In this blog, ICL’s 2017 artist in residence, photographer Linda Lantzy, reflects on her experiences over the year. We’ve been delighted to have her outstanding images threading throughout our work this year and appreciate that she devoted her residency to exploring our Idaho public lands. We thank her for all she’s done in support of ICL’s work this year-including running a Facebook group for us! And it is a pleasure to offer you a short slideshow sampler of images that she created for her residency this year-from all over the state. If you are in Sandpoint, go see her  full year-end exhibit  which runs through December. Linda’s photographs have a distinctive and elegant beauty. Check out her work at www.idahoscenicimages.com. Thank you for everything, Linda! -MBW

It’s 3 am and like many a night of late, I find myself on the sofa with a million thoughts swirling through my head. What an amazing year it’s been! Time truly has flown by and it’s hard to believe that tonight I’ll be attending my “end of the year” artist reception for serving as the 2017 Artist in Residence for the Idaho Conservation League. I almost missed out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity due to my own stubbornness, since I almost didn’t apply after missing it twice before. But thanks to the prompting of friends, I finally decided to try one more time, and I’m so glad I did.

As this year began, I decided to set my residency focus on Idaho’s public lands. Until now, I had no idea how extensive the threats to these irreplaceable wonders have been. I set out to document their unique beauty, capture the love I have for these magnificent landscapes, and share that love with others.

My travels across the state took me to a wide variety of beautiful Idaho landscapes. I wandered in the snow up Rock Creek Canyon and explored City of Rocks and its baby brother, Little City of Rocks. I found “new to me” places, including a rickety old sheep bridge and vistas overlooking the South Fork of the Salmon River.

I visited Centennial Marsh and had the adventure of a lifetime rafting the Salmon River. In August, I joined hundreds of others for a mountaintop view of the solar eclipse. Totality was amazing, but the highlight for me was sitting in a field of lupine at sunrise that morning.

I drove new routes and saw beautiful scenery, waded in mountain streams, and sat quietly soaking in the sounds and scents of my beloved forests. I witnessed sunrise over the Tetons and sunset on Payette Lake.

I created images from all of these places, and I can only hope that, as ICL continues the fight to protect our public lands, my images will help win that fight by calling attention to the awe-inspiring value of what we stand to lose.

As I reflect on all the places I’ve explored, I feel profoundly grateful for the opportunity I was given. My love for my beautiful Idahome has grown exponentially, which I didn’t think was possible. I’m grateful to the ICL and sponsor ARTA River Trips from the bottom of my heart for this profound and wonderful experience.

– Linda Lantzy, www.idahoscenicimages.com