Fresh Eyes

August 2021, at 10K feet in Beartooth Wilderness Area, near Red Lodge, Montana.

This photo lived on my phone for more than a year and I never gave it a second glance, not certain I ever really saw it a first time. Then I noticed it and fell in love. In photography sometimes you miss great photos, maybe just because you were looking for something different in that moment. Maybe you do not have the experiences you need to fully appreciate it yet. Fresh eyes and time can change everything.

This was long before I had any thought about taking photography seriously, I just was shooting some photos from my phone. As with all my adventures, they are very rarely about taking photos, the pursuit is almost always something else. A mountain to climb, trout to fool, bonefish to stalk, bugling elk to chase, or any other number of pursuits that litter my mind. This trip was no different. I regret not taking the opportunity to shoot more photos this day, the lighting was amazing and clouds gave the landscape great texture. It rained, it hailed, it snowed, the sun shined, and the wind blew, what a beautiful day high in the Rockies.

Looking at things with fresh eyes is what I have been trying to do over the past couple of years. We sometimes, usually much too easily, let past realities, societal norms, and assumptions determine our path. We put ourselves in a lot boxes that don’t necessarily need to be there.

I am certainly enjoying the view with fresh eyes.

“ The fact that going off the deep end appears to be requisite to do anything of consequence in this life has not escaped me.” - The Road Home, Jim Harrison