The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month. And up here, high in the alpine terrain of the Canadian Rockies, where large icefields give birth to glaciers, spring starts in July, and summer only lasts a month. Yet, plants thrive in this harsh environment, albeit barely. And reward us with beautiful pastel colors on a soft green carpet.
Canadian Rockies
AB Canada
Two years ago, to the day, I was wrapping up the last few days on a guided tour through the island of Honshu in Japan. I am not normally a fan of guided tours that feel like a roller coaster ride, especially in a country like Japan where you can barely peel the surface of the complex subcultures of this diverse country. Between language barriers, the lack of any planning effort, or large mob mentality, I could never grasp the history and origins of a particular culture or place and thereby immerse myself as I normally try to do. It may not have been the right way to travel in Japan, but considering it was also one last goodbye to many friends whom I have known dearly for two years, it was worth the tradeoff.
Despite these barriers, I still felt a sensory overload: visual, aural, and oral. There was just so much happening on this whirlwind of a trip through different places, and the smells, the sights, and the sounds have taken quite a bit of time for my brain to process. My camera managed to preserve certain moments of time while the journal managed to capture some of the memories and emotions I felt as I traveled through very diverse locales and cities. And yet, I feel that I have barely scratched the surface of the experiences I have had.
Tokyo
Japan
The wind was incessant and unrelenting. The tiny flowers struggled to hold on, dragged by the breeze that blew up the rolling hills. It was a battle that the flowers would eventually succumb to, but not yet. And until then, these tiny balsamroot blooms would grace the green hillscapes with their colorful blooms, lending a brief bit of yellow to the otherwise brown and dusty slopes on the Columbia River Gorge.
The sun had't crested the distant range, and in the shadow of the morning light, I spied a dusty rustbucket nestled in a field of balsamroot. I was still contemplating how it made its way down here, far away from the nearby roads and ranches, when the sun slowly appeared, blooming with a vibrant sunstar over the eager balsamroot.
Columbia River Gorge
WA USA
This landscape is animate: it moves, transposes, builds, proceeds, shifts, always going on, never coming back, and one can only retain it in vignettes, impressions caught in a flash, flipped through in succession, leaving a richness of images imprinted on a sunburned retina.
- Ann Zwinger
Of all the National Parks in the southwest, Bryce has some of the most unique geological formations - the amphitheater of hoodoos. While hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) exist on every continent, the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth is at Bryce. Hiking in and through these hoodoos and observing them from below and above, I had marveled at the innumerable canyons, gullies and gorges that changed this landscape over the geological timescale. And I am excited to be returning to this amazing park after over 8 years, and I can't wait to shoot the morning light over the cavernous amphitheater or the glowing reds of the hoodoos at sunset.
Bryce Canyon National Park
UT USA
The long halcyon days of summer have begun. And that means it is time for a trip to the eastern half of the state to once again to experience the beauty the Palouse region has to offer: rolling hilly terrain with a velvety carpet of freshly sprouted wheat and soybean, rustic farmhouses in a bucolic countryside with colorful barns peppered amidst the pastoral landscape. It also means shooting during the longest days of the year, with 4 am wakeups for photographing this divine landscape bathed in morning light, and staying awake till 10pm for capturing the last of the golden light. And driving around in dusty farmroads to find that one unique perspective of the Palouse.
So who wants to join me on this magical, albeit tiring, journey in June?
Palouse
WA USA
If spring is the season of love and new beginnings, then fall is the season for mad lust. The fresh burst of the colorful flowers and pleasing greenery is replaced by the vibrant yellows and burning orange, a final attempt at living before the long, cold, and dreary winter.
And yet, like clockwork, every new year heralds such a cycle of change in the flora across the planet. And as a photographer, I am grateful both for the beautiful blooms in the spring, and the colorful hues of autumn. This was is of a beautiful maple tree in the Japanese Garden in Portland.
Portland
OR USA
From the distance, it appeared as though somebody had taken a giant brush and painted the green hillsides yellow. Vast swathes of grassy meadows were covered with millions of balsamroot, a relative of the sunflower, all blooming in unison and creating this beautiful annual spectacle. And with the spring weather holding up relatively well, the conditions were ideal for photographing this remarkable event.
After a day of exploring this beautiful park, I drove along the road to find the promised land for sunset - a vast meadow blooming balsamroot with the unmistakable cone of Mt Hood soaking the last light of the day. And here, high above the gorge, the wind had picked up, gusting up from the gorge below and rolling over the vast open plains. The tiny little blooms were putting up a brave fight against the strong gusts, but it didn't seem they'd last more than a few more days. I, for one, was glad to be able to capture the last of the yellow spectacle.
Columbia River Gorge
WA USA
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
- Henry David Thoreau
It seems we are all involved in a rat race, chasing a mystical dream in our daily lives: money in the real world, fame in the virtual world, and popularity in the social world. But what we actually need is time in the physical world. Our short lives are but a scintilla of light in the forward journey of time, and to be able to not just make a mark on it, but to experience that journey in the fullest should be the dream we should chase.
How are you chasing that dream this bright weekend?
Columbia River Gorge
WA USA
Europe is a remarkable continent, where a 100km is a long distance and a 100 years is a short time, where kingdoms and civilizations have crafted a diverse set of cultures and communities, where haute couture in tourist hotspots stand shoulder to shoulder with quaint bucolic villages and picturesque countrysides, and where sensible urban design and vast expansive greenery are juxtaposed on one seamless landmass. Every trip to this continent rich in history and culture makes me giddy with joy in seeking out the hidden gems away from the tourist traps.
And I can't wait to go back again this summer, to seek out more of what this continent has to offer. Just like this peaceful meadow I found while exploring the Black Forest region of southern Germany.
Schwarzwald
Germany
The tulip festival in Skagit certainly seems to have underestimated its popularity. Over the last few weekends, crowds have thronged the handful of accessible tulip farms of Skagit Valley, turning the highways into accident-prone death traps and access roads into immobile parking lots on weekends. Driving just a span of 15 miles on the way back, I encountered at least 3 accidents stalling traffic for miles.
As the season winds to a close, I hearken back to the start of the season, where a early morning trip to Skagit to see the early blooms proved far more memorable. I made my way at dawn along bucolic farmlands and sleepy homesteads mired in mist carried by the nearby Skagit river, and witnessed a beautiful sunrise by the blooming daffodils with the company of just a few photographers.
Skagit Valley
WA USA
