2014 was a challenging year for me and one in which I took far fewer images than in previous years. I made very few trips this year. My main trip was to the Pacific Northwest in the spring and that was wonderful. I also had a very quick father and son drive to the desert, but we did very little photography. This year I didn't take an autumn trip but instead spent a few days in Iceland on the way to England to spend Christmas with my wife's family. Unfortunately the weather was terrible, the worst weather of the year for them with high winds and heavy snow making photography challening. Nonetheless, I am grateful for all that I had a chance to see and experience. I look forward to whatever adventures lie ahead in 2015.
Steps to the past, a view from Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
Water seems to flow from almost everywhere during a spring rainstorm at Wachella Falls, Oregon.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
In late December, off of a lonely road in southern Iceland, I stood alone in the bitter cold and watched the aurora borealis dance in the sky. First it appeared as vast waving green lights, then a touch of yellow appeared followed by a red pillar reaching down from the sky and landing on a distant farm.
Have you ever had an experience, perhaps an encounter with beauty that was more than any words could convey? John O'Donohue writes, "We feel most alive in the presence of the Beautiful for it meets the needs of our soul. For a while...we glimpse behind the shudder of appearances the sure form of things.". This was how I felt that night.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
A vibrant stand of aspen glow in their autumn colors near Kebler Pass, CO.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
While there are no magical properties in the water itself, such exquisite beauty and the roaring sound of rushing water somehow brings a sense of healing into our trouble hearts, allowing us to perceive that in beauty is the answer to life.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
An old road leads through the forest in Redwood National Park.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
A small tree clings to the edge of a cliff while water pours down around it on every side.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
Rhododendrons bloom next to giant redwoods, filling the air with the most amazing aromas.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.
On an icy night in Iceland when no one was watching magical lights took to the sky and danced to a silent melody.
Photo © copyright by Erik Stensland.