The spring thaws in the mountains bring about unpredictable dangers in the mountains. The warming temperatures thin the ice on frozen lakes, while meltwater gushing under snowbridges start weakening them. Cornices and avalanche slabs start to lose their strength and easily give way under the weight of a backcountry skier. All of these make it more challenging to traverse snow-capped mountain ranges in this transitional period.
And just like this picture, while it may seem like a pristine winter wonderland, the hidden dangers lay beneath the surface during spring.
Inyo National Forest
CA USA
Kiwi-scapes
Even though my Kiwi adventure was many years ago, it happened right around the time my fascination for the tales of Middle earth were peaking. Being able to visit many places popularized by the LOTR movies was a dream come true. I was absolutely impressed by the scale of the Alps, and the sheer number of hiking opportunities available, weather notwithstanding. It was no wonder that the South Island of New Zealand was perfectly capable of representing the diverse terrain featured in the movies.
South Island
New Zealand
Winterfell
A fresh bout of cold weather hit the Pacific Northwest after an unseasonably long warm winter. Temperatures dropped to freezing, and fresh snowfall added inches to the mountains. While I won't be able to enjoy the winter this year, I can always fall back on my archives of photos from past winters.
Here are a selected few from different Pacific Northwest locations. The reflections of trees in the first is my personal favorite of the three due to the abstract reflections on the wintry pond.
WA USA
Horizon Blues
The thick fog of the cold morning dispersed slowly into the valleys as the sun rose, highlighting the jagged ridges of innumerable ranges. The icy summit of Glacier peak stood alone in the distance, and yet so near I almost could touch it.
Scenes like these are the perks of being able to get here early in the morning. And they far outweigh the effort of waking up and driving in the lonely pitch black night. Here is to hoping I can make it out to these places once again this summer.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
The mountains of Georgia
I felt at home in the mountains in Georgia, watching the clouds play with snow-capped peaks, admiring massive glaciers carving endless valleys, and exploring tiny villages in the alpine environment. While mountains might be everywhere, it felt special here. A bit more rugged, unexplored, and hard-to-reach, but all the more beautiful.
Here are some of the scenes I captured in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia.
Caucasus
Georgia
Alpine Meadows
The Italian Dolomit hold a special place in my heart. Its combination of rugged mountain landscape comprised of jagged peaks arising in subgroups without a pattern, interspersed by beautiful alpine meadows with cows still ringing about, and cute Tyrolean villages villages linked by scenic byways make it a haven for the hiker in me seeking better creature comforts.
And this scene from the Seceda area of the Dolomiti highlights the amazing landscape of the UNESCO World Heritage site. And this is one of the 13 photos featured in my 2023 calendar available to purchase at this link.
Val Gardena
South Tirol, Italy
Dolomiti in Moonlight
A whirlwind of a trip to Italy took me to 3 diverse destinations. But throughout the trip, there was one constant, a bright moon, that proved to be a focal point for various photos I took during the trip. Here in the Dolomiti, the near full moon rose to prominence over the jagged peaks at twilight.
Dolomiti
Alto Adige, Italy
Rising above the fog
More often than not, when I am heading out to shoot, I have a place and time in mind that has been carefully planned for, taking into consideration the weather, smoke, light and landscape. And that constitutes a majority of what I shoot. And then I have others that I shoot by happenstance - I just happen to be at the right place at the right time.
This morning, as I was heading back after a long night of shooting, I noticed a river valley completely enveloped in ground-level fog, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet. I ventured a bit more cautiously, hoping to get out of the thick fog. But as the sun came up, this fog started to glow with an inner fire, and I knew I had to shoot it. Around me was the everyday workings of a rural farm: barns, tractors and a few cornfields. As I scouted for locations, I came upon a little rise in the road where the fog, now below me, was spreading through woods and catching the morning light. That scene matched an image I had had in my repertoire of a classic sunrise over a foggy Napa Valley, and while not the same, made me stop to catch the light.
Whatcom County
WA USA
Pillars of Winter
The winter leaves precious few opportunities to get out into the wilderness, especially during the severe winter storms which kicks avalanche dangers up a notch. This frozen lake is probably one of the few that are still accessible. But when I set out to this frozen lake under overcast conditions and gloomy skies, I wasn't expecting much. But nature can sometimes through a surprise.
The frozen lake was a white winter wonderland. Fresh snowfall had layered all the trees with a thick coating of wet snow, which were now drooping down with this new weight. And even though the granite peaks that normally tower over the frozen lake were obscured by a thick layer of clouds that absorbed all the color from the sky, the snowscape was pristine. And just as I was ready to turn around and head back, the low clouds slowly lifted, revealing the three pillars of rock so characteristic of this place.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Heart of the Pacific Northwest
Windswept snowscapes, cowering ice-rimed trees, undulating banks of snow, frozen lakes and gurgling streams, and in the distance, snow-capped volcanoes and ice-covered peaks jutting out of the craggy landscape of the cascades. Out in the hinterlands of the North Cascades, covering a vast swath of the Pacific Northwest, there lies hundreds of square miles of such undisturbed terrain, far out of the reach of many an explorer.
On a day like this, it is a landscape that evokes feelings of grandeur and majesty, like this scene from the far more accessible part of this rugged region. If even the fringes of such a place can evoke such emotion, I can only imagine what the rest can inspire.
Mt Baker Wilderness
WA USA