Looking at these photos in December, I’m less disappointed with them than I was in April. As the intensity of the moment fades from my memory, from the tiny scorpion hanging out in the sand at the door of my tent, to the bite of a chill wind and even a few snowflakes, to the exhaustion of hours of cross-country travel, clamoring over slickrock ridges and across deep sand plains, to the dizzying ledges and walls that looked too steep to walk on, the images become better surrogates of the experience.
Escalante Adventure 2021: Monochrome Portfolio
I was blessed to spend a week in April backpacking in the Escalante wilderness with two of my favorite people in the world, in one of my favorite places in the world. The Canyons of the Escalante is a true wilderness; rugged and austere, seemingly impenetrable, vast and incomprehensible. I find it incredibly challenging to capture images that express the visceral and emotional intensity of being there.
Seems like it should be easy, point your camera in any direction, click, and presto you’ve got an instant classic. Everything looks amazing as you move through the landscape, your mind effortlessly removing the clutter, and your eyes simultaneously revealing detail in bright skies and shadowed canyon walls. I worked hard to put some of that beauty and grandeur I was seeing on my memory cards, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with my efforts once I got home.
This portfolio is a response to that disappointment. In some cases an attempt to simplify and distill the graphics even more. In some cases a way to push the processing further; to pump up the contrast without moving the colors into the garish and unreal realm. I don’t think any of these images end up in my greatest hits, but I do like the cohesion of this portfolio. Like puzzle pieces, together these images start to tell the story of this singular place.
Colorado Plateau Cuts
As I’ve been pulling galleries of images together for the website, I’ve had two goals in mind, showing the widest range of subjects and locations, while at the same time only showing my most compelling images. It’s been a fun and challenging exercise. At times I’ve opted for variety over intensity, knowing the best of what’s been cut will eventually find a home here.
Most of the galleries on my website contain sixteen images, because during the development of the website I realized sixteen was the maximum number of images I could pay attention to. Twelve is probably a better number, really – less is more. I’m sure my galleries would be stronger if I cut the four weakest images, but I have so many images to share and sometimes it’s hard for me to predict which images will have the most impact with the largest number of people.
I’ve been continuing to tinker with my galleries, in order to make them as powerful as possible. The two images included with this post were cut from my Colorado Plateau Gallery when I realized that two of my favorites hadn’t been included. What do you think? Did I cut the right images? Which images would you have cut?
