Rich Matthies and Laura LaFave.
© Beth Vershure

© Jack Dykinga

© Jack Dykinga

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Interviewer: How about Rich Matthies?

Dykinga: Well, Rich and I shared a rock — I think that was Hermit Rapids. I took him out on this rock — actually I showed him what there was in terms of photography. A lot of times I like to scout locations the day before, and I just kind of walk it through — like the beach at North Canyon, I pointed out that this is probably gonna be good, 'cause that cliff'll light up over there, and you'll get a reflection down here. So we did the same thing at Hermit Rapids, and first thing in the morning Rich had clambered out on top of this boulder right at the top of the rapids. And he's out there getting all set up.

So, he's boring into the scene, and gosh, along comes Dr. Laura [LaFave] and she also wanted to go out the same place. There's really only room for two people on this rock, so I decided that I would just sit there and watch.

Other people wanted me to hike up the canyon with them, but I couldn't leave, because these two were standing on this kind of precarious perch, and photographing the rapids as the sun rose.

So, they're out there on the rock, and the light is coming on, and Rich was so excited that he turned and grabbed his bag with the zipper open, and one of his lenses tumbled into the rapids. And of course I was like ... sick, and he turned to me and said, "Should I go after it?" And I said, "No, I don't think so." It was like 30,000 cfs [cubic feet per second] now. So the lens actually vanished into the Colorado. And of course he was a little upset at seeing a thousand dollars go blowing by, but what's amazing is that he was so intent on the scene that it didn't really bother him that much. He was so happy and gratified to record the image that he was boring into, that the lens loss was stunning, but it didn't defeat him at all. I mean, he still came away, with about as good an attitude on the canyon as anybody on the trip — probably more so.

Interviewer: You might as well tell us about Roger [LaFave].

Dykinga: Well, Roger was Dr. Laura's brother, and from Michigan. He really came along, I think, as the supportive brother, and not really as a photographer. He was there to kind of help his dad and his sister. I even think he was a little skeptical of the whole idea of coming to the canyon, and perhaps coming along for the workshop. I think he was literally swept away by the place and started to actually see things differently. And he said as much: He finds himself looking at reflections in water, and stooping at weird angles, and even pokes fun at himself. But he went from a guy that was solely concerned with looking for fish, to somebody that was actually seeing images and really appreciating the place. After Roger, the real cement for the whole family obviously was the father, Colen [LaFave]. He's from Sun City, [Arizona], a pretty strong hiker. But this was still a stretch in some cases, going over some of the narrow paths and the boulders. The final night when he's talking and telling what the canyon trip has meant to him, and he started reflecting on how people had helped him, and started getting choked up, and shedding a few tears, I'm sure that everybody else shed a few tears and got a little bit moist in the eyes, listening to his response to both the canyon and the people on the trip. It's so gratifying. A boat trip down the Colorado, I think, first off is almost like an encounter group, because you have to pull together to make it happen. And I think a lot of people go through life in kind of an isolated way. And when they need help, it's kind of a big deal to ask for help. And when the help is forthcoming without even asking for it ... And you hear them the first couple of days, they apologize profusely, and then after a while they start helping other people, and it's no big deal and we just move right along. That's the sort of transition I think Colen experienced, and it was deeply moving for him. And because it was deeply moving for him, it was moving for all of us.

continued: river reflections >>

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