My last formal post here was a review of 2018's images. Where has the time gone?
In 2020, I made a quick trip to the southwest to fulfill a long-wanted goal of hiking The Narrows from top to bottom. After my buddy and I got lost finding the trailhead (don't rely on Google Maps if you go!), we set out on a two day trek down the river. The combination of a heavy pack with camping equipment, uneven ground, and just plain cold water made for a strenuous, but very rewarding, couple of days. I don't think we saw another person until we got well beyond Big Springs. Sleeping on the banks of the Virgin River with only the sounds of the flowing water is an experience I will never forget.
From there we spent a night at high altitude in the Great Basin wilderness amongst a grove of gnarly bristlecones.
2021 brought me to Alaska twice. The first trip in the winter was to the Denali and Church ranges, and I went back in the summer on an expedition trip to the wilderness of the eastern Alaska range with Marc Adamus scouting for future trips. Those of you who know him have likely heard how he lost his footing on a moraine and dislocated his shoulder. He had to be medivac'd out by helicopter to have surgery and unfortunately was not able to complete the trip. I and a few friends stayed out there for the week, and it was quite a beautiful and remote area that few have visited. Some images were captured in -25F in the low valleys to 70F at 4500 feet in the middle of summer. We shot from a helicopter, seaplane and on the land: snowy landscapes with trees covered in hoar frost, icy glaciers, mountains rising above the clouds, and wildflower laden valley.
In 2022 I went back to the familiar (but entirely different from Alaska!) Southwest. Its always been one of my favorite lands to explore. I have been many times, and always find something different. This time I covered almost 3000 miles in a week, chasing weather patterns and returning to the same locations more than once to get the best light. This time, with a drone, some of the perspectives were entirely new.
Which brings me up to right about now. Earlier this month I spent some time in the Canadian Rockies during the peak of fall color. The Canadian Rockies are at least partly responsible for my enthusiasm for photography. I last visited in 2005 with my wife, a Canon film camera and Sony point-and-shoot. The parks were different back then... I remember going before dawn to the shores of Moraine Lake to watch the sunrise. We were the only ones there for at least an hour. Almost 20 years later, the park has certainly changed, but the Canadian Rockies still have a beauty all their own.
The last image, "Illusion," is one of my favorite photographs ever taken. You have to look at it for a minute, though. I came to this area along a small glacial lake initially looking to photograph water patterns, or clouds and mist clearing from some of the nearby peaks. Instead, I just happened to notice what was one of the most interesting scenes I've ever seen. The rain had caused some leaves at their peak of fall color to fall into the shallow waters of this lake. The patters in the sand and turquoise blue water offered the perfect complements. I used a polarizing filter to cut the glare... this entire scene, including the leaves, is underwater...
Once again, I apologize for my recent absence on this platform. I don't spend a whole lot of effort on social media, but I do post periodically in
Instagram. My most up-to-date portfolio is and will always be on my
website.
Wishing you the best for years to come, and good light!
Chris
www.ExploringLight.com
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