Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
John Muir, Our National Parks
I confess I have never been one to climb mountains, and certainly not these days! But I am inspired by the sight of them and by all the wonders of the world’s wilder places.
And where better to see some of these than in a national park? I’m a particular admirer of the US national parks system, which owes much to the campaigning of John Muir. He was passionate about wild places, especially in North America where he had emigrated from Scotland as a young boy. He explored them, wrote about them and campaigned to protect them. He believed in protecting them, for their own sake, for ours and for wildlife. His writings helped people to understand the importance of wildness and inspired the creation of the world’s first national park system.
The photo above shows the view from Muir Rock in King’s Canyon National Park, California. According to the NPS website:
From this rock overlooking a relatively quiet bend of the Kings River, he would address anyone who would listen. He shared his love of the wild and his theories on how these canyons formed (carved by large rivers of ice called glaciers, which later proved to be correct). These talks and the articles he wrote celebrating the area helped lead to its becoming a national park.
https://www.nps.gov/places/000/muir-rock.htm
To celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd) as well as the US National Park Week April 19th – 27th) I’m sharing some images from our visits to some of those parks. And to tie into Leanne’s theme-free Monochrome Madness I’m experimenting with some black and white edits using Nik Silver Efex Pro. It may seem counter-intuitive to strip out the beautiful hues that the earth gives us, but monochrome brings out shapes and textures to emphasise other aspects of its beauty. And you will already have seen many of these shots in colour, especially those taken in California last year.
I’m also linking this to Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge as she too is celebrating Earth Day.
Junction View, King’s Canyon National Park, California
Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, California
View from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, California
Olmstead Point, Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California
Bumpass Hell viewpoint, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
On Artist’s Drive, Death Valley National Park, California
At Dante’s View, Death Valley National Park, California
Alkali Flat, White Sands National Park, New Mexico
El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico
The view from Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Washington State
Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington State
Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State
Myrtle Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State
Oxbow Bend, Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Near Mammoth Hot Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
These photos were taken in 2006 (Wyoming), 2011 (New Mexico), 2017 (Washington State) and 2024 (California). I have also visited national parks in Utah, Arizona, Florida and elsewhere but only have 35mm slides, either not yet or very poorly scanned, from those trips.
15 Comments
Monkey's Tale
Funny that we both had mountain themes today. Surprisingly though, my favourite of these is Rialto Beach. I love the features that come out in the logs in black and white. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
I’m always happy to feature mountains and to see other people’s images of them 😀 But I agree B&W works particularly well on those old tree trunks as it brings out all the textures.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Thank you for sharing your stunning images of beloved national parks, Sarah! Your monochrome experiments paid off in a big way and you captured the essence of Ansel Adam’s to boot. John Muir would be proud! ❤️
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Terri 😊 I can’t claim to match Ansel Adams but I am inspired by him!
grandmisadventures
Great pictures- makes me want to take off work, grab my hiking shoes, and get out to see the parks.
Sarah Wilkie
Glad they had that effect on you! Thank you Meg 🙂
Anne Sandler
Wow, Sarah, beautiful black and whites of some beautiful places. When we were traveling across the U.S. and back, I was talking to a woman in Missouri. She asked where I was from and I said California. She replied that she had been there and didn’t like it. I asked why. She replied that California had mountains! Thank you for showing that our mountains are beautiful in color or black and white!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Anne 😊 I’m happy to be able to show off the beauties of your state and others! I can’t imagine not liking a place because it has mountains, how odd!
Egídio
Wow, Sarah! You brought wonderful memories with these gorgeous photos.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Egidio 😊
Sue
What a marvellous set of images, Sarah! Like you, I am inspired by the sight of mountains , and by all the wonders of the world’s wilder places. Hard pressed to find a favourite, but I do like the fairly minimalistic image of the view from hurricane Ridge
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue 🙂 The views from Hurricane Ridge were just stunning, and the air so fresh up there!
margaret21
Although I miss the colour, these all work well in monochrome. I especially like Artists’ Drive and Rialto Beach in this format.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 🙂 I’m glad you picked out Artists’ Drive in particular as I wasn’t sure if that one had worked (it’s called Artists’ Drive because of all the different colours in the rocks!)
margaret21
Ah, I must have missed that if you showed it before. But it’s a striking image.