Matt Giraud : Photographs : Natural

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Light wrestles through turbulent clouds to shimmer off the water in the Columbia Gorge
Sunrise kisses the top of Mt. Adams near Goldendale on our last grape run of the winemaking season. Man, I love this time of year, and I love that road trips into this beautiful country are part of it.
The 2017 solar eclipse dons a diamond ring on its way out the door. Never having shot an eclipse (and may never again!), I could only guess at the settings and gear I'd need – where we were, the totality only lasted about a minute, so I didn't have a lot of time to fool around with settings, and of course, I also wanted to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event, too! Luckily, my guesses were damn close.
I strapped on snowshoes and set out into the storm. Snow fell harder, then harder still, and every step away from the cabin seemed to take me farther from dimension and color. I reached a clearing, and looking up into the trees gathered around me in the silent rumble of snowfall, I was in an old photograph, water-stained and fading back into nothingness.
We had a "light dusting" here in Portland, so I went out around midnight, set up my tripod, and opened the shutter. It was like walking into the hall of the mountain king.
When I got out to the dock on Odell Lake just after dawn, I was the first person to break the snow – but not the first. This image was featured in Canon's official Instagram feed.
One light dusting of snow and winter’s steely monochrome numbs the Black Pine Mountains to iron.
Next stop, Snowville. Definitely.
Light and image bend, refract and reflect in the stillness of the Sanibel River
$Sanibel River refractions, SCCF, Sanibel Island Florida | © Matt Giraud Photography$
Light and image bend, refract and reflect in the stillness of the Sanibel River
$Sanibel River refractions, SCCF, Sanibel Island Florida | © Matt Giraud Photography$
Light and image bend, refract and reflect in the stillness of the Sanibel River
$Sanibel River refractions, SCCF, Sanibel Island Florida | © Matt Giraud Photography$
Light and image bend, refract and reflect in the stillness of the Sanibel River
$Sanibel River refractions, SCCF, Sanibel Island Florida | © Matt Giraud Photography$
On the road to golden hour, draping Mt. Hood in cinematic grandeur. This is why people move here, yes?
On the Estero Trail looking out onto Home Bay, Pt Reyes CA
The end of the world (or at least, the US) at Cape Flattery, Washington, just before sunset.
The day ends on a wintry Mt Hood. You can almost feel the chill creeping up the mountain, pushing the sunlight back up into the sky.
Trees worshipping the moon, Point Reyes, California
Somewhere between Sunnyside and Alderdale, the road shoots through burnt fields in Horse Heaven and up into the wide blue yonder
Black lava meets the deep, crystal-blue ocean off Ka Lae, or South Point, in Hawaii, the southernmost point in the 50 US states.
I remember everything around me shot through with soft golden light – every molecule of water in the air, every ripple in the Drake estuary, every blade of gently swaying cordgrass, every part of me. The light was a harmonic vibrating a fleeting moment of balance between the end and beginning of something. Everything seemed so clear. When the shutter opened back up, it was gone.