Honorable Mention TOKYO-2020 Nature / Landscapes

Natural Bridge

  • Photographer
    Michael Simon
  • Agency / Studio
    Simon Fine Arts
  • Technical Info
    16mm F11 1/125s
  • Photo Date
    Feb 22, 2017

The Canadian Rockies in the winter are magical. After trekking across a frozen river, I had the opportunity to enter the base of a frozen waterfall which was transformed into this spectacular ice cave. Lying on the frozen ice of the river, I was surrounded by a deafening silence, interrupted only by the sound of the rushing water beneath the surface. Captured during my first dedicated photography trip, this remains one of my favorite moments captured and it always reminds me of the importance to always take a moment to stop and look up.

My mom put a camera in my hands for the first time, and thru it, 50 countries later, I met the world. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was 9, and my parents decided to retire early for her to live out her dreams before eventually passing. Grief showed up as a force of energy and as a psychological and spiritual challenge: in the darkest of places, find magic—the little jewels buried deep within the universe that inside us all, create a spark. My goal is to change your conversations, views, and purpose thru pictures. And in the end...help you see that even in darkness, there is light.