When I attended Bill Pratt’s photography presentation at the Bill Memorial Library, I was not sure what kind of turnout there would be. I was pleased to find around 25 people filling the reference room in the brick, castle-like building. There was a monitor set up for Bill to show off his cross-country road trip photographs. Bill Pratt, a documentary filmmaker from Groton, took a two month-long trip to visit 25 national parks with his wife, Lisa. They visited 32 states and traveled 12,000 miles in their rental car.
Bill Pratt’s favorite subjects to photograph are landscapes, nature, wildlife, and some human imprint pieces. On a side note, Pratt (2019) called ice cream “one of the central preoccupations in [his] life” while he described the different ice cream shops he stopped at during his trip.
The photographs at this event were dramatic and beautiful. One of my favorite pictures was of a hail storm at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The ominous clouds drew gasps from many of the audience members. One word comes to mind as I think back on the photographs: sublime. Pratt’s presentation reminded me of all of the places I want to see one day. It is a testament to the diverse landscape of our country and the adventurous spirit that some are brave enough to embrace. He visited the Painted Canyon and hiked with his wife whenever they got tired of driving. Bill would wake up early to take photos of sunrises, especially when he stayed at the lodge at Many Glacier, where they also saw black bears across the lake and bighorn sheep on the trails. Many Glacier is one of the places I would like to visit most out of the all of the places Bill Pratt visited. The lodge overlooks a serene lake that reflects the most majestic mountains.
Following Glacier Park, Bill and his wife, Lisa, traveled to Olympic and the Sol Duc River. Here they were able to photograph the rare blacktail buck. Next, they traveled to Crater Lake and then to California, where they hiked the Coastal Trail and Urich Loop. They met an interesting man named Steve, a volunteer from the Redwoods who is writing a book. I enjoyed hearing about the people they met on their journey. They mentioned running into a couple who was from Waterford, which is just a few miles away from Groton, while they were in Washington State! The sense of community along their travels helped them to feel less isolated as they made their way across the country in a small rental car.
As I watched this presentation, I could feel something awaken inside of me. I am a homebody. I do not travel much. However, seeing all of the beautiful photos made me want to get out and see more of the world. I will be travelling to San Francisco and the surrounding area this summer, keeping an eye out for some of the beautiful spots mentioned in this presentation.