It took me three early morning trips in a row to capture this image. The first two were nothing but fog and rain, but the third morning was pure magic. The clouds parted and revealed the mountain just as the morning light arrived. It's kind of mind boggling just how much effort we put in to capture these kinds of images. Driving or hiking through the night, sometimes for days at a time. I've had multiday backpacking trips that yielded zero images. I know some people have camped on one spot for five days or hiked for many weeks to capture the right location with the right conditions. The only way to last in this field is to *not* be doing it just for the image. That's secondary. You have to do it for the adventure, exploration, discovery, and feeling of being in nature looking at something incredible. Sometimes I wonder if that's a selfish pursuit -- to spend so much time bumming around the mountains while many others can't enjoy this kind of freedom. Even if I worked to make it possible for myself to do this, I could use this time to help others. At the same time, if I don't do this, I feel bad, so I tell myself that if I can at least create something beautiful, that makes it okay to dedicate some time to this. Probably it's an excuse, but here we are. Does anyone else find themselves thinking about these things?
We share the same sentiments - Do it for the adventure, exploration, discovery, etc. It is extremely satisfying. Great shot btw.
100%, and thank you!