click to enlarge
It had been a long arduous trip through the back country weaving our way carefully over every obstacle in our way. Our trusty old truck, the “Enola Gay” had taken us places very few people had dared to go with the exception of the road building crews, the occasional school bus, UPS, the Swan’s truck and the maintenance crews that maintained this goat track. We felt that we were traversing virgin ground. There was very little sign that anyone had been through here in ages, Oh there was the usual abandoned Wal-Mart shopping cart, some post modern graffiti on the benches at the bus stops, but generally there was a feeling of abandonment and disuse that was palpable. You felt alone, like anything could happen.
In the continual quest for new images this photographer has been in some pretty hair-raising places where my personal safety felt totally at risk, but none so blatantly scary as this lonely road through this uncharted wilderness. Many times I’ve had to choose between safety and getting the shot. The choice has always been very clear, get the hell out of there, you can always get another picture. This day was no exception.
This had seemed like an opportune spot for getting some shots of rocks, maybe a cliff face or two, a vista maybe and although this particular area didn’t look all that promising my dad used to say “If you find yourself in hot water, take a bath.” so the photo shoot began. It was then that there was this sudden, incredibly loud noise like the mountain had split apart or erupted or just decided to give these puny little human interlopers a smack in the neck and the entire world seemed to stand still for a moment.
There was a rushing sound of little stones making bigger stones roll down the cliff, gathering momentum and encouraging others to join in until a huge mass of stones, rocks, dust and energy slammed down onto the roadway in a cacophony of destruction. It wasn’t this rock however, this one had been here for weeks and was in no danger of going anywhere. No, the rock slide I just described happened somewhere else entirely. I don’t have any idea where. It just wasn’t here. But it could have been. See that’s the dangerous part. If we had been in that very spot a couple of thousand years ago that could have landed right on us. I’m still breathing a sigh of relief.
Now I didn’t tell you this story to scare you or make you apprehensive about our safety. It was just to let you know the lengths that this photographer will go to get you the fresh spectacular images you’ve come to expect here at BigShotsNow.com. There is no risk too great that I can’t walk away from and get you another incredible picture taken in a safer place instead. I enter into this danger willingly because you’re worth it. Thanks for giving me a reason to do this dangerous job.
You must be logged in to post a comment.