In July, I took a short trip to Vermont to capture some of the natural beauty of the Green Mountains. I camped in the Green Mountain National Forest and spent most of my time around Branch Pond (map), a place I know well and return to often. This time, I decided to create a short adventure video as well to capture the essence of the experience. The video has no talking—just the natural sounds of the forest, the rhythm of hiking and camping, the click of the camera shutter, and a touch of music. My goal was to share what it feels like to be out there, and I think I came pretty close.

A little behind-the-scenes insight: while the video shows it as a one night adventure, I actually spent two nights in the forest. The first afternoon and following morning were dedicated to filming. On the second day, I shifted my focus to photography. To help keep continuity in the video, I used the classic Attenborough trick—wearing the same shirt on both mornings. I only changed into a clean one after I wrapped up all the video footage. As with any nature photography trip, there’s never a guarantee of capturing great images, and while I’ve definitely taken better photos on other trips, I’m quite happy with what I got this time. Here are my favorites. There are more images in the video.

Gear: Canon EOS 5Ds, Canon 500mm f/4 L IS USM, Canon 1.4x Extender, Gitzo tripod, RRS ballhead, Canon EOS 5DsR, Canon 24-105 f/4 L IS USM II