Like No One Is Watching
August 2018
Haven Model
Mount Rainier National Park

I’ve always tried to capture passion in my photography. For a photographer, passion is like light: it’s best when it’s at its most dramatic; and so to capture passion in dramatic lighting is a natural fit.

But it works both ways. There’s something about being out in the wilderness at golden hour, with the setting sun lighting a snow-capped volcano ablaze with spectacular color, that stirs a deep seated passion—for life, for living, for the thrill of being alive on planet Earth.

“Haven” and I hiked a mile up a steep trail in Mount Rainier National Park to reach this spot, a remote trail with a spectacular view, for a set of photographs. We’d already taken full advantage of the sunset, and as the light faded into twilight, neither of us wanted to stop. Haven climbed a short ridge, and filled with the passion of being alive in that place in that moment, began to dance, her form silhouetted against the deepening sky. We had already captured dozens of beautiful images, but none of them captured the magic of that place and time as fully as this.