If it was not for the Adirondack Mountains, I would have strived to make a living in Utah. Over the years, I have been fortunate to visit different parts of Utah. I am terribly lazy and scatter-brained when it comes to processing my photos; and now with multiple trips over the years, they are starting to pile up. This is an attempt to revisit the files in hard drives, recall some of my favourite memories, and process (in some cases re-process) the images. This is not an attempt to create a portfolio of the best images or categorize in any other way. 

I believe that in order to truly understand a place, one must live there. And if creation is an expressive testament to that understanding, then my images fall vastly short. Having acknowledged that, I feel that I have tried my best to understand Utah as much as an outsider can- by coming back to the same place, in different seasons, and in the same seasons in different years, reading and learning about the place, and contemplating the works of different artists from the region. All of the above have helped me make some images that I would like to share in a chronological order for the sake of simplicity.

The first one titled Fremont Gold is from 2018. Due to difficult personal scenarios, many parts of this trip were miserable but this late December afternoon, shivering by the river, was a welcome respite from the misery.

This one titled Step Into the Light is from 2020. This was my fifth trip to Utah but the first time during the Fall season. It was my first solo visit to Utah as well which meant there was no fixed itinerary or time table, thus making it the best kind.

This image, titled Dance With Me, is my personal favourite from this trip. The easy access from the roadside pullout brought me such joy every time I drove past this grouping of trees in the subsequent years. Alas, this year, I found that some of the trees have fallen.

From the same trip in 2020 came this image titled Canyon Possessed. I cannot say how far images go but touching canyon walls in person is a strong, strange feeling, and something I look forward to on every visit.

It took me another two years to witness the glory of cottonwoods in Spring. Here is one from my first Spring visit in 2022 titled 9 AM Light.

Though I have driven through Cathedral Valley thrice before, I camped up there for the first time in 2022 for three days. Here is one image titled Idle Afternoons.

The next few images are from this summer of 2023. Part of the trip was solo and part of it was in the company of good friends and passionate photographers- Eric Erlenbusch (@lausivee) and Prajit Ravindran (@irockutah). All the following images were made while exploring some new (to us) locations with Eric and Prajit. Though ‘three is a crowd’, it did not feel like that for once. Both of them are eccentric and serious in their own ways and helped me learn by observing their approach to making images.

Afternoon Amble– one from our very slow, never tedious, walk in a canyon.

Varnish Drip– the varnish on this canyon almost resembles petroglyphs.

How Is This Possible?– this is what I was thinking (and possibly Eric too) as we came across this scene.

The Stars Below

The River Knows Its Way

The Light Fades

When the Clouds Move

To Be a Flower

Does It Ever Fade?