The Green Station Wagon.

Green Station Wagon. UT 2006

Arriving on the scene, the sun had not yet risen. It was -10 degrees, pitch black and very still. Waiting for the sun to rise, I jumped up and down on the spot for what seemed like hours, until, finally, the sun began to rise and I set the focus of the 8/10” view camera. As the golden sunlight illuminated the mountain, I loaded the camera and pulled the dark-slide waiting for the optimum moment. Seconds later a green station wagon pulled into view. Then, the driver, Chuck, got out of the car and came over to greet me. At that moment I clicked the shutter.

One of the joys of photography is capturing moments never to be repeated, what I call trophies. It may come as a surprise that these moments can happen in landscape just as much as say a portrait. Over the years these trophies have made up a large part of my work, but often no one really knows as they often look intentional, just like the Green Station Wagon.

The most interesting thing about this image is that had I arrived at the location and the car was already there, I probably wouldn’t of photographed it.