A snow covered spruce tree stands in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Hey Folks,
Today was pretty dreary weather here in Alaska, so I thought I might go with yesterday’s theme of black and white winter landscapes. I shot this lone snow covered spruce tree one afternoon last January. We had a cold spell, with some gorgeous clear days, and not a breath of air moved.
The stillness of the Alaskan winter is a simply amazing experience – stillness so deep it seems that time itself hesitates, pausing so as not to upset the rhythm of nothing.
A rhythm of nothing? A rhythm of all things?
Stillness is the root of all that is, the space in time that allows for existence, the place for being. All life emanates from stillness.
It’s pretty heavy stuff, and it hits you hard at 40 below zero in the wilderness.
Image taken high on a ridge, not quite above treeline, Wrangel – St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Cheers
Carl
The rhythm of nothing.. cool, I like that, well spoken 🙂
Carl,
I really like it. Thta’s one dark sky but its a beautiful simple scene. Man it looks cold though!
Drew
Stunning b&w. The Rhythm OF Nothing- cool.
Hey Carl,
This indeed is a stunning piece!!! As much as I LOVE Alaska, 40 below zero might be wayyy too cold for my lazy bones :p
But if you start offering winter treks I *might* muster enough courage to venture out into the cold :), though I don’t know how I could possibly survive the long bone freezing nights!
Thanks for sharing the photo!
Cheers,
Sai
Hey Folks,
Thanks all – I appreciate the comments.
Sai, I’ve thought about putting a winter trip together. There’s a few places I know that would be really sweet to do that. Probably March/April or so, when the days are longer, and the temperatures are not way down to that insane level (generally). Not this winter, but maybe in the near future.
Drew, that’s not the sky, actually, but a shaded side of the next mountain.
Cheers
Carl
Very, very nice Carl. I have seen these snow covered spruces in color, but this may be the first I have seen in monochrome – and I like it sooo much better. Perfect at representing stillness – the 40 below part – well – perhaps a crack across the camera lens could only portray that! 🙂
Hey Mark,
Thanks man, I appreciate that. The lens didn’t crack, but the ole battery didn’t hold up so well. 🙂
Cheers
Carl