Dear Family and Friends,
There is a very special place, it's very high, the wind blows hard, and summer is short. Rocky Mountain National Park is the location of this special place. I discovered this area in 1981 while photographing the high country of Trail Ridge Road. I recorded an image that detailed a struggle for life on this "Wind Swept Ridge". The photograph has always been a favorite and viewing has always stirred thought.

This year I returned to the Wind Swept Ridge and found it unchanged from my memory of spring 1981. I walked the small saddle area, explored the trees, plants, and wildlife who call this home. A friend suggested I explore this area in detail with the camera lenses. I photographed the area during the weekends of August, September, and October till snow closed Trail Ridge Road.

Life there, is in a very real struggle to survive, all have to take advantage of every opportunity, bend with the wind, grow as the season allows, and sleep as the long dormant season starts. The world there is a very hostile place and only the extremely strong, wise, and flexible survive as they take advantage of every opportunity to grow and continue. Trees and plants hug the ground as the wind challenges anything vertical. This has created a horizontal world if exposed to the wind. Brisslecone pines which due to some protection, manage to grow in the vertical, find all their branches growing down wind or east. The wind side or west side of these old trees are generally stripped bare of bark and are polished to a shine, with the east side being the living side. Birds and mammals appear to visit and pass through the area as I found no evidence of permanent residence.

It's a wondrous place and I'm very happy to be able to share it with you. I honor your struggle for this coming year and pray this finds you well.

Michael, November 1998

Technical Notes:
All the photographs are large format, 4" x 5" & 8" x 10" negatives, and recorded August, September, and October of 1998. The film used was Kodak Tri-X, negatives were developed in D76 at 1:1 for 7-1/2 to 9 minutes at 68 degrees. Original prints were developed in Kodak Dektol and a few required Kodak Dektol mixed with Selectol Soft to make subtle print contrast corrections. All prints were double fixed and toned in Kodak Selenium. The original prints were scanned with an HP 4C scanner and minor contrast corrections completed with Photoshop 4.0. The calendar layout was developed in Page Maker and the photographic images added to the Page Maker computer files. The digital files were then printed by a local print shop.