The Magazine of The Sierra Club
A Hazy Shade of Winter
Photographer Dylan Furst finds natural splendor in dark, rainy days
“This image of a great horned owl was captured in Arizona during a guided raptor free flight," says photographer Dylan Furst. "While it’s my dream to get an owl photograph like this in the wild, I was still grateful to capture the essence of this creature in a controlled setting.”
“Each year, I take a trip to Arizona to visit my mother," Furst says. "Usually the hummingbirds are very active, and if I’m lucky, I can freeze their flight into an image. A hummingbird's wings beat an average of 50 to 80 times per second, so maxing out my shutter speed was necessary to create this image.”
“I probably took hundreds of photos over the course of an hour to perfectly time this drop falling off a branch," Furst says. "Oftentimes, the simple moments are the most fulfilling to photograph.”
“I live in a small cabin on a lake around the Bellingham, Washington, area," Furst says. "While I was sitting in my living room, I noticed this eagle on a tree right beside my house. I was able to capture an image just as they were taking off from a branch. I have noticed high eagle activity around my house in the early winter, as they are attracted to the chum swimming up the rivers in the area.”
“While photographing a job in Newfoundland, Canada, a three-legged fox emerged from the bushes, letting out a yawn before disappearing back into the brush," Furst says. He adds, "It all took place right near Cape Race, the lighthouse that first received the Titanic distress signal.”
“I took this photo of a butterfly while working on a project for the US Forest Service documenting stream restoration for salmon recovery," Furst says. "The rivers are full of life, both in and out of the water.”
“Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park is a popular place for deer to graze alongside the road," Furst reports. He adds, "Without having to get too close, I was able to capture a portrait of a deer amongst the fog and wildflowers.”
“Have you ever seen a fish in a tree?" asks Furst. "This image was captured in Washington State during the early winter, when a number of eagles hang out along the rivers in search of spawning salmon.”
Furst describes this image as "kayaking into the sunset." He shares, "After taking this drone photo, I decided to flip it vertically in post processing to give the effect of paddling through the sky.”
This shot was taken on a winter trip to the Lofoten Islands in Norway to chase the Northern Lights. "After a stormy week," Furst says, "we were gifted with clear skies and a show the night before we started the journey back home.”
To say that this has been a heavy holiday season would be a gross understatement. Not only are those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere entering our season of darkness—when the light fades and the stillness of night sets in early—but we're also reflecting on a year of divisive and polarizing politics, ever-sobering climate forecasts, racial unrest and injustice, and of course, a global pandemic that continues to ravage our country, and that has those of us well enough to celebrate this major holiday doing so in socially distanced fashion, if not alone.
Throughout this year, I've found myself increasingly drawn to art that evokes mood, nuance, and the understated and surprising kind of beauty so often found among chaos and darkness—art that not only reminds us of the power of hope and renewal but also reinforces the fact that many denizens of the natural world regularly withstand cycles of trauma and peril, only to emerge stronger, triumphant.
So I was delighted when Sierra's photo editor turned me onto the work of Dylan Furst, a photographer who finds inspiration in the dark, rainy days that are the norm where he lives, near Bellingham, Washington. Furst has a talent for capturing small, seemingly quotidian details in nature, but revealing their splendor. His work shows the many ways in which rain and darkness are in fact harbingers of growth and creation. Furst graciously shared with us several of his nature images, along with details about how he captured each. We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we do—and we wish all our (much appreciated) readers a safe, healthy holiday.