Photograph by Peter Essick
In 2015 Atlanta photographer Peter Essick strapped on cross-country skis and traveled across 10 miles of snow to Takakkaw Falls, the third highest waterfall in Canada, which he then scaled using ropes and ice picks—all to get a picture. The waterfall is part of Yoho National Park, a spectacular and little-trafficked area of the Canadian Rockies just past the continental divide. With more dramatic weather than its more popular neighbor, Banff, the wilderness offers stunning vistas of turquoise lakes, ice fields, glaciers, and even the odd mountain goat.
Photograph by Peter Essick
Photograph by Peter Essick
Over the course of two three-week trips, one in fall and the other in winter, the Stone Mountain–based photographer—who has made a career shooting unspoiled landscapes—captured more than 20,000 images. National Geographic published nine of the photos in its June 2015 issue, which caught the eye of the Booth Western Art Museum’s director Seth Hopkins. Each year the Cartersville museum honors a Georgia artist with a solo exhibition, and Essick is the first photographer to be spotlighted in the series. Through March 12 visitors can see 33 of Essick’s Yoho photos. “Peter’s images have a wonderful blend of documentary photography with an artistic slant,” says Hopkins. “He’ll shoot a quintessential Western landscape scene that’s incredibly well done, it transcends the cliche.”
This article originally appeared in our March 2017 issue.
