Sometimes it's hard to put into words just how amazing a place is!
I've written this particular blog entry twice now, and cannot seem to do justice to the experience I had while on Mt. Timpanogos. Therefore, I am going to let the photographs do the talking and only interject a few critical words.
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”
The Glory Of Timp
© Andrew Lockwood 2018
Capturing images of the Timpanogos Wildflowers is not an easy task. It takes a commitment to carrying heavy camera and camping gear up a steep mountain 5,000+ ft to a basin just below the summit of the mountain in the summer heat. From the ground Mt. Timpanogos is the most prominent mountain overlooking the Utah Valley. In fact it is the second highest mountain in the Wasatch Range. It is a truly spectacular mountain.
This year the wildflower season on Timpanogos was mildly hindered by the amount of smoke in the air from ongoing wildfires, which this year are plaguing the Utah area. Despite the fact that smoke from a wildfire was evident above the summit of Timp, and there was a ban on campfires I still had to put out a fire that some unintelligent hikers left burning after they had packed up camp and left. I won't go into to detail, but I was furious. They had decided it was a good idea to throw half of a dead tree stump onto a pit at midnight. The photo to the right was taken at 10:00am the next morning. I spent a good 40 minutes throwing water and dirt on top of it to put it out completely. People, stop being dumb. End rant.
Back to wildflowers; despite the activities of our neighbors, Anna and I had a great time among the stars, wildflowers, and mountain goats. While I was out in a field on the other side of the basin at sunrise, Anna was surrounded by a herd of mountain goats that were making there way back up the mountain. The light that enters the basin in the morning is enough to warm the soul and as it creeps over the horizon, the expanse of the basin comes into full view. I turned around and grabbed a quick panorama of the sunlight hitting the basin.
Finding a composition in a field of flowers this big can be overwhelming despite the plethora of subjects. Your never quite sure if you have the best image. I scouted a location the night before, because I knew it would be impossible to find anything in the dark the next morning. I came upon an area at the base of the ridge and took a photograph in case the morning light was bad.
© Andrew Lockwood 2018
I love the images I captured despite the wildfire haze, and I cannot wait to return again next year to see what the basin will have in store for me.