P#38: The Experience of Capturing the Photograph of a Lifetime at Wonder Lake
Stephen Johnson explains how the experience of getting this Wonder Lake shot was just as thrilling as the photograph itself
This dramatic photograph of Wonder Lake is quite a work of art, but the actual experience of getting the photograph was what makes it one of Stephen Johnson's favorites. Here he explains why this shot was a goal-reaching moment in his photography career.
The Stuff Photography Dreams are Made Of
Stephen Johnson: Here we have a photograph of what most people know as Mount McKinley, but is really Denali from Denali National Park, which is the tallest mountain in Alaska. In fact, I think it's actually the tallest mountain in North America if I'm not mistaken.
The photograph of this mountain was taken at a place called Wonder Lake. It's a place many of us know from landscape photography. Wonder Lake is where Ansel Adams' took his magnificent photograph, looking across the reflectivity out to Denali in the distance. (click the image for a larger version)
This is a very beautiful mountain. This particular photograph was taken with a very long lens because I was 25 miles away from the mountain. It's just always been a real favorite of mine for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the experience of making the photograph.
Many people go to Denali National Park and never see the mountain because it's shrouded in clouds, as it had been that first day my ex-wife Mary and I were there. We enjoyed the place very much, but we couldn't see the mountain.
During the late afternoon, which in Alaska means eight or nine in the evening during the summer, the clouds cleared and the mountain just opened up and there it was glowing out on the horizon. We were on the south end of the campground there with most of the campground behind us.
It was completely entrancing -- the light coming from the west striking the mountain and allowing this line to climb up the side the mountain between shadow and highlights, between the west and east views of the mountain looking toward the south at this magnificent thing that just filled your head, even though it was so far away that it certainly didn't fill your eyes as big as it is.
We later realized from some of the people that were at the other end of the campground that they were so entranced they didn't even notice a small herd of caribou that went right through the campground. People were looking at the mountain and not noticing anything else around them!
The experience of making the photograph and seeing Denali for the first time and being able to reach out to it with the longer lens and make a black and white photograph of it allowed me to rise to my goals in regards to the glow and sharpness that I've always looked for in black and white work. The suggestion of abstraction was also something that pleased me very much.
In Conclusion
Some moments in photography are picture perfect (pun intended), and this fascinating black and white shot is a perfect example. While many photographers have captured the beauty of Wonder Lake, not many have been able to come close to the dramatic beauty captured by Stephen Johnson in this photograph of it.
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