garret w smith_wander_01: Brian Kerr paraglides Sergeants Ridge on Mount Shasta, California. garret w smith_wander_02: Phil Smith sets up for Black Creek rapid on the Main Salmon, Idaho. garret w smith_wander_03: Anya Miller boulders a lone rock formation off the Sea of Cortez in southern Baja. garret w smith_wander_04: Makahl Smith explores a cave in Mulkey Gulch, Montana. garret w smith_wander_05: Paul Byrne drops off the Middle Teton into Ellingwood couloir, Wyoming.
The severe ridge contrasts the quietness of the paraglider soaring above.
For a brief moment all stops, and in the chaos comes a vision of the safe path through the boiling whitewater. A defiant rock catches the climbers mind, a desire to collaborate with the rocks refusal to be swept away with the tides, the climber refuses risk and gravity to stand atop the ancient backbone. The cave’s darkness and scent cause one to think of a lonely place, nevertheless signs of life and movement become apparent in the lit beam. The appeal of ascending a peak into the clouds, finding unique perspective, pleasing soar muscles and lungs, is only enriched by the feeling of flight descending the same giant on crystals of snow.
The knifed ridges of Mount Shasta encourage contemplation, the boiling waters of Idaho enable creativity, the landscape and skies of Baja bring reflection, the quiet crags of Montana empower curiosity, and the rise of the Tetons inspires. These photographs are glimpses into the last year of my wandering. Aimlessly found but intentionally photographed, these images are captured to remind us of the possibilities for growth when we wander. Similar to my lifestyle, these photographs are saturated with movement and variation, each image is unique and independent but they flow in a symbiotic relationship like the mountains and rivers, different in function and semblance, but together forming a landscape.
Nature is defined as the collective physical world separate of humans or human creation. I find that outdoor photographs with a human element give us a greater perspective of our relationship with nature.
At times I have felt desperately lost but found ultimate clarity at the same moment. My things are scattered in family and friend’s homes, intricately stacked in Hank (my 1987 Toyota pickup), and packed in the cab like a college dorm room. The life of comfortable beds and running water are gone from my day-to-day existence. Freedom and starry nights and the photographs that I capture replace these things that I lack. In the unknown realm of the wandering mind lives the desire to have purpose and inspiration in life. A career or direction doesn’t come easy to such minds and spirits. Instead, a nobler goal too reach out and touch something that doesn’t fade away into the mix is the life intention. Awareness and passion towards where we are in the world can bring this goal to fruition. With this series of photographs I reflect on the ever-growing beauty and reality that we find and hopefully become closer too.
Let these images spark the childlike curiosity and courage that sometimes lays dormant in our adulthood. Let us wander so that we may wonder what realization we might find tomorrow.