by Kaj Bune
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Kaj's Bio
I grew up in Seattle and have maintained an interest in photography and the mountains for most of my life. My father started me hiking, fishing, canoeing, and exploring the wild places of Washington at a young age. I became interested in photography in junior high school and have pursued it ever since.
These two interests have merged in the last 15 years and my photographic inventory has grown with my mountain experiences. I have a love of Alaska and have done mountaineering trips in the Alaska Range, the Wrangells, St. Elias Range, and Fairweather mountains, camera at the ready. During a trip to Patagonia in '94 I got a chance to explore the other end of the globe, and enjoyed it greatly. Most of my adventures, though, are in my home mountain ranges of the Cascades and Olympics. These trips have provided frequent opportunities to capture on film people interacting with the mountain environment, whether that is hiking, rock climbing, skiing, or trail running.
My intention in mountain photography is to show the emotion of the moment. Ski mountaineering, for instance, is filled with emotion for me, and I always try to get that emotion to come through in the photographs. Many times it involves the feeling of being a little person in big country - one of my favorite themes.
One of my favorite photographic experiences was at the 1992 Olympics in Spain. My wife, Maylon Hanold, was competing in slalom kayak, and I was able to record that experience, which was rich with emotion for both of us.
I continue to turn my camera toward a great many mountain and non-mountain subjects. My images have appeared in outdoor catalogs, magazines, and product hangtags.