being there

once upon a time i entertained the notion of pursuing a career in photography. it was 2005, maybe early 2006. i hadn't really done much photography, but i had done enough and studied enough to feel like maybe it was a thing that i could do. but i also couldn't really imagine myself as the type of person who would be particularly skilled at photography per se. instead, i imagined that i would succeed in photography by going to remote places and by having unique cultural experiences and by taking photos that were, if not excellent, at least better than the photos that the average other person would take. clearly i didn't know much about the world of careers in photography, but i felt like i was first and foremost interested in exploration and adventure-type activities--rock climbing, long-distance backpacking, and things of that nature--and i had enough interest in photography to consider making something of it.

i'm better at photography than at rock climbing or long distance backpacking. i'm maybe even still better at photography than at linguistics, although i'm not sure how to compare those apples and oranges. in any case, i've had a much harder imagining remote places that i want to trek to and exotic anthropological situations i want to put myself in for several years. i've become a lot more comfortable photographing in a lot more genres and styles. but i've also put myself in fewer or fewer situations that are conducive to making good photographs. when i have been in situations conducive to making good photographs, i have seldom slowed down enough to create photographs. so i find myself in a situation in which i try to craft photographs when conditions are unfavorable, and in which i only really shoot snapshots when conditions are favorable.

i did a bit of hiking with Melanie this weekend. on friday night we climbed la plata peak. we got back to my car at just before midnight, drove a few hours, got a few hours of sleep, and then climbed mount columbia on saturday. the la plata peak hike in particular had me in beautiful places at beautiful times of day. we reached the summit ridge as sunset light poked intermittent holes through clouds in a beautiful mountain range. people aren't often on the summits of 14,000 foot mountains in the sawatch range at sunset, but we were. but also, we were in a rush. so i took a few snapshots with very little mind paid to composition and carried on. as seen below, the snapshots turned out alright. but i have the feeling that i could have done much better if i had taken serious time to create photographs rather than just click off snapshots.

then again, if i had taken serious time to create photographs, we wouldn't have been able to summit la plata peak that night, and that was our objective. what is the most remarkable to me about truly excellent photographers is their ability to balance their art with the activities that they are involved in. they are able to be fully engaged in strenuous activities and to devote energy to crafting photographs. i've swung from one side of the activity/photography spectrum to the other, and back again. when i started photography, being there was all that i really had. now that i've devoted a few years to improving my craft, i need to be more intentional about being there. and to make use of craft when i'm there.

here are a few photos from the summit ridge on la plata, as well as a shot of melanie stepping onto the summit of columbia.