizon: a band of pink and blue curving over the western horizon: earth's shadow casted into the sky. And as it descended, the tip of Rainier was glowing pink, matching the color of the sky beyond. I was all alone atop this viewpoint, enjoying Nature's spectacle

Mt Rainier National Park

WA USA

Country Roads of Vermont

I was driving along a winding country road in search of that elusive farm, up and over rocky ridges, across green grass valleys, cutting through gurgling brooks and rustling forests. The view changed with each bend: glorious fall foliage replaced by rustic farmhouses replaced by mirror-like ponds replaced by hardy livestock. I had transported to a Jane Austen countryside.

And even though I was kicking myself for not having a more accurate map, I was enjoying every moment being lost in the beautiful Vermont landscape going through the last of its fall colors. I eventually did find the working farm - a plethora of cars and photographers waiting for the perfect spot and the perfect light gave it away.

Here is that famous farmhouse in the heart of Vermont's English countryside donning the colors on the eave of autumn.

Woodstock

VT USA

Gold Rush

The morning sun shone through the dense conifers, a warm respite on that freezing morning. The 50s when I had left home at dawn had dropped to freezing, an unnerving temperature drop. I continued climbing, hoping to find the promised larches.

I was hiking up the Blue Lakes trail in the eastern side of North Cascades. Having missed the opportunity last year to capture the golden larches, this year, I was determined not to. And that determination motivated me to do the 3 hour drive to the cold reaches of Cascadia the past weekend. And hike in search of larches.

And they were waiting. Golden larches glowing in that morning sun along the shores of the glistening alpine lake against the backdrop of the lightly-dusted Cascades and a window of blue skies. A photographer's Gold Rush

Okanogan National Forest

WA USA

Gazing into the Mist

I stood along the edge of a steep rocky trail, gazing at the mystic valley that had opened up in front of me. Low-hanging clouds hugged the cliffs, now decorated with the eye-popping yellows of fall. They moved slowly, an ever-changing vista of greys, greens and golds.

A window appeared in the fog, a grey void revealing an avalanche chute that cut through a steep rocky cliffs. A thin mist hovered above those cliffs, lending an ethereal aura to the cold damp day. And just as soon as it had opened up, it closed again, the fog taking back its domain

As I immersed myself in this ephemeral beauty in Olympic National Park, a voice trailed in the background: "As I stood along the edge of a steep rocky trail.....", a fellow hiker echoing my thoughts.

Olympic National Park

WA USA

Coastal Sunsets

It was a cold damp day along the coast. The sun had played hide-and-seek throughout the day, light beams raining on the seaside. But the weather had been so tumultuous on this rocky bit of the California shore that I had half expected another grey winter sunset. It was going to be a moody yet beautiful evening.

Light had all but gone, and I was ready to pack up and leave, but the clouds beckoned to me. It showed a tinge of color on its fringes, a bat-signal to landscape photographers. And as I waited, more of its friends joined in the fray, until the whole sky was a dance of light and color. The graceful pink above, and the stormy blues below, made for a delightful twilight.

Sea Ranch

CA USA