Kent Burkhardsmeier
Kent Burkhardsmeier
A modest and humble upbringing, surrounded by vast and open landscape — I grew up in North Dakota, USA with beauty emanating from commonplace. Here I developed an appreciation for the simple aspects of life, explored the outdoors, started photographing, and uncovered a passion to travel. College and a successful business career provided opportunities to live in distant lands (Colorado, Florida, Texas, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Italy, and the UK) — always photographing.
I left North Dakota as a teenager to attend the University of Colorado. For a long time, I didn't think much about North Dakota - it was a rural, sparsely populated area in the USA. But as I aged and travelled around the world, I began to recall fond memories of my childhood - the simpler things of life. Now I go back to capture images that touch a memory while growing up in North Dakota.
This past winter, I made several trips back to Bismarck - where I grew up. During one of my trips, there was a typical winter snow storm. I gathered my gear and headed out along the Missouri River bottoms. Typically during a winter snow storm, the wind is blowing so the snow appears to be coming down horizontally. Because visibility is limited, traffic is sparse. A blanket of snow muffles all sounds adding a sense of peace and serenity. During this storm, I captured the solitude of a typical North Dakota winter storm.