Somewhere in northwest Scotland, between Shieldag and Applecross, we paused on our drive through this broad valley. It was surprisingly cold — there was new snow on peaks on either side — and rain showers passed across the landscape. Nearby was what appeared to be an old road, now marked as a foot trail, heading off into the valley — the sort of trail that makes you aware that there are places more remote than where you stand.
Continue reading Trail, Highlands Valley
There’s a story and a lesson associated with this photograph. Explaining may take a bit more than the usual two paragraphs. (It takes five. I urge/invite you to click through and read the whole thing — and I’ll be interested in your comments.) I’ll start with the subject though. Years ago (I’ll reveal how many years below) I was on a trans-Sierra pack trip of over a week’s length with a group of backcountry friends. I had walked this route years before this trip, and there were a few places that I specifically wanted to photograph again, especially this lake. I stopped there long enough to make a few careful photographs, including one of my favorites. (That one also comes with a bit of a story and lesson.)
Continue reading Alpine Lake, Mirrored Reflection
After six weeks of travel, almost two weeks of it in beautiful Scotland, some location memories begin to blur together. I cannot say precisely where I made this photograph. It was on the day we left Skye and made our way north to Ullapool. My recollection is that we had perhaps passed through some rain at a high point on the route, and we came to this peak and its foreground hill as the weather was beginning to clear, allowing a bit of sunlight into the scene. (It is hard to identify these Scottish peaks after returning back to the US, but this one may be Spidean Coire nan Clach.)
Continue reading Snow-dusted Highlands Peak
This photograph includes a short list of superlative features. Telescope Peak, at just over 11,000′, is the highest point in Death Valley National park. From the peak one can see the highest point in California, Mt. Whitney (in the Sierra Nevada) and the lowest point (Badwater Basin). In the photograph Badwater Basin is submerged beneath Lake Manly, which forms only in very wet years and generally evaporates quickly. Snow on Telescope Peak and the Panamint Range is not unusual in winter, but in this photograph it has reached a rather low elevation.
Continue reading Lake Manly and Telescope Peak, Dawn