I envisioned a dusty old lake, a few drying trees swaying in the wind, and a bare rocky terrain rising up from the basin getting backed in the hot Idaho sun. What I didn't expect was a placid gem of a lake nestled amidst granite monoliths towering over the alpine terrain. As I watched the jagged peaks of the Sawtooths catch the first light of the day, and captured in the mirror-like reflections on the still lake, I felt transported from the grounded imagination I had had to a scene far more memorable than what I had expected.
I felt a joy freezing a slice of time and preserving for eternity a moment that has probably been repeated for aeons.
Sawtooth Wilderness
ID USA
The Canyon Walk
The graceful red sandstone slot canyons of Antelope Canyon has always had a special draw, and a few years ago, I satiated my yearnings with a photography tour of these photogenic canyons. Photography the mid-day sun beams light up the canyon in a golden red glow is an experience like no other. So it saddened me to hear that photography tours have been stopped here. From a financial perspective, these photography tours paled in sales compared to the bread and butter tours that they run in the canyon, due to the smaller group size as well as interruption to the regular tours.
Antelope Canyon
AZ USA
One More Summer
As one more summer slowly transitions to fall, I have realized that, at least in the Pacific Northwest, I live for the bountiful summers. The short sweet summers abound with life and color, and more than make up for the dreary winters. Summers are when I seek out the mountains teeming with wildflower laden meadows, glistening alpine lakes, and snow-capped peaks.
We are halfway done now, and only a precious few more weeks remain for one more summer to be done.
Bridger Teton Wilderness
WY USA
An Ode to Memorable Sunsets
Lost, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.
As a photographer, seeking out the golden hour can mean the difference between being at the right place at the wrong time and the right place at the right time. Once sunset a couple of years ago, I found myself at the scenic Pacific coast of Nicaragua, far before the turmoil began there. I count myself lucky to have found one of the two golden hours.
Las Peñitas
Nicaragua
Diaorama in Nature
While hiking, I seek out not just the panoramic vistas of endless mountains. Granted, they are a big draw, but I sometimes stop for the small dioramas that I find in nature: a tiny cascade down moss-covered rocks, an assemblage of ferns and flowering plants, a tree nursery. They help find the beauty and a semblance of organization in the chaos of nature.
While hiking in the Olympics, I came across one such scene, and stopped to admire the gentle gurgling sound of water; it was the perfect place to catch a break on a 10-mile day.
Olympic National Park
WA USA
The Long Open Road
The housebound nature of life over the last few months has created a yearning for the long open road, traversing along mountains and through valleys, over deserts and across rivers. In moments like these, I look back to memories of past travels, including this vista of the rugged red sandstone hills of Capitol Reef National Park. By juxtaposing a lone campervan speeding away from where I was, helped add a sense of scale to the vastness of the landscape all around.
Capitol Reef National Park
UT USA
Nostalgia on the Wine Route
Sunlight had yet to reach the narrow deserted alleys of Eguisheim in the early morning. But the pastel-colored timber-framed houses dating to the middle ages still glowed brightly. This early in the spring season, the houses looked bare without the baskets of petunias adding vibrancy to these inner streets. And yet, it was a pleasure to walk around and find this oft-painted location in this beautiful village along the Alsace Wine Route
Eguisheim
Alsace, France
Urban Jungle
The heart-throb of a vibrant urban jungle, which I tried to capture here, seems a far cry from the shutdown induced isolation. The bustling streets of Toronto, pulsing like arteries and veins, moving people and commerce all over the rectangular grid of the cityscape I visited a few years ago, seems a distant memory, representing a moment I may never get to revisit.
Toronto
Ontario Canada
Stretching the Stars
The pandemic does strange things to ones mind. I have spent many a dull moment cooped up indoors thinking what my past self was up to a year ago.
And this time, last year, I was up in the mountains of the French Alps, hiking a portion of the Tour du Mont Blanc, a famous hiking circuit that circumnavigates Mont Blanc on the border of France and Italy. Hiking up and down rugged mountain passes through glacial valleys and lush green meadows, and never far away from the jingle of a rustic cowbell, the trip will take a special place in my heart.
On this one rain-free night, I snuck out of the Rifugio to catch a catch a glimpse of a moonlit valley, with mellow clouds streaking above a windswept landscape of the Valley of Glaciers
Bourg St Mourice
France
Waiting for Showtime
The reflection was every bit as astounding as I had remembered it. My first visit to this location was nine years ago, a sunny evening where I rushed on the windy mountain highway to catch the last light. And my first sight of the glacier-capped Shuksan towering over the lake was sublime, and worth every bit of effort taken
This time, I ambled into the viewpoint with plenty of time to spare. While the reflection was amazing, the sublime light just wasn't there. I was, instead, rewarded with mobs of mosquitoes hanging on to every breath. I captured a few images at last light.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA