2020 was a pretty negative year for most people. Due to Covid I lost a considerable amount of photo work and found myself with lots of free time to get out into the woods and mountains and make work. These are some of my favorite images of 2020.
Gap in the Clouds, Baxter State Park.
This particular image is of Chris Shane on Traveler Mountain in the far northern reaches of Baxter State Park. We had climbed Doubletop for sunset and then slept a few hours and started up Traveler to be above tree line for sunrise. Chris was a few minutes ahead of me when I looked up and saw him perfectly lined up in this cloud gap. I screamed at him to stop and squeezed off a few shots. Shot on the canon 135mm 2.0L. You can see the YouTube video from our Baxter trip on our channel, Adventures of Chris and Chris
Lockdown Self Portraits.
My next favorite image of 2020 isn’t just one image, it’s a series of images. At the beginning of quarantine back in April I made a series of self portraits exploring how strange and lonely lockdown really was. It was a great creative outlet and a nice break from outdoor adventure photography. It reminded me of my college years at RIT studying photography. It felt like I had given myself an assignment for fine art photo 101. These images seem even more relevant now than they were back in April.
Canadian Pines.
Another favorite image of 2020 was taken in the deep snows of a pine forest off the Icefields Parkway north of Banff, Canada. I traveled to Banff to photograph a dear friend’s wedding in late February. Little did I know it would be the last time I would leave the United States for a year (or more). For someone who travels internationally many times a year, that’s a scary thought. This image represents that loss in travel for me. The day after this image was taken I flew directly to San Diego to start riding my bike across the country back to Maine, only to have that adventure come to a halt due to Coronavirus lockdowns.
Portrait of Philip Carcia.
Philip Carcia has completed a White Mountains 4000-footer single year grid (climbing all of NH’s 48 peaks above 4000ft each month for 12 months. Thats 576 summits and 1,000,000ft of climbing in a year). He is also the FKT holder for a single season redline, hiking every single trail in the White Mountain guidebook in a summer season. Stack up another 2000 miles and 500,000ft of climbing. Google Philip Carcia’s name and two of the first four results are articles in The New York Times and Outside Magazine. This man’s grit and feats are legendary.
Meet him in person and you’ll find a slight but powerfully built man who is quiet, introspective and speaks with purpose. He has thought carefully about why he spends time in the mountains. His thoughts on life and hiking will leave you questioning your own purpose on this earth.
Chris Shane and I had the pleasure of spending a day with Philip during his single season redline. You can watch that profile here on our YouTube channel, Adventures of Chris and Chris. After we returned to the parking lot I took a few portraits of Philip under some trees. And I do mean I “took” a portrait. Portraiture is a delicate dance. Its about getting your subject to open up, so the viewer can get the essence of the subject. Philip opened up to me, laid bare his vulnerabilities. I was able to get right up into his personal space so we can see the affect half a million vertical feet has on his face. I took close ups of his feet. I really do believe Philip let me take something from him and pass it on to you, the viewer.
Hunting and fishing for MDIFW
This is a series that pays homage to my relationship with the Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife. I’ve been creating imagery for the department for over a year now and every time I go out, I get to see another beautiful part of the state and meet genuine, passionate women and men whose love of the outdoors knows no bounds.
Morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway
This was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of Roanoke, Virginia. Earlier in the month I had attempted to ride my bike from San Diego, CA to Portland, Maine to raise money and awareness for suicide and suicide prevention. I made it to El Paso, Texas, 700 miles, before states started locking down due to COVID and I found it too difficult to continue. I rented a car in El Paso and drove the route back to Maine that I had planned to bike. At first I was really upset and felt like I was letting a lot of folks down. But many of you reached out through social media and email and helped me along the way. This particular morning driving along the spine of the Appalachians, above the clouds also helped me realize that things will be ok. I can attempt the ride again... and perhaps suicide awareness will be even more important in the post-COVID era.
No snow on Katahdin
In January of 2020 Chris Shane, Jamie Walter and I decided to make a day trip up Katahdin to see if Abol Slide was skiable. It was not. The forecast throughout the state was for clear skies, but we all know mountain weather. Katahdin was socked in all day with high winds and a very low wind chill. The only time we actually put on our skis was when we reached the Tableland, just below the summit. All of us can now say we’ve climbed Katahdin in ski boots. It was a savage 18 mile day.
The silver lining of 2020 was that I had more time than ever to get outside and make work. I spent more nights in a tent in 2020 than I had since 2006, when I lived in a tent. I also started a YouTube channel with my good friend Chris Shane which in turn has led to some incredible adventures and more opportunities to make beautiful photography. Please take the time to check out some of our adventures on the channel here.