The Photography of Elias Carlson

Priest River, ID

The June Gloom.

I love the rains in June, before the grass is dry. Everything still fresh and alive. Raindrops cling to blades of green, dampening my shoes as I walk softly and scent wet pine in the air.

Priest River, ID

Awaiting

Priest River, ID

May 29, 2018

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Columbia River Gorge Overlook, WA

Columbia River Gorge Overlook, WA

Theresa

Priest River, ID

Steelheading on 35mm - 2 of 2

Oregon

Steelheading on 35mm - 1 of 2

Oregon

Chris Eyer and his mule string.

Bob Marshall Wilderness, MT

2017

Volume 9 of Another Escape - the Wilderness issue - is finally out, and it looks SO good! I produced, photographed, and wrote one of the feature articles about a 5 day mule-packing trip in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness with Chris Eyer (who goes by @muledragger on Instagram).

Priest River, ID

A portrait of a lake in 8 parts.

Blue Lake, North Cascades Nat’l Park, WA

Skagit River, WA

Morning on the Skagit River, WA

Salmon in the Methow River. The most beautiful sight.

Highway 20, WA

On my drive over Highway 20 this weekend I noticed a black lump on the side of the road out of the corner of my eye. As I whizzed by something clicked in my head and I thought, “was that a bear!?”. So I pulled over at the next shoulder and turned around.

Sure enough, it was a black bear laid out on the side of the road. The victim of a car or truck I’m sure. Aside from a bloody eye, it looked nearly perfect, as if it were asleep. Though it was clearly dead, the hair on the back of my neck stood up a bit as I approached. Not out of fear or disgust, but rather I suppose, in recognition of the great power this animal possessed when the spark of life still burned in its mighty chest. Even in death, being in its presence was humbling.

The North Cascades have always felt like home to me. But I am merely a visitor. My time there is fleeting. To this bear, the mountains were a true home. It made its living in the high valleys I daydream of as I whizz by them in my car.

Though I know there are quite a few, I’ve never seen a bear on any of my many hikes in these mountains. I always hope to encounter one, from a safe distance of course. Their existence, and continued presence in the mountains lends a vitality to these wild places that would be lost without them.

They are animals to be feared, yes. But fear is a clumsy and imperfect word to describe it. I do not fear them as one fears a monster. Rather, it is a fear based in respect and reverence, rooted in the recognition of the power, intelligence, and super-human abilities these magnificent creatures possess.