MOUNTAIN GUIDES
R.J.
The past few weeks have been enjoyable in the mountains of western Wyoming. Though we had an early round of monsoonal flow, stress levels generally have been normal to low. Monsoonal weather in Wyoming becomes extremely unpredictable, from simple cloud cover to violent unprecedented thunderstorms. Combine the mix of strong southerly flow, unstable atmosphere, and Teton-scale orographics, and you end up with something like a hormonal adolescent with his first beer on a Saturday night - absolute unpredictablility.
When the weather is forecast to be somwehat decent I do often take my SLR camera. Maybe I should focus more on landscapes, but I tend to gravitate toward the people of the mountains in their environment. It's difficult enough already to grab any snapshots, even more difficult to stage shots in advance. The first priority, of course, is safety to the clients and to myself, and not necessarily in that order!
With every photograph there certainly is a story. Neither of us has time to tell all those stories right now. But when the day is done and we're old and decrepit and we're sitting at the base of the mountains, looking up with intensity, memory, and longing, come find me and we'll go for a walk and we'll share our stories. For now, as my ol' buddy Jim Kanzler used to say, "Motion is Life," and I'm on the move.
Here is a link to a small sample of images from just a few of the mountains I've explored and traveled. Take a look. Grab a drink and hit 'slideshow.' Climb on.
