America’s Fall Part 02- Maroon Bells

As previously mentioned, America’s Fall is hard to put into words and unless you have been there, you can be forgiven if you don’t understand all the hype that surrounds this event as it is very big over in the States. You don’t have to be a photographer to appreciate the wonder of this time of year.

Back in Australia, for those who know me well, they know that I’ll always return to a place many times until I see it in the right light, to capture the essence of it .Sometimes I will do many trips in order to achieve this.

That’s why when I run my photographic workshops that are  a week to 10 days , I rarely stick to the itinerary. I’m always chasing the light, to give people to best shooting conditions of the scene. I still cover the itinerary in my photo tours, but it is never in order as you see it written down because as being  photographers we need to be flexible.

Maroon Bells I have read and I have been told is the most photographic Iconic landscape in all of America. Having been there several times on my trip to the States in 2012, I totally understand why.I had two visits to this awe inspiring region. The first was to capture the fall to the waters edge and to see the colors bleeding into one .I was told that normally there is snow on the mountains and on my first encounter this was not the case.

I have also been told and have read that given the iconic status of Maroon Bells, you are battling to get a vantage point  to shoot. On my first trip, this was not the case, on the second trip, it wasn’t hard to get a spot but there were a lot more people there and there was tension between some with was sad. Over all ,given the amount of people there, most were well behaved but there were some who were pushing their luck in squeezing in for the shot to the point of blocking people out  who had been there hours before hand!

So why shoot a place that has been shot to death before. Well I know that I have been told by others that they don’t go there or other places where so many people have been before as it is no different to what is being shot all the time. I think that attitude is sad as its not about something been shot a million times before, its about your experience there, your interpretation on the subject matter, your ability to see things in a new light, your bent on things and standing before the Maroon Bells and allowing the wonder,the delight , the awe to sink in.As  walked down the path, I’ll never forget the many emotions that ran through me while I was there.

I think  you cut yourself very short if you don’t see something that is iconic just because it has been shot so many times before.

I stood there in awe and reflected on the times that people have been coming here and how we have all walked the same path and maybe have looked at it all so differently.  All of share the  same adoration as you stand and gaze.

When you stand before this place, you can’t  help but be awe struck of the immense beauty and then I looked around me and saw all the different people that come here. There were skinny people, fat people, plum people, people with perfect figures, people from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, even an Australian, people for Africa etc and when people travel to these far and reaching places , they forget their differences and are drawn to this area by its beauty . They come to admire, to experience what I believe  what God has put together.” ..who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength.” Psalm65:6  🙂