© Jillian Robinson

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Vershure: So we're on this single great trip that you took, were you're working on different projects? Is that typical?

Muench: Most of the time it's both projects, yeah. And then I fit in places and things — mostly based on seasonal timing. I love the autumn leaves — south from Glacier Park or from Montana — or the East, from Maine down through the Blueridge Parkway and the Smokies. I just love doing that.

Robinson: Following season's such a wild concept.

Muench: I love to do that, where you follow... For example, right now you look at Southern Arizona, the canyons: for instance Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon. Then you keep on going down in the Santa Ritas and Sabino Canyon. I'm going to look for these opportunities as I go on south. So I'm just going to look around, because November is a great month.

Robinson: Is this typical of a landscape photographer's work?

Muench: I have no idea. Oh, there's a lot of photographers, when you get to these places where it's right. I mean, I got up to the Ox Bow in the Tetons, one morning there were fifty tripods. The only thing that scattered us one morning was this fog layer. You know, after a rain, and it had dawned and was just this fog floating all over the place, very spontaneous to figure out what you're going to do. So you're driving all around the place.

Robinson: Are you always up for sunrise?

Muench: It's a ritual. Like this morning, getting up was a little hard, but it's a ritual, and everybody even whispers, and it's a very beautiful thing.

Robinson: It's interesting, you mention the whispering, because I found myself, we were whispering this morning. There is something about sunrises...

Muench: Uh-huh. And you come out of a sleep, and you know sometimes you don't feel like talking until you're ready, your mind's been cleared of things going on before, so your mind is ready for some awakening, something happening.

Robinson: Yeah, we were talking about that this morning a little bit. So how many sunrises in a given year do you see?

Muench: Sometimes they're just gray and overcast. Then you just sleep in. Come up with a whole different plan. Then you think of midmorning things going on. But whenever you can, it's just super to start with a sunrise, then come in for breakfast a little later on, and enjoy it. Mid-morning, everybody else is gone. It's just fun, it's really neat to look forward to that.

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