Paddleboarding
Sam H.
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Title: Paddleboarding
Taken on a Canon EOS 60D.
June 2022. We had just arrived at my friend's cabin near Lake Almanor, a couple of hours away from Lake Tahoe. This trip was the best part of my summer. Fresh off of the stress of junior year, it offered relief to our tired and spent minds. We spent a week there exploring the lake as well as Lassen National Park, surrounded by wilderness. Earlier, I decided to bring my digital camera with me to the trip, hoping to brush up on the hobby that had previously brought me so much joy. The goal: to document the events of the vacation, as well as the emotions. After combing through hundreds of photos, this photo captured the essence of the week most accurately. The photo depicts my friend paddleboarding back to the dock close to sunset. The ambiance of the mountains, the calmly rippling water, and the clouds painted across the sky almost seem too good to be true. There is a sense of calmness and tranquility conveyed by the tinge of warmth in the sky. Those blurred dots in the foreground were actually little Mayflies skirting around the water. Every so often, you could hear the rippling of a trout breaking the surface to eat, then, back to the silence of nature. When I look at this picture, I remember the sounds of the day. The small splashes made by the paddle. The sound of the water hitting the rocks. The faint rustle of the trees. I think that is what I find most interesting about this image. Somehow, a physical representation of an environment is also able to appeal to more than just our sense of sight. It evokes certain sounds, smells, and even textures. It is this quality of photography that makes it so special. Rather than looking at an event from the outside, we become integrated into it. I hope that this image can accomplish that for others in the same way it did for me.
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Most people would call me a "STEM person." However, photography has allowed me to explore art in a different way than drawing or painting. I can show the mundane experiences of my life in unique ways. Changing the angle or framing alters not just the photo, but the story it tells.
