landscape photography

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2022 Landscape Photography Calendar

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With the pandemic restricting travel, I focused my photography on the amazing landscapes in the northwest corner of this diverse country. See my favorites from the varied locations in the Pacific Northwest, from rugged mountains to temperate rain-forests, including all the three National Parks of Washington, and wilderness areas that line the Cascades. Experience diverse scenes from the rugged mountains to the wild coast of the Pacific Northwest, a true treasure of diverse landscapes.

And remember, this calendar is for a good cause - all proceeds will get donated to Sierra Club Foundation. We are gifted to have such amazing public lands, and having visited 52 National Parks and many more wilderness areas, I have come to realize the vital importance of our public lands system in protecting and preserving nature, culture, wildlife, and landscapes for the future. The Sierra Club Foundation helps secure protections for public lands and waters, promote healthy ecosystems and communities, and fight for clean air and water, and build a diverse, inclusive environmental movement that reflects and represents today’s American public, and prioritizes important connections between environmental health and social justice

You can purchase this colorful 2022 calendar here. Thank you in advance for your support

Lost in Badlands

I never really grasped the size and the sense of scale of the country while flying from coast to coast. It was during my two road trips across the nation that I really learnt to appreciate the vastness and dramatic diversity of the nation. From driving through the monotonous undulating cornfields of the Midwest to traversing the glacier-capped Rocky mountains, the spine of the country, each day presented unique stories and uncovered hidden gems.

Badlands National Park was one such gem. I really hadn't paid much attention to this park tucked along a long remote stretch of an interstate, until I actually drove past it. Curiosity soon got the better of me, and I snuck into the park to better appreciate this parks' unappreciated wonders. This one image captures the essence of it: strata of rock showing vast diversity in colors and patterns that I have not really seen anywhere else.

Badlands National Park
SD USA

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Calendar of 2021

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With the pandemic restricting travel in general in 2020, I focused my photography on the amazing landscapes in and around my home in the Pacific Northwest. And even when constrained to this rain-drenched corner of the country , I found so much diversity, from rugged mountains of the North Cascades to temperate rain-forests in the Olympic Peninsula, and from dry volcanic terrain at Mt St Helens, to the lush farmlands of the Palouse.

And all of these are public lands preserved under the auspices of the National and State Parks, Wilderness Areas and National Forests that cover vast swaths of the PNW. By limiting my travel to this home range, I have come to realize what a treasure this region has to offer. And I am sure such outdoor destinations all over the country, including the 61 National Parks, have been a welcome respite from the harsh realities of the pandemic.

Having visited 45 of those 61, I have come to realize the vital importance of our National Park system in protecting and preserving nature, culture, wildlife, and landscapes for the future. The National Park Foundation helps safeguard our national heritage, ensuring generations of national park enthusiasts can enjoy the parks we love. Hence, this year, I chose to raise funding for this amazing organization.

Purchase the 2021 Calendar, and support the National Park Foundation

Seattle

WA USA

Mountain Magic

The billowing clouds gathered moisture over the Pacific and moved inland, where it encountered the mighty peaks of the Sierras. Never before had it seen such a formidable foe blocking its path. But as it got closer, it realized the mountains needed help, needed rain.

And the clouds whispered to the mountains, you look a little parched, and then let loose a torrent of rain and snow into the freezing winds.

June Lake Loop
CA USA

The Singing Sands

From the distance, it just appeared as a mass of white in a scorched desert environment. Plants seem to have shied away from this natural bowl between two mountain ranges where this mass lay. And as I got closer, the discernible shape of dunes emerged out of this mass of white.

White Sands was a surreal place, where the pure white gypsum sand place tricks with your mind: it looked like snow, behaved like sand, and flowed like salt, and yet, it had all the characteristics of a regular sand dune. And when the winds picked up and whipped into a frenzy, the dust storm of white sand was like nothing else.

I am excited to be returning back to this amazing place. And while it was a National Monument then, it has since been upgraded to a National Park status. Hopefully that brings more attention to this unique corner of New Mexico

White Sands National Park
NM USA

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For Nature

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One of the many things that photography teaches me is a sense of love and respect for nature. And I strive to avail myself of the opportunities that allow me indulge in this love, as well as my passion for photography. This has taken me to diverse parts of the country, and explore the inner pockets of the Pacific Northwest. And wherever I go, I adhere to low-impact hiking by following Leave No Trace principles, and try to leave the place cleaner than when I arrived.

But one can only do so much. And that is why I believe in the work the various non-profit organizations around the country perform to preserve the present for the future. Join me in supporting the National Park Foundation and WildAid, two such non-profits whose missions I care about deeply.

Purchase my 2020 Photography Calendar here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sathish-jothikumar/2020-photography-calendar/calendar/product-24355024.html. Order now to receive by the New Year.

All proceeds go to the National Park Foundation and WildAid.

Seattle

WA

Land of diverse landscapes

I am excited to be going back to the dry deserts of Death Valley National Park after over 7 years. While the name conjures images of isolation and desolation, this place is anything but. It is a tumultuous landscape interspersed by dry salt lakes and towering mountains, where the sinuous curves of smooth sand dunes stand side by side with colorful jagged rock formations. It is a place where sunrises are magical, sunsets are spectacular, and where the night sky is sublime.

Looking at photos from a trip years past brought back many nostalgic memories of scurrying along dusty back roads and hiking in jaw-dropping terrain. This one is from a hike to Zabriskie point early one winter morning.

Death Valley National Park

CA USA

Memories of Spring

Every spring, the gold dry grass gets a fresh coat of lush green, the dull hazy sky turns a vibrant blue with puffy white clouds, and the smoky air is replaced by the heavenly smell of moist earth

Such is the magic of spring of rolling hills that dominate the topography of the East Bay, a transformation I looked forward to eagerly every year while I lived in California.

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve

CA USA

Cold Reflections

The silent shores of Lake Minnewanka were eerie on that cold dreary morning. The clouds sucked away the sunny disposition of the Rockies, leaving behind the still waters of the lake, with only the green conifers to give me company.

It was supposed to be colorful sunrise in the mighty Canadian Rockies, but with the sudden change of weather, I had to make a sudden change of plans, and I found myself shooting the ghostly cold shores of Lake Minnewanka.

Lake Minnewanka

AB Canada

White and Black

I stumbled through the soft snow to the frosty riverbank of the Merced river. The cold waters meandered glacially, it's still surface reflecting the winter landscape of Yosemite valley. Skeletons of trees hugged the icy shores, frostbitten remnants of a lush green summer. Tall dark conifers punctuated the landscape beyond, stalwarts of the polar temperatures. A moody grey sky completed the mood, with a thick mist dropping down to the treeline lending a mysterious aura.

This was one of my winter sojourns many winters ago in Yosemite National Park. It saddens me that such a beautiful treasure has to stay closed due to the shutdown. My thoughts go to the Park employees and Rangers.

Yosemite National Park

CA USA