In O
ctober 2019 I was invited to go to Alaska with my friend Jim Norman. I had lived in Alaska in the 1970's when as a young man I served a two year Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but I had not returned since.
I have such fond memories of my time in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Eagle River and so I was anxious to return. But so many years had passed that I knew I'd not recognize much, and I was right.
But what hadn't changed was the land, the serene feeling of isolation and the beauty...it was still there and it was wonderful to experience it again. The highlight of the trip was a 12 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage through Denali, some 350 miles of rugged isolation.
The train was almost empty which allowed me monopolize the gap between two of the cars where I opened the doors and shot from both sides of the train. It was cold and with the train moving, the wind chill made it feel much colder. And then there was the snow which accumulated on my lens and had to be wiped off between each shot.
I was photographing the trees as they sped past, by panning the camera. Then I tried it with a long exposure and what I saw got me very excited! (No. 1 above)
As I experimented further I was able to obtain different effects, some of which blew my mind and defied understanding.
