Anatomy of a Composition - Vessels

I seem to find myself at this overlook whenever Fall comes to an end. In 2020 fall was much shorter than usual, simply an overnight trip to Crested Butte after dropping off work for a small viewing Labor Day weekend.

The Arkansas Valley is certainly an essential destination for anyone new to or just visiting Colorado. It left such a massive impression on me when I drove into its expanse the first time, that each time I cycle back to it I’m moved to those emotions I felt in 1988. This place was something that felt genuinely new. I marveled at how the Collegiate Peaks and the central spine of the Continental Divide shot up from the valley floor and towered over the western flank. To the south is the aptly named Salida, “the exit” of the valley and a great bend in the Arkansas River that was the birthplace of whitewater sports in Colorado. To the north, the Collegiate’s give way to the northern Sawatch Range, home to Colorado’s highest peaks, and the headwaters of the Arkansas.  

I played in the expanse of the valley that first summer, not really knowing how everything would unfold and how the rocks and eddies would change the course of my life’s story. Much like the overlook, which sits above the Arkansas River and gives a commanding view of Mt. Princeton, maybe it is important to revisit our emotions and memories. When there is time to reflect, there is time to appreciate. Revisiting memories and locations tends to evoke the positives in a situation more than the negatives.  I’ve watched storms wash over the mountains from here. I’ve witnessed sunrises, sunsets and even starry nights. I’ve been on top of those peaks, and lost in the aspen groves and pine forests that circle their slopes. This has been a sight of new discoveries and comforting familiarity.  Watching nature cycle through its seasons may be our most practical antidote to the emotional rollercoaster we all have to mount; following the excitement and anticipation for these changes, while accepting the unknown flow of this metamorphosis, consolidating the experiences into a set of lessons and memories which can punctuate our internal journey. I keep circling around photography at this stage, as a way to explore, create and to an extent connect.  In that vein, photography has gained more value, as it not only “gets me out of the house,” it seems to help me with reestablishing the connection that has been missing the most, the one with “me.”  

March, 2021 - As always, thank you for joining me on this adventure.

For more thoughts on some of these images, head over to www.wordpress.com/alma175w  

Had She Stayed - ISO 100 • F/11 • 1/200 sec. Sony a7riv - Sony FE 24-105G - 35mm