Jake Bylsma Photography

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Grand Rapids, MI
Jake Bylsma Photography

Mechanical Engineer with a passion for landscape photography. Link below for print or general inquires.

10/06/2023

Rush (2022)

This time last year we were finishing up our time in Norway, gearing up for a road trip down the Eastern Australia coast. Now I’m a dad to a beautiful 7 month old daughter, a first-time homeowner, and an employee. My how times change!

Life is certainly busy at the moment, but I’m hoping to continue working through all the photos from our year abroad. There are still so many awesome moments like this one that I can’t wait to share. Hope you enjoy!

06/25/2023

Serpentine (2022)

For 3 weeks last October, we rented a car and drove the western coast of Australia from Sydney to Melbourne. I don’t spend much time near the ocean, mostly because I don’t like dealing with tides, salt water spray, and precarious waves; however, this stretch of trip was all about it. Home to some of the most beautiful coastline I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t get enough of shooting these scenes. Many more to come!

03/27/2023

Catch Light (2022)

Soaking up the very last bit of sun for the day in the Dolomites last year.

There’s nothing I’d love more than to jump back into a campervan and explore more of France, Switzerland, and Italy. The ability to hike around some of the worlds finest mountains and then grab a pain au chocolat or pizza is truly unrivaled. Make the trip, and thank me later.

03/03/2023

Cerro Torre has been elusive during my time in Argentina and this morning was no different. I set up my camera well before sunrise and took a few test shots to make sure I had my comp dialed in. Conditions were looking ideal with a thin layer of low elevation clouds just waiting to catch the first light of the day. As the minutes passed, though, the clouds thickened, and before I knew it, the mountains were completely enveloped. Another try, another failure. Or so I thought…

It wasn’t until the following day when I got back to our hostel that I realized those quick test shots had some incredible alpenglow. I just couldn’t see it on the camera in the moment because of how dark they were. It pays to be out early!

02/03/2023

Four Beech tree limbs rise out of the forest as heavy rain and thick fog transform the scene.

These were pretty typical conditions during our time in Fiordland late last year, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The mountains, forests, and streams just come alive. It’s tough to appreciate on a phone, but I love how the streaking rain softens the landscape.

01/27/2023

Autumn Embrace (2022)

Autumn color seemed to follow us everywhere we went in Norway as we made our way from north to south this past September and October. Nowhere was it more apparent than this spot, though. Vibrant yellows and reds painted the lowlands which contrasted so well against the dark slabs that dominated the skies.

12/29/2022

Waves crash against the shoreline as sunlight spills through small openings in the clouds to illuminate one of Norways most iconic peaks.

We are officially back home after a year of travel. Thousands upon thousands of landscape scenes snapped, 16 breathtakingly beautiful countries explored, 6 wonderfully diverse continents covered, countless friendships formed and life experiences learned, and memories to last a millennia. Thank you to all the lovely people from all over the world who played a part, big or small, in making our trip an overwhelmingly positive experience.

Life has been crazy busy since getting back, but I finally squeezed in some processing time. I can’t wait to share what I’ve been seeing through the lens over the coming weeks, months, and probably years. Stay tuned!

09/26/2022

Moonlit Spitz (2022)

A brief moment of moonlight eludes scattered clouds and illuminates the mountains in Spitzkoppe, Namibia.

I didn’t anticipate shooting this oft-photographed arch, but when I saw how these peaks were lit up, I couldn’t resist.

08/29/2022

Gold Rush (2022)

After spending more than a month in a campervan exploring the mountains of France, Switzerland, and Italy, we witnessed our fair share of epic light, moody clouds, violent storms, and incredible atmosphere. This view has absolutely none of that and yet it’s one of my favorites from the trip.

Before visiting Zermatt, I was under the impression that only a handful of locations had good views of the Matterhorn. That’s all I ever saw from a photographic perspective. As is often the case, that couldn’t be more wrong. Beautiful views like this one abound in the valleys surrounding the mountain. An unusually warm spring made flowers and water very difficult to find this summer, so you can imagine my elation when I found these flowers enveloping the banks of this small stream. The fact that it led so perfectly to the Matterhorn was just icing on the cake.

08/05/2022

“Skyscraper” (2022)

Tre Cime dances in and out of the clouds during an afternoon of incredible atmosphere and light.

We recently wrapped up a month living in a campervan in the Alps and Dolomites. I had been looking forward to this part of the trip for ages, and it did not disappoint. Sharp peaks, beautiful wildflowers, early mornings, late nights, tough hikes, and sporadic showers (I wish I was talking about the weather). I got to meet some really talented photographers along the way, too: , , , .manfredi_, and many more.

The weather on this particular afternoon was easily the best of the month (and perhaps the best of the year so far). When David, Joaquin, and I set out for this hike, we had a couple destinations in mind. That quickly went out the window though, because every time we turned to look at the mountains they were doing something unique and interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever scrambled around so much looking for foregrounds. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much when you have conditions like this. Many, many more to come from this trip. Hope you enjoy!

06/24/2022

An afternoon filled with wind, waves, mist, lenticulars, and mountains. I did my best to capture all of these incredible elements in one photograph, but it doesn’t do it justice. Few photographs can. There’s something about how the wind knocks you off your feet, or how the water swirls high above the lake, or how the lenticular clouds transform in place, or how the water levels rise and fall a couple feet in a matter of seconds, or how the mountains disappear in the mist that you have to see and feel in-person to appreciate.

We had a blast hiking out to this unique view with . I know TDP is known for high winds, but this day was on another level. We were completely at the wind’s mercy. Matt was shooting just around the corner to the left. Definitely check out his shot if you haven’t yet.

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Grand Rapids, MI
49426

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https://linktr.ee/jakebylsma

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