A Photographer's Pilgrimage

Outdoor photographer, Sean Bagshaw has captured some truly breathtaking early morning visions. Most of these pieces are so artful there are absolutely no delusions of Bagshaw simply rolling out of bed just before sunrise to snap off one or two lucky exposures and then crawling back into still-warm blankets for a few extra winks. No. These images bespeak tales of pilgrimage, and of a photographer on a journey that involves preparation, intention and a bit of risk taking.

One of my favorite sunrise's in Bagshaw's portfolio is Double Falls Print at Glacier National Park. First inspired by the photograph taken in 1997 by Galen Rowell, pioneer of wilderness photography, Sean's reaction to Rowell's image was both a desire to see the place and an itch to attempt his own version of the famous piece.

Other than knowing that the Falls were in Glacier Park, Montana, Bagshaw had no location information. In 2008 while traveling with a friend and fellow photographer on an autumn expedition, Sean had a "there it is!" moment when he came across Rowell'simage on a postcard in a Glacier Park gift shop. With hope, Sean and his friend got out a topographical map of Glacier and began searching for the proverbial needle. After careful study, they discovered the Double Falls location where Rowell had captured hisimage.

As in all of his work but especially when traveling into ecologically sensitive backcountry terrain, Bagshaw approached the shoot with mindfulness. In order to reach their destination before sunrise, the two photographers began their hike at 4:30 A.M. They picked their way through grizzly country and pre dawn grayness with extreme caution. They chose rocky ground and snow patches so as not to cause erosion and slowly navigated each stump, stone and bush that took on a slightly menacing look in the partial light. Once they had found the falls, they were able to set up their equipment, take several exposures just as the sun was coming up, and then with daylight on their side, return to their car by 6 AM!

The scale of the immediate environment is difficult to guess when looking at Double Falls Print; the imagined breadth of creek and depth of the ravine and cascading falls deceptively make the shot look dangerous to have obtained. In fact, it's not a large creek at all but multiple - perhaps three or four - streams coming together to form a basin. The ravine itself is no more than fifteen feet deep and, as Sean lightheartedly says, "six to eight feet across that could be easily traversed in a running jump!"

Like one who has truly made a pilgrimage, Bagshaw's favorite aspect of Double Falls was the experience: the multiple-year long journey that involved planning, intrigue, search, and discovery. In looking at the finished work, one senses the sheer thrill and unique way that it all came together. The place is scenic and almost architectural in its perfection of geological shapes and lines as well as the contrast of lightness and darkness. We are shown a sort of balance that only nature is capable of producing. While there is no doubt that the Ashland Oregon photographer worked and planned carefully to obtain thisimage, even Bagshaw acknowledges the degree of serendipity that conspired to give him this very special photograph.

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