30 Comments
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Darin's avatar

Damn, Todd!! Just...Damn!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Damn, Darin - thank you!! 🤣

Karen Olson's avatar

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. And your epic images!!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Karen - I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos! šŸ™

Vincent Wagenaar's avatar

This is such a great read! I like the way you describe your days during this unique experience against the daily life outside of it and the perspective of our short existence against the vast span of time that the river carries within. And most of all, I'm happy you used your camera to pay attention. The photos are awesome. Thank you, Todd!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thanks, Vincent! My relationship with ā€œtimeā€ on this river trip was multifaceted, so I’m really glad that these themes resonated with you. It was an incredible experience, so I’m happy that I could share some of my memories and photos with people like yourself.

Manuela Thames's avatar

Incredible, Todd, that is all I have to say!

I love the black and white images as usual, but the colors and tones in your color photographs are stunning.

I would love to experience something like this someday. Thank you so much for sharing!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you so much, Manuela! I’m glad you like both the B&W and color photos. I’m frequently disappointed in my color images at the Canyon because they don’t resemble what I saw in my mind’s eye. However, the ones I chose for this post were ā€œclose enoughā€ šŸ˜‚

I hope you get a chance to experience a trip on the river someday - I can’t recommend it enough!

Kevin Hansen's avatar

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Kevin!

Kenneth Nelson's avatar

Such awesome wonder. Whatta rafting experience for sure!

Cheers!

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thanks, Kenneth! It was an amazing trip, and one I love to reminisce about.

Lin Gregory's avatar

Wow what an experience. The adventure of travelling that magnificent river and the rapids with all the adrenaline rush that must have brought alongside experiencing the calm flow of connection through your mind and body to the landscape, becoming one with it for those two weeks...all of this can have little comparison. I can understand the way returning to the real world of work and life could be overwhelming after that - the feeling of deep connection might fade with time but what lifelong memories you've created through your journals, your video and the amazing images here Todd...you've told the story beautifully in this piece through all three.😊

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Lin! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, and watched the video. It was fun working on this one since it brought back many wonderful memories.

Yes, the experiences on the river are so incredibly diverse - one minute we are hanging on for dear life through the rapids, and the next we’re relaxing in calm water, enjoying the beautiful scenery pass slowly by. Just like light cannot exist without darkness, I think that having such opposite experiences on the river makes one appreciate each that much more. šŸ™

Rachel Jeffrey's avatar

Great trip, great photos! I've rafted once here in CO, but I'd love to do a multi-day float šŸ˜

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thanks, Rachel! I can’t recommend doing the trip enough - you won’t regret it!

Deborah Gregory's avatar

Todd, your river‑time travelogue was such a beautiful reminder of how a landscape can slow a life down until it becomes pure presence ... each moment shaped by water, light and silence. The way you describe returning to the world afterward ... dazed, overstimulated, yet still carrying the river’s beauty and echo ... felt deeply resonant. Thank you so much for sharing your stunning images and the heart smile. šŸ™šŸ’–

Todd Haughton's avatar

I’m so glad this resonated with you, Deborah. It was fascinating to witness how my relationship with the Canyon deepened the longer we spent on the river. The first couple days was met with mostly excitement, and then as I adjusted to the daily rhythm, I felt myself immersing more fully with the world around me. šŸ™

Shital Morjaria (she/her)'s avatar

Looks like you had a lovely trip Todd. The photos are really nice and speak of the wonderful times you had.

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Shital! The Canyon is an incredible place to truly immerse yourself in.

KewtieBird’s Photo Journey's avatar

So amazing.

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, KewtieBird!

Marcel Borgstijn's avatar

Wow. What a absolute wonderful experience that must have been. Thanks for sharing. Great photos. I like the fragments in between.

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Marcel! It truly was the perfect combination of experiences. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post.

Benjamin Fargen's avatar

Excellent! Wonderful images and what looks to be a legendary trip. šŸ‘šŸ–¤šŸ“·

Todd Haughton's avatar

Thank you, Benjamin! It was one of my best vacations ever! I am hoping I get a chance to do it again soon.

Framing-the-Story w/AK's avatar

What an amazing journey! Love the photos and the VIDEO. I want to go on a similar river trip before I die or before AI takes over our lives, whichever comes first.

Mark Foard's avatar

Superb images, Todd! Absolutely beautiful. You've really managed to capture the depth of the gorges and the vastness of the landscape as well as your whole experience over those 15 days.

I've only tried white water rafting a couple of times and then only for half a day each time. The first time was in the North Georgia mountains in the area where Deliverance was filmed. Thankfully, no unfortunate encounters with the locals but the rapids were pretty scary at times.

Greg Krouse's avatar

I really enjoyed your descriptions and your focus on filling the serenity of the place. The fact that it slowed you down so much that coming back to reality that we normally feel seemed intense is really a good contrast as you said.

It's such a grand environment. It's hard to imagine. Thank you so much, Todd.