“Stone Building, Loch Stack” — An old stone building on the shore of Loch Stack in the Scottish highlands.
As we neared the end of our weeklong visit to Skye and the north coast of Scotland we spent a couple of nights at the old lodge at Altnaharra. My understanding is that decades ago this was a place where people from cities came to stay and to fish. It is a sprawling building, with large common rooms downstairs, a dining room, a small bar, and many guest rooms. At one time it was reportedly a luxurious place, at least by the rural standards of its isolated location. (To be honest, today it is a shadow of that historic lodge, but it still carries a resonance of that earlier time.)
“Boulder Mountain Aspens, Evening” — Autumn aspen trees near Boulder Mountain, Utah.
I took me a while to figure out this location in Utah, along the edge of Boulder Mountain. Years ago we drove through here in the spring, and I was astonished by the huge aspen groves. I resolved to return in the autumn, and a few years later we did —timing our visit to synchronize with peak of California’s Eastern Sierra aspen color. It turns out that the color change earlier in Utah, and by the time we arrived the groves were past their peak.
“Autumn Black Oak Trees” — Black oak trees with autumn foliage on a hazy day in Yosemite Valley.
I have photographed in Yosemite since I was literally a child. (The first “serious ” photograph I recall making was on a family trip to the Valley when I scrambled up a little hill to find a composition of a dome framed by tree branches.) The Valley remains one of the most astonishing sights on the planet, with features that are darned near unbelievable. But after decades of photographing there, when I visit now I look for other things than the icons.
Admittedly these black oaks have become almost iconic, though they aren’t a recognizable feature in the way that Half Dome or Yosemite Falls are. There’s no one particular feature, but rather a playground of textures and colors and lines to work with. I stop and photograph here on almost every visit.
“Shoreline and Reflected Ridge” — A Sierra Nevada ridge reflected in a subalpine wilderness lake.
If you are a Sierra Nevada backcountry traveler, you recognize this a a classic Range of Light scene. It was early morning, and I had been photographing since before sunrise. I walked the shoreline of this subalpine lake, following terrain like that in this photograph. The sun’s light angled across the high peaks and talus slopes as it rose above ridges to the east.
When I first backpacked many years ago, I was astonished by the mere existence of such places and the idea that I could wander through them. Eventually I slowed down and no longer thought of scenes like this as just staging for the higher peaks, but as important places on their own. These days I’m happy to linger with my camera gear, often pausing just to look.
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