ABOUT MOUNTAINSONG

Our DNA!

(Photo: Josh Miles)

Beginnings

For Mountainsong Photography founder, Steve Sears, the wilderness has always been a playground, a classroom and a place to dream. By the age of 14 he was undertaking solo, multi-day, backpacking trips into remote wilderness areas, and in the years since has pursued such physical challenges and adventures as a solo climb to 18,700 feet on a heavily glaciated volcano, a one day walk across the Grand Canyon, rim-to-rim and back (44 miles), a one day climb of Mount Whitney from the street light in Lone Pine (34 miles), several overnight 40-plus mile blitz’s across the San Gabriel Mountains, annual thirty-mile hikes through Death Valley in July temperatures of nearly 130 degrees, snow-camping journeys, explorations of fantastic caves, mines & lava tubes, searches for Native American archaeological sites, horseback, kayak & four-wheel drive journeys, and so much more…

About 18 years ago, this passion for the outdoors led him to explore photography as a way to capture the experiences and memories of his time in the wilderness.  After some period of time, and an accumulation of several thousand images, people began to notice and appreciate these photographs. But while others were enjoying the photographs, the entire process was becoming less and less satisfying to Steve. Where he had once found great satisfaction in taking a beautiful photograph, he now felt empty. Eventually, he put the camera and gear away and moved on to other things.   

Present Vision

The camera remained in the closet, and Steve remained frustrated, until several discussions with close friends helped him to redefine the purpose of a photograph.  Where before the ultimate purpose was to capture a moment, now it was service; it has not achieved its purpose until it had raised money for a cause, brought awareness to an injustice, or restored hope in the heart of a hurting person.  After several more discussions, a vision was birthed: Mountainsong Photography would not just sell beautiful prints showcasing the natural world, we would use a large part of the revenue to help people, we would use our brand to bring attention to social issues affecting our community and beyond, and we would put our collective shoulders into tangibly helping those in need within our line of sight. Eventually, plans are to open a gallery that will allow us to do these things on a much larger scale (see “The Wish List” link).

Why 'Mountainsong'?

Finally, no description of our business would be complete without an explanation of our name:

The words "mountain song" brings three meanings to mind for us. The first is the actual music of the mountains, such as the wind in the trees, singing birds, and water tumbling over rocks. The second is the song in our hearts; the feeling that we get when we're in wild places. Finally, there is the poetic description that the Bible gives of God's forgiveness and redemption: