I didn’t have majesty in mind the day I climbed up Windy Point Ridge. Situated along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, south and west of Nordegg, Alberta, I was there to photograph the old trees that have been stunted by the winds coming off of the Bighorn Dam reservoir down below. On reaching the top of the ridge though, I found an old grey snag, looking out over Abraham Lake like some ancient, ever watchful, battle-scarred sentinel. What I saw was the remains of an old, dead tree. What I experienced though was majesty.

A high view is central to the experience of majesty and so are triangular shapes and jagged lines that imply a dynamic power. Key to this particular experience though was texture. Revealed by a strong and penetrating light, the heavily scored bark of the old tree evoked a sense of great age and of an enduring and regal capacity to withstand the ravages of time. Majesty, wrapped in the raiment of age.

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