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03/30/2006: "Elevated Nostalgia"
Yesterday I happened to see a co-worker's screen saver of a photo he had taken on top of Mount Roberts (or there abouts)...It was exactly the kind of photo I need for a series of paintings I'm doing from the perspective of someone who is standing near the edge of a mountain with a view down into the valley behind them.
Anyway, turns out he had lots of similar photos he took last summer, they were so beautiful! Ones that showed snow capped mountains as well as carpets of alpine flowers as well as the arial views down into the Gastineau Channel with little atmospheric Islands and a big blue skies. The compositions were fantastic too.
Looking through the photos (in combination with the warmer weather we've been having and the first signs of migratory birds...yeah, bird flu will be here soon!) made me nostalgic for when I used to live in South Central Alaska. Friends and I used to go hiking and climbing all the time. There is something very intense about standing at the very highest point of a mountain and looking down. I've since had knee surgery and I haven't done any real climbing since I've been in Juneau.
I don't know the exact elevation of where he was at but to give you an idea, he started at 10am and took the Mount Roberts Tram up to the top and started hiking from there and it still took him around 6 1/2-7 hours to climb. He drew me a little map so I'm going to try and follow his steps this summer to take some similar type photos...it won't be easy but I am used to suffering for my art!
:cry: