Can I Say That?

 

Photogasm.

So I said it.  I debated about it, but I trust that you, my rather limited but sophisticated audience, won’t be shocked.

Some moments are climactic.

Like the surfer remembering those perfect waves, I have a collection of dramatic memories; memories of moments when the light or the experience came together in a transcendent way. One of many advantages of being a photographer is that those recollections are often recorded visually. 

Perusing my archives, I found quite a few of these spanning nine years.  Don’t panic; I won’t go through them all, but I hope you’ll enjoy a few examples.

My husband and I met the dolphins nearly ten years ago when we were still doing a lot of scuba diving.  There’s a place in Belize called “The Elbow” where the current splits around Turneffe Atoll and the large animals hang out. We’d just splashed and heard them before we saw them; eleven spotted dolphins who seemed curious about us.  So curious, in fact that they (less one adult and youngster who disappeared) swam around us and played until we had to reluctantly go back to the boat.  

In Sedona, Arizona during monsoon season photographers wish for dramatic light, clouds, and sometimes rainbows.  This rainbow lasted for nearly an hour as my friends and I raced around town looking for the best vantage points.  This was the memorable day I started using the expression “photogasm.”

Last winter in Death Valley my husband and I were at the higher altitudes checking out these historic charcoal kilns. I put him to work as my assistant, lighting each kiln in turn so I could combine the eight frames in Photoshop.  That alone would have been fun, but the moonrise put the experience over the top.  I wish I could honestly say that I knew just where the full moon would come up, but this one was all dumb luck.  I’m grateful, for the experience and for the image.

Snow at the Grand Canyon.  There’s not much more to say about that than I did in this post.  I’ll never get tired of it.

I’d been hearing about False Kiva in Canyonlands National Park for years.  Despite the apparent controversy about whether it’s really an ancient site, I felt the need to go when I was at the Moab Photo Symposium last spring.  I had friends there new and old, but couldn’t find anyone to make the trek with me.  Loaded up with food, water, clothing, and my InReach signaling device, I headed out and spent several hours enjoying the site.  There’s no drama to this story, just the subtle sense of fulfillment of a strange little calling. Contentment.

Finally, last month I spent a few days at the Grand Canyon with one of my favorite traveling companions, after my husband and dog.  He has a small superstition that he somehow wards of the dramatic, beautiful skies that photographers dream of.  Sure enough, the light was mediocre until he headed home.  The next morning I hiked in the dark to this lovely overlook and watched the sun come up and bathe the Canyon in warm light.  I’ve seen my share of spectacular Grand Canyon sunrises, but this one (the header image) was compounded by the thrill of being utterly alone and having strived for it for days.

Thanks for coming along with me for the peak experiences.