I like your photos

I spent an insane amount of time yesterday perusing hiking pictures on Flickr. It seems that some people hike and camp simply to take better pictures than I could ever hope to take. There are so many awesome shots of every hiking trail and destination peak, ridge, or viewpoint that you can imagine, and some that you have probably never heard of that I actually got tired of looking, and went to bed.

I like the scenic photos that I take more than anyone else’s photos because there is a definitive link to my memory of having been there (and done that). I guess being able to relive a particular hiking trip in my mind while kicking back in a warm and dry environment (like my own living room) is the real reason I take photos when I am hiking.

The best common photos, in my mind, are the ones that show people being active and having a wonderful time. The only thing that differentiates the fifty thousand (or so) pictures of Mount Rainier are the people included in them (forgive me if you have taken one of the many exceptional photos of Mount Rainier, and there are many). By the third hour of looking yesterday, I was passing by the scenic shots in favor of the ones with faces, in hopes that I would recognize a long lost relative or friend. (I did stumble upon Michael Gauthier, one of my favorite sons from days past).

I am definitely not being critical here. We need to document as completely as possible the landscape that we play in and love, because it is all in jeopardy of being torn asunder to replace the uncomfortable rice paper that some cultures are forced to wipe their butts with, or to rip out the pseudo wealth that does more to poison and maim our way of life that help it. When people figure out that buying gold or investing in futures (or any feature of the stock market) is simply another ploy to increase the useless wealth of the wealthy, it will be too late for the wilderness areas that are rapidly being transformed into clear cuts and mud slides. The species of wildlife, like the Iraqis, are simply the collateral damage that goes down in the path of progress. (I think I might have digressed here).

So, keep taking those awesome photos, but try to include your friends and companions in more of them. It is equally important to document who you cared enough about to share your adventures with. Just sayin….

Digger