Seeing Shadows

Last month I spent a week at Snowfall Lodge in British Columbia. To get to Snowfall, you fly to Spokane, drive 6 hours north over mostly empty roads, then get on a helicopter that flies you another 30 miles, deep into the alpine, where it drops you at a basic lodge perched at the bottom of a massive glacier. 

I spent a week there in May of 2022 and loved it so much I just had to go back. The beauty of Snowfall, aside from excellent skiing, is the utter simplicity of spending time there. Most days consist of waking up, having breakfast, heading out to hike up and ski down peaks blanketed in fresh snow, then coming back to the lodge for dinner, a beer, then bed. Snowfall can accomodate 16 skiers, and there is no wifi or phone service.

From my 2022 visit, where I had a vision while walking up the glacier, I made images that were eventually used to create a body of work called Rabbit Hole.

This year, however, while we were hiking and skiing through many of the same places, I was seeing things in a new way. Rather than being drawn to the towering peaks that surround Snowfall, I was much more tuned in to the way the sun was interacting with those peaks to form interesting shadows and patterns on the snow. 

Instead of seeing light, I was seeing shadow. Maybe this was a function of being inspired by the simplicity of being in such an incredible place, and subsequently looking for the simplicity in the beauty around us, and finding joy and appreciation in less obvious places.

I have yet to develop this work into a finished project, but for now here are a few of my favorite images: