The Adventure

5 Favourite Alpine Reflection Photos

  

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What is it about reflections that never cease to intrigue us?  We know if we look across a smooth body of water, from a low perspective, that we will see a reflection. Yet, when a reflection unfolds before us, our minds are captivated by the vision, and if we're holding our cameras, we can't help but take a picture.

Here are my five favourite reflection images from the kaleidoscope of wilderness adventures that make up CMH Summer Adventures. 

This first one, a reflection of a rock being thrown into a glacial tarn, is one of those pictures that I left open on my desktop for a long time. A moment of natural chaos and perfection in the waters of the Columbia Mountains:

Here, in a technique I learned from the late, great photographer, Galen Rowell, two hikers are invisible against a shadowy background while their reflections do the hiking:

Just a few steps from the CMH Bugaboo Lodge, a small lake provides both cool swimming on hot afternoons, as well as a photographer’s dream on clear mornings:

This one, of the CMH Bobbie Burns Lodge shows the main ingredients of CMH Summer Adventures.  An incredibly remote wilderness lodge and the twin engine Bell 212 helicopter - known as the safest helicopter ever made - a flavorful modern recipe for adventure:

Finally, my favourite reflection photo ever, shows a group of hikers dwarfed by the splendor of Western Canada’s sublime wilderness:

Perhaps the thing that fascinates us most about reflections is the symbolism of our own experience - a sort of affirmation of our ability to reflect on our lives and a hope that we can reflect on some of our experiences with the clarity of nature. 

For me, this metaphorical reflection is one of the main reasons I continue to go into the wilderness for adventures. While most of life is muddled with expectations, responsibilities, and complexities, my lifetime’s experiences in nature form a combined collection of memories that I can reflect upon with crystal clarity, every bit as crisp, colourful, and perfect as the lines in these images.

Photos by Topher Donahue.