Walking on Soft Ice
I came home from tonight’s quick trip to the Mendenhall Glacier empty handed…but not with an empty spirit. It felt good to get out on the lake for one of the last times this spring, break through the soft top crust into five inches of slushy water, and then keep walking. It really was beautiful too, with clouds lingering in a clearing sky as the sun set. It’s just that the special light never showed up…no big deal. I’ve got archives.
"Lines on the Ceiling" - grooves and silt make designs on the underside of the glacier
Kelso Dunes
My lone “exotic location” visit during my spring break trip was to the Kelso Dunes of the Mojave National Preserve. My primary reason for choosing the Kelso Dunes was a desire to find the wonderful forms and lines provided by sand without having to travel too far. It turns out that while I allowed ample time for the early morning drive, I also needed to anticipate a fairly grueling climb to one of the highest points in the dune field. Even after reaching the top, it appeared that the best the Kelso Dunes have to offer was well out of reach in my time frame. I made two photos…and thoroughly enjoyed myself thanks to the fact that my mom had agreed to accompany me in spite of the early start time. While the Eureka Dunes of Death Valley are much easier to respond to with a camera, we probably wouldn’t have had the entire place to ourselves, and it was a great view.
"Over Kelso Dunes (BW)" - a great view of light and shadows and more light and shadows on the sand
"Over Kelso Dunes" - the light of early morning begins to touch the Kelso Dunes while long shadows from the tallest dunes linger in the scene
Waking with the Sun
"Waking with the Sun" - with a very shallow depth of field, most of the subjects in this image are more implied than revealed
In Juneau, the first days of spring are often accompanied by “warmer” weather and perhaps even some sunshine. But in spite of that change, the regrowth of vegetation from winter’s dormancy is a long time in coming. When I travel over spring break, as I almost always do, I love to go somewhere I can witness new life. My great grandparent’s farm (to which I traveled this spring) has become primarily the memory of a farm, but it is a very fond memory. This scene from near the property seemed to be coming to life in the morning light. The combination of dawn and spring as metaphors for resurrection wasn’t on my mind when I made the image a week and a half ago, but it definitely came to my attention as I prepared the photo for presentation yesterday (Palm Sunday).
