I recently spent two-and-a-half weeks at Summit Powder Mountain, located near Eden in Utah. The reason of my visit was to capture the spirit of the location and create an art series from the inspiration received while hiking the mountain.
Mornings we consistent and always beautiful, a thick orange line above the horizon, gradients of intense blues and yellows until the sun would appear and dominate the sky.
For the most part of first week, the clouds were absent. The sun rose every morning on a empty sky, and by mid day, animals were no where to be seen, seeking shade and cooler temperature.
Self portrait, Morning Peace
Slowly, by the weekend, the clouds started to arrive, bringing with them the much anticipated shadows, edges, and tension that I was looking for. Not that a monotone blue sky is not enjoyable, but photography wise, it doesn’t create the best photos.
On the 8th night, it was time for get to James Peak and spend a night under the stars. With a little bit of luck, the sunrise would offer what I had been looking for -- intensity!
The magic happened that morning, when the most beautiful show on earth unveiled itself, one color at a time, shadow at a time. For the rest of the week, every morning was a new revelation, with new tones, new colors, new emotions.
There is something extremely humbling and peaceful about finding yourself out there, surrounded by a world that is bigger than you, by forces that define your existence. These moments of solitude, when the world feels right.
There were mornings where huge systems that looked like living flying ships made of cotton balls would cross over the valley. Other mornings, down from the mountain and into the valley, the landscape looked like a sea in turmoil
Throughout the week, my art inspiration connected in the most unexpected way. One night, while looking at my campfire, I started to notice various shapes within the flames. I took the camera and started to take photographs. The new series called FLAMES is a natural adaptation of a Rorschach test and plays on the power of perception, on the instinctual need to create familiar patterns from abstract shapes.
