How I Use Photography to Capture the Profound Nature Experience
Story and Imagery Created While Exploring the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho.
Sitting within the fading crimson twilight as night gently approaches, I realize that perhaps the only thing that matters in this moment is the contentment I feel. I am comfortably seated at the edge of a high mountain lake watching as retreating sunlight kisses each motion of its waters revealing glancing winks of its sparkling goodnight. I had just finished photographing a rugged landscape in the Pioneer Mountains of Central Idaho. Filled with jagged granite peaks, strewn boulders, and complete with reflective alpine lakes, all remnants of the glaciers that sculped and polished this landscape a millennia ago.
The next morning, my dog Shadow and I make our way through Surprise Valley and up yet another steep bench to reach the highest lake, our ultimate destination. An altitude over 10,000 feet, too high for Idaho’s traditional forest pines that thrive in the valley below, I see only Whitebark Pine, more tolerant of this high altitude. Each of these marvelous trees display their own characteristic twists and gnarled form, evidence of the high winds and heavy winter snowpacks. Walking amongst the scattered boulders with only my dog Shadow I am confronted with the rawness of this place.
The shallow lake within Surprise Valley that I camped next to on the first evening. I was dead tired after the steep climb to the lake but made sure I was present when the light started changing the landscape into a wonderland.As a landscape photographer I hope to capture the all-encompassing beauty I witness as light, color, and shadow coalesce and drape across the landscape coalescing together to create brief moments of magic. Beautiful scenery is something Idaho has in abundance. Forests and mountain peaks spread from border to border intermeshed with deep winding canyons and vast open seas of sagebrush. Idaho is brimming with photographic opportunity. Like many others, I often feel a great sense of solace while wandering around in nature. In these places it’s easy to literally lose oneself to the gentle whispers of nature’s lullabies and temporarily dismiss the tension, expectations, and stress of our daily lives we’ve left behind in the city. I often feel a deep connection or harmony with the landscape and while in this state my mind is sharper, less cluttered, and I often have realizations about my life and aspirations that had eluded me before.
“The intoxicating bliss created by the influence of nature begins to guide my vision and direct my camera.””
A colleague asked me once why I practice landscape photography. My response was a bit different than he, or I expected I’d say. I told him that experiencing nature and connecting to the natural world was my motivation. The naturalist John Muir is famously quoted as saying, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” Mounting volumes of studies clearly point to the physical and emotional benefits of being in nature. In her book The Nature Fix, Florence Williams cites studies and research that clearly demonstrate how spending time in nature can decrease blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve our emotion well-being. One way this happens is by our system being flooded with endorphins, the feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin. Most of us do not need to read research about these benefits because we’ve experienced them firsthand. Just the thought of walking down a pine forest path brings a refreshing sense of calm to both body and mind.
The upper lake I camped at above Surprise Valley in the Pioneer Mountains near the base of the divide between here and Goat & Betty Lake. Just hours before this shot I was exploring this lake basin scouting for shooting locations that might capture the essence of this magical moment as the setting cast its beauty.Early in my twenties I started backpacking and was marveled with the wilderness I’d hike and camp within. It was the experience of the fresh air filled with forest notes of pine and wildflowers, it was the sounds of birds filling the overhead tree canopies along with the murmur of a mountain stream in the background. It was the feeling of the cool evening breeze caressing my face as it glided off the still mountain lake. All my senses brimming with the pleasantries of nature. I wanted to be able to capture these fulfilling moments to be able to later recall what I was experiencing. While I’m within these incredible places I maneuver both my mind and my camera with the intention of capturing the essence of not only the place but of the moment. By using photographic techniques, such as composition and shutter speed, together with a sense of alignment with the natural elements that surround me, I find it easier to focus my attention on the things within these profound moments that reflect the purity and nostalgia I may be feeling.
“After a photographic experience I ask myself, “Did I capture within this photograph the elements that will tell the story whispered to me by nature; the poetry of the wilds?” ”
Photography forces me to focus on my subject and notice subtle shifts that may be contributing to the magic in these moments. The intoxicating bliss created by the influence of nature begins to guide my vision and direct my camera. The whispers of a breeze through the trees might call my attention. The subtle shift of fading light on a mountain ridge reveals deepened shadows and warm highlighted peaks, perhaps these elements need to be included to tell the story. I learned long ago, I cannot photograph every element in a particular scene, so learning to focus on what is contributing to the magic of the moment is of primary importance when trying to create a striking photograph. Early on while learning photography I felt that the way to capture even better landscapes was to use a wider lens. Through trial and error, I realized that even ultra-wide-angle lenses can’t do the trick because they may distort certain important elements or include aspects of the scene that did not contribute to the enchantment of the moment. Shooting to wide oftentimes results in a cluttered lackluster photograph rather than one with a soothing message.
These moments of spender are brief and with certainty will fade into yesterday, only a singular moment in the progression of time. With these moments fleeting there is an urgency, a bit of drama, in precisely recording them as true to my experience as possible within a two dimensional photograph. After a photographic experience I ask myself, “Did I capture in this photograph the elements that will tell the story whispered to me by nature; the poetry of the wilds?” Perhaps, and perhaps not, but by learning to focus my attention on the subtle and shifting landscape through a practice I call resonance, I experience magic and my mind, my body, now at a greater level of harmony than when I left the hustle and bustle of the city. My favorite photographer and writer, Guy Tal, wrote, “The most rewarding aspect of pursuing nature photography, in my opinion, have more to do with nature and less to do with photography.” This is the essence of the relationship between me, nature, and photography; to gain a greater sense of peace and harmony while working to capture all the elements that coalesced together to create this experience now encapsulated into a single photograph.
I often walk past beautiful scenes making note of them and sizing them up to determine if they might make a great image. I ask myself, “If I wait to photograph this scene at dusk or dawn where will the sun be and how will that light up the sky with or without clouds? Will low-angle light enhance the precious elements I see before me into something both visually striking and emotionally engaging?”
Each morning as I turn from getting my first cup of coffee, I gaze upon a picture I call “Window into the Enchanted” and for a moment I am transported back to that moment of exhilaration and calm as I remember how all the natural elements came together in just the right combination to form this singular moment in time. Science has also shown that adorning our homes with meaningful images of nature promotes heightened well-being and solitude while also reducing anxiety and stress.
“Window Into the Enchanted”
Each morning as I turn from getting my first cup of coffee, I gaze upon a picture I call “Window into the Enchanted” and for a moment I am transported back to that moment of exhilaration and calm as I remember how all the natural elements came together in just the right combination to form this singular moment in time. Science has also shown that adorning our homes with meaningful images of nature promotes heightened well-being and solitude while also reducing anxiety and stress.
The next time you’re on a hike pay attention to what is happening around you and focus on the elements that speak to you with the most clarity.
If you’re interested in learning more about the powerful methods I use to get into the photographic zone I call resonance, please feel free to visit my web page or reach out to me directly. Helping to raise awareness of how nature can enrich our lives is something I feel very strongly about. After all, if we respect what nature offers, we will make efforts to promote her well-being.
My Standard Poodle Shadow and I before departing our camping spot to head home.