Sure I could say something about this image that leads you to believe I was in a remote location and witnessed a magical night under billions of stars yada yada yada... The truth is, I'd be lying. This image is a composition of a balsamroot flower I photographed along the main road heading into Waterton National Park in Southern Alberta, and the sky was a combination of photos taken in the Mojave Desert in California. This was just a fun little edit for me, nothing more. As a photographer I see too often people claim a photo was taken in an exotic place in magical conditions. I often chuckle because the truth is that the photos are often everything but that. Many times I even recognize the locations and they are literally roadside, with a gigantic moon, or a shooting star added in for effect etc. I think photography in the digital era in particular landscape photos need to be taken with a grain of salt and one must appreciate a photo for what it is and not for any form of truth or authenticity.
This is certainly one of those photos that just cannot do this place justice. Displaying the magnitude of Smith Rock in a single photo just can’t be done in my opinion. After getting home from a 10 day road trip to Oregon, I was quite eager to take a good look at the file of photos I took while on this location, and to my dismay I was actually quite dissapointed upon review. What I came to understand, it is simply one of those types of places that the sheer size just doesn’t translate into a photo well. Some places just need to be experienced to be appreciated, and I am ok with that.
