I tend to think I’m a social (sociable) guy. But I know I also love solitude. I love to go out by myself, to places where I know I’m alone, where no one can hear me, where I can hear no one.
When I was in the Rocky Mountains with my Buddy Wayne we had an absolute great time, spent together of course, mostly. But there was one moment when we were supposed to shoot the sunrise over Grand Lake, but replanned because there was too thick a fog. We went out on a hike instead and at some point I ventured one way and he the other. I veered off the path and walked about half a mile or so into the bushes, until just at the edge of the forest line.

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm

See, not very good for sunrise, or what? :D

Anyway… I stood there, at the treeline, for about half an hour. Quiet. Listening. Listening to the occasional sound of bellowing elk. The sound of the leaves in the trees, crackling like they do when they’re half froze but still won’t give up the effort to move in the wind. But mostly… the sound of silence. It’s beautiful. It’s peaceful. It’s meditative. It makes you forget where you are. The beauty with these kinds of situations is, that even though it’s completely silent for awhile, you know for sure that you’re not alone. But if you stay put, and don’t move (or when you do or have to, do it really, really slow), you may be surprised to find yourself in some really cool company.

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm, Nikkor TC2 III

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm, Nikkor TC2 III

D800, ISO800, 1/1000 sec @ f/8, Nikkor 70-200mm, Nikkor TC2 III

 

It was awesome. I tell you. Of course it wasn’t standing next to me, it was probably about… 200m / 600ft  away. But still, relatively close… such an elegant male, with a rack like that, just nonchalantly strolling along the bushes. And looking at me… It’s awesome.

Yeah, it could’ve been a black bear, I realize. In which case it would’ve still been awesome, but things may not have ended in the same way as they did :D

It’s a completely different feeling than when you pull up behind the other 10 cars with people (and their pockets / cellphones with flash). This is the real deal. This is the deal where you get goosebumps all over. But not because it’s cold. This is “being part of your environment”. I can recommend it to anyone :)

Share