The hazy sunrise slowly transformed the landscape down below me. Caverns and canyons in the shadows became brighter, while the long shadows over farmsteads and tractors became shorter. We floated above this dreamy landscape, blissfully unaware of the civilization down below waking up and doing their morning chores. Instead, we focused on the beautiful patterns etched by the landscape becoming more sharp with the rising sun.
Such was the magic of floating into the sunrise in Cappadocia, where the dreams down below and reality up above merge at the hazy horizon.
Cappadocia
Turkey
Forgetting Winter
With 12hr+ days, we may be officially in Spring, but that doesn't mean winter weather isn't over yet in the Pacific Northwest. It will be a long time before the gleaming white snow capping the Cascades slowly melt away. And in the meanwhile, you can still get beautiful winter landscapes like these.
Which one do you prefer? 1 or 2?
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Three Faces of Badlands
Badlands might seem like a non-descript National Park marked in the middle of the map of the US. But enter it, and you are in a wonderland of strange formations with layers of yellow, brown and green and vast carpets of wildflowers punctuated by shiprock structures where wildlife roams. If anything, this place was the opposite of badlands.
I only had time for one night there and I could never get enough of the innumerable trails winding through the colorful canyons. I do hope I can return back once again and witness the march of the puffy white clouds across this strange and vast landscape in the middle of the country.
Badlands National Park
SD, USA
The High Atlas
The descent of winter onto the Pacific Northwest brings with it short gloomy days often accompanied by rain. This would have normally been the time to socialize indoors, but it is our duty to be responsible and reduce social interactions to slow down the spread of the pandemic gripping the nation. That, however, does not come without consequences.
To help ease the stress of the dark winters, I use my photography to escape to the furthest places I have photographed. This time around, I relived my memories from driving through the high Atlas mountains of Morocco. While spending a night in the rocky spine of Morocco, I found a vast windswept plain between Lac Islit and Tislit, two surreal bodies of water surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
Life is harsh in this area, and even the arrival of roads, motor vehicles, electricity, and the internet, have only slightly eased the difficulty of living here. Subsistence living with meager livestock still remains the predominant form of sustenance. Two donkeys from one such herd graze on the sparse vegetation in the high Atlas
Imilchil
Morocco
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
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
Winding down Summer
As the smoky summer slowly fades to a refreshing fall, I looked back on some of my favorite wilderness outings in the warm halcyon days in the past few weeks. Sunny weekends flew by as the snow melted off mountain tops, converting ski routes into hiking trails, creating space for trees to grow and flowers to bloom; mountaintops became more accessible, making for photogenic treks and indelible memories
This was one such short trek after a volunteering event with WTA, where I climbed up to an stunning overlook near Mt Baker. From atop here, endless mountain ranges carpeted by green conifers and punctuated by deep river valleys stretched in all directions, with the glacier-capped Mt Baker standing proud amidst the northern reaches of the North Cascades
Mt Baker Recreational Area
WA USA
Morning in the Mountains
It had been a miserable evening. The wind never stopped howling. The rain never stopped beating. The thunder never died. The cold penetrated to my bones. And the thin atmosphere at this high altitude left me bereft of sleep. And it was just the first night of my 7-day solo trek into the heart of the Sierra Nevada
By morning, it seems as though the skies above had forgotten the ferment of last night. Foreboding grey clouds were replaced with puffy whites taking on the golden orange from the rising sun. The winds had been swept away, leaving behind an alpine stillness. The thunder had been replaced with the sweet chirps of mountain birds.
I can never forget that serene sunrise where I had sat there by a tarn, reminiscing what I had been through, and the transformation of both the outside weather and rejuvenation of my inner spirits. This calm mountain morning and the glow of the sun were a kindle to my flustered mind. I was now ready for the next six days.
Kings Canyon National Park
CA USA
A land of contrasts
I looked up at the trail, now climbing steeply through a dense undergrowth. It wasn't supposed to be a very long hike, a paltry 3/4 of a mile. But it was tiring. The cloudless afternoon sky had left me hot and dry, and shade of the undergowth provided little respite against the afternoon heat.
It had been a long day, driving from the desert sand dunes of central Colorado, across the continental divide, to the crumpled geology of western Colorado, with over 5 hrs of sinuous highways surpassing 10000ft and grand views of the spine of the country. While the scenery was breath-taking, the thin air was taking my breath away. And by the time I had started my hike at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, my body was already shutting down.
The summit of the ridge beckoned, and I mustered every bit of energy to pull myself up the trail. And I was glad I did, for this was when the grand views of the Montrose basin and the San Juan mountains beyond.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
CO USA
An Unrivalled Vista
It was a beautiful sunrise - a speck of light peering through the distant mesas and buttes, lighting up the red underside rocks of the sandstone Mesa arch, hanging over a lip of one such steep mesa, with nothing but air between the arch and the floor a 1000ft below. And to capture this premier attraction, more than a dozen photographers had crowded around, jostling for the strategic position that get the perfect angle of light and shadow.
This image, however, is not your typical image from the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. I waited a while until the crowd cleared, and peered through the arch at the landscape that opened up in the light - an endless range of buttes and mesas rising up from the myriad formations on the floor 1500ft below. The play of shadow and light gave rise to strange silhouettes and bizarre vistas, a sight that was a delight to photograph. This is one such take on a unique vista in Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park
UT USA