A great rock outcrop rests in a remote river valley beneath the stars on California's North Coast. Moonlight illuminated the landscape beyond, while some light from nearby human activity temporarily shone upon the rock itself in this 346-second exposure. July 13, 2021.
- Photo by David Wilson
- Sentinel beneath the Milky Way. The long exposure of 815 seconds allowed the stars to draw trails along their paths across the sky. The stars on the left are revolving around the North Star, while the ones on the right are arcing around the southern polar axis. July 13, 2021.
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For millennia, a formidable rock outcrop has stood tall in the middle of somewhere out in the forests of Humboldt County. The lonely boulder has outlived the comings and goings of busy humans for countless generations.
How many names has this massive butte been given by ephemeral humanity in its lifetime? I suspect more than one and I confess I know of none. But what difference does it make, I wonder? The rock is the rock, whatever humanity calls it, and to it our lives flit by in the blink of an eye. Villages, settlements and towns may fall and rise, and still the rock abides. Cycles of old growth forests on the slopes of the outstretched hills around it come and go as meadow grasses in this rock's lifetime. No name will stand that test of time.
I will allow the rock now to speak for itself from these images.
To keep abreast of David Wilson's (he/him) most current photography, visit www.mindscapefx.com or follow him on Instagram at @david_wilson_mfx and on Twitter @davidwilson_mfx. He teaches Art 35 Digital Photography at College of the Redwoods.
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